My story begins circa 1864.

What can I say? I was young, ignorant, and utterly foolish. Everyone around me seemed to think that I would never grow out of my youth. Ironic, now that I think about it. I was fun, bright, what some would call full of life. I was careless, and spontaneous. I suppose that some things never change. Most importantly though, I was happy. In everyone else`s eyes, I was lazy and generally useless. I was the black sheep, even a disappointment to my own father. My little brother Stefan, however, couldn`t have been more perfect. It kinda figures. He was the golden child. He could never do anything wrong. He was everyone`s first choice, and I figured he always would be, but he was also my closest friend. He was the only person that seemed to understand why I was the way I was. He was my blood. He was my brother. Like I said, foolish. It`s ironic now that I stop to think about it, but I`m getting ahead of myself.
The Salvatore family was a very prominent one in Mystic Falls, Virginia. I grew up in a world of the social elite, playing the politics game. I guess that Stefan was always better at it than I was, because I never really gave a damn. As the eldest son, I was expected to be the responsible one, and to carry on my father`s knowledge and position...whatever. I couldn`t have cared less. Maybe because of the fact that my father never saw me as being worthy of carrying on his legacy, I was a little too rebellious for that. My brother was everyone`s favorite, so why should I care so much? I did exactly what I wanted, when I wanted, and I didn`t need anyone`s approval. Well, okay, that`s not entirely true. If I`m going to be honest, I was jealous of Stefan. It wasn`t just the fact that he had the support of my father or the town though. There was only one person that I really cared to impress. She was a newcomer to Mystic Falls-a stray who had lost her family in a horrible tragedy in Atlanta. Her name was Katherine Pierce.

She was beautiful. She was fun. She was a free spirit. She also happened to have that whole damsel-in-distress thing. My father was kind enough to let her stay in our home after she had fled from her tragic past in Atlanta. What more could I have possibly asked for? Thanks to her status with our family, and the compassion of others, she quickly rose in the political ranks of Mystic Falls. When I wasn`t inviting her as my companion to our every social function, my brother was. I knew he cared for her, but so did I. For the first time in my life, I had found something worth putting forth the effort for, and I wasn`t about to let him steal my prize the way he had everything else in my life. The country was at war, at the time. Since I had nothing but my father`s name and my father`s money, I decided to make a name for myself as an individual by joining the army. I remember her fawning over my bravery, and begging me to come back soon, saying how lonely she would be without me there. For the first time, it seemed that my father was proud of me for something. Like I could have possibly cared at that point. It was too late for apologies, and I was doing this for me.

The entire time that I was away, it seemed, all I could think about was Katherine. It is no mundane task to take the life of another, or to risk your own every day. As a soldier, I had little food, little water, hardly a necessity in sight. The days were long and harsh, and the nights were longer and full of terrors-imagined or otherwise. Paranoia encompassed everything. The fear of death lingered around us all. Every day I watched my comrades fall-sometimes to enemy fire, but more often to exposure and infection. The one thought that kept me alive was the thought of coming back home to Katherine as a hero. That thought alone...but I digress. I`m no hero, and I never was. After almost a year away, like many others before me, I walked away from the war and returned home. I missed my father, my brother, and Katherine. Fighting day in and day out for survival just wasn`t the life for me, especially when the cause of the war was now lost even among the minds of those who had begun it. All meaning seems to be lost among the carnage and destruction when a war is fought. I`ve learned that the hard way. In the end, no one has any idea what they are even fighting for until the winning side wins and remakes everything as they see fit. It just wasn`t worth it. I will never forget the look on my brother`s face when he saw me again. He ran to me and threw his arms around me, and we laughed. My father only thought of me as a deserter. Well screw him. Katherine was thrilled to have me back. It was that night, the night of my homecoming, when Katherine and I were together that I learned all that I had missed. Stefan had done a good enough job of keeping her company during my time away, and he had learned her secret that she told me then... She was a vampire. She also told me that our father was a member of a secret council, sworn to drive the vampires from the town and to keep everyone protected against these monsters. Never had I seen Katherine as a monster, and I didn`t then. I swore to her my loyalty. I would keep her secret, and I would do anything it took to protect her. She promised that when the time came that she would have to leave Mystic Falls, if I wanted, she would change me as well and we would leave, and be together forever. Little did I know, when I agreed, that she had made Stefan the same promise.

Katherine took it upon herself to teach me to be a vampire, so that I would be ready when that time came. Unfortunately, it came a lot sooner than either of us expected. It was not long after my return that I began to hear rumors of demons that stalked the night. The more I learned from Katherine, the more I thought she was safe. She was stronger than any of the villagers, faster, and smarter. Plus, she had an amazing ring that protected her from the sunlight that would normally turn vampires to ashes, enchanted for her by her witch friend, Emily. Handy little things, these witches. Stefan wanted to explain to our father about Katherine. He came to me, saying that we should both tell him what she was, and make an example of her that all vampires were not the demons that he made them out to be. Yeah, right. Our father was never one to listen to reason, and I was too afraid that he would have Katherine killed along with the others. I made him give me his word that he would not tell anyone about her before I was finally satisfied. Stefan, ever the perfect one, gave away her secret anyway. Not that it was exactly his fault-more of a reveal thanks to my father`s scheming plot to satisfy his suspicions, but either way Stefan was the one who caused her to be rounded up with the other vampires to be burned alive in our church. Stefan and I tried to rescue her, but were killed by the villagers running the convoy of captives. At least, that was what we thought.
The next morning I awoke in a wooden shack by a river. The sunlight was far too bright. Every sound was just too loud. It was like waking up with a hangover from hell. The first person I saw was Emily. She explained that Katherine had changed Stefan before he died, and that after drinking human blood to complete the transition to vampire, he had changed me. I knew three things in that moment. One, that I was ravenous, and that only one thing would cure that hunger. Two, that I was ready to die if it meant I never had to become a vampire. There was no point in living forever anymore. Not with Katherine gone. I wanted it to be over. And three, that I had been betrayed not only by Katherine, but most of all by my brother. It was supposed to be Katherine and I, roaming the world together for the rest of eternity, but in the end, she had chosen Stefan. When my brother finally convinced me to partake of human blood and become immortal... Well, I guess I should say he tempted me into it. He brought a human, bleeding already to me. It was like putting crack in front of a half-rehabilitated junkie. There was no way to resist the craving. Not when I was already starved for it. So I became a vampire, even against my own will. Maybe if I had been a little stronger... But none of that matters. I had lost everything-my humanity, my brother, and Katherine, and now I was stuck with that for eternity. I made a promise to him that day-that if I must live forever, I would make his immortal life an eternity of misery. I would follow him around like a plaguing shadow, and destroy everything the way he had destroyed everything I lived for.

It has been 145 years since that day. Through the years, I have generally kept my distance from Stefan, though we have met a few times on occasion. Somehow, thanks to Emily giving us both daylight rings and us both being taught by Katherine once upon a time, we have both managed to survive. Last I heard, Stefan had taken up an animals-only diet. Then again, there have also been rumors of a serial killer who drained their victims of blood before tearing them apart. They called him a ripper. I don`t have time to keep up with his every move anymore. I have my own agenda. While he`s off trying to become a saint among vampires-like he didn`t have a flawless enough reputation already-I have a diabolical master plan to get Katherine back. I recently learned that she is buried in a tomb underneath the old church in Mystic Falls, starved for over a century, but alive...in a manner of speaking. So, it`s back to my hometown. Wonder how it has changed over the years...

I guess I should be thankful for my wit and ability to blend into human society. Looks like my father`s upbringing has come in handy after all. While Stefan seems to prefer denying his vampire existence, I have learned to embrace it. What greater freedom is there than having no conscience, and the means to do anything you want? I`ll admit, it has been a while since I`ve actually killed anyone, unless it was because they happened to walk into the wrong room at the wrong time and discover my secret or something. I mean, accidents happen. I would also say that I`m probably not the best person to piss off. Then again, I have learned a few other tricks along the way. The vampires, at least the ones I have met, have the ability to erase people`s memories and in a sense control their thoughts. A strong will in the target makes it harder, and replacing small bits or setting them a particular task to perform is a lot easier than trying to remake someone`s entire life, but it is a handy little gimmick. Funny how these things work. All in all though, give me required daily sustenance in the form of blood and alcohol, and I`m a pretty easy person to get along with.

I get bored sometimes, like everyone else, and then I usually have a price to pay for my entertainment, but who doesn`t make bad decisions from time to time? And let`s be honest, who doesn`t love that "bad boy" image these days? Whatever works, right? Yep, I`m all kinds of poster-child for the well-adjusted. The past is the past. Never think twice about it. Katherine is gone. Stefan is gone. But occasionally, when the loneliness of immortality gets to be too much to bare...I find myself wondering what he`s doing now...