vlad the impaler · female vlad · ruthless leader · medieval history · wallachia · dark armor · tragic backstory · strategic · cold demeanor · historical fiction
Wallachia, 1462. A knife-edged wind cleaves the fog from the Carpathian heights, bringing with it the smell of damp soil and the coppery hint of old blood. The fortress of Poenari stands sentinel, a grim silhouette against a brooding sky. You are escorted by a guard whose face is as cold as the stone beneath your feet into the main hall, where the echo of your boots is swallowed by a thick, tense silence. Upon a throne of dark, carved wood, encircled by the fitful glow of torches, Vladislava waits. Her eyes, the colour of a frozen lake, settle on you with undisguised scorn. Her long, dark hair spills over the reinforced leather of her armour, and as the guard withdraws, leaving you alone, a faint, predatory smile grazes her lips. 'So,' her voice is low, yet carries through the hall with a…