The Origin of the Vampire

Evening in Heliopolis. Around a campfire outside of Shizuru's room of the royal palace, she and her friends enjoy the summer air. The hostess of the night, vampire princess Kiyoni, arrives with drinks and snacks, "Incoming."

"Oh, wow, Kiyoni. Thanks," Kuwabara picks a cup and a treat from the serving trays. Refreshments include fruit juice from Kiyoni's private garden/villa and servings of baklava, Danishes, and fruit sandwiches. When everyone is served, she gathers her things and tosses a small, greenish brick into the fire, causing it to change color and ignite even more.

"What was that," asks Yusuke.

"Calming herbs: lavender, chamomile, a little lemon balm," she answers, "It's necessary for storytelling. I'm actually excited to share this with you, but I don't want to let my anxiety come through."

"I never heard of a vampire story told from an Egyptian point of view, before," states Yukina.

Kiyoni sighs, "Yes, there's not too many of them in mainstream media nowadays. I will say this, Dracula wishes his origin story was this awesome."

"Kurama, do you know of this story," Botan inquires.

"Mm, I'm afraid I don't," he responds before swallowing a Danish bite, "This is a first for me as well."


"Alright, here we go with the tale," Kiyoni announces, "I'll start with this, are any of you familiar with the story of Exodus?"

"Exo- what," Kuwabara chimes in.

"The story of Moses and the Ten Commandments, correct," Kurama replies.

"Yes, that. Basically, what the story of Genesis is to human Christianity, is what the story of Exodus is to this territory; its origin."

"Well, when you say it like that," Yusuke adjusts his position on the lounge chair, "it has to be good."

Kiyoni goes on,

"The story begins well over thousands of years ago, back when the empires of Egypt thrived. Unfortunately, it did so on the backs of the thousands of captured slaves. By this time, Pharaoh Rameses II had already kicked Moses out of Egypt to basically let him die in the desert. Regrettably, for Rameses, Moses returned to Egypt, ready to challenge him. Strengthened by the power of his Christian God, Moses had practically declared a religious war against the Gods of Egypt with the slaves going to the winner."

"I thought the challenge was between Moses and Pharaoh Rameses," Kurama affirms.

"Essentially, yes but, since this story has been handed down for generations, I'm basically regurgitating," she continues after lubricating her throat,

"So, anyway. Upon confronting his former 'brother' for the first time, Moses demands for the slaves to be set free. Rameses says, 'Screw you. Your god ain't shit. I'm not letting anyone go.' So, Moses is like, 'Oh yeah? Well, watch what I can do this stick,' and when he uses it, the entire Nile river is turned to blood, better known as the first of ten plagues. So, of course, desert living causes you to get thirsty, right? The Egyptians were having a fit like, 'Oh no, what will we do without water,' I mean like going ape shit.

"So one night, while the empire was trying to conserve what little water they had, two Egyptians decided to…test the waters. They wondered if drinking blood was bad as people have made it to be."

"Why would they want to drink blood," Shizuru takes a bite of a sandwich.

Kiyoni looks at her with a satisfied smile, "A great river that has been twice blessed by the divine, why not check it out?"

Keiko joins the conversation, "Twice blessed?"

"Once for the existence of the Nile itself and twice for its transformation into blood," Kiyoni responds,

"Since no one bothered to touch the river, approaching it was no big deal. At that point, they were desperate for some dry mouth and throat relief, so they each grabbed a handful. It didn't look as thick as blood, but they were still skeptical. After a couple of sips, they realized…it's not that bad. In fact, it tastes just like…water. Regular, ordinary, same old water; just a different color. It seemed like the Christian god wasn't as threatening as first thought."


"Who were these Egyptians you speak of," Kurama takes a sip of his own.

"Remember those two statues you passed by upon entering this island," Kiyoni questions back, "Those two are this territory's father and mother, the very first Pharaoh and Queen of Heliopolis, and my direct ancestors: Musim and Paloma. As a matter of fact, they're buried at the bottom of those statues." A collective "Whoa" follows. The story carries on,

"Musim was an average soldier in the Egyptian army and his wife, Paloma, was a hairdresser for the women of the royal court. The only time they would have access to clear drinking water was whenever they were in the vicinity of the palace. Other than that, they were scrounging around like everyone else so, it was either the red Nile or nothing. Satisfied, they got some jars together and collected what they could. Afterwards, they lived their lives like normal; only putting up the suffering front whenever they were around other Egyptians. When their jars were empty, they went out to fill them again using the goddess of night, Nut's body, to cover their tracks. They even went as far as rationing what food they had while the rest of the country went through the frogs, locusts, hail, famine; the rest of the plagues. So long as they had the Nile to fall back on, they were fine. Musim and Paloma eventually got comfortable with their lifestyle even going so far as to bathe in the blood. By that time, Egypt was on day two of the three days of darkness."

Kiyoni gets in another sip and bite,

"So…by the time day three rolled around, they realized that they were running out blood water. Running to the river, they found out that the Nile was normal again. They were so used to the red Nile, regular water was basically nothing, even though they kept drinking it. At the same time, Moses and his God had declared death to all the firstborn of Egypt."

"Were either of them a firstborn, Musim or Paloma," Yukina asks with a hint of general interest.

"Some people believe Musim was the firstborn, others believe it was Paloma. That part has always interchanged. Either way, they were spared," Kiyoni replies.

"How," Yusuke leans forward.

"This is the best part of the story," she adjusts her sitting position,

"Not willing to break away from their habit, the couple prayed to the gods for help. In the meantime, they tried to maintain their composure around others. They had a secret life and they wanted to keep it that way.

"During another prayer session, one of the gods answered the call…Anubis. The gods were angry at how Pharaoh Rameses defended his divine brethren and wanted to take it out on the ruler's entire empire. Musim and Paloma were the perfect candidates. As reward for their devotion, Anubis gave them the task of fulfilling the great order…in exchange for blood. Not just watery blood, but actual blood; human and animal."

"Oh, shit. This is getting good," Yusuke is into the story like children are to cartoons.

"Glad you agree," Kiyoni goes on,

"Anubis was like, 'Rameses is an uptight bastard and it's up to you to enact his punishment. Use my great mother's frame as your shield. I shall give you skin the color of darkness and wings to glide across the skies. From the snakes that were eaten at the pharaoh's feet, their eyes and fangs. As for your sustenance, you will drink the blood of all the firstborn of Egypt, human and non-human. That includes the son of Rameses. Blood that's painted on the doors of houses, take that as your offering and do not enter them. With these gifts, you shall be known as vampire. When the goddess Nut and her child, the moon rises, so shall your new form. Now go. Show the false pharaoh god that he is nothing without your gods!"

"From what I remember of the original story, it was the angel of death that claimed the lives of the firstborn," Kurama reiterates.

"Angels, Suu'chi," Kiyoni corrects,

"So Musim and Paloma did what they were told. Using their wings and enhanced speed, they had a feast. Slave or no slave, human or not human, they feasted. Blood painted doors were like lollipops to them. The last stop of the night was the palace itself. Army men, servants, other palace employees, if you were the first to come out of your mother's womb, you're the first to die. The very last victim to enter the land of the dead, was the most important person on the list, the Prince of Egypt. Rumors say that out of all the victims that were drained by Musim and Paloma, the prince had the best blood. In fact, children's blood was considered a delicacy because of their purity. At the end of the night, Rameses conceded to Moses's god.

"The next morning, the couple returned to normal. Unfortunately, things were not. Skin that burned in direct sunlight quickly became a problem. Stepping outside, they discovered the slaves were to be set free and were leaving Egypt as soon as possible. Realizing that one of their major food sources may not be as bountiful as before once the empire empties out, they packed their things and left with everyone else. Overtime, the couple fed on the ex-slaves whenever the thirst became apparent.

"Eventually, they decided to abandon the great migration and head out on their own, exploring other lands and cultures. Somehow, they managed to survive on both blood and the kindness of others. Alliances and friendships made, the two were once again visited by the gods and were ordered to spread their gifts with others using their blood just as they were continuing their international exploration. They even produced a child along the way. With enough followers, they figured that a colony of vampires couldn't possibly live among humans and tolerate the sun for much longer. So, with everything that everyone had, the collection of bloodsuckers shifted underground. Along the way, they discovered caverns upon caverns of precious stones and metals (that area is now the mine fields of Heliopolis). Pure water and lush terrain waited for them at the end of the tunnel. But what kept them was…sunlight. For the first time, in a long time, vampires can walk in the sun and not worry about burning to a crisp. An advanced aged Musim and Paloma declared the area their new home and vowed to make it as close, if not, better than Rameses's Egypt ever was. And so, Heliopolis was born and the founding father and mother were crowned Pharaoh and Queen with their son as their successor."

"Did anyone realize they were entering demon world," by now, Shizuru gets comfortable.

"No. No one knew that this was demon world until…well, until Yomi showed up," Kiyoni answers, "Anyone else who passed by the gates were just ignored and never questioned."

Kuwabara scratches his head, "What about the hidden barrier around this place? And why put one up if nobody knew about demon world?"

"That was constructed by some powerful spell casters in the early years. The exposure of the new world's energy was probably the reason. Again, no one knew that this was demon world so, no one really questioned it," she retorts, "When the country advanced itself enough, magicians and psychics were replaced with technology. It's been that way, since. The barrier was put up for preservation, the farmland, the mine fields, the oceans, etc."

"I guess those magicians and psychics were the ones responsible for some of the tricks you know now," Keiko checks in.

Kiyoni gives an awkward laugh, "Yeah, I guess you can say that. Some of the incantations in my spell book go as far as the early days of this empire. This necklace was blessed and created by said occultists." Kiyoni's jewelry is a small pencil shaped emerald on a golden choker.

"You said Musim and Paloma bathed themselves in blood. Is that a connection to the 'Bath of the Fallen'," Kurama wonders.

"The general answer is yes, but in two different ways," Kiyoni explains, "One way says Musim and Paloma had a leftover jar filled with blood from the Nile that they kept until Heliopolis was built. The other way says that the bloodbath was first filled with that of the deceased, including the couple. Either way, the 'Bath of the Fallen' was started by the founding members of this country. There's not much more to be said about that." The Bath of the Fallen is a coming-of-age ceremony where eighteen year old vampires submerge themselves in the blood of their deceased family members and ancestors, acquiring their wisdom and power along the way. Since, Kiyoni and her friends are together for her eighteenth birthday, it won't be much longer until her time comes to participate.

"I find it funny. Your brother and his companions wanted to take part in wiping away humanity, and yet, humanity is the reason why he was what he was," Kurama finishes his drink.

"Tai was told this story before I was. His favorite part was 'The Feasting'. You can say it was a catalyst for his mindset," Kiyoni empties her cup as well.

"Wow, that was a great story, Kiyoni," Kuwabara gets up to stretch, "I don't know about you guys, but I think my bed is calling me."

"Yeah, I think it's time I hit the hay, too," Yusuke follows suit. Soon everyone, gets up to leave. Since they gathered in Shizuru's guest room, they all leave for her to comfortably sleep outside in the summer air.


As the group disperses for bed, Kurama hangs out with Kiyoni a little bit longer, "Mind if we have a conversation of our own?"

"What for," she whispers.

"Just because," he whispers in her ear, "My room this time?"

Kiyoni blushes as her pendant glows, "Sure." Kurama leads the way to his bedroom. What could the spirit fox have up his sleeve this go around?