# The [[Tome of Strahd]], Memoir of the Vampyr This book, of which we have seen snippets, is the diary of the vampire [[Strahd von Zarovich]]. It is written in an antiquated (foreign?) language, which makes it difficult to read. ## Chapter 1 12th Fivral, year 22 of Barovia. I am Strahd. I am a man, for today I will ride into battle with my Father. Had I been born thirty years ago, I would have been the son of a chieftain of superstitious mountain men, the Zarovan tribe. But seventeen years ago, my father was already King Barov the Great. He descended into the valley with his followers, armed with sword and with truth, for he had embraced the Light of the [[Morninglord (Temple)|Morninglord]]. He tamed the wild men of the valley and built the [[Barovia (Village)|village we know as Barovia]]. Father brought the Light to the savage peoples of the [[Balinok Valley]] and the [[Svalich Woods]], he erected walls and castles, yes, but also schools, roads, markets, mills and churches. He turned this sorrowful land into a place of safety, of letters, of faith. Father Bogdan speaks of the time when infidels and lost souls roamed aimlessly under the false guidance of the unseelie gods introduced by the Dusk Elves. Father brought together the townships through glorious conquest. Time has passed. Seventeen years. Barov the Conqueror has united the eastern valley under his benevolent rule. The west is reluctant but in time they’ll come to the Light, for Father is invincible. In time, truth triumphs. [[Brother Ezra]] talks about time very often, he says Light is eternal but time is its unfolding. Now is the time for violence, for the silent and swift truth of the sword, but once Father passes on to the Halls of Radiance, there will come the time for wise rule and conciliation. That will be my time. But now, I am a princeling, and the reason why I haven’t yet been taken to the battlefield is because I have been learning the Ways of the Light first. The sword is useless without a truth to hold it steady, an arrow wanders without the light to guide its course, the bravest horse veers off path if it doesn’t have a rider who knows where to take it. The light will ride me and overtake me, I have been paying attention, I will be the harbinger of Light once my Father has banished the Darkness. Brother Ezra and Doctor Pavel have taught me well. They represent the two truths of the Morninglord, just like a Terg’s saber has two sides. The truth of faith, Brother Ezra has instilled in me, the truth of things unseen yet undoubtable, conviction and strength that can’t be argued with, like the sharp blade. Doctor Pavel is like the backside: the truths of reason are blunt but solid, they require discipline and creativity, but they allow maneuvers. His inventions and discoveries have been instrumental in my Father’s conquests as they shall be in the building of my Kingdom. My Mother, the [[Queen Ekaterina van Roeyen]], is proud of my advances and says I remind her more of her noble line of *boyars* and *starostas* than Father’s dubious ancestry of warlords and shamans. That nobility kept the County of [[Berez]] as an enclave of civilization in the middle of the valley for a century. They have relied not on their skills with arms but on timeless patience and a highborn confidence of character. And they came to the Light quickly and peacefully once they had witnessed Father’s immense power, proof of his chosen fate. Mother’s family was the first to join Father’s cause and their marriage sealed the new alliance. Their ancestral rival, the Barony of Vallaki, was harder to subdue. They were strong and resilient, and had dominated the central valley for two centuries. It is a shame they worshipped heathen deities, and it is fortunate my Father was skilled enough to defeat them but gracious enough to spare their lives and preserve their immemorial privileges. A Vallakovich boy is Father’s page, he gets to ride alongside him even as I, blood of his blood, spend my nights reciting prayers and writing formulae under enclosed tutelage. Today, that changes. Liev and Yaakov are travelling with me to Father’s war camp near [[Tsolenka]]. The [[Dilisnya]] brothers are a joy to ride with, the voyage itself will be an adventure, and we get to tour Father’s domains. Other than the occasional visit to Mother’s family in [[Berez]] and a ritual I once attended in [[Dunovia Hill]], I have rarely left [[Barovia (the Land of)|Barovia]]. I wish we could go alone, sneak amongst the trees, disguise ourselves as villagers and know their lives, as the princes do in the tales. But [[Brother Ezra]] is coming with us to oversee. He’s juvenile and charming enough, I hold him very dear, but he is still our senior and a delegate of Court. I am supposed to be above my courtiers, not subject to them. In any case, I look forward to the Battle of Tsolenka. We ride at dawn, under the Lord’s Light.