《Nicolae, The Founder》


 1. Origins

    Nicolae was greeted with the smiling face of a strange creature when he first opened his eyes. Knowledge rushed to his head, and he stared blankly at the creature as he processed the information.


    ¡°Finally! Success!¡±


    The creature shouted, taking a step back.


    ¡°You look just like what I envisioned! Hold on, hold on.¡±


    The creature¡¯s form became contorted and twisted, morphing into something different. A strange energy emanated from the being, and shadows engulfed the creature, flowing along its body until a new form emerged.


    ¡°Here, I''ve made myself look exactly like you! Here, I¡¯ll show you in this mirror.¡±


    The creature stuck a mirror in the face of Nicolae, eagerly awaiting a response.


    Nicolae continued to stare at the creature, then glanced at the mirror. There¡¯s nothing there? he thought.


    The creature frowned, glancing back and forth from Nicolae to the mirror. ¡°Oh, well that shouldn¡¯t happen. Well, I don¡¯t want to try again! We¡¯ll just have to deal with the error.¡±


    It paused for a moment, before clapping, the creature¡¯s usual smile returning to its face. ¡°Also, my name is Tenebris. And, your name will be Nicolae Fondator Tenebrarum Varnemir! It can be a mouthful, but I liked it!¡±


    Nicolae took a step backwards, looking around the room. Did you¡­ hear me? What¡¯s going on?


    Tenebris disappeared for a moment, and then reappeared in a chair farther back in the room. ¡°Well, of course it¡¯s to be expected that you¡¯d need some time to come to terms with this. Afterall, you did just start existing!¡±


    After a hearty laugh, Tenebris continued. ¡°Yes, I can hear your thoughts. You can¡¯t hide from me! Hahaha! Well, anyway, to put it simply you are a vampire! A new creature I¡¯ve just created¡ªisn¡¯t that great?¡±


    He paused, waiting for some answer from Nicolae, who had now gained some composure. A vampire? That¡¯s right¡­ I remember something like that? Or, I know of it, atleast.


    Tenebris laughed again, a great, booming laugh. ¡°It¡¯s great conversing with another intelligent, speaking species! This is a first for me! This must be how they felt when they succeeded! Yes, yes a vampire. And it wouldn¡¯t make much sense to remember something when you were just created, would it? Haha!¡±


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    Nicolae took another step back before suddenly being transported to a seat next to Tenebris, losing his breath momentarily. What the hell just happened? How did I¡ªwhat?


    Tenebris looked at him disappointingly, sighing. ¡°Come on, Nicolae. Let¡¯s be a bit faster on the uptake! Look, let''s skip the boring bits, you can think about what¡¯s happening here later.¡±


    A small piece of chalk appeared in Tenebris¡¯ hand, and he offered it to Nicolae. ¡°Take this, I¡¯m going to show you something interesting!¡±


    Reluctantly, Nicolae accepted the chalk. What¡¯s this for?


    Tenebris teleported across the room, appearing in front of a small altar with some kind of parchment sitting on top of it. ¡°I just told you I was going to show you. Wait and see, Nicolae!¡±


    Just then, Nicolae was transported next to Tenebris. His hand held another piece of chalk, and he began to draw an intricate circular design on the parchment. As he completed the design, the circle began to glow a purplish-red hue.


    The chalk disappeared, and Tenebris clapped his hands. ¡°That¡¯s Jul for you! What great work!¡±


    He placed his arm around Nicolae¡¯s shoulder, still staring at the parchment. ¡°Now, it¡¯s your turn. This is how you¡¯ll be able to get into contact with me if you need to.¡±


    With that, Tenebris disappeared, leaving no trace of having ever been there. Without much else to do, Nicolae did his best to emulate the circle that Tenebris had drawn. However, while the symbol was fresh in his mind, his hands were not able to draw it the same way.


    If I ever want to understand what is going on right now, I need him to come back. I can¡¯t give up this easily¡­


    With some frustration, Nicolae continued drawing the symbols, ripping another piece of parchment off the top of the stack each time he failed.


    Damn it! I¡¯ve got to get this right! he thought, his hands starting to tremble. I¡¯ve got to calm down and focus!


    The sound of the chalk and the setting sun were Nicolae¡¯s only companions as time passed, his hands and fingers aching from gripping the chalk¡­


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    ¡°Finally!¡± Nicolae shouted as the parchment¡¯s purplish-red hue illuminated his face against the dark room, the shadows behind him grasping at his figure. After taking a deep breath, his moment of rest was quickly interrupted.


    ¡°You sure took your time! Haha! You¡¯ve got some serious work to do, child¡­¡± boomed a voice behind Nicolae.


    Nicolae quickly turned around, facing the voice, which revealed itself to be Tenebris. ¡°I must have said that out loud, right?¡±


    Tenebris smiled, walking closer. ¡°Yes, you did, you did! Great job, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to use that ability eventually. Anyways, feel free to explore, find something to do! This castle is great, I made it myself! Hahaha!¡±


    The eccentric man disappeared, leaving the sound of his laugh as the last remnant of his presence. Nicolae, yet again confused, looked around the dark room.


    After a few moments of silence, the disembodied voice of Tenebris abruptly interrupted the peaceful room. ¡°Oops, I forgot to turn the lights on! Good luck!¡±


    The room was suddenly illuminated by the many candles around the room, a soft yellow hue covering every surface. Nicolae stared at the table where Tenebris and him were sitting a few hours prior. I guess I¡¯m alone now. I¡¯ll have to find something to do¡­

 2. Exploration

    Nicolae continued to study the room, the flickering candles illuminating his surroundings. There wasn¡¯t much for him to see in the room, and he elected to open the nearby door and take a look around the castle as his creator had told him.


    As he swung the large doors open, candles in the hallway ignited one by one, cascading to the end of the long hall. The walls were a brilliant blue and gold color, reaching high up to the ceiling. The white tiled floor was broken up by a brilliant red carpet that led to each set of doors, including the ones that Nicolae had just opened. Startled for a moment, Nicolae looked down the long hall, studying the various doors on his left and right. At the end, the hall split into two further paths.


    <i>The castle seems quite large, it¡¯ll certainly take me some time to explore.</i> <i>First, I¡¯ll want to check the rooms I can see here</i>.


    Taking his first steps out of the room, he felt a sense of empowerment as he began to learn more about the word he was suddenly thrust into. Each set of doors looked identical, and was equally alluring. Carefully opening the door closest to him, on the left, Nicolae peered into the dimly lit room.


    Suddenly, candles on the wall ignited, illuminating the space in a sudden orange burst of light. <i>It seems that will be a trend of this castle, </i>he thought, studying the intricacies of the room. Black stone walls, devoid of much decoration, made the space feel even smaller than it actually was. The floor was made up of large gray tiles, further contributing to the dimness of the room. Three stained glass windows decorated the far wall, allowing some natural light in but obscuring vision outside.


    The leftmost window contained the image of a bowl and stick, the rightmost with fire, and the middle with some kind of plant. Placed on the wall at the center was a table with a hole cut in the center, a furnace underneath. A large pot hung from the ceiling, and the bowl portrayed in the glass sat on the table on the right. A large book also lay open on a podium to the right, and various bags and bottles were scattered on various shelves next to this table.


    Walking over to the table, Nicolae grasped the book. Closing it, he moved the cover of the book into the candlelight. <i>The ¡°Novice Alchemist¡¯s Codex¡±, written by Tenebris.</i>


    Nicolae felt the interesting sensation of the book¡¯s paper in his hand, flipping the pages and skimming the contents. The pages mainly contained information on different plants and their purposes, as well as potions and what they could be used to do. It did not take Nicolae much effort to understand the entries, as if it was second nature to him.


    Placing the book down, Nicolae became acutely aware of something he had yet to think about: his lack of clothing. Having just been created it made sense that he was in the nude, but it struck him as odd to not be wearing anything.


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    <i>I¡¯ll have to search for my room, or at least a place with some clothing. The book is interesting, and I¡¯m sure Tenebris left it here for some reason, but as it is right now I can¡¯t take it with me.</i>


    Having made up his mind, Nicolae turned away from the alchemy table and headed towards the door, taking a look at the room from the opposite end. Metal cages of various sizes and thickness were stacked loosely in the right corners, and on his left pallets of brown bags were laid on the ground.


    Leaving the room, Nicolae chose his next target, a room further down the hall on the right side. With the candles within the room once again welcoming his entrance, a bed and oaken wardrobe presented themselves to him as soon as he entered. The large bed had beautiful white sheets covered by a thick black blanket. <i>At least Tenebris has given me a seemingly comfortable place to sleep</i>.


    Not wanting to waste much time, Nicolae quickly made his way to the wardrobe and grasped the handles, carefully opening it. Inside, a plethora of intricate and varied outfits hung carefully arranged. On the left side were less intricate clothes, consisting primarily of black, gray, red and white. The further to the right he looked, the more intricate the clothing got, and the more colors that were present.


    Looking back to the left, Nicolae picked out a suitable outfit for his purposes, consisting of a simple white buttoned shirt and black pants, and after finding some shoes, a pair of black boots.


    Heading out of the room, Nicolae continued down the hall to the end, where it split into two sections. On his right, the hall continued straight with a few more rooms, and a staircase leading upwards. On his left was another shorter hallway with a staircase leading downwards into a large room. <i>I¡¯ll head downstairs first, I¡¯d like to understand the kind of landscape this castle exists in.</i>


    With his thoughts sorted, Nicolae headed downstairs and into a great room. A large golden and black chandelier hung from the ceiling just in front of the staircase. Nicolae found himself on a landing where two more curved staircases branched off, leading to the ground below.


    A large mural on the ground, directly under the chandelier, displayed a black haired man in beautifully intricate black clothing with a sword and the moon behind him. He was standing atop a tower, looking upwards. Further down in the room was a large wooden door, reinforced with metal.


    Tall pillars lined the hall on either side, allowing for a massive, uninterrupted hall in the center. As Nicolae headed towards the ground he noticed smaller doors on the walls behind the pillars, with one on his side of the hall and one on the far side. This was mirrored on the other wall.


    The great hall echoed Nicolae¡¯s footsteps, each one louder than the last as he approached the large door. Pushing the huge doors open with surprising ease, he glanced upon the landscape that his castle laid on.


    A courtyard made up of jagged black rocks, barren trees, and mud greeted him. Beyond the walls great black mountains rose up in the distance, and massive puffy black clouds covered the otherwise dark sky. The light of the moon painted the landscape in an eerie shade of red, and storms raged in the distance.


    <i>It seems unfriendly, </i>he thought, peering into the distance.