The Story

In the 15th century, evil hides within righteous cause as the battlefront of crusade and jihad shifts from the Holy Land to the Balkans. Invading armies of the Ottoman Empire occupy lands and enslave children who are raised to serve in the sultan’s Janissary military corp. One such child is the shepherd, Mihnea.

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Mihnea’s mother and little brother are killed in an Ottoman raid, and he is enslaved. Yet, he escapes the Ottomans and fights as a child-soldier in the crusade, alongside knights of the Order of the Dragon. This is the beginning of his experiences with the famed White Knight of Hungary, Janos Hunyadi, and the dubious Draculesti prince of Wallachia, Prince Dracul. 

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As Mihnea grows into manhood, he is appointed bodyguard of House Draculesti and develops a strong bond with the young Prince Vlad. Mihnea trains Vlad in the ways of the sword and horse, and protects him in a manner he wished he could have protected his own little brother. 

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However, political missteps by Prince Dracul cause Vlad to be surrendered to the Ottomans as a royal prisoner, Mihnea is placed in a dungeon, and Prince Dracul himself is assassinated.  

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Only after years of torture is Mihnea able to escape his prison, and then also free a then 17-year-old Vlad from his Ottoman captors. 

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With Mihnea’s help, Vlad develops into a successful warrior against the Ottomans and is knighted “Dracula" (Son of Dracul) by the Order of the Dragon. Mihnea fights beside Prince Dracula, retaking Wallachia through battle. But when Prince Dracula assumes the throne, he proves himself to be a brutal tyrant. Through the years, Prince Vlad Dracula has thousands of Ottomans and even his own Wallachian people executed by means of impalement, and becomes known as the terrifying Vlad the Impaler. 

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Mihnea recognizes that Vlad’s childhood of fear and death has shaped him into a man who now hates all the world. Mihnea finds his own conscience and soul are challenged by revenge, loyalty, and a belief in what is right. Ultimately, he comes to learn that inhumanity is no less a sin when committed by Christian than by Muslim—no less an evil when committed by sultan or by prince. He learns the truth of crusade, jihad, and the Order of the Dragon.