Rise of the Vampires

Malek was a thief who always preferred dark to light, the perfect attitude on a world with next to no sun.  As a child he preferred hiding and watching other children at play, and sometimes stealing their toys only to secretly return them later.  As an adult he find no contention among his peers and practiced his stealth on more dangerous targets like the fairyfolk.

With the lords and wizards gone, and the surviving people of his village struggling to survive, Malek felt a despairing helplessness that caused him to take increasingly great risks until one day, while hiding in a tree in the center of a goblin camp, he felt the call.  He didn't know what was pulling at his very being if not hope.  He felt instinctively that to follow that pull might mean a way to save his village and himself.  He returned to his village and gathered a small group of strong men, and they set out to follow the invisible compass that seemed to guide Malek.

In the rubble of a tower of the White Ones, now just a pile of rocks, the men found a hatch leading to what must once have been catacombs.  Most of the structure had caved in, but not far from the entrance Malek's prize waited, the Relic of Night, a small black statuette of a humanoid figured with batwings, a doghead and great fangs.  When Malek picked up the artifact it poured it's essence into the man, making him the first vampire.  The transformation was instantaneous, and despite the shock of the experience Malek managed to maintain his grip on the relic, saving it from destruction.

Malek returned to his home a new being.  He found he could change his form to that of a bat, a shadow or cloud of mist.  His eyes functioned in total darkness as if it was noon on a sunny day, his hearing became keener and he could sense the presence of others around him without sight, sound or smell.  He could exercise his will on beasts and hover above the ground.

Not knowing fully what he had become yet, he passed his gift on to a handful of trusted men and women, making them his scouts and emissaries and sending him to the four winds to seek out other survivors in Foran.  On batwings they set out and returned with goods news.  Thus it was the vampires that reestablished a connection between the solitary communities of a shattered world.