Die Ahnfrau

In a cold, snow‑bound castle the aging Count Zdenko of Borotin wrestles with a bleak horizon. He watches the winter night through a high window while his daughter Berta dreams of spring, their conversation drifting between the passage of seasons and the weight of family memory. Their dialogue hints at an ancient prophecy that the house’s very bloodline is destined to fade.

A grim letter has arrived, announcing the death of the last distant relative, leaving Zdenko as the final heir of a once‑proud line. The count recalls the legend of the Ahnfrau, a restless ancestor who is said to haunt the family until the last branch is cut from the earth. As the storm rages outside, the looming curse and the uncertainty of a future without descendants pull the characters into a desperate struggle to confront what may already be sealed.