'Some people live their lives convinced, they know the world they live in. That there is nothing they don't understand. Others hope there is. They live for the idea that there are things in this world that they don't understand. I suppose in a way they have the better idea. They're nearer to the truth than they know. I wonder sometimes, what it's like to be one of those people. Actually living in hope of the existence of magic- of something more, more than their meagre existence. Do they strive to be something more? Are their own dreams populated with beings such as me? In the inhuman.'

'I wonder how they picture my kind. Do they believe their comics and movies? Have they their own picture of what a vampire actually is? Do they have any understanding of my people? Do they see us in a clear light or they do see us in the tainted view of their ancestors? Can they understand why we prey on their species? That our need is genetic and no longer driven by blood lust and evil? Can they forgive the sins of my own ancestors?'

'We are told stories, when we are young. Stories that fill in the blanks our minds have. It is only when we are older we realise the truth we found in these stories as children is more closely linked to reality than we first thought.'

'The first of us was born mostly human. A diseased bat bit his mother whilst she carried him inside of her. The disease killed her, separating the haem from her blood and destroying it. The disease affected her son, still inside her womb. He was born as she died. He was born with no haem in his blood. He grew quickly, much faster than a normal human. His canine teeth hollow and pointed- like needles. It was he who turned the first human. Thus beginning our race. We know that he lived for a normal human lifespan. As we know that he was mostly human and that his children were born Vampires.'

'Vampire. The humans gave the name to us. They who saw us as monsters, as savages, all because we have need of something they make so readily. In the beginning we preyed only the weak, the dying. Those who had no need of life or want of it at least. But the humans still saw us as creatures of the night. They fought and killed many of us. They forced the changes in my species.'

'We evolved to survive their onslaught. We got faster, stronger, our eyesight and hearing improved. We learnt to move in silence and to be more resilient to pain. We evolved to be more advanced than our enemy.'

'Our weaknesses remained, of course, we are still allergic to silver and UV light. A steak through the heart will still kill us and we still need to drink the blood of others to survive. The humans found each of our weaknesses and used them to their advantage. But, by now, my people some much faster and stronger than they, were ready to take revenge.'

'In the beginning of the war the humans massacred my people; they killed men, women and children without regard. Our numbers were depleted to barely a hundred. All of them evolved far enough to know they could finish the war if they wished. Some of them did. It was their turn to cause maximum damage. We are not proud of those actions. But they were necessary to protect our species from extinction. It was that stage of the war that the human used to tell their stories. To make Vampires into the monsters, to make us out to be evil.'

'The humans knew they could never win the war against us now. We were too highly evolved. They took measures to ensure we did not wipe them out. They created a strain of their genus that was superior to the normal humans. They were bred warriors, their reflexes almost as highly tuned as our own. These humans were specifically designed to be hunters. Their prey was to be the Vampires. The Vampire Hunters evolved as we did. They grew to almost equal in their abilities and as cunning in their ways. As we learnt to extend our life spans, increasing our chances of survival, they learnt how to pass their strength from generation to generation.'

'Time passed. The group of humans hunting us became known as the Eiferer. Our war became less violent over time. Eventually falling underground when the human world lost knowledge of my people. We became stories and nightmares. The Eiferer, the humans, not so human creations weren't remembered at all. It suits us both to be this way.'

'The war between us still reins. The Eiferer being fought by the Schützer, those of my people trained to be even faster and more powerful than the usual Vampire. As they hunted us by tracking Vampires down one by one and killing them. We did the same to them. It was rare for the Eiferer and the Schützer to meet. But these meetings were becoming more and more common.'

'I am member of the Schützer. It was my birthright. My unit are hunting it sister unit in the Eiferer. We have learnt that of late they have been searching the House of Ezix. My own house, The Ezix is the more powerful of the two Vampire clans. The Eiferer cannot be allowed to find the House of Ezix. If they do the consequence will be irreversible.'

WORD BANK Eiferer- Meaning Zealot or Fanatic. The Superhuman hunters of the Vampires. Schützer- Meaning Guardians. The Vampires hunting the Eiferer. Ezix- Vampire Clan.