PACT OF BLOOD
You fought long and hard to conquer Barovia. Many of your men died in order for you to unseat the Lord of Castle Ravenloft and take his place. After the tumultuous, wandering years of your youth, all the violence, all the warring, you finally had a home. A home you had earned through military prowess and cunning. You called your family to you and they came. The Land of Barovia was yours.
But then you met the girl. The infernal, damnable, cursed village woman. Tatyana. The most beautiful creature you had ever seen. After she rejected your advances you thought your heart would burst from the agony of denial. And then to add insult to injury your spiteful brother, Sergei, swept her off her feet. After everything you had done for him! Finding him a haven from his exile and providing for him! Their relationship blossomed as you watched them from the shadows.
And now it has come to this. You, the Lord of Barovia, unwelcome in your own beloved Castle. Whilst the treacherous couple are to be wed this very day. Alone, you pace the long grass under the green canopy of trees, over-shadowed by the towering fortress that suddenly seems so uninviting. Your blood boils at the impudence of their deceit. Your own brother stealing the only woman you have ever truly loved! An image of his twisted face fills your vision, and you watch as he embraces her, he looks at you over her shoulder sneering with pure malevolence.
The sun burns low and red. A growing black mist infuses the darkening landscape around you as the time of their wedding ceremony approaches. Through the pain and anger and tears, clarity suddenly falls upon you and soothes your mind. Exercising years of intense warrior training you channel your growing rage and approach the entrance to the crypts of Castle Ravenloft. You know what must be done. You must stop this outrage from taking place!
