The Journal of Alucard Reiger II

..there comes a time in the life of each person, a time that impacts them absolutely and defines their reality for them. After that moment has come and gone, you have no choice but to measure each and every moment of you life as “before that moment” or “after that moment”. For some people this moment comes early in life, for others when they are very old. But each person, man or woman, rich or poor has a moment like this, and it changes their lives forever…

…like everyone else I had this moment. But my moment did not come at the end of a maiden’s soft embrace, or even in the midst of a great battle. My moment came as I sat alone in the chapel of my castle and gazes out towards a raging waterfall. It was my destiny to become the beacon of light for the world. I was to be a paladin, true of heart and spirit, loyal and chosen by the totems to lead the forces of good against this land of utter darkness. But in a single moment of passion, one failed check of temperance, my grace was lost to me and I fell harshly into darkness. In that defining moment of my life, when the totems themselves turned their back on me, is the moment by which I measure my before and after. For some the moment is a joyous thing, for me, the pain goes beyond description…

…before…

…my childhood was as much to blame for my life up until now as anything I suppose. I was born Alucard Reiger II, son of Jahron Reiger and Kylara Reiger, Baron and Baroness of Karathos respectively. Since my birth came during times of war, my mother and father thought it best to send me off to live with my grandfather. I suppose now when I look back, I understand, but then, growing up alone; how I hated them. Due to my displacement, I was more independent than the average noble heir. I would sneak off often and train alone in the woods; I would hone my senses and my body. I would prove I needed no one, just as no one needed me…

…my grandfather was a tough man, emotions were a weakness to him and this is a trait he instilled in me. On my twelfth birthday, I would have my fill of his “teachings” and run off to explore the world. I would grow into a man at the tip of a sword and over the bodies of hundreds of monsters. During my adolescence my father would hear word of my arrival in Stonegate city and send soldiers to bring me home. The remainder of my training occurred while home with my family in Castle Karathos. Much like my father I as withdrawn and kept to myself. I worked day and night to perfect my body, to create a machine of destruction that none could ever hurt me again the way they did. Then he died…

…I was a young Baron. I knew nothing of socializing, nothing of responsibility, save to myself, and here I had an entire Barony of people, thousands of people, looking to me for answer and support. I wanted to give up, to vanish into the distance, but instead I turned to find solace in the heron, in the tiger, and in my mother of all people. With my body perfected, I chose to temper my spirit and locked myself away for two months alone and in the dark, without food or water, in solemn meditation. It would be in the end of the training, when I thought I would not make it that I found enlightenment, and my grace…

…things progressed smoothly. I felt the love of the totems flowing through me and sought to spread such cheer throughout the land. No one was without possibility and even enemies I met with open cheer and respect. That is until my mother lay bleeding on the floor, victim of a ganged assault – my moment came…

…during…

…I could not control myself. Nothing of grace or temperance was with me. I saw red, the red of my mother’s broken body. The totems themselves fled from my wrath and without logic I threw myself at my enemy. Anything that was good and pure in me vanished. My spirit died, or perhaps was lost, and that love of the totems, that warmth was gone as well. I stood there watching my enemies and felt so alone…

…after…

…for the longest I was broken. I spent days upon days in the chapel just praying, hoping for a single sign from the totems. Hoping I could somehow regain what was lost. I had never felt so empty. My family would comfort me; they tried to reach me but nothing. I was lost to them, to myself, to the entire world. I hated the entire world for I loved it so and I was alone. It would be a little girl, of all people, that would speak to me and return me to the righteous path I had longed to tread once more. Quite simply she looked into my eyes and asked me, “Do you think you are the only man to ever falter?” So simple was her question, so without judgment or morality that I immediately stood and smiled…

…I began my training anew, for nothing I had done before mattered anymore. I kept to the simple life I knew when I ran from home, living off the land, simply and without societal poison. I found kinship with the wild and it nurtured me, invigorated me perhaps. Though I would never walk as the champion of the totems, I was still the Baron of Karathos, I was still Alucard Reiger II, and I would still serve as the beacon of justice for this land. The road was difficult, but with perseverance and the assistance of good friends, I overcame that pain of that moment, and again rose to the pinnacle of my training…

…I will never be the champion of the heron leading the forces of good into the bosom of the darkened world. But I will forever be the champion of Justice, leading the forces of Karathos into the bosom of those that would injure the weak and the sick, dispatching them with extreme prejudice and malice…

…I will forever be my father’s son.