All hallows eve 1673 . . .
"My Lord it's not possible, in all these centuries never . . ."
"Are you saying my queen lies?!"
"No my lord but that would make him the first."
"My son, prince of all that is pure, the first of the truly pure."
"And if it is a girl?"
"She shall be a goddess among us."
"My lord quickly now, it is a boy."
The king and his advisor rush out of the throne room straight to his and the Queens private chambers. There the midwife was holding the screaming infant out to the king. He took it and sat besides his exhausted wife. She turned to look at her son who had already been cleaned.
"Our son," She says than gasps. "Look, he has them already." The king looked at his son and saw what had shocked his wife.
"Fangs."


The prince of pure breeds came of age in a time of war. Even more revered than a normal prince because of the miracle of his birth and his uncanny beauty. He had powers surpassing all the pure breeds and easily surpassing those of the Halflings. Like all pure breed vampires he could walk in day, unlike the others he didn't feel like a mortal. He had a strength that surpassed all those around him easily; his enchanting of mortal women or men, when the fancy suited him, was unparallel. Even other vampire's fell under his power though he was confined to vampire men lest he begot a child before being wedded properly. He had powers that no other vampire pure or half had ever seen. He could see into the minds of others most easily and would so lose himself sometimes as to not remember he and the other were different people.

He was standing at window of the south tower of the castle looking out. The sun was just starting to set and the halfling army would come out of hiding now. The leader of the haflings had been the one to start this war. What his true name was no one knew anymore or cared and he called himself King Strogi. He had separated halflings from pure breeds, when at first it had been merely a term of identification, claming that halflings were the only true vampires and that they deserved to rule all their kind. There were many haflings that still fought on their side but Strogi increased his hordes incessantly plucking mortals from their very beds and adding them to his cause.

He also knew they were losing. They could not increase their numbers nearly as fast. Pure breeds were born half vampire and half mortal. They aged as a mortal and at a certain age would be made into full pure vampires by their parents, except for him of course. Somehow what ever stopped two vampires from creating children had been over ruled in his case. Born of two vampires, he had been born with his fangs, which never receded like they did for other pure breeds in the day.

He was still in the tower when his mother came to him. As the soul heir there was no way they would allow both him and his father into battle and his mother had no intention of letting her darling into war. And not one she called so foolish. "My son, we are losing this war. That fool Strogi has turned the mortals against us and they march against both our armies this night and they will not stop at the coming of day. I fear none will survive."

"He took too many," the prince mutters shaking his head.

"Ay, my son you must escape. You were born different; your fate is not in that of this fool and his war."

"Mother what are you saying?"

"Leave the place, at dawn, I fear it will be taken if not this night the next or the one thereafter. A way has been prepared for you."

"You take it, I will fight with Father."

"No my son, that way is doom and as your mother and the queen it is your duty to obey me," She says as proud and regal as she was when before this war stared.

"Yes mother," He said smiling and she grabbed his ear. "Mother!"

"Do not think me a paltry halfling, or a mortal woman under your sway," she said as he sinks to his knees in pain. He had the most sensitive skin of any creature including mortals, add his mother's near invincible strength and he was in agony. "I am your mother and still your queen you will do as I say." She says letting go of her sons ear as he climbs back to his feet rubbing his ear. She pushed back his golden locks so like her own and kissed him on said ear. "I love you; I need to know you're safe. Strogi hates you more than any other pure vampire."

"I'm sorry." They are interrupted then by a messenger.

"My Queen, a letter from the king." She takes it from his hand dismissing him with a wave as she opens the letter with the king's seal.

It is as I feared we may not live out the night, the way prepared for our son can hide you both. Flee while you still have a chance. Strogi has unleashed something he has no hopes of controlling mortals in fear. We spent the day marching back to the palace and were watched. As we walked in day we were left alone but as night falls and our true nature revealed I no not what will happen to our kingdom or the army. If I survive this our son will know as it is his way. Death may have its way with the immortals yet. The mortals know of the ways to put haflings to death, we saw many killed in their sleep of death as we marched. It will not be long until Strogi reveals our own weakness for his own gain or to bring s down into the pit of death with him. I pray this messenger reaches you before the sun sets.

The Queen turned to her son to share the news when she saw the glazed look in his eyes. She was about to slap him to return his mind to his own body when he staggered backwards blood on his lips. "Father." He gasped as he nearly blacked out. The queen's strong hold brought him back to himself.

"My son . . ."

"He's dead, his body burns as we speak. The haflings are gone; the mortals will kill us all."

** Alarm bells sound **

"What could that . . ."

** Screams**

"The palace is under attack!"

"Quickly my son," The queen says taking his hand and leading him through corridors and into the throne room. She pushes him into the passageway. "Run." He does running blindly under the though the narrow passage at a speed no vampire can match. He comes out the other end in the hut of some mortal bearers (the mortals that lay with vampires for pure breeds). They were the royal bearers in fact. They rushed him into a cart with their own son covered him hay as they took him into the woods. It was not until he was in a cave being shoved forward by the boy that he realized his mother was not with him. He continues forward blindly trying for the fist time to enter a mind while remaining aware of his own true form.

His mother was still in the throne room and she was fighting for her life but the passage way was closed. She did not want them to find him. She was throwing mortal men like rag dolls when one entered with a bow and arrow. He shot an arrow which she caught in her hand easily, but her hand burned.

"It can't . . ." She gasps as another arrow is fired and pierces her. Pure quartz, it was the only weapon that can harm a pure vampire. The slightest scratch could mean death, except if dawn was near. Then it would have to be a fatal wound of quartz to kill them. The prince pitches forward as he falls into rushing water, and as his mother dies he falls into blackness. When he awakens he is in a strange land that he has never seen and the sun is bearing down on him. He walks blindly and at a pace no mortal eye can follow, as he travels into an ice filled wasteland. He crosses frozen seas barely aware of where he's going. Finally weeks or days later, he has no idea which, his hunger claims him and he collapses on the ice.

Years pass seasons change and the prince is lost in an icy wilderness. The world changes and the word vampire falls into myth and legend. The only truly pure vampire sleeps through the change and conquering of the ice realm he dwells in. His mind escaping his body often living lives as a mental bystander sometimes forgetting completely about his life and other times driving people mad with his intrusion.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

All hallows eve eve 1973 . . .
"Come on Judy push," the doctor says to the frazzled Canadian. "We can see the head, just a little more."
"Oh God!" She shrieks as she pushes her child into the world.
"It's a boy!" The doctor yells as he spanks the baby to make sure its airways are clear and it starts screaming. "Congratulations. Do you have a name yet?" A Nurse asks as she presents the baby.
"Adam."
"What a lovely name."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Adam man I don't know about this. The Ice doesn't look that strong."

"Jason its okay it's the fastest way. We just cross over we'll be fine."

"This is a stupid bet. If we die we'll never get that fifty."

"Its freezing it has to be frozen." Jason rolls his eyes at his blond haired friend. "Famous last words." The two of them start out on the ice fairing pretty well. They make it safely across and Adam gives his friend a thumbs up. They reach the rest of their friends and collect their winnings.

"How'd you two do it?"

"Just like we said, we crossed the lake."

"We were waiting for your white asses to fall in."

"You're just mad you lost."

"Hey how do you think you did on William's test?"

"Aced it," Adam says cockily "finished it in like a second, I want to get it back though I drew this cool castle on the back."

"Whatever."

"Double or nothing you can't beat us back."

"We'll take pity on you and give you a five minute head start." Adam says, as the two other teenagers take off. Jason and Adam take off again over the ice but this time Adam took a bad step and went down into the ice, and Jason freaked as Adam bobbed back up and tried to grab on to ice that crumbled as he reached for it. Jason backed onto land for fear of the rapidly shattering ice. The area Adam was in just got wider and wider as the time he spent above the water got shorter and shorter as all the clothes he was wearing pulled him down.

Jason ran to get help as Adam went under yet again with the shattering ice. Adam slammed into an underwater block shattering most of the ice that had been melting for years. The eyes of the prince open, as the vampire in him can sense food so close to him. His arm clamps around the meal and sinks his teeth into the drowning boy drawing in his memories, memories he had shared since the boy had been born though he doesn't understand it then. He is still quite weak and both he and his meal drift and sink.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Adam's body was never found and his grave merely a marker. Jason was haunted with thoughts of what he could have done to save his friend. He becomes a solemn man known to visit the lake more than the grave.

Part 2 of 12 of The Awakening