Son of the Dragon

by Victor T Foia

  “You’re sure you understood well?” Dracul said, after Vlad relayed Hassan’s conversation with Nicholas. He sounded calm, but in the lantern’s light Vlad saw his father’s face was tense.

  “God’s looking over you, Father,” Marcus said. “Had you not brought Vlad along, you wouldn’t have known of the infidels’ trap.”

  Dracul looked at Marcus, pained, and said, “You don’t think I can cancel my trip, just because of—?”

  “You aren’t going on with it, are you?” Michael said. “It’d be suicide to do it, now that we know they’re plotting against you.”

  “We don’t know anything,” Dracul said. “A letter? What letter could it be to have anything to do with me? I haven’t written any compromising letter myself. Besides, if that warmongering Zaganos is the one claiming to have it, he’s probably lying, only to cause me trouble. He won’t be happy until Walachia is squashed by the empire.”

  “Don’t go, Father,” Marcus whined.

  “Marcus is right,” Michael said. “Whether Zaganos has something incriminating you or not, it’s clear you’re in danger going to Edirne. Hassan is usually well informed about such matters.”

  Dracul shook his head. “Of all people, Michael, you should know that once the sultan invites you, declining to go isn’t an option.” He spit at the wall of the nearby house and said, “In the state Wallachia is at the present, it’d take the Turks two weeks to occupy it. Do you want me to give them an irresistible reason to do just that?”

  They resumed walking, and ten minutes later came into the open on the south side of the village. In a field dotted with bonfires, the black shapes of dozens of covered wagons loomed like giant grazing bison.

  “You boys know what you’re supposed to do,” Dracul said, and gave Marcus and Vlad bear hugs. He then let Gruya kiss his hand. “The barge is waiting for you. Take this lantern and hurry on before it gets light outside.”

  Without speaking, Michael hugged all three youths. When Vlad’s turn came, the old mentor broke into a muffled cry, and left Vlad’s cheeks wet with his tears.

  Watching his father and Michael disappear into the darkness toward the wagon camp, Vlad felt a great weight settle on his shoulders. He breathed in deeply, but only scant air entered his lungs. When he tried to move, he felt his feet stuck to the ground. He realized he hadn’t spoken since telling his father what Hassan and Nicholas said. Now he felt he’d let Father down by his silence. His father must think Vlad didn’t care he was headed for mortal danger. What if this were the last time Vlad saw him? Yet, Vlad knew there was nothing he could have said to make his father change his mind. A sense of helplessness overtook him.

  “Come, Brother, it’s getting late,” Marcus said, his voice thick with unshed tears. “Let’s do what Father expects of us.”

  But just because he couldn’t change Father’s determination to obey Murad’s summons, did it mean Vlad could be of no help to him?

  “Are you deaf?” Marcus shouted into Vlad’s ear, his voice no longer teary but angry.

  There would be other important discussions in Edirne that Vlad could eavesdrop on, if Father took him along. But of course, Father wouldn’t hear of such a thing. What should I do? What should I do? He felt the urgency of someone whose lifespan was measured by the falling of sand in the hourglass.

  “That’s it,” Marcus said. “I’m leaving without you.” He turned his back to Vlad.

  That moment, the weight tumbled off Vlad’s shoulders, and his lungs swelled with air. “Yes, yes, yes,” he shouted, giddy with exhilaration. “You’ve just given me the answer, Marcus. Go on without me.”

  Marcus spun around and lifted the lantern high to see Vlad’s face. “What the fuck do you mean?”

  “I’m going to Edirne with Father and Uncle Michael.”

  Marcus struggled to say something, but all he could do was gulp.

  “Father expects you to keep up the pretense he’s somewhere in the country,” Vlad said. “You don’t need me for that. But Father needs my help with—”

  “You’re insane,” Marcus managed finally to blurt. “What kind of help could you possibly give him?”

  “I’m not letting you go without me, Vlad,” Gruya said.

  Frustrated, Marcus shook his fist at Vlad and Gruya. “Then you both are out of your fucking minds. Father will break your bones when he sees you haven’t returned to Wallachia as he ordered.”

  “We’ll hide, and he won’t see us for a couple of days,” Vlad said. “By then it’ll be too late for him to send us back.”

  Marcus remained silent for a few moments. Then he approached Vlad with a resigned shrug and gave him a long embrace. “I hate you, Dracula. And if you get into trouble over there, I’ll kill you when you come home.” Then he took off at a jog in the direction of the river.

  It took Vlad and Gruya only a few minutes to locate Dracul’s mule wagons. The drivers were sleeping, wrapped in their sheepskins around the dying fire at the head of the column. The first wagon had been outfitted as a sleeping chamber on wheels for Dracul and Michael. Vlad could hear the two of them talking inside. He and Gruya climbed onto the back of the last wagon and made room for themselves by rearranging some of the sacks containing the sultan’s gifts.

  “Now all we have to do is endure two days of travel without food or drink,” Vlad whispered. “Then we can come out to face Father’s wrath.”

  “I could put up with such an ordeal a lot easier if you were a beautiful woman,” Gruya said, and sighed. “Hell, any woman, for that matter.”

  Vlad was about to doze off when a wailing sound rose from somewhere above the village, sending a chill through his body. “Listen! The adhan, the call to prayer,” he said, but Gruya was already asleep.

  The muezzin’s cry of “Allāhu Akbar” reminded Vlad of Gunther’s first Arabic lesson. Lala had a powerful voice, but he sang the adhan almost in a whisper, so no one outside his cell would hear it. “The way to start learning Arabic is by chanting the adhan,” Gunther told Vlad. After memorizing the call to prayer, Vlad asked Gunther if it wasn’t wrong for a Christian to say, “Allah is the greatest.” Gunther regarded him with sad eyes, for a long time, before answering. “You’ll know the answer when you understand what God is. And that’s something nobody can tell you. Discover it on your own, or die wondering.”

  The muezzin’s words descended in wave after wave from the top of the minaret and filled the space below with their soothing sound.

  “Allāhu Akbar”—God is the greatest.

  “Ash-hadu an-la ilaha illa llah”—I testify there is no other deity but God.

  A call from another minaret, somewhere up the Danube, echoed the chant of the first. Then a third one Vlad couldn’t locate joined in. He held his breath, trying to catch the words he knew by heart.

  “Hayya ‘ala s-salah”—Make haste toward the prayers.

  “Hayya ‘ala ‘l-falah”—Make haste toward reward.

  Five years had passed since he first heard this beguiling melody. That seemed now to have taken place in a different life. It was in fact a different life, which ended with Gunther’s death.

  “Al-salatu khayru min an-nawm”—Praying is better than sleeping.

  Vlad peeked through a slit in the wagon cover and saw the roofs of Nicopolis village and the fortress walls shimmering with the first light. The minaret, slender and graceful, seemed to touch the pink sky, reminding him that he wasn’t any closer to knowing God than when he was a child.

  A lantern had been lit above the muezzin’s balcony, so believers who lived beyond the range of his voice would know the time for the morning prayer had arrived.

  “Allāhu Akbar”—God is the greatest!

  “La ilaha illallah”—There is no deity except for God’s.

  Somewhere beyond the great river, Vlad’s land, the land of his forefathers, and of their forefathers, was stirring, ready to shake its slumber and face a new day. Another day lived in the shadow of a giant that could wipe it out of
existence with a mere flick of its tail. Was God watching over it? Which God? Or was it all a game God left up to people to play, with winners and losers determined not by their numbers, but by their faith in themselves?

  The End of Book One

  The author wishes to thank the readers for their interest in this book.

  Please visit your favorite online eBook retailer and write a review reflecting your impression of this read.

  The Journey Continues

  An impulsive step propels Vlad into a hostile world capable of devouring even the strongest men.

  Surrounded by enemies and faced with daunting choices, he makes a decision that will forever alter the course of his life in ways no one could have imagined.

  As mortal dangers crowd upon him, Vlad’s courage, wit, and skills are being continually tested.

  Will his desire to lash at the evil around him overcome his reason?

  Will he see his native land again?

  Join the Adventure

  Glossary

  A pronunciation key in [...] is provided for selected words; the syllable stress is indicated by a diacritical mark and/or special underlining.

  Adhan: Word of Arab origin representing the Islamic call to prayer recited by the muezzin at prescribed times of the day

  Agha: Turkish for a title used to designate a high-level civil or military officer

  Akinci: Turkish word designating a member of the Ottoman light, irregular cavalry, specializing in raiding enemy territories

  Allāhu Akbar: Arabic for “God is the greatest”

  Al-Muntaqim: Arabic for “the Avenger”; one of Allah’s ninety-nine names

  Al-Qahhār: Arabic for “the Subduer”; one of Allah’s ninety-nine names

  Ar-Raḥīm: Arabic for “the Merciful”; one of Allah’s ninety-nine names

  Asper: Ottoman silver coin

  Asr: Arabic for “afternoon”; one of the five obligatory daily prayers for Muslims

  Ayah: Arabic word used to refer to the smallest unit of the Qur’an, usually called a verse

  Ayat: The plural of ayah

  Az anyad picsaba, curva bitang: Hungarian popular curse, too vile to translate

  Azap: Turkish word designating a member of the Ottoman light infantry

  Beglerbeg: Turkish for “bey of beys,” “commander of commanders.” A beglerbeg was second in rank only to the Grand Vizier. The Ottoman Empire in the time of Dracula had two beglerbegs, one governing Anatolia, another Rumelia; see the Who is Who and What is What sections of the book for these two regions

  Bey: Turkish word signifying, among other things, lord, chieftain, emir, governor of a fortress or of a small province

  Bismillah: Arabic noun used as a collective name for the sentence meaning “In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful”

  Boyar: Person of noble rank in Wallachia and Moldova

  Büyük: Turkish for “huge”

  Cachoolah [kah-choo-lah]: “Caciula” in Romanian. Traditional round and tall sheep or lamb’s fur cap worn by Romanian country folks in Wallachia, Moldova, and Transylvania

  Caftan: a.k.a. kaftan; a front-buttoned coat or overdress, usually reaching to the ankles, with long sleeves

  Catamite: Word of Greek origin designating a boy kept by a pederast

  Clous: French for “nails”; word designating cloves

  Cum te chiama: Romanian for “What’s your name?”

  Cyrillic: Cyrillic Alphabet, a writing system that was developed during the late ninth century on the basis of the Greek Alphabet for use of the Orthodox population in Europe

  Dar al-Harb: The House of War; the name for the regions where Islam does not dominate, and where submission to Allah is not observed

  Dar-al-Islam: The House of Islam; the name for the region where Islam dominates, and where submission to Allah is observed

  Dervish: Word of Persian origin designating a Muslim believer following an ascetic path

  Dhuhr: Arabic for “noon.” One of the five obligatory daily prayers for Muslims

  Diyado: Bulgarian (дядо) for “grandfather”

  Djellaba: Long, loose-fitting, unisex outer robe with full sleeves

  Drache: German for “dragon”

  Dracul [dráh-kool]: In the Romanian of 15th century Wallachia, the word meant both “the Dragon” and “the Devil”

  Dracula [drah-kool-ah]: In the Romanian of 15th century Wallachia, the word meant “Son of Dracul,” hence “Son of the Dragon,” or “Son of the Devil”

  Dulce bellum inexpertis: Latin proverb meaning, “War is sweet to the inexperienced”

  Efendi: Also spelled as “effendi”; honorific Turkish word used in the Ottoman Empire as a title of respect or courtesy, equivalent to the English “Sir”

  Ein Stern muss erst auf die Erde fallen: German for “A star must first fall to the earth”

  Fajr: Arabic for “dawn”; one of the five obligatory daily prayers for Muslims

  Fatihah: Arabic word (al-Fatihah) designating the first chapter of the Qur’an

  Gewürznelken: German for “cloves”

  Giaour [gya-oohr]: Turkish offensive term used to describe non-Muslims, particularly Christians

  Gott sei Dank: German for “Thank God”

  Grand Vizier: Second-highest official in the Ottoman Empire, outranked only by the sultan

  Hamam: Turkish word designating a Turkish bath

  Haraam: Arabic for “forbidden”

  Insha’Allah: Arabic for “If it is God’s will”

  Janissary: Turkish word designating an infantry soldier belonging to the Ottoman sultan’s household troops and bodyguards

  Kiliç: Ottoman one-handed saber with a slight curvature and a sharpened back edge at the final section of the blade

  Kyrie eleison: Greek for “Lord have mercy”

  Lala [láh-lah]: In Ottoman tradition, lalas were experienced men who were assigned as tutors, mentors, and advisors to the young princes

  Liniste [lean-y-shtay]: Romanian for “silence”

  Madrasah: Word of Arabic origin designating any type of educational institution, whether secular or religious

  Maghrib: Arabic for “sunset”; one of the five obligatory daily prayers for Muslims

  Manichaeism: A religion and philosophy based on the teachings of the prophet Mani

  Mein Retter, wer bist du?: German for “Who are you, my rescuer?”

  Melee: Generally refers to disorganized close combat involving a group of fighters

  Minaret: Word of Arab origin designating a tower structure associated with a mosque and used for issuing the call to prayer

  Mosque: Arabic word designating a place of worship for followers of Islam

  Muezzin: Word of Arab origin designating the person at a mosque who leads and recites the call to prayer (see “adhan”)

  Mullah: Arabic word designating a Muslim man educated in Islamic theology and sacred law

  Musahib: Word of Arab origin meaning companion, advisor, friend; in some cases it came to signify the favorite of a prince or sultan

  Mutti: German for “mommy”

  Najis: Arabic for “ritually impure”

  Nana [náh-nah]: Romanian title of respect used in addressing women from the countryside in Wallachia, Moldavia, and Transylvania

  Oma: German for “grandmother”

  Opa: German for “grandfather”

  Opinch [oh-peench]: “Opinci” in Romanian; the plural of “opinca” [oh-peen-kah], Romanian for traditional moccasin-style footwear used by peasants in Wallachia, Moldavia, and Transylvania

  Orthodox: Major branch of the Christian Church; not under the jurisdiction of the Vatican and the Pope

  Ottoman: A Muslim inhabitant of the Ottoman Empire; subject to the Ottoman sultan; of any ethnicity; free person, or slave

  Palinca [pah-lean-kah]: Traditional Romanian plum brandy

  Pasha: A high title in the Ottoman Empire political system, typically granted to governors, generals, and dignitaries

/>   Persian language: An Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of Indo-European languages

  Peşkeş [pesh-kesh]: Turkish word designating diplomatic gifts given by an inferior authority to a superior one

  Porcellana: Tuscan dialect for “porcelain”

  Qur’an: Arab word for “the recitation”; it represents the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims believe to be the verbatim word of Allah; a.k.a. Koran, Al-Coran, Coran, Kuran, and Al-Qur’an

  Salah al-Janazah: Arabic for “funeral prayer”

  Schmetterling: German for “butterfly”

  Semantron: Greek word designating a percussion instrument in the form of a long, wooden board used to summon monks to prayer in Orthodox monasteries

  Ser: Tuscan honorific term roughly equivalent to “Sir”

  Shahnameh: The Book of Kings; monumental Persian epic poem written in 10th century CE

  Shaytan: Arabic for “the Devil”

  Sipahi: Turkish word designating a member of the Ottoman heavy cavalry

  Slavonic: Church Slavonic; of Slavic language derivation; the primary liturgical language of the Orthodox Church in the time of Dracula; it uses the Cyrillic alphabet; see “Cyrillic”

  Sufism: A mystic movement defined by some scholars as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam

  Tirendaz [teah-ren-dahz]: Word of Persian origin meaning master archer, accomplished bowman, skillful individual

  Tuğ: Turkish for horsetail banner; there could be one, two, three, or four horsetails, depending on the dignitary’s rank

  Verderer: Chief warden in charge of the royal forests

  Vizier: Minister in the Ottoman government; there were up to four viziers, with the Grand Vizier being the most senior

  Wudu: Arabic for “ablution”; procedure for washing parts of the body using water, typically in preparation for formal prayers

  Zekaï, yayımı ver! Çabuk!: Turkish for “Zekaï, get my bow! Quick!”; see the Who is Who and What is What sections of the book for Zekaï

  Zoroastrianism: A religion and philosophy based on the teachings of the prophet Zoroaster, a.k.a. Zarathustra