Night was fast approaching on the ancient roads of the Carpathian Mountains. The sun was receding, leaving a blood like color in the sky over the dark mountain peaks. Since before any ruler had claimed this area, there were legends of creatures that lived among the mountainside, preying on those foolish to walk the paths at night. Even now, when the whole Carpathian Mountains have been divided into different nations, the locals still knew to avoid the dark parts of the peak, for it is said that monsters still yet lingered there.

And these locals would be right. For hidden among the mountains was a massive castle, one hidden behind a wall of Fae glamor. This was the home of Count Dracula, the one they called the Prince of Darkness. For centuries, he has been the true ruler of this land, manipulating local officials into doing his work. And now he has been extending globally, recruiting monsters from across the world, building his Council of Night.

As darkness descended over the land, the massive form of Castle Dracula was illuminated only by a few candles, perhaps more for arcane reasons than for light. It was in this dim darkness that several vehicles began pulling to the front of the castle. Inside said vehicles were some of the strongest monsters on Earth, all members of the Council.

For a week ago, they had all received a summons from Dracula, telling them to meet him on this night. He had left no reasoning on the parchment, just saying it was urgent. That was enough to draw the whole Council of Night all the way to Transylvania.

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[b]One Week Ago[/b]

For the ancient vampire known as Orlok, party cities like Amsterdam were like a buffet to him. Walking among the shaded streets of the city, Orlok gave off just enough hypnotic powers to make the humans not take a second look at him. This was not his first time in the city, in fact making it a regular thing to go every few years. It was always a very satisfying trip.

With most of the tourists either drunk and/or hopped up on drugs, Orlok didn’t have to do a whole lot to secure a victim. It was quite simple, hide in the red light district, hypnotizing a passer by into thinking Orlok was an attractive prostitute, before pulling them into an alley and sucking all the blood in their body. After that Orlok would usually dump the body into the canals that went throughout the city.

Tonight, Orlok had already fed twice, enjoying the fatty blood of two Americans. Even though Orlok couldn’t eat human food, he was glad that such a variety was now available, as it did affect the taste of blood. And since Orlok was still thirsty, he decided to perhaps try a different type of cuisine.

Spotting a group of loud, British, females, Orlok went on the prowl. While some vampires would deny it, Orlok knew that there was a different taste to the blood of a man as opposed to a woman. He had lived enough centuries to be something of a connoisseur of blood. And those women had a sweet smelling blood.

From atop the roof of a nearby building, Orlok eyed the three women. Fortunately for him, they decided to cut through a dark road. Seeing his opportunity, Orlok pounced off the roof, knocking down the first woman and sinking his teeth into her neck. Another woman tried to pull him off, but he slashed out with his claws, cutting open her neck. The last woman then tried to flee, only for Orlok to jump onto her as well. In less than ten seconds he had taken down the whole group.

However, before he could start sampling their blood, another figure entered the street. Orlok whipped around, prepared to kill them as well, but then he recognized her as a familiar of Count Dracula. Without saying anything, she handed Orlok an envelope, one with the seal of Dracula on it. She then left, purposely avoiding stepping into any of the blood that splattered the street.

[hr]

[b]Today[/b]

Upon reading Dracula’s summons to his castle, Orlok had his familiars prepare a private flight for him. Loaded in his coffin on a small plane leaving Schiphol Amsterdam Airport, Orlok would sleep through the flight to Târgu Mureș Transilvania Airport. Back in the land of his youth, Orlok would then be driven into the southern Carpathian Mountains. While it was a tricky drive, Orlok’s familiars were used to it by now.

They would arrive at Castle Dracula just as the sun finally went away, leaving nothing but darkness and starlight. As the truck carrying Orlok stopped by the steps of the castle, Orlok arose from his coffin. The shaking of being in a plane had made the vampire’s blood queasy, though Orlok thought it would go away if he had a drink.

Dracula’s familiars would beckon Orlok into the castle. While protocol stated that the first thing they were to do after arriving was go to the Council chamber, Orlok figured that he had known Dracula long enough to be granted some leeway. So he headed for the kitchen.

Though Dracula could consume nothing but blood, he still kept a fully stocked kitchen. But all the organic vegetables and prime cuts of meat would be ignored by Orlok, who instead for Dracula’s secret stash of specialty blood.

Opening the door, Orlok saw what he wanted immediately, a vial of virgin’s blood. It seemed harder and harder these days to find actual virgin blood. Almost all vampires agreed that it was the best tasting. Orlok greedily downed it all in a few seconds.

Satisfied for the moment, Orlok departed to the Council chamber. He was surprised to see that he was the first to arrive, as not even Dracula was here. That struck Orlok as odd, but the Count was known for being mysterious, so perhaps he was planning something.

So Orlok sat in the chair assigned to him and waited. All the while not noticing that he still had blood on his face from that vial. Orlok had learned to not care what people thought of his appearance a very long time ago.