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Prologue

From the Journal of Alexandru Chisca

Senior Member of the Romanian Vaht that Calin Sherrad, Master of our Coven, called our people together Calin was a tall, iure, feared and respected by one and all A proud man, never defeated in battle, he stared at those of us assembled in the Great Hall of the Carpathian Fortress The tension within the Hall was a palpable thing as all who pledged their allegiance to Calin waited for hie or by blood Thethe black hooded robes of our office

A hush fell over us as Calin began to speak

"I have called you here on a rave importance"

Calin spoke quietly, yet his voice filled the rooo on

"Forour existence a secret froht the hunters down upon us, bringing danger to us all"

He spat out the word hunters as if it left a bad taste in his mouth

"Not only do the hu, "but they have the advantage of being able to hunt during the day, e are at our most vulnerable Many of our people were killed in the last Great Hunt

"It was for this reason that my father built this Fortress It was his example that caused others of our kind to build sie in other parts of our country Since the last Great Hunt, we have endeavored to keep our existence a secret from the mortal world

"For many centuries, it was believed that the vampires of Roer true I do not knohere these Others ca they have existed, but they are not like us They kill indiscri on men, women, and even children Unlike our kind, they are able to create others like the vampires have an insatiable thirst for blood They often leave their prey lying out in the open, drained of blood, to be found by huh the crowd

"Mortals cannot differentiate between our kind and these barbaric Others," Calin said "Va our kind and the Others, and, in their hysteria, hunters have been known to kill those of their own kind In soround is soaked with the blood of valanced at the other members of the council, and saw my own horror reflected in their eyes

Calin paused, his gaze again o on," he said, his voice ringing fro war on the Others! We must find them and annihilate them before they destroy our people and our way of life"

There were scattered shouts of approval froer vampires in the crowd

"By ht his own" Calin’s gazebriefly on the face of every reat solemnity "So let it be done"

"So let it be recorded," the members of the council repeated in unison "Done and done"

As I spoke the words, I wondered at the wisdom of our decision

There followed a period in our history known as the Dark Tied throughout the knoorld Some were destroyed by hunters, some by the Others Towns and cities were laid waste

As soon as our children were old enough to understand, they were taught that the Others were the enemy From childhood, every Romanian male was trained in the art of war Many of our unmarried women joined our men in battle

Peace had been taken frorew, instilled in the hearts of our children and our grandchildren

The war against the Others lasted for over a hundred years In that ti that of Calin His oldest son, Rodin Sherrad, assued his right to do so

Rodin was a fierce and fearless warrior Ever valiant in battle, he was driven by a relentless need to avenge his father’s death His daring and detere and a renewed determination to win