CHAPTER 1
Part 1
Strange Discovery
"In einem entlegenen Schloss ausserhalb der Stadt Klausenburghwuerde eine merkwuerdige Entdeckung gemacht." Burgermeistervon Klausenburgh, 24 June, 18--
In a remote castle outside the city of Klausenburgh, astrange discovery was made. There, a book was found that givesan account so fantastic, I hesitated to make it public for fear Iwould be doing more harm than good. Also found was a paintingof a Count who lived in this region many years ago, and whosome feel is still alive today. This painting shows the Count in hislibrary. I believe this book came from this library.
I will begin with a drawing of the castle. The vault, theheavy door of which was unlocked so as to make entrancepossible, shows where the book was located.
It is important that this work be come to light, for if theevents presented within are true, and I believe they are, thenthese beings may still be alive and must be found, confronted andrevealed!
Mayor of Klausenburgh, 24 June 18--
The Birth of the Daughter
Account Written by the Attending Physician,Klausenburgh, Romania February 20
On the 20th of February I presided over the birth ofClaudia D., daughter of the Count. I was awaken from my sleepby an emissary to the Count who gave me instructions to fetchmy medical bag and come with him. The emissary presented sucha terrible image that I simply froze in my bed, gaping at him. As Ihesitated, he suddenly presented a dagger. He pressed this daggerto my neck, the pressure of which led me to my utensils and thento the carriage that was to take me to the Count's castle. Thecountryside of Romania has been so ravaged by war that I sawmany unbelievable sights along the way, and I will tell you thetale of the "Forest of the Impaled" is no tale, but rather the truth,because the roads were lined with bodies run through with longstakes and then set out on display for any would be invaders tocontemplate.
As we approached the castle, I heard the dreadful howlingof wolves and the barking of what must have been huge dogs, forI could not even hear the galloping of the horses due to their echoesoff the Carpathian mountains.
The passes were so narrow, I thought at certain times wewould go headlong over the cliffs into the abyss.
When we finally arrived, the horrible sounds had stoppedand I stood at the entrance of a truly magnificent palace. Thecastle's stone steps and hallways were illuminated by torchesmaking it easy to find my way. Once in the Count's presence, Iquickly bowed and removed my hat. I had heard the stories toldby the townspeople of visitors who had forgotten to remove theirhats, and how He, offended by their rudeness, had then nailed theirhats to their heads!
In a rather spacious room that was dimly lit by the torches,I found a young woman whose countenance both fascinated andfrightened me. She was remarkably pale with the blackest hairand the lightest grey eyes. Her appearance was so strange that Ihad to fight the impulse to react in a negative way. I was luckythat I did not, for the Count was in the room, barely visible inthe torchlight. His eyes were dark, and he didn't say a word, butrather motioned for me to get on with the delivery of the child.
The mother showed little emotion. Even though slight ofbuild, she was remarkably strong, and at one point, she grabbedmy arm during the act of giving birth. I later noticed an abrasionwhere she had held my arm in her vice-like grip. All this froma woman whose body weight could not have been more than 110pounds!
I was amazed at the quickness of the birth. In less than45 minutes, a girl was brought into the world. I examined thechild as well as I could, for the light was dim.
She seemed quite healthy, but there was one thing thatbothered me greatly. The child was born with teeth!
The Reflection
From The Diary Of The Count, June 24
My little Claudia is growing up wonderfully. She is sosmart. Her tutors are amazed at her abilities in the arts andmathematics. I have purposely kept her from any hint of astrologyor the supernatural. I have even tried to give her a good groundingin the natural sciences. Science. Now there is an interesting subject.I don't think there is anything in any science treatise that wouldexplain the phenomenon that is us. She knows that we aredifferent, but she doesn't quite know how. One of her tutors isworried about her obsession with her reflection. It seems she goesto the lake in the...
