Vlad Dracula Tepes (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
no_innocents) wrote2023-02-24 05:23 pm
no_innocents) wrote2023-02-24 05:23 pm
Letters from the Lost
The following letters and effects were left by Dracula in care of the counseling office in the event of his disappearance.
Please note: if he was working on a project for you, he has either completed it or left exhaustive notes of his progress as you wish to play it out. I'm fine with this decision being entirely in your hands.
Now, onto the letters...
Please note: if he was working on a project for you, he has either completed it or left exhaustive notes of his progress as you wish to play it out. I'm fine with this decision being entirely in your hands.
Now, onto the letters...
Initial letter to Hunter
While there are many matters this letter will address, I wish first and foremost to address the most obvious of concerns.
The first is that I have not left of my own volition. Let no one mistake that I meant to keep my word to remain and serve aboard the ship, and were it in my power, I would return. In short: I would not leave you willingly and I hope you will never believe so.
The second is that my promise remains true: I have spoken to Iris, whom you no doubt know, and ensured that should you require assistance in the lands of your upbringing, I will be brought to assist you. You need only make her aware. She can transport me anywhere but the Barge itself, from what she has told me, so you have my help regardless of my status as a warden.
The third is that your home is here, in my world, with my other son and a mother I long to introduce you to as soon as you may visit or choose to come here. I have told my Lisa of you in my time away and she is eager to greet her new son. I will not tell you what she has already made for you as a gift, but suffice to say, your welcome is assured.
Now that all of that is handled, I can say what I wish, which is that we are bound in more than blood. In my heart, you are mine, ours, regardless of where you were raised or how you came to be. I love you dearly, my boy, my child, and I would see your heart and mind grow, watch you prosper as I know you will.
But I know the reality is that we may part. And thus, I have made arrangements.
I will miss you, Hunter. I will miss you dearly, as dearly as we both missed Adrian when he departed, but your home will be prepared for when you are ready to come join me. Remember this.
Until I see you again,
Your father
[ Wrapped up with this letter is a book of spells, transcribed in his own hands, in a book bound by his own hand, specifically for hunter. There is space at the end for more spells, as well as for the inscription of glyphs and the paper is specially treated to ensure that they will not activate. There is also a bundle of other letters, all labeled with various eventualities. ]
In the Event That You Get a Permanent Pairing
So much of our struggles come from our own pain, our own regrets, our own heartbreak and the desire to change the future to avenge the past. There is no inmate who cannot be helped, no one who cannot find their way out of the darkness. Use your own journey to help them on their own. There is more wisdom found on that path than any who have not been an inmate may ever know.
Do not be anxious or scared that you will not do a good job: you were chosen for the position because you are suited to them, because you will help them how they need to be helped and give them what they need to grow in the right direction. Know I have the utmost faith in you.
All my love,
In the Event That Trevor and/or Sypha Disappears Similarly
I'm sure that this has been very upsetting, and frankly, I'm more than a little annoyed with the Admiral for this, regardless of how useful or useless that might be.
Do not lose heart: no doubt they are here and I will make sure that they are safe and sound for when you join us. I wish it were not the case, as I know I would feel far more secure knowing him to be there for you, but I have the utmost faith in you, my boy. You will be all right. You are strong and smart and brave. And you can always come to visit.
I love you, child. Be well and do not worry.
In The Event That You Graduate Your Inmate
Know that I wish I had been there to see the day myself but I am writing this letter knowing that said day will come. Whatever you have asked for, I hope it is all you could have hoped for and more. More importantly, I hope I will see you son.
Your brother and I are eager to see you again.
All my joy,
In the Event That Belos Arrives on Board as an Inmate
There is nothing I can say that could adequately describe how very much I hope that this never happens, because there is nothing about that man which deserves any more pain, heartache, or energy be spent on him by you. And yet, I know it to be possible; while he is... terrible, I have no doubt there are those who would have said the same of me, have said it, who would be horrified to know both that I was offered redemption and, in the eyes of the Admiral, earned it.
My advice to you is this: care for yourself. Do not expose yourself to him if you do not want to. Do not talk to him if you do not wish to. You owe him nothing, not even your forgiveness, even if he should reach graduation. His redemption speaks of his intentions moving forward, but leaves no onus on you. Nor does his presence require that you be involved in his process; he owes you, not the other way around. And unfortunately, it is a debt that he can never properly repay and it is not worth the energy you might spend to try and extract it from him, even if this makes your heart burn.
Know you are loved. Know you have a father who loves you and a mother who will love you as soon as she meets you. Know you have a brother who loves you. Know you hvae a home. Whatever he might throw at you, it is the angry ramblings of a demented fool too blind to see your value and not at all worth acknowledging, let alone believing.
Whatever he made you, you have made yourself so much more. Know that and hold it close.
Until I see you, all my love,
In the Event You Begin to Doubt Your Place With Me
I am no stranger to the effect that time may have, the doubts that it may introduce. See how I am writing this letter, well before anything has happened, well before I have even been unceremoniously asked to leave this place; well do I know how easy it is to question yourself, love that was expressed, the care that was shown when so much of your heart has been made to doubt at various points.
Then please let this letter reassure you, as best I can with the written word, that you are loved and wanted and cherished, even in your absence. That we await your arrival and hope every morning that you will be there. I write this from the Barge and yet I know it to be true, I know it as well as I know my own name.
Carry my name with honor and pride. Know you are loved and that your warmth and courage and strength is seen by those you would call family even in your absence.
Come home when you can,
To Trevor
The fucking Necromancer had his way, it seems. Don't get too worked up about it; it's not as if you can't come back and harass me there. Look out for Hunter. Look out for those there. Look out for yourself, for fuck's sake.
I'll be repairing the castle and getting things ready for when Sypha, Hunter, and yourself make your way back here. After that, well... I have a Belmont clan to play nightfather to.
Keep up with your studies. Don't drink too much. And just because I'll fix it when I see you, don't be cavalier about your teeth or your limbs. Also don't overuse that coin.
Be well, Trevor.
PS If you could try and make sure Anita gets the fuck out of here, I would be much obliged.
To Anita
If you are reading this, then the Admiral has sent me home before I have helped you to graduate from this place, much to my great consternation. Know that I would not leave if it were in my power to remain, but also know that I have the utmost faith in you to accomplish this task, especially as you have made such great strides of late.
Once you may leave, know you are always welcome to visit me in this world, in this place. I would happily introduce you to my wife, as I have the feeling the two of you would get along quite well, and given that Trevor will eventually drunkenly toddle his way back, I'm sure he would be happy to see you as well.
I know you to be a good woman, a kind woman, and that your mind is as sharp as any dagger. But I will beg you, as your friend, and now, apparently, no longer your warden, to be kind to yourself. To be careful whose words you listen to, whose anger you take into yourself, who you let be in control of how you see yourself and others. And, I hope, to remember that even a vampire such as myself has within them the capacity for better things than slaughter and harm.
Continue your studies. Seek those who can teach or who will help you grow. I beg of you not to harden your heart at my absence, not to turn to anger. It will not help you and I would hate that my last act be one that made your journey harder.
Know that you are loved, and wanted, and that should you choose to avoid your home after you are done, you are welcome in my world, with us, for as long as you may wish to stay. You are, after all, my dear and beloved friend. Never doubt that.
[ Attached is a hand-transcribed, hand-bound book with lessons on necromancy.]
To Crozier
Well, it seems I've been kicked off the boat. I'm sorry, then, that we did not have more time to enjoy one another's company. As I've told others: please know you are always welcome to visit.
I would be very glad to see you and to introduce you to my wife. Lisa would no doubt adore you.
My only parting words are these: you are a better man than you know. Your imperfections do not change that fact.
Your friend,
To Pagan
Well, this is some fucking bullshit, isn't it?
Suffice to say, I will miss our talks. Drink some wine for me and come visit when you have the chance. I realize Miss Quigley won't give you one for a while, but thankfully, I can wait.
Be well,
To Tiffany,
To Tiffany,
I should hope that the Admiral has not tossed both of us out, especially as you are an asset to the ship that cannot and should not be so callously discarded.
To you, I will say this: I am not an easy man to deal with, nor an easy man to coexist with in a limited space and I have ever found your presence and your input invaluable and even rather enjoyable. You are smarter, braver, and kinder than I think you realize.
I wish you all the best wherever you should end up.
Sincerely,
To Azul,
I have no doubt that you will be dismayed at my disappearance, even though I know our association to be more professional than anything. And yet, I would extend to you as I have to some others that you would be welcome to my world and in my home should you choose to go there to visit or otherwise.
You are both good boys. I'm sure my wife would love to meet you.
Truly,
To Iris
Visit. Anything I would say is better addressed in person. Especially as you must meet Lisa.
Know you are welcome always and if you could keep an eye on my two boys while you are there, I would much appreciate it.
Sincerely,
To Petronilla,
Good luck,
To Zack
There is, of course, a fondness one must have for the person who helped them find the way, for the one who guided them to their freedom and out of the darkness that they were very much lost in. While some might point to our short tenure as proof that you had little work to do, it was the heaviest of lifting on your shoulders and a job I can never adequately thank you for.
You are a good man, a kind man, a strong man, and a thoughtful man, and all of these traits are important and noteworthy. I was exceptionally lucky to have had you as my warden and all others who have had you as their warden afterwards have no doubt felt just as fortunate.
If I am gone, it was not by my choice. But it means that I am at home and doing as I promised to you: making change for the positive, seeking to be of use to my world instead of dragging it down with blood and death. Please know you are ever welcome to visit, to meet my Lisa, to see my fortress and that you and any you would care for (I recall your mention of a special young lady?) have a place here for as long as you would like.
Your warm and helpful presence will be missed, but alas, such times are not always those that last.
Best of luck in all things, not that you need it,
To Ye Zun
While our time together has always been somewhat whimsical and focused on our studies and work, I have ever found your presence enjoyable. I wish you, and your brother, all the best.
Especially given how fucking stubborn he can be.
May you both find your freedom and what you need from the Barge before you are made to leave like myself. Should you have the means, you would be welcome to visit, with your entourage or no.
All the best,