Post #133257
November 05, 2018, 08:45:19 PM
Tragedies have the tendency to bring out the absolute worst in humanity. Dracula knew this better than anyone. There were times when he wondered what might have become of his life had he decided to forgive and forget those who had wronged him, but suspected this was simply never truly an option for him.
He could see the same pattern present itself as it always did. The people of the town wanted someone to pay for the misfortune that had befallen them, and would be satisfied with any scapegoat they could find.
They had dared to storm his castle, as he suspected they might. They found it empty, of course. These sheep never did look for wolves amongst their own number. By day, he called himself Alucard, a doctor who had come from a strange land and found himself to be stranded here after his caravan with medical supplies had broken a wheel. It was just his misfortune that the local blacksmith had been the first victim of these bloodsucking fiends, so no one looked at him funny when he came into town with his caravan full of medicines and asked for a place to stay while he pondered what to do.
He heard a lot of different opinions about who was responsible. Some reckoned the world was ending, as these creatures were devils sent directly from Satan, and that all those who wished to enter the paradise of heaven needed to repent, for the time truly was upon us. Who was he to say they were wrong?
Some of the young men, brave from having had too much to drink, declared that Jonathan and Mina had to have been responsible. After all, the hag was seen leaving shortly before the devils descended. This line of thinking quickly caught on, and with amazing efficiency (and quite a bit of luck, he suspected) the townsfolk had soon captured her, beaten her brother, and chained her up to a pyre. The people cruelly cheered as she screamed, and soon enough, her pyre was lit.
He was surprised he could still feel anything remotely resembling emotions, but he felt an unexpected lurch in his stomach as he witnessed what transpired. This was exactly what had been done to his wife, for the supposed crime of witchcraft, a millennium ago. He had sworn to show them what true evil was.
He felt an urge to help her, but as soon as this feeling came to him, it left again. Soon, that darkest part of himself took over, and he could feel the jubilation as her screams of pain and anguish shot through the night. Finally, she knew the end was upon her, and brought up her blackened and burned hands in prayer. Her screaming stopped, and he could see the telltale mark of a holy vampire hunter glowing on her left hand. She seemed truly at peace, and even uttered a prayer for these worthless fools. The people now realised what they had done, but it was too late to do anything about it. The very next moment, she fell to her eternal sleep, an unwilling martyr. The town had killed one of the vampire hunters in their eagerness to have someone answer for this tragedy.
The doctor named Alucard gave the briefest of smiles as night descended once more on this superstitious village. Man feared the unknown, and called it a devil, but truly, he realised, none of these villagers were any less of a devil than he himself was.
Somewhere in the middle of the crowd, her brother Jonathan finally broke through, and as he saw what was left of his sister's body, he let out one long, lonely wail as he fell to his knees.
Syraj, a defender has been torched to death by an angry mob. On that cheery note, I announce the beginning of the next night phase. Power roles, please remember to send me your actions for the night.