Vlad was covered in sweat, and he cried out in his sleep.  Beyond his window the monastery was silent.  The visions were coming more frequently now, and unconsciously it terrified him, for he knew that the acceleration of his dreams could only lead to some momentous and terrible event.

On this night, not one but two visions disturbed him.

In the first, he found himself stumbling down a dark tunnel.  The only light came from phosphorescent algae floating in the numerous puddles and pools that marked the rough stone floor.  Vlad stumbled forward, disoriented and unsure of his purpose, only somehow sure of the need to press on. 

He heard something, at first faintly, and then more distinctly – a howling like the mewling of a cat or a small baby.  It was pathetic in...

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