It had been a plan long in coming, but, then again, vampires had all the time in the world so why not wit to perfect the

plan. But, then again, not every plan that worked out in theory worked out in real life. The vampires took over the world

long, long ago. Far too long ago for the humans to have any record of it. The humans at that time had been even more

sophisticated, they had had amazing technology, but that wasn't the problem. The problem had been that most of the

humans were killed in the take over, so many in fact that the humans were a dieing race, a very quickly dieing race. The

vampires didn't want their food supply to suddenly be extinguished, so they retreated, they wiped the humans'

memories, they let them start over, they allowed the humans to re-populate the earth. And now the vampires were ready

to put their plan into action again. Only, this time, they wouldn't be so careless, this time they would preserve the

humans, they would make sure that the humans reproduced while in their captivity. This time the plan would work,

because this time, this time they had a leader that thought out everything. This time their leader was Dorian, one of the

oldest vampires, one of the strongest, and the most powerful vampire alive. Dorian's plan was brilliant in its own way.

Oh, his plan was much more brutal, but it wouldn't kill off all the humans, mainly those that the vampire's didn't want

anyway. And also, in the battle that Dorian knew would happen the lesser vampires, those that were to hasty, those that

were to new, they too would be killed off. Leaving only the best vampires and the best humans to serve the vampires.

The perfect plot, perfect plan, perfect leader, it was all going according to plan. At least, it was until a new vampire

came into power, one stronger than Dorian, and that vampire's name was Winter. Winter became the new leader of the

vampires and Dorian suddenly disappeared. Most vampires thought Winter had killed him, but a few, a very select few,

knew of his true whereabouts. Those that knew of Dorian's whereabouts were sworn to secrecy, not that they would

dare go against him because, after he had disappeared, he had become unbearably powerful, too powerful some would

say, but still, he remained hidden. He remained hidden when Winter put his own plan into action, he remained hidden

when Winter's plan succeeded in its own way, yet failed in others. Dorian remained hidden when the humans fought

back from their one stronghold against the vampires. He remained hidden when Winter was killed and another took his

place. He continued to remain hidden at all times, all times that was, until someone came across his hiding place, until he

was forced to come out and show himself as the powerful being he really was. This is his story, this is his life, this is

the story of how his re-emergence into the world came about and what happened because of it.

He sat, staring into the fire, he always did this, he always used the fire in order to allow him to see what had become of

the world. Winter had taken his perfect plan and warped it, so that it didn't work. But Winter was dead now, so that

was irrelevant. Still, even though Dorian had sworn to himself that he wouldn't emerge from his hiding place he found

himself needing to see what had become of the world. Dorian had become powerful while in his self-induced seclusion.

He had found a fount of knowledge, he had learned more than any being was meant to learn, and now he was powerful,

extremely so. He sighed as he saw that the vampires were once again hiding, waiting for the sun to go down. The

humans were busily fixing anything that had been breached during the nightly raid of the vampires. It was sad really, this

little endless cycle that had been created. Dorian was tempted to help out the vampires, seeing as they were his own

kind, but his resentment for them was to overpowering, too strong. The humans he wouldn't help either, for they were

after all, merely his food, or, at least, at one point they had been. Now he no longer truly needed blood, oh, it would

make him even stronger, but he no longer needed it. He no longer feared the sun either, but all of this and much more

was due to his new powers that he had acquired from reading specific books for so very long.

A loud shout broke his concentration on the fire, causing the picture to waver and fade. Dorian quickly got up to

inspect, nobody should be anywhere near his hiding place, this part of the world had been deserted long ago. There

was perhaps a few run down buildings, but no human life, and no vampires. Another shout was heard, he strained his

hearing, if the shouts were faint even to his vampiric hearing then whoever or whatever it was had to be far away. He

was curious, but he wasn't about to leave his underground abode to find out what it was. He smiled to himself, he

could easily satisfy his curiosity by merely using the fire. He turned, and nearly died for a second time in his life when

he say a figure standing in the middle of his large living room. The figure raised its head slowly, and Dorian wondered

how it got in without his knowledge. His eyes met swirling pools of nothing. The figure wavered, and then solidified, the

eyes still remained black.

"Please help, I know you can."

"Who are you and how dare you enter my domain."

"Please, I-I don't want to die."

Such powerful emotions in that voice, anger at whoever was harming her, sorrow for a life unlived, and something like

humour, but for what he didn't know.

"Who are you to dare ask help of me?"

With that he launched himself at her, and he was amazingly surprised when he slammed into some sort of invisible wall

before he could lay a hand on the figure.

"I know you care nothing for me, but think of it this way, if you save me I'll share with you the secret as to why I was

able to easily stop your attack. Save me and I'll add to your knowledge."

He was tempted, he was intrigued, but he wanted some sort of proof.

"How do I know you're not lying to me, how do I know that if I save you-if in fact you even need saving-you'll do as

you say?"

The figure wavered again, her face flinched and then grimaced in pain, her eyes remained black nothing.

"Ah, so distrusting Dorian, then look into your fire, but remember this, if they break me before you come they will get

the information they want from me. That information is your whereabouts Dorian, so save me, save yourself, and there

is of course the fact that I'll be at your mercy."

"How do you know where I live?"

"It matters not Dorian, what matters is your choice."

"What makes you think that I'll be better company than those you run from?"

The figure doubled up, like she had been punched, then her form wavered again, and suddenly she was gone, her voice

filling the void she had left.

"Nothing."

Dorian frowned, he knew she was telling the truth about knowing his whereabouts, but he wasn't ready to leave his

home, the home that had been his for thousands of years, was he? But if she told the truth his only option was to save

her or bring whatever creatures hunted her down upon himself. Dorian growled deep in his throat, a growl that had

made all vampires tremble and fear, a growl that was now directed towards this girl that dared disrupt his solitude.

well this has been another olvely chapter brought to you by live-life