Purebloods…
It was what they call the race of vampires born with abilities that are out of this world and ethereal beauty accompanied by their lengthened life. They live their life quietly as they spend their days in solitude, away from the peering eyes of those that don't belong to their race. People refer to them as gods that walk the earth because they wield power that is beyond one's imagination. They may not have associated themselves with the human race or other races in particular, but they provide protection to anyone who seeks it from them without asking for anything in return.
These powerful beings are governed by the Archduke with the aid of the Chamber of Elders - Clan Leaders, who represent the twelve renowned House of Nobles. But unknown to many, there is someone who stood above the Archduke, someone whose blood cannot be compared to anyone else. He is someone whose responsibility is much more grave than that of the one who governs the entirety of their race. By right and power, he could give punishment to anyone who endangers the balance of life which he protects at the expense of his own. Even if it was the Archduke himself, even if it was someone else from another race.
From the beginning of time, Pureblood vampires held two beings in high esteem. First is the Archduke that governs them all - a vampire of Noble Blood who is the symbol of authority. Second is the Monarch who remains in the shadows even amongst their race - a vampire of Royal Blood who is the symbol of power.
Even though the entire populace of humans fear the existence of Purebloods due to their obvious superiority over their kind, they respect them due to the fact that these powerful beings coexist with them peacefully without being a threat to their lives. But unknown to the human beings that knew of the Pureblood's existence, most of these beings were only acting as such because of the existence of the Monarch who can easily take their precious lengthened life in a blink if ever they do not abide with the single law he enforces among them all: Purebloods shall not conquer, nor will they allow themselves to be conquered. That one line meant that they should not use the abilities they were born with to establish their power over the weak, instead they should use them to help those in need, and that if a threat comes knocking at their doors, it was then that they are allowed to use the power of their blood to keep their families safe from what is threatening it.
Every being, supernaturals and naturals alike, exists without much apprehension regarding the other. Everything was generally peaceful and they regarded it as the Golden Age. That was until the First Blood War occurred.
Chaos broke out in the midst of naturals due to the humans' greed to conquer. They never cared if they were killing their own, they never cared about the death that piled behind them because they only cared about what they wanted to have, even if it was already owned by another. It was fueled by the involvement of werewolves who killed naturals without mercy as they basked themselves with blood while they disguised themselves as human military personnels with the aid of someone from their race, an Ieldraz, who is working with the higher ups of the human race at that time without the knowledge of their Lord.
Such misbehavior of the Great Wolves enraged the Werewolf Supreme when the truth came to his knowledge, leading it to a bloody conflict within Tempestra - the Lycan kingdom. While the humans were busy in the war they themselves had brewed on their own, the Great Wolves were divided into those who followed their Lord and those who followed the traitorous Ieldraz who used to be under his command.
During that time, naturals adept at science were at the starting point of human experimentation. They tried to create beings that can be compared to the supernaturals, one that is neither a supernatural nor a natural but something in between - a modified human. On the other hand, witches were hunted for their power connected with nature, which humans wanted to recreate as their own, and the Lycans who died in the war were there at their disposal for whatever purpose the scientists deemed them useful just for the sake of their experimental progress. But they have never been successful at any attempt and every project was regarded as a failure. Thus, the project itself was ordered to be closed down. But unknown to the human beings who governed their race at that time, the project they ordered to be taken down was continued by those who wished to pursue it without their knowledge.
At that crucial time, the Archduke that governs the Purebloods, Eren Lancastrian, decided that it was time for him to enter eternal sleep after having lived for too long. He had chosen to leave everything in the hands of his heir, Eiraun Lancastrian, who was next in line to lead their race. Some of the Elders followed in his footsteps while others were against it and their split decision created a gap between the Nobles themselves. The Elders who refused to follow the Archduke used that opportunity to their advantage. The war which broke out among the naturals and the chaos that happened in Tempestra along with the Archduke's decision to enter eternal sleep gave them the chance to execute their hundred-year plan to raise an insurgency in Elysia - the kingdom of the Purebloods.
The Monarch stood on neutral ground. He did not intervene with the Archduke's decision and he did not stop the Elders who had chosen to betray him and his trust. He let humans fall in despair as the aftereffect of their own doings, but at the same time, he was forced to execute those who endangered what he was meant to protect, even if they were also under his protection. But, one unexpected betrayal caused him to put his own life on the line. He was willing to put everything behind him, even his responsibility as the Monarch, just as long as he was able to protect that one life he treasured above all.
As traitors rose in between the midst of every race, chaos and bloodshed took place and the once peaceful age was gone in an instant. The once beautiful landscapes were overturned with fire, smoke, blood and death. Lycans continued to fight their own blood because of a power struggle, while the witches who survived the hunt secluded themselves from everyone else. And the humans? They neither have the strength nor power to fight when vampires and werewolves that betrayed their own emerged from the shadows. The vampires and werewolves continued to fight with each other as they tried and succeeded in dominating the existence of human beings. Thus, the naturals fell into slavery and despair especially from the hands of the beings who depend on blood to live - the vampires.
For a few hundred years, vampires who followed their selfish desires overruled those they deemed lower than them. They enslaved humans and turned them into walking blood bags. They victimized them openly at night and feasted on them like never before like a predator would to its prey. They made a mortal enemy out of the Lycans who have never been on good terms with them since the very beginning, and they lived their days staining the once regal existence of their race.
Siegrain Adrelean was there to see it all take place.
He watched how the human race fell and he also witnessed how the meaning of the Purebloods' existence disappeared. Though human, Siegrain is the only one to have his life lengthened like that of a supernatural due to the blood contract he sealed with his master, the Monarch, who suddenly went missing during the Blood War after what happened at the Royal Blood family's residence, which not only affected all supernatural beings but also naturals or in the common tongue, humanity.
After the Blood War, out of the three distinguished kingdoms where supernaturals reside, Elysia, the kingdom of the Purebloods, vanished from the map as if it never existed in the first place. Siegrain knew which family of Nobles had been responsible for it. The heir, Air Vespasian, must have taken his father's place immediately after the former Leader of the House of Vespasian went into eternal sleep.
As years passed by, the vampire rulers of the lower vampire society changed from one to another. Some handed down the position on their own accord while others were killed due to a revolt where a bloodbath accompanied the process of succession to the throne of the kingdom of Aceldama. But during the reign of King Azael von Reisner, the First Blood vampire who ruled without a queen beside him before the present king Mikhail, naturals have been given back their freedom. He created the Astral Gates, which separates the world of naturals and the supernaturals from each other. In his time, one law has been made to preserve what little peace they have: Vampires will no longer be allowed to prey upon unsuspecting victims as easily as before. Those who wish to drink directly from a human's vein were forced to form an agreement benefitting both the vampire and human being involved.
As the king said, they are not animals. They are beings who were once humans… only now with an animal instinct. But, there are still those who do not agree with the law that has been established. Their greed to dominate the weak causes havoc like the way it did before and the blood spilled overflowed even more.
"What are we doing here exactly?"
Siegrain looked up from the book he was browsing and stared at the man who was sitting across from him on the other side of the table.
The war where the Purebloods and Great Wolves fought their own made a great shift in everything that's ever known to men. With their immense power which lies in their blood, mountains have been flattened, great lakes dried out, cities have become barren land and the ashes of the casualties they caused couldn't even be traced. The casualties in the human war couldn't even compare to the death, chaos and destruction they caused. The balance of life collapsed along with the disappearance of the one who guards it with his own.
For years, Siegrain had been searching for the whereabouts of the Monarch. But until now, he still had no idea where to find him. He doesn't even have a single clue as to where he's currently at. While he was on his journey to find the master he himself chose to serve, he found him instead - the Werewolf Supreme, Blaze Genithike Knightly, whose physical appearance never changed and is the only being his master considered a friend.
Looking at the man sitting across from him, no one would think that he was way over the age of twenty. When he met him way back, he was already over a hundred years old, much like the master he was serving. If one just takes note of the years that passed by after the Blood War, at present, Blaze is already over a thousand years old. Blaze's messy silver hair which he did not bother to comb even with his fingers stood in every direction as he looked at him with his golden eyes. He may look young and harmless, but his mere presence says otherwise. What's different about him from the old days were the different sizes of scars that now marred his body, which he surely sustained from fighting during the Blood War. Even with his high regenerative ability, he was not able to erase those.
Siegrain once asked him how many of his kin he had killed during the war, but Blaze remained tightlipped. For him, the subject itself is something he would rather not remember. Because of his subjects' involvement in the humans' strife, Blaze lost himself in his rage and killed more than he could count after learning that they'd been doing it for a long time without his knowledge under someone else's instructions - one of his Ieldraz whom he swore he would hunt until the end of the earth no matter how long it takes.
"Siegrain, I'm asking you."
He sighed. "Searching for the leads about my master."
"By reading books in an archive run by vampires in the lower society?"
"Their archives must have clues about him somewhere. After all, they wouldn't be able to exist today without the mistakes of those who betrayed him."
"May I remind you that we cannot find Aelvien this way? The majority of the Purebloods themselves don't even know he existed. They didn't have any idea that there was a Royal in their midst who was more powerful than the Archduke that leads them because he purposely not interracted with them. The Landegreis didn't associate themselves with the rest of the Nobles and only the Lancastrians, the Archduke's family knew of that family being Royal Bloods, vampires who stood above the rest of them when it comes to power, and blood right. Those who knew of his existence either had already entered eternal sleep or were cast away from Elysia as traitors. How do you expect to find something in a library managed by the vampires of Aceldama a thousand years later after he disappeared due to a reason not even the Nobles know?"
Siegrain didn't want to voice it but Blaze was right. But what is he supposed to do? Remain idle and just wait for the Monarch to appear in front of him?
"You can't find him if he's still sleeping, Siegrain," Blaze reminded him. "Aelvien will always know where to find you, wherever you may be, once he's awakened from his sleep because of the blood contract which binds you both as master and servant. Why don't you trust the connection you have with each other?"
"But what if someone from Aceldama finds him first before we do? Or any of those human beings who work for The Alliance? The vampires of the lower society despise all Purebloods because of the superiority they have over them as their creators. And naturals will do everything just to get back on the ones that damned them from the start. Look at what happened to the witches that ended up in their hands. They will surely go into great lengths in order to achieve what they wanted for so long - a power to overcome the supernaturals. And the Monarch has it all in his blood."
"We're here to prevent any casualties if possible when the Blood War is about to happen for the second time. If we needed to stand in between the naturals and supernaturals, we'd be standing right there in the middle." Blaze said as he reached for a book entitled 'The Hidden Past' at the table and read it…
_
ARTICLE I. VAMPIRES
After the Blood War, the Vampires' Society was immediately and naturally divided into two: the Higher and Lower Society. First Bloods, Golden Bloods, Silver Bloods, and Blooded all fall into the Lower Vampire Society, while the Royal Bloods and Noble Bloods, who are considered to be Pureblood Vampires, fall into the Higher Vampire Society.
Section 1. The Beginning of Bloods
It all started from the wrongful act of Purebloods…
_
"They will not mind if we steal this one, will they?" Blaze asked Siegrain, who looked at him, puzzled.
"Why?"
Blaze closed the book before he handed it over to him. "It does contain some facts at the beginning. Who knows what the rest of the book states? We might find something interesting."
Siegrain opened the book and started reading...
_
Purebloods are at the summit of the vampire race because the blood that runs through their veins possesses blood powers. It's something that the turned vampires of the Lower Vampire Society don't have in them. What makes them physically different from others is the distinct color of their eyes, which was the darkest color of red, but when their power surfaces, their eyes' color will always be electric, like a glowing red ruby stone.
These vampires do not feed on humans' blood even if they can, even if it is in their nature to do so. Rather, Purebloods avoid drinking human blood for several reasons and opt to live their lives as simple and as mundane as those of naturals. They eat, they make themselves busy with random things and they sleep. That kind of simplicity. They avoid drinking blood because, by doing so, they can make their victims subjected to them. Those who become subjected to them lose control of their own body whenever they want them to do their bidding.
But there's always someone in their race who acts however they want, even with a law that forbids them to do just that. The ones who do that appear from time to time. And those who become subjected to these Purebloods could get power from them.
It's been so long since the last appearance of the Purebloods. No one has ever seen or encountered one after the Blood War, which involves all natural and supernatural beings. Everyone who knew they once existed believes they're no longer around.
Before, there were no other vampires but Nobles and Royals. But because of some misdeeds caused by those who have broken their laws, there came the First Bloods, whom they considered now as the oldest living vampires. They were humans bitten by the Purebloods themselves who survived their transformation. They are able to have a child called Silver Bloods and every vampire in the lower society fears yet admires those children because they possess abilities that any turned vampires do not have.
When a First Blood is paired to someone who possesses a werewolf blood, their child will be of Golden Blood - a hybrid. And in the year XXXX, the first and only Golden Blood was born. He is Aceldama's Crown Prince: Rouen Silver Einzbern, son of King Mikhail and Queen Austria.
As years pass, turned vampires start feeding on others as well because, unlike the Purebloods who feed out of curiosity and boredom, their instinct drove them to drink blood for survival, even if they have gained control of their consciousness. Their victims who died and turned into vampires would feast on another human being repeating the process for so many times.
It was then when Blooded vampires came to life. Those who belong to the rich community are called 'Gentry', and the newly turned are called 'New Blood'. Those who can't control their thirst for blood and lose their reasoning are branded as 'Lepers' and their very own existence is forbidden even in their own society…
_
Siegrain frowned with curiosity. He then flipped the book where the name of the author was printed in cursive black ink.
"Galadriel Evergreen," he read, and Blaze looked at him, obviously thinking the same thing as him. "Isn't that the name of the Sythra Kingdom's Enchantress? But didn't she go missing even before the war?"
He served the Monarch for a long time but he never had the chance to meet the Enchantress then. On the other hand, he was only able to meet Blaze back then because the latter barges into the Northernheim Palace uninvited through the windows whenever he pleases, not caring if it is at an unreasonable time, especially when the Monarch didn't say anything about it at all.
Blaze nodded. "She's a seer."
"A what?" Siegrain asked when Blaze didn't elaborate further.
"A seer. Someone who has the ability to tell you about a past which she did not witness herself and an ability to foresee the future. It's her gift."
"Does that mean she survived the hunt?"
"Who knows? It was her who told Aelvien and I about the Blood War before it occurred and that was during the witch hunt. We have no idea where she went when she disappeared after making sure that her message would reach both of us." Blaze answered, though his attention was focused outside because of a commotion he could only hear due to what he was.
Siegrain flipped the book close. He was about to ask another query regarding Galadriel when he noticed that Blaze suddenly became alert. "Is there something wrong?"
"Sentinels."
He cursed.
They immediately stood up and walked towards the glass window, careful enough to hide themselves from the view of the knights outside who were currently circling the library building in formation. Armed and ready. They must have been notified that someone illegally entered the Archives of the Library which was for official use only.
"How much time do we have?"
"A few minutes?" Blaze answered, unsure. "We have to slip through the roof."
Before leaving, using his power, Siegrain returned everything they turned upside down into their place, making it look like they hadn't been there at all, though he took that one particular book with him.
At the speed of light, they both made it to the rooftop. Siegrain and Blaze jumped from the roof and escaped through the forest.
***
THE SAME NIGHT IN THE PALACE GROUNDS…
Austria watched her son as the young prince sat under the old cherry tree in the palace's gardens which was by the forest. Rouen, with his back leaning straight on the tree trunk, is reading a book which was very advanced for his age of five. He doesn't need a light to read what was written, he could read it in the dark because of what he is. Vampire. And a hybrid one at that.
Rouen isn't like any other vampires. He was of Golden Blood and the Crown Prince. He's had so much on his shoulders from the second he was born compared to any vampire of the same age as him. As much as Austria and her husband Mikhail dislike it so, they were forced to watch their son mature rapidly at such a young age, right before their very own eyes.
They wanted him to have a normal life. As normal as a vampire's life can be. They long for him to grow up like the other kids - experience the joy of being one. But Rouen just can't. His mind would not let him. Besides, there are only a few who were born vampires like him, who age and grew up like he does. They are the Silver Bloods, but Rouen never made any effort to get close to them. He didn't even bother himself to join in on their circle. For him, they're only puppets of those who wanted to gain honor and prestige in their kingdom through him. Despite Rouen being so cynical and apprehensive, there is only one out of all the Silvers who was able to befriend him. The House of Edelweiss' successor, Sin.
"What is on your mind?"
The queen smiled at her husband who was walking beside her though it didn't reach her eyes. "I am just worried about our son."
Mikhail stopped his steps. He gazed down at his wife before he gently pulled her close to him. He kissed her temple lightly to reassure her. "He is going to be alright. I will not let any harm come towards him, I promise you."
The queen could only nod, but the worry she had for her son, her only child, didn't leave her heart.
The moon hangs in the night sky along with the stars. It is such a beautiful sight to see because it illuminates the flowers of the blooming cherry and wisteria trees around the palace. It's the pinnacle of spring. The rustling of waters from the fountains and creaking of branches in the woods gives off the peacefulness that surrounds the capital city. The scent of different flowers lingers along in the air because of the flowering plants around Laudicea. After all, it was named as 'the kingdom's capital of blooming flowers' because, even in the winter season, there are still flowers that thrive in the cold. Such an inappropriate name for a city of Aceldama where vampires reside, which in other terms is called 'The Land of Blood'.
When the couple was just a few meters away, they suddenly heard Rouen wail as if someone had died. Without having second thoughts, Austria used her speed as a vampire to get to her son immediately followed by Mikhail who glanced around, hoping to see what made him cry mournfully.
Austria held her son's face and made him look at her in the eyes. "Rouen, my child, what happened?"
"Victor…" the young prince whispered as he trembled in fear. One name that made the King and Queen look puzzled.
"Victor?" Austria asked her son, who was still crying.
"I… I saw him, Mom."
"You dreamt of him?"
On second thought, their son couldn't possibly have dreamt of him. After all, he doesn't sleep. Rouen shook his head 'no' to answer his mother while he tried his hardest to dry his tears.
"What does he look like?" Mikhail asked, curiosity lacing his voice.
"He is tall. With blazing eyes the color of the sea and blood."
Aurora gave her husband a worried glance and he shared the same look as her. The only vampires with red eyes were the Purebloods and no one had seen them for such a long time. But Rouen described him as someone with eyes of different color. He couldn't have been a Pureblood, could he?
"He was laughing while you lay down right in front of him. Your black dress is soaked with your own blood. He killed you, Mom. He killed you."
The queen whispered soothing words in his ear to calm him down. "I am fine son, I am here."
"I do not want you to die, Mom. I will not let you die. I will kill him. I promise you, I will kill him."
The couple were shocked beyond words. How could their five-year-old son be talking about killing someone at his age with such determination in his eyes? The queen hugged her son close to her as she tried her hardest to calm him down and stop him from crying. The mature side of him was gone and what was left was a five-year-old child who was lost and could not do anything.
"Sshh…"
Not far from the palace grounds, hidden in the forest surrounding the palace, stood Siegrain and Blaze above one of the trees, balancing themselves on it with ease. They were within hearing distance, which made them able to hear and see what had taken place in the garden as they both hid their presence.
"Does that mean the bastard is still alive?"
Blaze is seething. He knew that his friend went to sleep after he fought Victor, his own blood relative who had chosen to betray their family. And when Aelvien slept, the only reason was to recover. Having been able to possess blood power such as the one running through his veins comes with great consequences. For him to be able to use it without limitations was in exchange of his own life force depleting. The last time he slept was after he fought his twin brother who had once wished to eradicate all naturals. But it was never this long. For him to sleep for such a long time, almost a thousand years, meant he almost died after his battle with Victor. Now, they just have to learn that the reason who made Aelvien go into deep slumber had the possibility to have been roaming around?
"I'm afraid we don't have the luxury of time to wait for my master to come to us himself."
Blaze can only agree in silence because if Victor is really still alive, there's a possibility that another Blood War is going to take place and the only one who possesses the ability to stop him is his nephew Aelvien, the Monarch.