Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula

Romania.

For years, the Ottoman Turks have occupied my country,

enslaving the Romanian people.

Collaborating with the Turks are traitorous Romanian nobles,

a privileged class of men who seek profit...

...at the expense of their fellow countrymen.

Hungary, fearing further Turk aggression, has raised an army...

...of Romanian patriots to drive the Sultan's forces out.

Our commander, Prince Vlad Dracula,

feared by his enemies,

who know him as "Vlad Tsepesh," Vlad the Impaler,

yet beloved by his own people.

And he has returned to battle the Turks...

...and crush those nobles who support them.

Hurry up!

Vlad Tsepesh is coming!

Hurry up! Vlad Tsepesh is coming!

Hurry up, hurry up!

Hurry up!

Hurry up, god damn it!

You are a traitor to your people.

And a thief.

I...

I didn't...

These are now yours.

No!

No!

No!

No! No!

I've sent you messages. Disregarded them.

Father Stefan, I am fighting a war.

You cannot ignore the Church.

We shall see.

If the Church denounces you,

when you die they will drive a steel spike into your heart...

...as one of the godless.

And neither your son, nor his sons nor his sons,

will ever be accepted as Prince of Romania by the people.

Thus, I recommend a morsel of humility with the Church.

You've never met these men before.

They only know you by reputation, as Vlad Tsepesh, Vlad the Impaler.

You must tell your story honestly and completely,

if you expect absolution from the Orthodox Church.

But I don't expect it!

They know the Pope helped finance this campaign.

I am fighting to free their country from Turk tyranny!

These men ought to thank me,

not question my methods or allegiances!

Prince Vlad Dracula,

having performed many cruel and unspeakable deeds,

is charged with conspiring and colluding with the Papacy in Rome...

...and of abandoning the eternal world of Orthodoxy.

In converting his own faith...

...to join in matrimony a Roman Catholic woman,

he has forsaken the truth and the light...

...and accepted darkness.

My views on the Roman Catholic Church...

...are no secret.

The Pope and the Sultan stink alike.

Vlad Dracula, in the event of your death,

would you want your son to succeed you?

Of course.

Then he will need our protection, not the Pope's.

For without our blessing,

he will never become Prince of Romania,

and your dynasty will end.

We have questions that you will answer.

Where were you born?

My father's house...

...Castle Drakul, in the region of Transylvania.

We are particularly interested in the circumstances...

...of your birth.

I know what you are implying.

You needn't waste your time.

I've heard the folk tales.

Who first told you these stories? Your mother?

Hardly. My mother died of fever when I was two.

And your father?

My father was in charge of my education.

If I was destined to be the Anti-Christ...

...I'm sure he would have mentioned it.

I could do no wrong in my father's eyes.

Good, Vlad.

It was not the same with my brother Radu, however.

Come on, Radu! Come on!

Fight! Be a man!

Come on, Radu! You are not a baby anymore!

Finish him, Vlad. Finish him!

One day, my father gave me his ring...

...that commemorated his induction into the Order of the Dragon.

Wear this always.

It will keep you from harm.

If anything ever happens to me, see King Janos in Hungary.

He is a friend.

Why did your father assume something might happen to him?

The Turkish Sultan was demanding his yearly tribute.

10,000 ducats and 500 young boys.

As Prince of Romania, my father was refusing.

He was leaving for Târgoviste to meet with our country's nobles,

and convince them to unite against the Sultan.

I remember asking...

Is that possible? To unite the nobles?

Many have made separate arrangements with the Sultan.

They profit.

But their people are no better off than slaves.

Greed...

...is a force more powerful than any army.

As long as we are forced to pay tribute,

we will never truly be free.

Vlad, while I'm away,

you must look after Radu.

He is weak, but he is your brother.

Guard and protect him with your life.

I promise, Father.

No!

After what seemed like days of travel,

we finally arrived at the Turkish camp.

For the first time in my life,

I saw the world naked and unbridled.

It terrified me.

Do you know who I am?

The Sultan Mehmed.

Do you know why you are here?

Because our father refused to pay tribute.

Precisely.

When he relents, you may be returned to Romania.

Meanwhile, you have no reason to fear me.

You will be allowed to keep your Jesus.

You will be also taught Islam,

and many other useful things.

The Sultan's immediate interest in Radu...

...was quite obvious.

This one.

You are a very lucky boy.

When history will be written,

I will be placed alongside Alexander,

Caesar, and Hannibal.

No!

I saw less and less of my brother after that.

One night, he came to me in tears.

Father's dead.

Who... Who told you that?

The Sultan.

- He's lying! - No.

Vlad, it's hideous!

What? Radu?

He was murdered.

Buried alive.

I told Radu...

...that if Father was dead,

they would have no reason not to kill us.

But your father had been murdered,

supposedly by Romanian nobles,

because your father Vlad Drakul...

...refused to accept the nobles' compliance with the Sultan.

Yes.

And yet the Sultan...

...let you live.

I... made myself live.

They starved me, they beat me, they tortured me...

They threatened to blind me...

...unless I surrendered myself to the Sultan.

And then one day, as if by miracle,

your suffering ended.

I was given a horse and supplies,

and ordered back to Romania.

But instead,

as my father had instructed me years ago,

I decided to seek help from King Janos of Hungary.

As I left, I made three vows:

to avenge my father's murder,

to unite my country...

...and to liberate Radu from the Sultan.

Tell King Janos that Vlad, son of Drakul, is here to see him.

Give him this.

Your father was a politician to the marrow.

Unfortunately,

he ended up being all things to no people.

Do you know who killed him?

Such is the nature of politics in the Balkans,

one never really knows who one's enemy is.

- Aside from the Turk, that is. - Your Majesty.

Aside from the Turk, your real enemy...

...are the Romanian nobles who aid the Turkish Sultan.

These are the same men who murdered my father.

How can you be so sure?

So sure it was the nobles?

Because had my father fulfilled his mission,

it was them who had everything to lose.

And your mission?

Is it one of a patriot or of a vengeful son?

Both.

You see, he wasn't just murdered, Your Majesty.

They say he was buried alive.

King Janos... help me!

With your support, I can make Romania strong.

Come!

We should not be discussing such matters on an empty stomach.

Oh, young man,

where did you learn your table manners?