Edgy Mama

Scroll down for Parts One and Two. Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion of Genesis on All Hallow’s Eve.

My dear Anna, I know this story sounds like one of the fairy tales we grew up hearing—the stories that our parents would tell us in subdued voices to frighten us into going to bed or to keep us from wandering into the woods alone. But when Father told me this story, there was none of the poorly concealed humor that lay beneath the tales he told us in our childhood. He believed.

So, begging your tired eyes to read on, I will continue the story of evil Vlad and his consort. The unnatural couple lived for many years in the Segru family cave, and no one who knew of them would venture near. Those animals and humans unfortunate enough to stray into the vicinity of the infamous cave were pounced upon, murdered, and consumed. Father said that, to this day, none of the village people of Tirgue will go near the area that once sustained Vlad and the she-wolf. This explains why we were shunned and ousted from our home after Father died. We no longer had a protector from the superstitious and uneducated peasants.

The next part of the story is even stranger and more wondrous. After many years, Vlad and the she-wolf, probably through black magic, managed to produce twin babies. Supposedly, these creatures had the ability to take the shape of either their mother or their father at will. I know our Darwinist friends would dispute this possibility, but they do not know as much about the world as they think. These unfortunate creatures could be either wolf or human, depending on their whim. Vlad was delighted with the couple’s success at creating such hybrids, and he and the she-wolf trained the two males in the strengths of both species–and in the unnatural ways of their parents.

The twins, as siblings often do, had quite different personalities. One child was as evil as his parents and delighted in death and mayhem. His name was Adrian. The other was born with a conscience, a conscience that made him question his way of life and the abnormality of his own existence. This child’s name was Lucian. As the boy grew into a man, Lucian became more and more interested in the world beyond the fetid Segru home and wanted to venture out into it. His father warned him that if people discovered his identity or his shape-shifting abilities, Lucian would be hunted down and killed. However, the young man decided to take that chance, and he left his family to explore the world. His true nature was not discovered for many years. He changed into a wolf only when necessary for his survival. He stopped eating human flesh and tried to integrate himself into the society of men.

One day Lucian happened upon a tribe of gypsies. Somehow, they recognized him as a Segru and knew what he was. The gypsies captured Lucian and took him to their king. This gypsy king was a great magician and fortune-teller whose ability to see the future was renowned throughout the eastern world. When confronted with the spawn of Vlad and the she-wolf, the king offered Lucian a choice. If he would give up his ability to change into a wolf and do everything in his power to rid the world of his evil parents and brother, the king would let him live. If not, Lucian would be sacrificed.

As Lucian already had decided to give up his monstrous ability, he easily agreed to that part of the king’s decree. In fact, if he had wanted to, he could have changed into a wolf an any time to escape the gypsies who imprisoned him. Yet, despite his knowledge that his parents and brother were inherently evil, he did not wish them death. Lucian spent many hours discussing the morality of killing his family with the king. Eventually, he agreed that the world was best rid of the unnatural Segrus.

The gypsy king then crafted a magical medallion for Lucian to wear. This medallion would help him control any bestial tendencies he might retain. It also would protect him from his parents, brother and any other potential descendants of Vlad—who might seek to destroy him just as Vlad and the she-wolf had extinguished their closest kin. Lucian promised to pass the medallion to his oldest child before he died and to tell that child to pass the medallion down through future generations, even if Lucian succeeded in killing Vlad, the she-wolf, and his brother, Adrian.