Lancer Of Black

Lancer Of Black's History

Vlad III is the Lord Impaler (串刺し公, Kushizashi Kō?) (1431-1476), the greatest hero of Wallachia, whose feats in war caused him to be known fearsomely as the "Impaling Prince" to the Turks. Due to the legends associated with him, another name has been spread across the world, The Little Dragon, better known as the vampire Count Dracula. While the nation was small, he was a hero who ascended to the throne and managed to turn back the numerous invasions of the Ottoman Empire that had trampled over every other country. Though the model for Dracula, he was not a vampire, but a man of devotion and great hero.[4]

Vlad's homeland, the Principality of Wallachia, was a small country stuck between the large nations of Turkey and Hungary. He led a tragic life, during which his father, Vlad II Dracul, was murdered and his older brother Mircea was buried alive, both by rebellious boyars, and Vlad himself went to war against his younger brother, Radu the Handsome. He was motivated by a love of his nation and a duty to maintain its sovereignty and power, so he purged all who would oppose its interests. Though he had a very clear sense of justice, he was brutal in his methods, having executed about one fifth of the population of his country through his life.

Vlad's war against Turkey was a desperate battle including guerrilla warfare and scorched earth tactics. Several times, Vlad left mountains of Turkish enemy soldiers he impaled. Vlad was captured by King Matthias of Hungary in 1462 on grounds that he was a collaborator to the Turks, and was confined for twelve years in prison. His feats accomplished in defense of his country during the time were defiled, and all that was left was a legend passed down of a humiliating, blood-starved fiend. He turned his back on the on the Orthodox Church in 1476 and converted his country to Catholicism; the same year, he died in a battle against the Turkish army with his younger brother Radu. Vlad was 45.[3]