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Since recent events in a long-lasting fight, doomed to inevitably end in the emancipation or extinction of the mutant race, all of the world's attention has been turned to focus on aiding their own side. Lines have been drawn, territories have been claimed, and other worldly events have been diminished in the overbearing shadow of the war between Homo sapien and Homo superior. Originating in a country based on justice, liberty, and freedom for all with the construction of the Metahuman Registration Act, the influence of those intent on annihilating the last of the mutant race has since traveled rapidly overseas to infect nearly every country with the plague of war.

However the world has not stopped turning since flame of a devastating war was sparked. Despite the aggressively ignorant mindsets of those leading the charge against one another in a war that will eventually wipe out both sides, more brilliant minds have been at work.

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"Is he awake?" she hissed as she strode with determination into the dimly lit room, her patience having run thin hours ago. The statuesque woman saw perfectly clear within the dark room where only a few candles flicked weakly on the otherwise barren stone walls. The poor lighting throughout the centuries-old castle was more than enough illumination for the creatures who inhabited its stone corridors, their vision being many times that of even the most optically gifted human.

The more patient voice of a man responded, however his tone still carried the faint hints of something sinister. "Yes, Lady Ravenna. The boy awake a few minutes ago. I compelled him to rest until your arrival," he said, clearly holding back his distaste for her impatience out of respect. Or fear. The lines between the two were often blurred in Castle Veturia.

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Originally constructed during the the height of the Roman Empire, the magnificent castle housed one the empire's foremost patrician families. However unknown to the public, the Veturia Family also existed as the first incarnations of the modern day vampire.

Trivia was worshiped as a minor deity and as the Roman Goddess of Witchcraft and Sorcery, among other things. During a disagreement with Pluto, the Roman God of the Dead, she sought to prove her own reign over the dead was just as powerful as Pluto's himself. During this time the Veturia Family's reign in Ancient Rome was coming to an abrupt end due to the sinking of a majority of their trading ships. Knowing of the family's struggle Trivia offered them a deal. Should they provide 1,000 dead souls for her to control, she would grant the family their own immortality.

Without his family's knowledge the head of the patrician used what little money they had left to hire a small army, which swiftly and efficiently slaughtered village after village under Trivia's requirements, killing no more and no less than 1,000 men. With his deed complete the noble sought out his family's reward from the goddess. Trivia appeared to collect her souls, however failed to grasp a reign over the dead. The 1,000 murdered souls fled instantly to Pluto's domain in the Underworld, while the Veturia Family's attempted transformation into immortality left them as abominations of nature not living nor dead: Vampires.

-----

"Wake," came the same seductively sinister voice as before, an extra air of command behind it. In front of the two vampire laid a young boy, somewhere around fifteen years of age, with skin as pale as snow. As soon as her words escaped her lips his eyelids flew open to reveal blood-red eyes, filled with panic. His breaths came in terrified gasps as he looked around frantically at his surroundings, his state of fear quickly transforming into that of confusion.

"He's rather young, don't you think?" said the male vampire, speaking as though the boy wasn't there. The woman beside him, clearly in command, examined the boy for a moment before responded.

"It is not your job to question my decisions," she scolded coolly before addressing his comment. "He'll serve us well, Verus. Wait until you see what he's capable of," she said, a calculating gleam shining in her blue eyes as they stared down at the boy, who seemed to have caught his breath.

"Where--" he panted, looking around. "But the Hounds-- they were about to ki--" his sentences broke off as he tried to piece together the memories. Looking down for a moment his eyes moved back up to lock with the woman's. "Who are you?"

The beautiful woman's poise was undeniable, a grace and elegance that managed to deliver an air of nobility with her presence without detracting from her unnatural level of raw sex appeal. Full lips rested below a supple but well-structured nose, the bridge of which ended in-between a set of captivating blue eyes. Long locks of dark brown hair fell from the woman's head down to the rest of her physique, where long, lean legs and a well-sized bust were amorously displayed. Her olive skin and healthy-colored lips showed no sign of the seductress being a member of the undead.

Smiling warmly down at the boy she rested a hand comfortingly on his shoulder. "My name is Ravenna, and this is my friend Verus. Follow me Nathaniel, and I promise you'll understand everything," she said, her voice suspiciously persuasive. The boy hesitated for a moment before nodding his head, allowing Ravenna to help him up and guide him from the small room.

"You may notice how easily you can see in he dark. How you can hear conversations going on in other rooms, smell what's being cooked in the kitchen, and see every speck of dust floating in the air. These are all apart of your new-found abilities. From now on you'll be stronger, faster, more powerful than you could have ever imagine before. You'll be superior," she explained coolly, leading the boy down a cramped spiral staircase which led to a long hallway which ended in the orange glow of torchlight.

"So, you're saying I'm a--"

"Vampire, yes, Nathaniel. I know it may be hard to grasp, but you're already used to being...different," she chose her wording carefully, well aware of the boys state of sensitivity. "But now, you have a family to help you," she said as they rounded the corner to reveal a massive balcony overlooking a grandeur dining hall where dozens of pale-skinned, red-eyed men and women stood. Some chatted, some indulged in the large number of human cattle held in Castle Veturia, while others stayed completely to themselves. Nathaniel's eyes widened at the sight, his face revealing his struggle to take it all in. "What -- what's going on here?" he stuttered, the tone of his question manifesting as interest rather than disapproval. Turning her back to her undead legion she looked directly into the eyes of her newborn vampire, speaking without hesitation.

"For centuries I have watched mortal men take in upon themselves to force their own flawed visions for the world upon every great civilization they construct. Their thirst for power ultimately blinds them to a broader picture, a flaw shared by all mortals. Now, as I have seen many times before, another war has erupted over the foolish opinions of men with more power than they deserve. Endless bloodshed caused over whether or not a mere variation of their own kind deserve to walk this earth. But mortals love to fight one another for ultimately meaningless glory, it is all they have ever known. However now we, the true Homo superiors, have a chance to take the fate of this world and place it in our hands. Our hands, where it will be properly handled by immortals with centuries of knowledge and wisdom to course the world into an age of glory rivaling that of the Roman Empire."

"As the mortals shoot and stab and murder one another, they fail to see the fates of their fallen comrades. Mutants with unlimited power potentials, mutant hunters with training rivaling those of the ancient samurais, all revenants brought to their full potentials as immortal creatures of the night. As we speak, the mortals fight, and our numbers grow. Soon we will have any army capable of annihilating both sides of this foolish war, ushering in a new era where the undead reign as the paragon predators we were born to be. What do you say, Nathaniel? Help us, help your brothers and sisters and live the rest of your immortal life as a king by bringing an end to the era of mortal men."