Gaius Augustine

Gaius Augustine, a character in the Bloodbound series, is a major figure in the Vampire history and the former King of Vampires. He is first seen in Book 1, Chapter 2.

Appearance
He has chin-length dark brown hair and light blue eyes. He wears a navy cape over a striped suit with a lavender ruff underneath.

In his vampire form, not much changes in his appearance aside from gaining scarlet eyes and growing fangs, like all vampires.

His appearance changes dramatically as a result of his incarceration. His arms were decapitated by the Council as shown in a flashback in Chapter 16 (presumably to prevent him from using his powers as an elder Vampire) and he was imprisoned in the Onyx Sarcophagus in the Musea Sanguis under the supervision of Scholar Jameson. In a bonus scene in the end of Book 1, it is revealed that Jameson betrayed the Council and he now works for Gaius secretly. Jameson releases him from the Sarcophagus, his new appearance is now far from his relatively handsome appearance. He has pale, greyish skin similar to a feral. His eyes now completely white and his head is now bald, with a few strands of grey hair left.

Personality
Gaius is calm and collected, keeping his cool as he speaks with a bemused Adrian and only getting provoked when the latter attacked him. Even afterwards, he speaks with no hostility towards the man whose life he saved, demanding only that he show some gratitude.

Despite seeming kind for rescuing Adrian, he is nevertheless merciless as he urged Adrian to quench his bloodthirst by feeding on the nearest human: a lost and dying British soldier. He shows little concern for humans and cares only for his kind, as he did not force Adrian to betray his morals, but rather waited for him to betray them himself.

He has a derogatory viewpoint towards humans, seeing them as prey while Vampires are the predators. He views Vampires as gods who shouldn't be forced to hide and wants to create a New World. In a flashback in Chapter 13, it is revealed that Gaius had planned to wipe out humanity with a biological weapon called The Reaper virus.

Background
His name and his age suggests that he is of Roman heritage. In Chapter 9, Your Character reads a history book about vampires that refer to Gaius as the "Second Son". She was cut off by Adrian from reading further but it presumably contains information on the second son of the first vampire. In Chapter 10, it is revealed through a flashback in a premium choice that he is more powerful than Adrian, Kamilah, or any of the Council members, being way older than any of them. In Chapter 14, if you ask Adrian about the First Vampire, Adrian will explain that each succeeding Vampire generation that is Turned is weaker than their maker due to their blood being farther removed from the First Vampire. He explains that his maker(Gaius) was turned by the First Vampire herself, making him almost as powerful as she is. However, she has some abilities that Gaius lacks namely immunity to sunlight and the ability to absorb sunlight to draw power from the sun itself( Adrian gained this ability due to an overdose of an experimental serum that was originally intended to make him human again).

He is a major figure in the history of the New York City Vampire community, and is shown to be responsible for Turning both Adrian Raines and Kamilah Sayeed. Thus far, he has only appeared in the flashbacks that occur when a portrait fragment is touched, and his current status was unknown until the Book 1 Finale. After collecting the last fragment in Chapter 16, it is revealed that he is currently alive, but placed inside an onyx sarcophagus.

Adrian Raines
In Book 1, Chapter 2, Gaius is hinted to have turned Adrian into a vampire in the 1700's. He acted as his mentor, teaching him basic vampire facts such as bloodthirst and superhuman powers.

British Soldier
In Book 1, Chapter 2, he goaded Adrian into killing this unnamed British Soldier, disregarding his life by claiming that he was going to die anyway. Also, when Adrian was hesitating, Gaius told Adrian that things would be different if he was in the soldier's place. The soldier proved Gaius correct and triggering Adrian's vampire instinct thus killing the soldier.

Kamilah Sayeed
In Book 1, Chapter 5, he helped Kamilah fight off a mob of angry villagers who wanted to kill her along with Banner Westbrook and Marcel Lafayette. A scene in Book 1, Chapter 13 reveals he met and turned her in a war involving Rome and Egypt, most likely the Last War of the Roman Republic (~32 BCE). In a flashback scene in Book 1, Chapter 10, it is revealed that they were lovers at one point.

Banner Westbrook
Banner was one of Gaius's soldiers. Gaius was his creator as he was responsible for Turning Banner into a vampire. But as in Book 1 Chapter 10 flashback scene, he instructed Adrian to kill him due to Banner's disloyalty.

The Baron
The Baron was working as Gaius' bodyguard during the flashback to the 1920s in the fifth portrait fragment. Given this, it is highly likely that Gaius was responsible for The Baron's Turning.

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 Gaius.
 * 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 Gaius. In Book 1, Chapter 5, a flashback revealed that he once punched through a Knight's armored chest and removed his still beating heart.
 * 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 Gaius.
 * 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 came be said for Gaius.
 * The Mark: Gaius is an elder vampire and is referred as the "Second son" of the first vampire in Book 1 Chapter 9. This means he is much more powerful than the six council members. For those who have his blood flowing through their veins, Gaius is able to control their bodily movements telekinetically, stopping them in place or mangling their limbs. This is shown in Chapter 10 when he froze Banner Westbrook, preventing him from moving when Banner refused to recognize Gaius as king of the vampires, and again in Chapter 16 when he fought Adrian and the Baron, vampires who bear his mark.
 * Pyrokinesis: Gaius has the ability to conjure blue fire from his hands as seen in a flashback scene in Book 1, Chapter 10. As of now, he is the only known vampire to wield this ability.

Weaknesses

 * Sunlight: Sunlight is one of a vampire's known weaknesses. As Adrian stated, sunlight hurts his kind, describing it as painful and fatal if exposed to it within a half an hour or so. Its effects to vampires are akin to hypersensitivity or accelerated heatstroke.
 * 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.

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 Gaius has a similar distaste for it.
 * He bears a resemblance to American actor Billy Zane.
 * Adrian and Kamilah both have the mark of Gaius's brand.