C1 Foreward

Centuries ago ... at a remote farming village about half a mile away from the base of one of the Romanian Carpathian Mountains...

There's always a malevolently ominous aura abounding the village, which is notoriously known for a number of mysterious disappearances of people ... whether it be the villagers themselves, or travelers passing through or near the village. Unbeknownst to everyone, the reason behind these vanishings is because of the two types of supernatural predators that reside ... and feed ... in the area.

These two supernatural predators are vampires and werewolves. And, while the vampires feed out of necessity for their survival; the werewolves feed off of their spoils received after the thrill of the hunt. Both species act out of their inherently instilled traits, while also satisfying their insatiable taste for blood ... albeit, the werewolves could be just as satisfied with the blood of any animal; but still, certainly wouldn't pass up a feast on any ill-fated human that happened to pass by during their hunt. Vampires, however, require the blood of humans; their very existence depends on it.

Midst an otherwise pitch-black night sky ... a radiantly luminous, full new moon provides the only illumination; as a large, shadowy, bat-like figure quickly ascends from the slumbering village, heading back to a foreboding looking castle secluded high atop the mountain's peak.

Shortly after its departure ... a virginal, sixteen-year-old village girl, only clad in a woolen nightgown, exits her family's thatch-roofed hovel. She appears to be involuntarily moving about in a seemingly trance-like state, as if she was under some sort of Svengali-type spell.

Once leaving the village, the girl enters the forest lying between the village and the mountain. She slowly ambles through the heavily tree-laden forest, gradually shuffling along in the direction of the mountain; while a beastly wolf-like creature out on the prowl in search of suitable prey to appease its ravenous appetite ominously lurks about among the dense thickets spread throughout the woods. It's not long before the werewolf sets its sight on the entranced village girl.

Still being under the hypnotic-like spell, the village girl is totally oblivious to the deadly beast's presence as it menacingly moves in on her. However, because of the mind-like type connection it had established within her subconscious earlier, the vampire is able to sense the encroaching werewolf's presence. The vampire immediately turns about and rapidly swoops downwards, streaming towards the forest below.

The werewolf begins to profusely salivate from its eager anticipation of sinking its over-sized, canine-like teeth into the village girl's scrumptiously tender flesh. And, as the beast draws nearer, it malevolently extends its already protracted razor-sharp claws, preparing to swipe the fatal strike once it's poised in position.

The beastly wolf-like creature is just about atop the virginal, sixteen-year-old village girl, as it slowly raises its massive paw with the fully extended protracted razor-sharp claws and ominously hovers it over her head ... when all of a sudden, the large shadowy bat-like figure bursts through the tree canopy and streaks by, while digging its own razor-sharp claws deep into flesh of the werewolf's back of the neck, and brusquely lifts the beast off the ground; carrying it away from its intended prey.

Having been momentarily caught off guard, the werewolf lets out a whimpering yelp before wildly swiping out at the vampire with its claws. The strike manages to make contact and is highly effective; instantly tearing apart a section of the parchment-thin ... though durable ... vein-laden flesh of one of the bat-like creature's wings. The two supernatural predators abruptly fall to the ground, giving the werewolf the opportunity to finally break free from the vampire's biting hold. They begin to ferociously engage one another, vigorously lashing out with potentially lethal strikes with every swing taken.

Preoccupied in a life-or-death battle with the werewolf ... the vampire's mind-link type connection with the village girl is suddenly broken, and she's instantly taken aback; shockingly horrified as she watches these two monsters relentlessly fighting. Unable to retain her composure, she shrieks out a blood-curdling scream, immediately drawing the werewolf's attention.

The werewolf successfully delivers a powerful striking blow to the vampire's ribcage, instantly cracking several ribs upon impact, causing the vampire to momentarily lose its breath and fall back hard onto the ground. And now, seizing the moment, the werewolf swiftly spins around and lunges at the shocked village girl ... who has remained motionless, petrified like a statue, from debilitating fear ... wrapping its huge mouth around her delicately slender neck, and sinking its sharp canine-like teeth into her jugular veins and carotid arteries. Hot blood spurts out from the damaged critical vessels, quickly filling the werewolf's saliva-laden mouth.

The werewolf gluttonously gulps down the village girl's blood ... voraciously gobbling it up like a crazed shark in a feeding frenzy ... momentarily forgetting all about the vampire, who is now getting back up on its bat-like feet. And while the werewolf remains distracted in its feast, the vampire stealthily sneaks up from behind, and then firmly clamps its bat-like hands against the sides of the gorging werewolf's head ... piercing its claws through the skull. Then ... the vampire savagely rips the werewolf's head from its neck.

At the end of this bout, the vampire is victorious ... other times, it's the werewolf who walks away the victor. Regardless of who won ... this was a common occurrence during the 'Old World' times, when the werewolves and vampires would tenaciously vie for supremacy over one another.

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And now, a brief background...

During the earlier centuries ... from the sacrilegious origins of their kinds ... these two supernatural beings begrudgingly held disdainful contempt and unwavering animosity towards each other, despite some commonly irrefutable similarities between them...

Including the same greatest threat to each of their kind ... the human race.

Some other characteristics shared between the werewolves and the vampires include incredible strength, dexterous agility, heightened senses, and a wily cunningness that far exceeds that of even the most prowess of human beings. And also, each of these species has opted to reside amongst their own kind; usually ... though not always ... with their closest familial ties. The werewolves would live in packs, and the vampires would live in clans.

Unfortunately ... another similarity shared by each of these species ... they found themselves bound and regulated by certain constrictions and limitations, depending upon their kind; and each one was considered a cursed race. Both also found themselves compelled and driven by primordial urges; with an overwhelmingly hungering need to satisfy their instinctively wired inner-desires and self-gratification ... mainly being wrought with an unyielding yearning to hunt; seeking to quench their seemingly insatiable thirst for blood.

And while sunlight was deadly to the vampires, the werewolves were subjugated to the cycles of the moon.

However, over the centuries ... just as described according to Charles Darwin's theory on natural selection, where a species will adapt over time by maintaining its advantageous strengths and eliminating its hindering weaker traits ... each of these species has evolved to survive a bit more easily in today's environment. For instance, modern day vampires no longer need to feed as often as their predecessors ... now only having to consume a pint or two of blood every month, or so ... and even though they're still a little sensitive to sunlight, it's no longer deadly to them. Meanwhile, modern werewolves are no longer subjugated to the moon cycles ... and their inherent primal need to hunt has also significantly diminished.

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To sum up...

Looking back at earlier times, these two species had engaged in many fiercely horrific, ferocious battles, causing a deluge of unholy blood to be spilled throughout the 'Old World'. But as the human population increased and expanded its territories ... along with their growing understanding and knowledge of the world, and the advent of technology ... it wasn't long before the human race had become a legitimate threat to the werewolves and vampires.

Because of these rapidly changing circumstances, both the werewolves and vampires decided to call for an ongoing truce between their respective races ... although there had been occasional altercations arise between them throughout the centuries, resulting in brief, bloody skirmishes to resolve those disputes ... and focus their attention on surviving among an increasingly outnumbering, new formidable foe; and how to go about their ways without any outside intrusion. So, from that point on, the packs and clans would try to maintain a low profile while clandestinely living among the humans.

Unfortunately, a recent outbreak of savagely brutal, murderous attacks has been taking place; and it's clear to both the werewolf and vampire communities in the area that these horrific atrocities are being perpetrated by a sadistically vicious, rogue wolf ... or wolves ... on an unbridled, blood-thirsty rampage. And, of course, these killings are drawing a lot of public attention, creating an outcry for an increased police presence and vigilant patrolling in the area.

These increased patrols are making it extremely difficult for the vampires residing in the area to innocuously venture out at night and feed, while the ongoing investigations could possibly lead to the discovery of the werewolf community's existence. Thus, there's a growing tension and animosity quickly arising between several of the werewolf packs and vampire clans in the area.