Nightbane

Those of you who've been reading my blog for a little while know that A) I'm a writer and B) My first ever (finished) work is a story about vampires called Nightbane. And, well, those of you who just started reading my blog now know that A) I'm a writer and B) My first ever (finished) work is a story about vampires called Nightbane.

And, well, since I'm a sharing person, I just wanted to share a little with you. And, you know, since I'm a blogger who doesn't know what else to write about at the moment, I'm going to do a kind of commentary on it... mostly because I'm bored, but also because I've always wanted to do a commentary. If you like it, say so, and I might do more. But, you know, that requires the use of that little comment box down there at the bottom of the page.

So, without further ado...

Prologue: Vampires

In the human world there are two kinds of darkness.  The first protects us from the harsh rays of the sun.  It helps us sleep.  It gives us a place to hide.  The other is a complete and terrifying darkness.  It is the Darkness. In its clutches, children lie awake, in fear of the monster they know is lurking under their bed.  It instills fear in the bravest of hearts and is the substance of our nightmares. 

However, although it is feared by humans, the Darkness is neither good nor evil. It simply is. At the dawn of time, it desired to find those through whom it might impose its will on the world of man. The beings who willingly chose to serve the Darkness were granted many gifts: the ability to fight, perform magic, and live forever, to name but a few. These creatures lurk in the shadows, shrouded by mystery. They are the beings that humans have christened “vampires”.

Vampires have remained on the fringes of human history, never stepping directly in its light. Since the beginning of time, they have lived in secret, shunned by those who fear their power. Even the Darkness itself chooses not to interact with most vampires. Eventually, they created a community of their own, though it is rarely a peaceful one.

Vampires are creatures of war. From a young age, children are instructed in the art of battle. Very few seek a life of peace. There are exceptions, but they are few and far between.

These exceptions are the Defenders. This group of vampires has fought since the greatest war still left to memory, Dracula’s War. They seek peace for their kind and defend the ignorant and unsuspecting humans from the vampires who wish to rule them with the grip of a tyrant – the Fallen.

The Fallen have no conscience whatsoever – no guiding moral principals to live for. The only being who can command them is the one who can kill until no one is left to oppose his blade. They plunder, kill, burn, and sack, leaving behind nothing but blood, fire, and rubble in their wake.

Some of the rulers of the Fallen, however, were not mindless killing machines. Dracula, who ruled the Fallen for two hundred years before meeting his destruction at the hands of his own son, managed to form the rabble of swords into a matchless army. Few fought against them and lived to tell the tale.

Now, however, Dracula had been dead for four hundred and fifty years. No wars have been fought since the last of his army was defeated. The glory of both the Defenders and the Fallen has long since faded, and they have become mere shades of what they once were. Even so, the Defenders who still remain hope this is a new beginning for the vampire community.

But no vampire can stay clean of blood for long…

-

So, believe it or not, roughly 80% of this is the original prologue that I wrote in my little Jack Sparrow notebook nearly five years ago. Which means, of course, that it needs MEGA work.

The main problem is that right now it's serving as a kind of a info-dump - meaning it's like BANG there are vampires and good vampires and bad vampires and Dracula and the Darkness and OMINOUSNESS.

Yes, I am aware that that isn't a proper English word.

Originally, the Defenders and the Fallen were going to be the center of the story - though I'm not really sure anymore what they were going to do. Fight over Geric (the main character), mainly? In the end they both turned into decrepit organizations left over from older days and wars.

It'd also probably be a lot cooler and more mysterious if the humans had christened the Children of Darkness with more names than just "vampire"... 

And, honestly, I'm not quite sure why I still keep trying to work the Darkness into the plot line of this book. I mean, it literally doesn't do anything... unless I save it for later... and make it the human name for the Everinti...

Ok, I figured out why Darkness is still there.

So, when I originally wrote this, I planned a (minimum) 9 book span - a trilogy describing the wars in Visaran (a.k.a. the world of the vampires), a trilogy about the vampire race's return to earth, and then a trilogy about the "next generation" of vampires. 'Course, the chances of me ever even getting the Visaran trilogy done are looking pretty slim right now...

So... yeah. That's the prologue of the book. Tell me if you want more, and I just might give it to you. If I'm feeling lucky. And you click on the button down there that says "cookies".

James

Over-Thinker, Eccentric and Slightly Insane Writer, Generally Awesome Guy, etc., etc.