Page 55 of Becoming D'Vaire
“We weren’t added to the Council before that because no one wanted us. We’ve always been outcasts, which is ironic since we have the same foundation as many of the major magical races. Like wizards, we come from warlocks,” Alexei supplied.
“Really? Wow. How does a warlock become a vampire?” Delaney asked.
“They weren’t your average warlocks. It was a small group of casters. Unlike the Grand Warlock and the Grand Summoner, they weren’t born with enough power to have immortality. They became obsessed with the idea and tried a great many potions and spells, but nothing worked. In the process, they managed to dwindle their numbers further, so they decided it would be a good idea to begin a concerted effort to have children,” Irina explained.
Delaney thought back to the scroll Idris found which told of a potion used by over a hundred warlocks which, when put into their magical simulator, produced about a seventy percent mortality rate. He wondered if it originated with this group and whether they realized they were using magic improperly by overcasting and altering the results, something his own group avoided when they devised their Immortalis drink.
“As those first children grew up, their experiments didn’t stop. The eldest of the warlocks aged and grew closer to dying. Somehow the idea of drinking the blood of the young became the solution, and the practice of doing so was birthed. Those outside their circle were aghast at the idea—they called them ‘umpyr.’ It’s a unique word meant to describe exactly what they were—blood-drinking warlocks. This group of umpyrs closed themselves off from the world to avoid criticism,” Alexei said.
“That’s when the true horrors began. The elderly grew weaker and they needed so much blood, they drained those children to death. So, more children were needed. Some were birthed, others stolen. At night they hunted for new babies. All the while, more behaviors which are innate to vampires today were being put into practice. They concocted through chemical means a way to alter thought so donors would give up their blood willingly. By the third generation of children, the umpyrs who survived were evolving. They grew fangs, and many of them also became ravenous. They hunted at night since it was easier to catch prey, and soon they were unable to stay out during the day. I don’t know how many sacrificed their lives for those monsters,” Irina explained.
“They reached a state of crisis. The original umpyrs died and they started to question their path, but it was too late. Fate altered them and now they were dependent upon blood. Their bodies craved it and though it might not give them eternal life, still they drank,” Grigori commented.
“They preferred the blood of innocents. One day, a girl was born. She was the first child to have a set of fangs from the start. Her arm was decorated in gilded crimson roses from shoulder to wrist. She was the Fate-born leader of the umpyrs, though she would never call herself by that title,” Alexei said. “The umpyrs were foolish and cruel. They believed her blood to be the strongest and they all wanted a taste. They regularly fed from her until she was nearly dry. It didn’t stop until she was in her young teens and was able to fight them off. All those years she was deprived of blood, but she was terrified to drink. It was incredible that she managed to survive at all. As immensely powerful as she was, death would find her if she refused her body any longer. When she finally did, it caused her to go from states of confusion to screaming for days, and a myriad of other unwelcome responses because the only people who lived close enough to the river they lived near—in what is now Russia—were all warlocks.”
“What happened to her?” Delaney asked.
“She grew stronger as she aged, and those reactions lessened, but she hated to drink the blood she couldn’t live without. Once she was powerful enough to claim the mantle of leader, she changed her people to vampyrs and punished those that caused such pain. After the worst of them were dead, she packed up and moved their village. They found humans and the vampyrs flourished without magic in their veins. Fate began pairing the lucky ones with those same humans, and young vampyrs were born,” Nikolai said.
“After a few millennia, there were thousands of vampyrs, and the human population around them shrank. Those that weren’t lucky enough to find a vampyr of their own began telling tales of soulless monsters who drained people dry. They embellished the stories of umpyrs to cast themselves as the victims and slowly but surely, as more time passed, the vampyrs became mistrusted. All the while, their leader tried her best for her people,” Grigori supplied.
“Eventually the world around them grew more accepting, and she was able to join the Council of Sorcery and Shifters. At her home where she could keep her tears private, she cried for each life lost due to lack of blood until her amazing young son once again altered the course of what the Council calls vampires,” Irina finished with a grin.
“Wait, you were the girl? You were the first vampyr?” Delaney asked.
“I was. I’m a very old woman. Luckily, she gave me my mate after a few thousand years, but because I’d ruled so long on my own and she didn’t decorate Alexei’s skin as elaborately as she did mine, my people refuse to see him as anything more than my consort,” Irina stated.
“It doesn’t bother me, Irina.”
“Well, it bothers me,” she retorted.
“Thank you for sharing that with me. Your history of perseverance is as beautiful as it is tragic. I wish everyone knew the truth about vampyrs,” Delaney said. His first thought was of Trystan D’Vaire, who loved to write history books. He was the one to shed light on the Sentinel Brotherhood for the rest of the Council to understand. “I hope it’s not too forward of me, but the Reverent Knight’s son is a great author who’s dedicated to educating the Council about races. I’d love to talk to him about writing the story of the vampyrs.”
“As the leader of the Vampyr Clutch, I’d love for someone talented to tell our story. And Del, you can call them vampires. Vampyr’s an ancient word, and we consider the more modern word ‘vampire’ interchangeable,” Irina replied with a smile. She turned to Nikolai. “Of course, umpyr is now a word of honor as well. My sons are determined to help me to do the best for our people.”
“I can understand why you’re worried about Grigori drinking my blood.”
“I think I’d feel better if you weren’t alone for the first time or first couple of times,” Irina said.
Grigori shook his head violently. “Absolutely not. No way. We will not have an audience. I’m not going to even get into this conversation with you. You’re all vampires. You know what happens when you feed from someone. You’re the ones who told me. I’m not sharing that intimacy with anyone. Not happening.No.”
“Calm down, Grigori. We’ll think of something. It’s just as much of a concern for Del as it is for you. The pull of magic will be strong, and you might not realize how much you’ve taken or how long you’ve fed,” Alexei stated. “You haven’t even drank from a human before, and now you’re jumping right to one of the most powerful men on the planet.”
“Well, come up with a new fucking plan, because we’re not going to have an audience. I don’t want to be disrespectful, but I’d consider that interfering in my matebond, and Iwon’thave it.”
“Okay, love. We’ll go back to the drawing board,” Irina responded gently.
Delaney was not sure what to say or do, so he sat there and let the vampires deal with the issue. In his heart he could not believe Fate would have paired two people who could hurt each other unintentionally just by doing what was needed to keep one of them alive. He was not sure if he thought that because he could not stomach the idea of making Grigori lose his mind some way or if it was equally intolerable to think of his parents being in the room when they got freaky.
After a few minutes of awkward silence, Irina said, “You know, Del, I never forgot you. I often wondered what happened to that little boy with the enigmatic black eyes. I’d think to myself that I should’ve adopted you, but it seemed irresponsible to take you from the wizards.”
Grigori grimaced. “First you want to come into our bedroom. Now you tell me you wanted to make Delsaurus my brother. It would’ve been positively disgusting to think of him that way, then find out he’s my mate when I hit puberty.”
“Especially since you’re four years older than he is,” Nikolai responded with a chuckle.
“I’m calling the Reverent Knights after dinner. Clearly Mom’s trying to destroy my matebond.”
“He never had this penchant for drama as a child,” Irina told Delaney. “I hope you don’t mind being stuck with him.”
