Prologue
Our scene begins in the Village of Barovia with Castle Ravenloft looming above. A child’s cry pierces the air, and we zoom in to see a young child wandering a gloomy forest, wailing loudly.
Where my story truly begins, I do not know. I’ve been told that when I was very small, I was found by the Burgomaster of the Village of Barovia, Kolyan Indirovich.
The mists part and a man looks down to see this frightened child, trying to keep warm in scavenged, tattered clothes.
He was recently widowed with a young son.
The man peers at the child as a lock of red hair falls free from her hood. He recoils. A small figure approaches from behind and tugs at his father’s elbow. Curious and unafraid, he reaches out for the child, a smile spreading across his face.
I would come to call them Father and Brother, but I would never truly feel a part of their family. They loved me in their way, but life was hard for me in the Village, and they could never really understand.
Children run through the streets. One with red hair stands alone. A small group of children jeer at her before closing in. A rock is thrown, and she runs home where she is unable to be comforted.
Superstition holds a lot of weight in the Village in the shadow of the Castle. The people fear easily and deeply. They treated me like I was cursed, but I was just a girl, rejected by people who saw my red hair as a warning.
The faces of villagers young and old twist in disgust. An old woman points a finger and says, “Evil will find that girl.”
That is the thing about superstition. It grows from something true or perhaps something true grows
from it. Either way, evil did find me.
The First Meeting
I was eighteen years old when I first met Strahd von Zarovich. I had argued with my father that day.
Inside the Burgomaster’s house, voices rise in anger before a door slams, and a young woman marches away from the house and the Village.
Someone from the Village was seeking his approval for a new business venture. I only wanted to help, but he sent me away, apologizing to the petitioner for me being there. As if my existence were something he or I needed to be sorry about.
The Village recedes into the distance, and the woman, Ireena, slumps to the ground by the riverbank. The grass is trampled here, as though she comes here often.
Hearing this from the man who was my father, my protector, I felt betrayed. I felt worthless, and that is when he found me.
Ireena writes in a journal furiously, and she doesn’t see the man approach. When she does look up, he smiles and speaks softly. He is well dressed and handsome, and he sits down a respectful distance away.
I did not know who he was at first, but he did not hide his identity. My father had warned me about the Lord of Ravenloft, but this man did not seem like someone to be afraid of. He was kind, and he listened as the years of pain and suffering came tumbling out.
“You know I could protect you from these bullies if you would like,” he says. Ireena doesn’t respond right away and stiffens. “Being the Lord of Ravenloft, I hold certain influences…”
Ireena looks up. “My father says nothing comes without a price.”
Strahd gives a small smile. “He is a smart man, but all I ask is the pleasure of your company. You would like to see me again, I think.” Ireena blushes slightly and agrees. “Yes, I would.”
We parted that day as acquaintances on the way to becoming friends. The next day, I learned that Halbreck, the ringleader of my childhood bullies, had broken his leg. He was an experienced rider and had raised the horse himself. It had never spooked before, and he couldn’t believe what had happened. But I could.
The First Bite
Months went by before I saw Strahd again. In that time, I went down to the river almost every day hoping to see him.
Ireena looks out from her bedroom window, distracted by shapes and shadows that could be the man she hopes to see. Her face falls when she realizes it is not him.
I was starting to believe I had imagined our first meeting and that Halbreck’s accident was just a coincidence. But one day, I was taking feed out to the chickens, and there he was, standing at the edge of the Village.
Ireena hurries to him. He moves toward the river, and she picks up her pace. He halts by the river bank, where Ireena slows and gathers herself before approaching.
I was full of emotions; mad he had stayed away so long, glad to see him, a little afraid and very curious if he had truly had a hand in Halbreck’s accident. I couldn’t stop myself from going to him.
On Strahd’s face is a welcoming, familiar smile. Ireena demands to know where he has been.
“Has it been so long?” he asks to Ireena’s exasperation. “I thought about you,” he says, and her expression softens slightly.
And just like that, he drew me in again. I couldn’t stay mad at him. He was the only person other than my adoptive family who had ever been pleased to see me.
They walk by the river and talk. Strahd looks up to the Castle. “I am going away for a while, and I am not sure when I will return again.” Ireena looks down, sad, and Strahd closes the gap between them and raises her chin. “I will miss you.”
They kiss, and it grows passionate. They break apart suddenly as Ireena breaks the fourth wall.
Yes, okay, so we kissed and he bit me. Do you really need to see it? I don’t think so. What I will tell you is it didn’t hurt. It was a strange feeling, but not painful, not unpleasant, not so terrible you would never do it again. I didn’t know that this was the moment that would change my life forever. I should have had more sense, and if I could change it now, I would.
Strahd reclines on the ground next to Ireena. He withdraws a beautiful, red lace-trimmed handkerchief from his coat and hands it to her. She holds it close as she hurries home.
I couldn’t hide my happiness, and my brother was quick to tease me until he saw the marks on my neck.
Ismark follows Ireena around the house, teasing her. As she turns away, he sees something and pulls back her hair. His face darkens. He speaks harshly, and Ireena gets defensive.
He went to Father with his fears.
In their father’s study, Ismark speaks. His mouth clearly forms the word “vampire,” and their father’s eyes widen. “Bring your sister to me.” Ireena enters the room looking both fearful and belligerent.
He told me he was not angry, only disappointed.
In the study, Ireena’s stubbornness melts away. She cries. Her father says, “Living in the shadow of the Castle is dangerous. You know this. I am only trying to keep you safe from creatures like this vampire.”
It was only when I heard Father say that word - Vampire - that I realized I was in danger. I knew what he was already, of course, but there was something about hearing it, saying it… I felt the fear that should have gripped me the first time I met Strahd.
The Burgomaster looks down at his desk. “Perhaps you will be safer somewhere else.” Ireena’s red eyes widen. She hurries to him, clutching his arm and begging him not to send her away.
I thought he was trying to punish me, threatening to send me away from the only family I had ever known into a world that had done nothing but reject me. I begged to stay, and promised I would follow his rules and never see Strahd again.
Her father’s eyes widen at the mention of Strahd’s name, and he sends her away, needing time to think.
Father did not send me away, but my life was very different after that day.
Ireena, Ismark and their father are in the graveyard of the Church of the Morninglord, where the screams of the priest’s son would one day pierce the air. Ireena looks uncomfortable and afraid. They stand there for a long time.
Years went by, and my life became a cage. Ismark was my constant shadow.
As Ireena walks through the streets of the Village, she ignores the harsh looks from the villagers. Ismark is never far behind her.
The only place I could be alone was at home, and I only felt free when I was writing. Even in my dreams, I felt trapped.
The End and the Beginning
The seasons change in the Village, though the gloom endures. Ireena storms out of the Mercantile in tears.
My father had called in several favors to get me a job at the Mercantile, and it didn’t take Bildrath long to find a reason to fire me.
Ireena heads toward home but hesitates before continuing past the house towards the river.
I had let my father down, and myself. No one else would hire me. I worried I would have to live forever in my father’s house, relying on him to provide for me. Nothing would ever change, and I would always be trapped.
Ireena sits down in her old hiding spot that is now overgrown. She has not been here in some time.
That is when he found me.
Ireena shivers and looks around her. Strahd is there. She stands up, ready to run. “Ireena,” he says with that same familiar smile. He has not aged.
“You! Three years, and this is the day when you show up again?” Ireena is loud, angry and annoyed, but also overcompensating for her fear.
“Was it that long?” he asks, seeming surprised.
“Yes, it was that long. Three miserable years, and all the worse because of you.” Ireena stabs her finger at him. “I know what you are. I saw what you did to Doru. His father has to keep him locked in the basement of the Church, and I’ve heard his screams. This is what you intend for me?”
Strahd raises his hands and explains. “They only told you half the story.” Ireena looks skeptical, but says nothing. “That isn’t how it’s meant to be. They--” he gestures towards the Village, “lock up what they fear to keep it trapped. That was never my intention for Doru.”
I knew how it felt to be trapped. Strahd must have known his words would strike a chord.
“It doesn’t have to be this way.” His voice softens, and he looks at her kindly. “I can make you as free as I am.” He takes a small step toward her. “You deserve so much more.” He takes another step.
It was like he could see inside my heart to all the pain that had built up over so many years.
“You could be so much more.” He is next to her now. “Do you want this?”
Ireena doesn’t respond immediately, and when she does, it is barely a whisper. “Yes.” Strahd leans down and turns his face to her neck, teeth bared.
My regret was immediate. But Strahd was excited, the most animated I had ever seen him. He told me he would come for me soon and not to let anyone keep me from him. I ran home as fast as I could.
Ireena enters the home. Her father and brother are waiting for her, but she breaks down sobbing as she tells them what has happened. Her father tells them the plan, and they board up the house’s windows and doors. They wait.
They came that night, biting and scratching at the barricades we put in place.
In the moonlight, wolves, foaming at the mouth, snarl and throw themselves at the house. The family cowers inside.
On the third night, Father’s heart gave out.
The old man clutches his chest and sags to the floor. Ismark cries out, and Ireena throws herself over his unmoving body.
Only then did they stop.
The wolves slink away.
Ismark became the new Burgomaster. Taking on so much responsibility was a burden, and he was resolved to send me away to keep me safe.
That night my dreams were different, no longer an unchanging prison. I saw figures stepping from the mist, and I heard a voice say, “This is only the beginning.”
