My Vampire Creation Story

Does every vampire author have a tale of creation for their versions of the Undead? I am not sure. I know Anne Rice's vampire creation story and it is probably the most interesting, brilliantly worked out, original one to date. In fact, thinking back on the little bit of vampire fiction that proceeded The Queen of the Damned, I think it was the first creation story of its kind (if I am wrong, feel free to tell me so in the comments). For me, the person that approaches every aspect of a book's concept with constant streams of "But why?" like a five year old, I had to know where it all began for my own vampires. Were they the only vampires with souls and minds? Were they the only vampires period? And how did it all begin? In the middle of writing Ash's story, the first book I ever wrote, I received my answer. Since it will not spoil any plot to any book, I present to you now the story of how vampires from my novels came to be.,,
      It all began long, long ago when Greek Gods could still be heard (and sometimes seen) and the first type of vampire walked the earth. This vampire was not like Arianne (Beauty) or Rapunzel, oh no. These vampires were more like zombies that drank blood instead of eating flesh and brains. They had no souls, no minds, no higher brain function of any kind. Hades hated these creatures! Why the hell should they walk on earth when they were clearly dead, he fumed. And just where the hell were the souls of these things going anyway? Since no one On High would answer him these questions, he decided he was going to take matters into his own hands. One night he went Above Ground (snuck out, really, but who cares about technicalities?) to a spot where he knew these Undead bloodsuckers were roaming, intent on bringing their bodies back to the Underworld if he couldn't find their souls...
       His attempt failed. He was able to grab a female bloodsucker, alright, and he marched her right to the entrance but her pesky body, rotted though it was, would not pass through the veil between the realms. However, something unexpected, unplanned, unexplained happened. Without trying, he somehow managed to impregnate this thing. Zeus saw all of this, disgusted with his brother's latest mistake. He assumed this spawn of a bloodsucker and the God of Death would surely die in the womb. And he was stunned when it was born alive and well. Again, he was going to turn a blind eye, ignore what he knew, until he realized the bloodsucking mama intended to drain dry her strange infant. Zeus knew a thing or two about cannibalistic parents and, because he so pitied the child, he took it from the monster and brought it to Olympus to be raised, if it were possible, among the Gods it was related to.
       After assuring herself that the baby was not a bastard child of her husband's, Hera took the child in and named him Lucius. Everyone in the Kingdom of the Gods tried to stay away from the boy. They didn't want to like him. They certainly didn't want to love him. There was no telling what he would become as he grew older. But each day that passed he became kinder, sweeter, more beautiful, and soon the entire Realm was fussing over the boy. He trained to fight with Athena as his teacher, he was taught to kiss by Aphrodite herself, and he rode with Apollo in his Golden Chariot to bring the sun in the mornings. That was his favorite thing in the world to do and he loved Apollo just a little more than the others for allowing him the pleasure.
       He became so beautiful, this boy, that even Artemis couldn't help but notice him. They spent more time with one another as time passed and he grew to be a man. She taught him to hunt, to shoot and never miss, and he sang love songs to her that he composed with Eros himself. One night all of Olympus shook with the screams of Artemis and everyone came at once to see what the trouble was. Shaking, hysterical, she stood before her relatives and she told them all that her beloved cousin, the sweet boy that wrote love songs and helped bring the light to the world each morning, had tried to rape her.
      A tribunal was called at once. Athena, Goddess of justice (among her many talents...and in later myths) presided over the trial and when Lucius would not deny the charges against him, when he only wept silently in his own defense, the Gods stood against him. He would be cast out of Olympus for what he had done, of course. But that wasn't all. He had tried to rape the Virgin Goddess and no punishment seemed steep enough for such a crime. So Athena declared that he would be a blood drinker like the creature that bore him but that he would keep his soul, his mind, his heart and he would be immortal so he could carry forever the weight of each life he took to sustain his own. Apollo, who had loved and trusted Lucius like a younger brother, felt so betrayed that he couldn't face his cousin during the trial. But just as Athena announced the punishment, he turned around and declared that, for attempting to harm his twin sister, Lucius could never see the sun he loved so much again. If he, or any creature like him, attempted to bask in the golden rays, it would burn them alive. 
        With that, Lucius was kicked out of the Kingdom of the Gods knowing nothing beyond what he was told moments before. He was angry, he was frightened, he was alone, and there was nothing to stop him from draining the world dry if he chose...nothing...except the Sun.....