The First Vampire

            It is well known in Ashes that there is only one creator. Asha, the high goddess, created all that there is in Ashes, from the land and its creatures to the other gods and goddesses themselves. She made her gods and goddesses powerful, but they were not so powerful, or trustworthy, that they had the secret of creation. For thousands of years, the gods and goddesses were happy without knowing the secret of creation, and they respected their high goddess. Until one day, one of them decided he was not powerful enough, and that he wanted more.

            Kyan is known as the Trickster God, or the God of Chaos. While he is not an evil god, Kyan is mischievous, and he enjoys playing tricks and causing chaos, with no regard for the mortal lives of Ashes. He also becomes bored quite easily, and this is what happened so long ago, before even the days of the Phoenix.

            Kyan was at his usual games in the mortal lands when a beautiful young woman crossed his path. She was so beautiful that he immediately lost interest in his previous pursuits and decided to follow her and see where it led him. He followed the young loth woman and saw her enter a temple that honored his fellow goddess, Dyani. He was disappointed at this, but it did not hold him back as he entered the temple behind her. Once he was inside though, he was even more disappointed when he saw that the beautiful young woman was a priestess in the temple, and no ordinary priestess, but one that had been blessed by Dyani herself. This mark of protection meant that Kyan was forbidden to touch her or meddle with her life.

            The trickster god knew that he should leave the woman alone, but her beauty was too great and he could not help himself. When night fell he disguised himself and entered the woman’s house, where he lay with her, and before the next day dawned, he made her forget.

            When the next day came, Kyan realized that he had not been discovered. And so, he went to the woman again that night, and again several times afterwards. And at the end of each night, he made her forget.

            Several months later, the woman realized that she was with child. She could not understand how it had happened. She swore to the high priestess of the temple that she had never been touched by a man, but the priestess did not believe her and she was banished from the temple.

            By chance, Kyan heard Dyani raving about the young woman’s disobedience and disregard for the gift she had been given. He immediately went to the woman and took her to the island of Kyahno, where he had he installed in a magnificent palace to await the birth of the child that would be part-god. Such a thing had never been heard of before.

            It was not long before Asha, the high goddess heard of what had happened. She was in a rage and Kyan only narrowly stopped her from killing the young woman and the unborn child. Instead, she cursed the unborn child. While the child would indeed inherit the powers of its loth mother and god father, it would need the lifeblood of others to sustain itself. It would be a predator, and all other mortals would loathe it and hunt it.

            Kyan was angry when he heard what Asha had done, but he knew that he could do nothing to stop the curse. He vowed that he would keep the child safe, no matter what it would become.

            When the child was born, Kyan named him Hadeyon. He would carry the last name of the island they were on, Kyahno, as a tribute to his father. As Hadeyon grew, Kyan realized that his life would not be so bad. The boy was most definitely a hunter and an almost animal-like predator, but he was also powerful and feared by many. Kyan came to believe that the curse placed upon his child could be a good thing, and that if he had more children, he could create a powerful race of his own, one which Asha would not rule.

With this goal in mind, he secretly began to search out young women who met the same qualifications that Hadeyon’s mother had.

            In the end, he brought over forty women to Kyahno. They were all young and beautiful, had never borne children, never been touched intimately by a man, and they all had the favour of Dyani. How he managed to keep this a secret from the goddess Dyani, only he knows.

            Eventually, Asha realized what Kyan was up to, and this time she was in a murderous rage that left Ashes coping with earthquakes for weeks. She cursed his unborn children, extending her previous curse even further. In addition to the conditions that had been placed upon Hadeyon’s life, these future children would not have the powers of their father. Neither would they ever be able to reproduce in the mortal way. They would be ruled by their animal instincts, and almost the worst of all, they were banished from ever seeing the sun. The children of Kyan would be children of the darkness.

            Lastly, she banished Kyan from the mortal world and from his children. It would be centuries before he was allowed to see what had become of them.

            Thirty children were borne in Kyahno in the coming months. They would become what are today known as the Darkus Vampires.

            Kyan’s first son, Hadeyon Kyahno, was the most powerful of all his siblings, and he became the first ruler of the vampires, taking all of the island of Kyahno for himself. He alone became the father of the Maehan Vampires.

            It is not known what happened to Hadeyon, though there are rumours that he still lives, hiding his identity. The rest of Kyan’s children are assumed to be long dead. But on occasion, it is said that Kyan will arrange for a young loth woman to bear his child, and a new vampire will be born.