“The Devil’s Remnant”
Excerpt Quotes:
1) He knew the insulting name implied he was the son of a traitor: Arguing with the ignorant, once their minds are set on a path, will achieve nothing. Vlad took a deep breath; but continued fixated on the floor, “Not at all, my lord. I have come to the only one as dedicated to our Order as myself in stopping the incursions from the south.”
2) Vlad lifted his head slowly, “Sometimes convention frowns on necessity, my lord.”
Probably one of the least understood personalities from history, Dracula is often painted as the very essence of evil — morphed into an eternal demon. But little is truly understood as his history was documented by his enemies. Propaganda is a powerful tool in the destruction of truth. Of course you might say, “But the history’s real;” and I would have to say: “But the perspective could be tainted.” Consider:—— Vlad ruled at a time when excepted rules for punishment and execution demonstrated extremes in all cultures; from burning at the stake, gutting and disemboweling while still alive, leaving ones in small cages to slowly starve to death. And these are just a few of the accepted atrocities of the past. Vlad’s judgments were swift against law breakers and enemies alike: heigthening fears while demonstrating his strong sense of right and wrong; ruling with the proverbial “Iron Fist.” Vlad’s rule was marked by defense against an enemy that the phrase, “outnumbering his own,” would be considered an extreme understatement and yet he held against this well trained empire and fought back against losses with few resources or allies. Bram Stoker seems to have forever tainted the name Dracula as the personification of the devil; but in my alternate history novel, The Devil’s Remnant, the “Order of the Dragon’s” alien connection and immortality will be unveiled regarding this exiled prince seeking retribution in the old west.