Xenocrates

Xenocrates, a character in the Bloodbound series, is Rheya's First Son of Vampires and the Grand Cleric of the Order of the Dawn. He is first seen in Book 2, Chapter 2.

Appearance
Xenocrates has brown eyes, short curly dark brown hair, and fair skin with a light beard. He wears a white toga with black/silver trim. Later, he is shown aged, bald with a white beard and wears an eyepatch covering his right eye and a white shirt, blue tie, and black tuxedo and pants.

Personality
Initially, Xenocrates was a kind and idealistic person. During Rheya's sentencing, he pled with his father to pardon her, citing both the will of the gods and the fact that she acted in self-defense in an attempt to convince his father not to execute her. After Rheya became a vampire, both he and Gaius followed her with devotion. Unlike Gaius, Xenocrates was able to identify the growing darkness in Rheya after Demetrius and Iola were killed, ultimately prioritizing his conscience over his relationship with Rheya and staking her to prevent her from continuing her violence. As Erik Balthazar, his devotion to his ideals turned into zealotry, as he decided that the only way to remove the taint of Rheya's cruelty from the world was the complete annihilation of vampire kind, himself included.

Background
In the 8th century, B.C., in the city-state of Mydiea (a tiny island off the coast of present-day Greece), when his father King Kaelisus ordered the death of Priestess Rheya, Prince Xenocrates spoke up on her behalf, warning his father that he and their kingdom might incur the anger of the gods if they acted in haste. Kaelisus then decided to exile her, telling her that her survival would depend on the will of the gods she served; and Xenocrates objected but his words fell on deaf ears. When Rheya returned to Mydiea transformed into the First Vampire, Xenocrates watched as she killed Kaelisus and his guards. He pleaded with her to spare his life and asked her to allow him to become one of her disciples.

Years later, after Rheya's lust for power and her sins became too much, he killed or incapacitated her by using the Tree of Eternal Life which served as her prison. He later became the leader of the Order of the Dawn and kept following Gaius Augustine and other vampires ever since to extinguish them from existence.

Book 2

 * Chapter 2: The Bloodkeeper
 * Chapter 4: The Collected
 * Chapter 7: The Psychic (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 9: The Slaughter (Mentioned; Physical Appearance Determinant)
 * Chapter 11: The Legend (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 12: The Island
 * Chapter 13: The Compound
 * Chapter 14: The First

Book 3

 * Chapter 2: The Unchained
 * Chapter 5: The First (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 6: The Legend (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 8: The Truth (Mentioned; Determinant)
 * Chapter 14: The Revelation

Rheya
Before Rheya was transformed, Prince Xenocrates tried to plead with his father to spare her life. When she returns to their surprise, he asks to follow her, noting that she was "blessed by the gods". He offers himself to be her hand, her blade, her will. She asks if he will swear to serve and protect her, to honor and worship her and do her bidding, and he answers yes! excitedly. After being Turned, he counsels her to take a strong hand, to use the powers they've been granted, to slay their enemies. He becomes her spymaster, her right hand. He serves her for many years, faithful and foolish, believing she could accomplish great things.

However, this excitement wanes as her ambitions grow. When he reports that the city-states of Aenos and Mycae have submitted to her rule and the Spartan army will soon fall, she can tell that something is bothering him. He is satisfied that they have freed themselves and their island city-state but doesn't feel the need for continued conquest. She tries to convince him that the people need someone suitable to worship, to atone for their crimes and to cleanse them of their sins. However, he sees that she went mad with power and grief, only caring about herself and her ascension. In Book 2, Chapter 13, it is revealed that he made a plan to betray Rheya and is confronted by her and Gaius in front of the Tree of Eternal Life. Appalled by what they have become, Xenocrates pushes her against the tree and a branch impales her. After the tree has absorbed her, Xenocrates escapes.

Gaius
When Rheya returns to the throne room of Mydiea, Gaius watches from the open doors what she does to King Kaelisus and follows Xenocrates' lead, offering himself to her as well. After being Turned, his emotions appear to flare up and he argues with Xenocrates, demanding to know why Xenocrates questions Rheya's ambitions.

After Xenocrates impales Rheya on the Tree of Eternal Life, he and Gaius fight in the throne room. Gaius vows vengeance for Rheya's death but Xenocrates cannot bring himself to kill Gaius there. Later, Xenocrates realized that he should have as Gaius began to travel across Europe, spread his bloodline and create an army of his own progeny, an army that fed, killed, and slaughtered. Xenocrates knew he had to stop Gaius, so he recruited humans to join his cause and formed what became The Order of the Dawn.

Powers and Abilities

 * Immortality: In Book 1, Chapter 2, Adrian confirms that he does not age. Thus we can assume the same can be said for Xenocrates.
 * Super Strength: In Book 1, Chapter 2, Adrian confirms that he is strong enough to lift a car. Thus we can assume the same can be said for Xenocrates.
 * Healing Factor:: Accelerated healing is an ability that vampires possess that allows them to heal from physical injuries at supernatural speeds. If a vampire uses their blood such as when Adrian was done feeding on Nicole, they can heal the bite mark as well. Thus we can assume the same can be said for Xenocrates.
 * Heightened Senses: In Book 1, Chapter 6, Lily mentions how she can feel the slightest air currents, how she can even see the tiniest pores in Your Character's skin and can hear the water running through the pipes three stories up... Thus we can assume the same can be said for Xenocrates.
 * The Mark: Xenocrates is an elder vampire and is the "First Son" of the first vampire. This means he is much more powerful than the remaining council members, theoretically equal in strength to Gaius. There is no history or mention of progeny, but if he had progeny, it is assumed that he would be able to control their bodily movements telekinetically, stopping them in place or mangling their limbs.

Weaknesses

 * Sunlight: Sunlight is one of vampires' weaknesses. As Adrian stated, sunlight does hurt him and can prove fatal after more than thirty minutes of exposure. It's akin to hypersensitivity; overexposure causes, as Adrian describes it, an accelerated heat stroke. This same weakness can be assumed for Xenocrates.
 * Decapitation: Dismembering or manually removing the head of a vampire will result in instant and permanent death.
 * Heart Extraction: Removing and subsequently destroying the heart of a vampire will also result in permanent death.
 * Unquenched Bloodlust: When Adrian first became a vampire, he felt the powerful thirst for blood which no amount of water can relieve. In the brief period where he resisted the urge, Adrian experienced severe discomfort whereby he eventually gave in to his instincts. It is unknown yet how long a vampire can remain thirsty or what the extent of pain is when this need is unmet. When vampires don't consume blood for extended periods of time, they tend to give in to their instincts and attack the nearest human nearby in order to suppress their thirst. Newly Turned Vampires like Lily are the ones mostly affected by this problem.
 * A Feral's Bite: A bite from a feral vampire is infectious to regular vampires because it can turn them feral too.
 * Ageing: Not drinking enough blood over a long time causes the vampire to age physically, including a change of facial features, as revealed in Book 2, Chapter 14, when Erik Balthazar (pale, old, light eyes) reveals that he is actually Xenocrates who as vampire once was young, tanned, and had brown eyes.

Trivia

 * In Book 1, Chapter 2, Adrian mentions that garlic gives him a minor distaste, rather than kill him. This, in turn, means that it is not a real weakness for vampires as a whole and we can assume Xenocrates has a similar distaste for it.
 * His crimes include mass murder, brainwashing, and incitement to violence.
 * In Book 2, Chapter 13, it is revealed that he is Erik Balthazar the Fourth, the High Cleric of the The Order of the Dawn.
 * As Balthazar, he owns the entire island of Mydiea under the shell-company, Labrys Industries.

Memorable Quotes
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