The king halted. “No one can destroy me!”

“You will surely die.” He said. “For he is coming. The Falsifier is born!”

“What did you say?” Anaxagoras’s voice faltered for a moment.

Aidan laughed at the sudden weakness he saw in the king. He saw the end coming but was no longer afraid to die. In his mind’s eye he saw the savior of the humans and the vampires alike. Now he was ready to accept his death.

With one swift move, the king slashed his chest open. “I will be ready.” The king turned around, leaving his enemy to die and disappeared into a mist.

“You will be sorry,” Aidan’s breath heaved. Blood surged out his mouth.

“Aidan!” Nikolas rushed into the throne room, having defeated the guards in order to get in. He embraced Aidan clutching his hand. “Where is he?”

Aidan spoke with a deep rasp, “I don’t know.”

“We’ve lost! It’s the end for us now.” Nikolas cried as blood flowed down his cheeks.

“No!” Aidan said, “It isn’t the end. It’s just the beginning.” He breathed out his last and smiled as he entered the eternal.

Alex inspected himself in the mirror. The reflection showed a young man with wavy jet-black hair and a pale clean-shaven face. His eyes were dark brown and his nose was thin and majestic, which suited his long face. He had the air of an emperor about him like that of Bonaparte or Nero, two of his favorite leaders he studied about when he majored in Political Science at the Regnum University.

In his left ear he wore a tiny hearing aid, which despite being the latest technology did not make a massive difference. Four years ago he had been left practically deaf in his left ear after a sporting accident. Whilst scoring a touchdown for his college football team he had been crushed by the opposition. In the chaos someone had accidentally trampled on the side of his head, perforating his eardrum. The doctor had told him that his hearing would never fully return and it remained a cause of constant discomfort to him.

He stood six feet tall with an athletic body. Whether walking, sitting, or just plain standing, Alex possessed an authoritative physical presence. That might have been expected, perhaps, since he was the nephew of the most powerful man in all of Regnum, General John Howe the Head of the Council.

The Council of Regnum was an oligarchy that consisted of six leaders, each representing the six inhabited continents of the Earth as it was before the Third World War of 2112 AD. Above them was John Howe, the Executive Leader. Under the Council were three other governmental bodies: the Senate (consisting of one hundred and forty four people), the Judiciary or the Supreme Court (consisting of six Justices), and the Municipal Board (consisting of six Officials) which overlooked the day to day objectives, public safety, health and other aspects of the society of Regnum. Alex knew he would inherit the leadership of the Regnum, even though it wasn’t allowed legally. But his uncle always hoped he would be elected to the Leader’s Chair.

The twenty one year old fixed his silk tie and readjusted his black suit jacket. He turned around and sighed. He unbuttoned his coat and sat down on the chair nearby, nervous because it was his graduation day and he was the valedictorian. But there was something else that had been bothering him for a long time. Everyone’s parents were going to be there but his.

Of course everyone knew that as well. Alex had never met his father and knew nothing about him, and his mother had died during childbirth. Whatever memories he had of her had long since faded with his infancy. He thought of her now, hoping beyond belief that he might one day see her again. Maybe then he would discover all the truth his uncle seemed to be hiding.

Any time Alex asked about his father or the other side of his family, John’s face would darken and his brow would furrow even more than it did when he was deep in thought at the council. Whenever he asked these kinds of questions, Alex could see a hint of nostalgia in John’s glinting eyes. Alex imagined that his uncle thought of the glories won in the War for Existence. A bittersweet expression would dominate John’s face as he talked about the old days, before the War, when there was peace. Of course Alex already knew what his uncle spoke of during these wistful speeches. He had studied it in-depth as a thesis for his degree in Political Science, on the Comparative Studies of Wars and Their Corresponding Leaders. The content of his thesis spanned all the way from ancient prehistoric myths through the revolutions and to the Four Great World Wars. It also covered a detailed history of the recent war, its causes, the Rebellion, the Last Battle, and the aftermath.

What he and everybody else knew was that after the crushing defeat at the Battle of Antarctica, the humans were forced to retreat when General Jarad Hameed’s army arrived too late. By the time they got there, the vampires were on the offensive with a larger number of forces than ever. The Rebels, those vampires who were against the Imperial Regime, were too few to hold the enemy off. By the time the secondin-command of the Rebellion arrived, General Nikolas Gareng, most of the human and Rebel Armies had perished. King Anaxagoras had won the war and the humans were to be exiled forever. The Rebels were taken as prisoners of war and their fates were to be decided by the Monarchy.

Two weeks later, a meeting took place between John and Anaxagoras’s vizier, Erik III, a duke of the imperial nobility of the vampires. It was decided that a treaty should be signed in New York, where the long-forgotten UN headquarters once stood. The humans had no choice but to agree to the exile. They were to build a spherical space station called the Regnum, the largest in history with a huge glass encasing and spanning a diameter of 5042 miles. It was to orbit the Earth and was to be at all times between the Earth and its natural moon. The vampires thought this would be the best way of containing the humans. They would be so close to home yet still unable to fight or reestablish another army. As the old saying went, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”

During the peace meeting, General Howe spoke up for the Rebels in the great hall of the newly renovated building that stood in the place of the UN headquarters. Before the meeting, he spoke in private with Erik and suggested that the Rebels be allowed to live with the humans on the Regnum. After much consideration, Erik refused. He had other things in mind. John remained adamant and made a motion in the public gathering stating that the Rebels should be able to co-exist with the humans in the Regnum. Two of the seven council members agreed, while twenty percent of the Imperial Council agreed. But the rest of the Council Members, led by General Hameed, refused.

“Are you mad!” Hameed whispered to John while a break proceeded between the treaty sessions, “How can we allow that? And even if we did, do you think the others would feel comfortable with it?”

“We can’t just make them waste their efforts.” John said, “If it wasn’t for them, we would have never made it this far.”

“But they’re vampires!” Jarad protested. “They’re part of the species that tried to annihilate us! For all we know, they still want to!”

“I can’t believe what you’re saying, Jarad.” John shook his head and leaned back in his chair. “Remember Nikolas!” He pressed the intercom and connected to Nikolas’s table where the Rebels sat. “Nick, will you come over here for a minute?”

Nikolas got up from his conversation with the Rebels and left their section and spoke to his old friend. “Yes, John. What is it?”