BARTLEY, COUNTESS ELIZABETH

Conjecturally the daughter of Mircea Dracula (the son of Vlad Dracul II and the older brother of Vlad Dracula III AKA Count Dracula) and "neice" of Count Dracula (though this may only be meant in spirit). In 1421 Countess Elizabeth Bartley was found kneeling over the dead body of a townsperson, blood dripping from her exposed fangs. She was tried as a witch, convicted, and sentenced to death. She was, however, accidentally brought back to life in 1917 by a novice sorceror, Drolta Tzuentes, practicing black magic. Bartley then sought to resurrect her uncle, Count Dracula, which she accomplished before falling before John Morris and Eric Lecarde (CastleVania: Bloodlines). Bartley was based off of a Translyvanian noblewoman, Elizabeth Bathory, who lived from 1560 to 1614. This woman often bathed in blood, thinking that it would make her younger. She had many of her own servant girls killed simply to obtain more blood to soak in. For this, she is historically referred to as the "Blood Countess." Could Elizabeth Bathory have really been Elizabeth Bartley, resurrected some 139 years after her death in 1421 and living under a different last name? It seems fairly certain that if Bartley is Dracula’s neice, that she is Mircea Dracula’s daughter. Mircea was the older brother of Dracula who ruled from 1442 to 1443 in Wallachia, and was slain with his father, Vlad Dracul II, in 1447. Though Bartley’s vampire origin is unknown, there may be a connection between Bartley and the snake-headed Medusa of Greek Mythology, whom she turned herself into during her ill-fated confrontation with John and Eric.

DRACULA, COUNT VLAD

( see the "In Search of Dracula" section here ) ( see the "Evolution of Count Dracula" section here ) The noble proprietor of the Demon Castle Dracula, CastleVania. Count Vlad Dracula of Bistritz has remained a constant in every chapter of the saga. Dracula resurrects every 100 years to bring the forces of darkness upon Europe, if he is not revived sooner by outside influences. With his acquired vampire powers and the alchemical knowledge he gained in life, there are few limits to his power. In life (and actual reality) he was Vlad Dracula III (or "Draculea," as is the proper Romanian spelling), the merciless Prince of Wallachia who lived from 1431 to 1476. His penchant for impaling reportedly hundreds of thousands of victims earned him the title of "Vlad Tepes," or "Vlad the Impaler." While typically regarded by historians as a savage barbarian, he remains a Romanian hero today, and still appears on Romanian currency. "Dracula" means "Son of the Dragon," as "Dracul" means Dragon, and the "a" means "the son of." It is henceforth derived from his father’s name, Vlad Dracul II. It is unknown what dark purpose drives him to evil so consistently through the ages, but he possesses a very calculating, intellectual mind, one he uses to his advantage in spite of his equally consistent defeats by the Belmont Clan. It is also unknown just how Vlad Dracula became a vampire, though Francis Ford Coppola’s somewhat recent Bram Stoker’s Dracula movie depicted a grief-stricken Vlad returning from a victorious campaign against the Ottoman Turks in 1462 to find his first wife dead, having committed suicide after thinking her husband killed. When he is told that his wife could not ascend to Heaven as a result of her suicide, he renounced God and swore to rise from his death to avenge hers. It could be conjectured that when Vlad was assassinated fourteen years later on 1476, he did, in fact, rise from his death, then given the virtual immortality that comes with being a vampire. Though not the first vampire, (Transylvanian folklore has vampire legends that predate the fifteenth century) Dracula would become nicknamed the "King of Vampires," as well as the "Prince of Darkness" by others. With the release of Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel in 1897, (a book that is a genuine part of Castlevania history according to Bloodlines) Dracula has long since become a household name all across the world.

GRIM REAPER, THE

(Also known as "Death.") One of Count Dracula’s longest lasting alliances has been with the Grim Reaper himself. For nearly every confrontation with the Belmont Clan since Dracula’s battle with Trevor C. Belmont in 1499, Death has used his ethereal powers against the enemies of the Count. It is not known how Dracula and Death became allies, but there may be a connection between Death and how Dracula became a vampire after dying in 1476 (A deal made in the afterlife? A bargain? A pact? We can only guess). People who have had near death experiences have reported seeing a dark hooded figure, sometimes holding a scythe, standing over their body. He is supposed to be a spiritual guide that leads souls to their place of eternal resting. The Grim Reaper’s origin is shrouded in absolute mystery, though some have said that he is the Archangel Uriel, straight from the pages of the Bible. His name meaning "Fire of God" and being described as "The Angel of Repentance," Uriel was said to be the Archangel that held the keys to the gates of Hell, who was also said to be the one who warned Noah of the impending Great Flood. According to Milton, Uriel was the Archangel with the sharpest eyes. As the "Interpreter of Prophecies," Uriel was usually depicted carrying a book or a papyrus scroll, or possessing a Fiery Sword. If this is true, it could be said Uriel has become a Fallen Angel, or at least a neutral figure who pledges allegiance to neither Heaven or Hell. His only goal and purpose being the harvesting of new souls, Death knows no mercy or compassion.

MEDUSA

A gorgon who, over the centuries (on numerous occasions), came under the employ of Count Dracula. Her roots lying in Greek Mythology, Medusa was once a beautiful maiden living in Greece. When Medusa and her lover committed sacrilege against the Gods by making love on land meant for their worship, her lover was slain and she was cursed for eternity, turning her into a gorgon; a human with snake traits. When men gaze at her they are promptly turned to stone, as was part of her curse. One of the sons of Zeus, Perseus, once beheaded her, but she evidently returned some time later to serve Dracula, who likely resurrected her to assume a place as one of the generals to spearhead his dark legions.

SHAFT

A dark priest and fanatical worshipper of Count Dracula. In 1788, Shaft and his accomplices resurrected Dracula for the first time. After this resurrection, Shaft was confronted by Richter Belmont and defeated (Dracula X: The Circle of Blood). Immediately following this defeat, Shaft gathered his accomplices and resurrected Dracula a second time. Though Dracula was struck down again by Richter, Shaft escaped a second confrontation with the vampire hunter (CastleVania: Dracula X). Dracula was apparently resurrected a third time by Shaft the same year, forcing Richter to do battle with the Count once again. Again, Shaft escaped a second confrontation with Richter. Then, four years later in 1792, Shaft managed to resurrect Dracula a fourth and final time. When Richter then attempted to do battle with Dracula yet again, Shaft overpowered and possessed him. Alucard freed Richter, then confronted and slew Shaft before challenging and defeating his father (CastleVania: Symphony of the Night).

VAMPIRA

A mysterious ally of Dracula that protected the eyeball of Dracula in Laruba Mansion in 1692, when Simon Belmont traveled across Transylvania to locate and gather the body parts of the Count to end his curse (CastleVania II: Simon’s Quest). She appeared again in 1788 to impede Richter Belmont and Maria Renard’s quest, but was struck down a second time (Dracula X: The Circle of Blood). Vampira is an enigma, to say the least. Apparently an animated/enchanted mask of some kind, her origin remains a mystery. Questions are raised: is she one of Dracula’s wives? What is her real name? And perhaps the most curious, why is she crying? There has now, however, been cannotations that Vampira is none other than Countess Mircalla "Carmilla/Millarca" Karnstein, a European noblewoman of the late 1600s. Mircalla was an essentially lesbian vampire who, with her subtle guile, targeted young women from an early age, seduced them, then slowly vampirised them to sate her thirst for blood. Sometime in the eighteenth century a group of disgruntled men, among them a general who had lost his own daughter to Mircalla, retaliated against Mircalla for her near-killing of young Laura, a woman Mircalla had already bewitched. Countess Karnstein was staked, decapitaed, and cremated in the ruins of the once proud Castle Karnstein ("Carmilla" short story by Sheridan Le Fanu). Cannotations that Vampira may, in fact, be Mircalla are also seen in the fact that she once found one of her victims-to-be in a masquerade ball. In this ball she donned a mask (not unlike Vampira’s) that she would remove for no one. Though Simon evidentally encountered Vampira in 1692 and Mircalla lived in the mid-to-late 1600s, it could be conjectured that Mircalla had been living as a vampire in earlier "roles" for longer than the characters in Sheridan Le Fanu’s novel figured.