Castlevania, a dark, intriuging chapter of horror in the history of
mankind that nary a man has sought out, is blended with amazing technical
displays to portray the vivid horrors that have haunted the dreams of
believers for centuries.  I have been captured, myself, by the rich gameplay
and (sometimes) plot.  This fanfiction will eventually be written, but for
now, it is a storyline.  (and a very workable game design)

Any comments, questions, hate mail, or holes to poke, please address to
"odetored@vgernet.net"  My name is Matthew Emirzian, I'm 16 years old.  I
love literature, and writing is a passion for me, my work is my pride.  I'd
love to work with Konami on a future castlevania project.  Yum. :0)


The timeline is five years after Symphony.

--

	Five years after the defeat of Dracula at the hands of his own son,
Alucard, the dreaded curse of Dracula seems to have ended.

	Richter Belmont, a fearless vampire hunter, continues his search, tracking
down every last vampire and driving the entire league into darkness, wildly
gaining a legendary status among the nations.  The Church, drawn on by the
idea, and in decline, seizes the opportunity and begins crusading, offering
prizes for the slain bodies of ancient, wicked beasts and vampires.  Near
close to millions of warriors, secretly driven by greed for money and power,
rally in the cause.  Many hail the crusade as the beginning of a new
reniassance of peace.

	The undead, weak from the loss of their beloved Dracula, quickly realize
the advantage of the situation.  Here is the Church, providing them with
hoardes of weak souls, heading out in the name of faith while motivated by
greed.  One by one, crusaders began falling to the dark seductions of the
very beasts they were set out to conquer.  

	A quick comeback ensues, as the dead begin to attack villages at night,
abdomations coming out at night to walk the earth, strengenthed by the
forfeit crusaders.  Townspeople are immediately worried.  Is now not a time
for peace?  What brings this upheaval of darkness?  

	The Church, sensing the discontent, quickly denies their involvement, and,
hoping to divert a riot, instead points the finger at an Alucard Tepes, the
bastard son of an unholy mergence of Dracula and a witch.  They blame
Alucard for killing his own father in envy and greed, in order to hold his
demonic position as ruler of all things evil, and for being the source of
this new terror.

	A rich bounty is placed on his head, with the Church hoping to see the
townspeople more content with the Dracula lineage cut completely.

	This never happens, however, and soon the only safe places to hide are in
well guarded towns, whose walls are banded with the howls and screams of the
undead, given new life, draining every tree and root of grass, poisoning the
rivers and streams.

	In the midst of this, Maria Renard, haunted by strange, cryptic dreams and
driven by the passion of her first meeting with Alucard, vainly searches the
lands, hoping once again to find him.  Or, rather, find him before it is too
late.

	But the paths of Maria and Richter would cross yet.  In a tavern, the two
meet and discuss the happenings of the world.  Richter tells Maria that ever
since there have been crusaders scavenging out demons, there have been even
more creatures to take their place.  Not only that, the crusaders are
dissapearing at an alarming rate, and rumors are abound of sightings of
their dead bodies wandering the lands, crackling with supernatural energy.

	Both of them know something has gone terribly wrong, and Maria knows
Alucard can provide assistance in the matter, and maybe even bring console
for her mind, tormented without him.  Richter believes Alucard has buried
himself deep within an underground tomb in the forest where his mother had
given birth to him.  The exact location is unknown, but it would be wise,
Richter advises, if Maria were to look to Alucards' mothers hometown.  After
a drink, the two shake hands and each go their separate ways.  

--

	So the adventure begins, a quest unraveling into the deepest realms of
evil, with the balance of the world caught in a man missing for five years,
a bounty over his head for being half-turned towards the forces of evil by
the greatest harbinger of darkness himself.

	Will Maria, now 23, be able to find Alucard, and, then, will he agree to
aid her in a long, perilious journey to eradicate the cursed once and for
all, across the nations and great seas?  Is Vlad alive once more?  Where has
Richter Belmont gone?

The Castlevania saga continues, across a plane as vast as the eye can hold...


Matthew Emirzian