At 400 years old, you must be mated or the Elders will choose a mate for you. At 400, the bloodlust increases drastically, and having a mate will sate the bloodlust as a vampire is physically unable to harm its mate and will be able to drink from them.

A vampire is only mature at 300 years old, as the first 299 years are made to learn the vampire way. A newborn vampire is volatile with its abilities, there is simply no physical newborn stage as a vampire age fast, which means from the moment a child is born, it takes at most three months for the child to have the appearance of a young adult, and then the aging process is stopped until they mate. The first 299 years are the vampire’s learning years, learning about their instincts, to feed while avoiding to be seen, how to defend and attack against their own and how to perfect their individual powers.

If there’s any trouble between kingdoms, there is the choice of it being turned over to the Elders to decide. Anything the Elders say goes.

Every vampire has their own unique skill or power. For some, its invisibility, while for others, it might be the manipulation of elements. It takes time to master their skills, and they are assigned a mentor with a similar skill to help them through.

The kingdoms of the vampire all work within in the Underworld. The vampires live amongst the humans. The whole burning in the sun thing is not relevant. Garlic also does nothing. Vampires can eat human food, and only need to feed once a lunar cycle to sustain their strength. It does not mean certain vampires don’t feed more often so that they can be stronger. They are, however, undead. They are also nocturnal, when it comes to feeding themselves, because of it being simpler on them.

Only a vampire made weapon or a vampire is able to kill another vampire. They have better senses, abilities, strengths, speed and reflexes than humans so it’s practically impossible for them to be hit by human weaponry. Vampire weaponry, however, is deadly. Even a human wielding such a weapon call kill them.

Physically, you can only distinguish vampires from humans when they are feeding. Fangs will elongate past their lower lips and their eyes turn blood red. The same happens when they lose control of their emotions. That also means that vampire can be tan or pale, short or tall, beautiful or not so. There is no distinguishable feature that is exposed on an everyday basis to set them apart. Which makes them much more dangerous than any other creatures.

The policy within a “kingdom” is different within the community. In the Kim Clan, the people serving directly under the main family have more freedom that the Jung ones have. However, the Jung ones are known for being less cruel on the battlefield, while the Kims are considered barbarians. The details will be explained later on.

There are, of course, vampire hunters and the such. They are either amateurs who end up drained, or good ones that managed to steal vampire weapons, or had them forged by opposing kingdoms. Other mythical creatures exist as well; werewolves, witches, and so on.

This story is placed in the modern era, but everything happening here is hidden from the humans’ eyes. Some parts might sound as if they were in an older era or close, but remember that these vampires are all at least a few hundred years old, so they might have kept some of their mannerisms from the time they were “born”. They are the literal underground.

Prologue

“Marriage?” All three Kim asked at the same time. The man sitting in the throne before them nodded solemnly. “I’m sorry my dear TaeYeon but that is the only way for us to be able to regain peace between our clans. Our heirs shall marry in due time and the mating will then follow.”

“But father,” JaeJoong started, “Isn’t this quite a bit rushed, I’m sure there are other ways to deal with this situation?”

“I’m sorry son, but this is the only way. Their heir is near the breeding age and they are pushing for it.”

JaeJoong’s head snapped as an idea came to him, “I’m older than him, I am willing to take in the elder Jung princess.”

“Oppa” Taeyeon finally said, “You can’t!”

“It does not matter TaeYeon, I only have one year left before I have to mate. It’s not likely that I find my soul mate within the year and the result would be the same, I will be bonded and mated to a dame vampire of the Elders’ choice. I will marry and mate the Jung Princess, and you will still have a century to find yours.”

“But oppa, you can’t give yourself-!”

“Children, it cannot happen. They are adamant to have TaeYeon as their daughter-in-law.”

“Do we not have any say? You can push to have Jessica as your daughter-in-law too!” JaeJoong said. Meanwhile, HyoYeon, the youngest Kim, was debating any other options out of this. The two princesses’ guards were standing at the back of the room, both were frowning as well.

“The agreement is set to be signed next week; we cannot change the treaty in such a short time.”

“You must at least try Father! I have age priority; threaten to bring them to the Elders!”  JaeJoong said, while Taeyeon and HyoYeon were now holding onto his arm trying to calm him down.

The Elders were the three oldest vampires in the world, while they hold no power over the politics of their world, when they had issues to settle, vampires of the world go to the Elders for advice, and it was recommended that the seeker takes the Elders’ advice. They would also deal with the bonding and mating of any vampires that have reached their 400 years of existence.