The Casebook of Sheraton Howell: Part IV A Transylvanian Count

While the coven would appear to be the primary grouping of the vampire, there are also cases of the vampire acting alone, often as outcasts from their coven, weakened by their expulsion, but also of powerful ancients, as in the case of Professor Van Helsing’s tale of one Count Dracula.

 This fellow appears to have been a being of extraordinary power hailing from the far reaches of Transylvania. Van Helsing and his band of the great and the good chased the foul creature from England, following him to his own land before extinguishing him at the very foot of his castle. In the time that has since passed, the professor has continued to seek out the vampire, discovering the existence of many more than his most disturbing nightmares could have conceived.

 It is his opinion that had Dracula sought out the vampires of the city and subjected them to his rule, then London may have been the heart of an entirely different ‘Empire’. In turn it appears that the ‘civilised’ vampires of London purposely kept their distance from this eastern barbarian, though there are those who may have welcomed him as overlord.

The legacy of Dracula’s journey to our shores has, however, been to show the vampires that mortal men and women have an unrivalled capacity to ignore and forget. Dracula’s failure has given new vigour to the covens’ attempts to grow their power and influence. I fear a new era of dominance of the undead has begun. God have mercy on all our souls.

Addendum: Following our most recent encounter with the fiends, I have heard amongst the whispers that Dracula somehow still clings to his existence and there are those who await his return. How this can be I know not, yet I fear it all the same.