Birth Of The Vampire: The Story

Unjustly imprisoned, Prince Dracula makes a pact with the Devil to bring him a certain woman in exchange for power, but instead falls in love with her and has to choose between his feelings and the oath that sealed his fate.

In the summer of 1462 Prince Dracula, the ruler of Wallachia, fights bravely against the Turks, but he is defeated and looses his throne. His ally, the King of Hungary, places him under arrest instead of helping him and accuses him of treason.

Twelve years later: Prince Dracula is still imprisoned. He feels abandoned by God and burns the icons. Suddenly, a mysterious visitor appears. It is the Devil, who proposes a deal to Prince Dracula: the Devil is in love with a certain Anna, but it is impossible for him to approach her, as she dwells in a holly place. Prince Dracula however, could bring her to him and, in exchange, the Devil would liberate him and return him to his throne. Prince Dracula agrees and seals the pact with his soul. Now, the Devil reveals a detail about Anna that he had purposely omitted: Anna is a church, as she is built into its foundation. Prince Dracula is perplexed and enraged, but the Devil warns him to keep his part of the deal. Shortly after the Devil disappears, Prince Dracula is released.

Back in his country, Prince Dracula visits the church and tells Anna that his Lord wishes to turn her back into a woman. He tries to persuade her to come out of the church wall. Mistakenly, Anna believes that he is a messenger sent by the Lord, the Almighty. She requests more time.

Meanwhile, Prince Dracula becomes more and more intrigued and strangely attracted to Anna. During the evening of Prince Dracula’s third visit, and based on the wrong assumption that he is God’s messengers, Anna exits the wall of the church. She is breathtakingly beautiful. Upon seeing her, Prince Dracula falls in love.

As they walk down the hill towards a nearby lake, Anna recounts her story.

Once she was happily married to Manole, a famous mason. Manole was ordered to build "the most beautiful church". He found a stunning spot, called the “Devil’s Hill”. However, the place was cursed and what they built during the day, the Devil destroyed at night. Manole prayed to God for a solution and received an answer. God warned Manole that there would be a steep price to pay for his dream: only a human sacrifice could break the curse. Manole was undaunted and asked his craftsmen to take a solemn vow: to immure in the foundation the first human being that would enter the building site before sunset. Intently, they waited. Then they saw Anna, who rushed with food to her beloved husband, only to be built alive into the wall of the church.

As Anna finishes her story, she and Prince Dracula have reached the bottom of the hill. Ashamed of his deceit, Prince Dracula attempts to clear the misunderstanding, but it is too late: The Devil appears in front of them. He ardently declares his love. Anna is horrified and rejects him angrily.

Prince Dracula decides to take the honorable route. He defies the Devil, severs their pact and departs with Anna. On the way back to the church, he declares his love to Anna, yet she chooses her fate: to return into the church that would otherwise collapse.

That night Prince Dracula walks sleeplessly through his palace. In the armory hall, he sees… Anna. He approaches her eagerly, only to discover that it’s an illusion, fabricated by the Devil’s witches, who curse him to become the First Vampire, DRACULA.