Ambrogio

**Ambrogio** was a young adventurer who became the Alpha Vampire and the progenitor of the Vampire race after he visited Eastern Europe.

## **Mythology**

Ambrogio was a young adventurer. Born and raised in Italy, he had always longed to travel to Greece to have his fortune told by the Oracle of Delphi. When he was an adult, he got on a boat and sailed to the western edge of Greece, near Astakos. He traveled east until he eventually reached the city of Delphi.

Delphi was home to a great temple of Apollo the sun god.  It was also the home of the Pythia, better known as the Oracles. The Pythia would sit in a chamber within the temple and speak of prophecies, inspired by Apollo, to those who came to seek the Oracle's wisdom.

He met Selena, and they fell in love. But Apollo grew jealous so he cursed Ambrogio so that the sun would burn his skin. Distraught, he made a deal with the god Hades. If he could steal the silver bow of Artemis and bring it back, Hades would grant him and Selene protection in the underworld. The deal specified that Hades would give Ambrogio a magical wooden bow and 11 arrows to hunt with. He was to offer his hunting trophies to Artemis in order to gain her favor and steal her silver bow.  As collateral, Ambrogio had to leave his soul in Hades until he returned with the bow. Should he return without the silver bow, he would have to live in Hades forever, never to return to Selena. Having no other choice, Ambrogio agreed.

Before morning for 44 days Ambrogio slew a swan and used its blood to write Selena a love poem. After draining the blood and taking a single feather he offered the body of the swan as a tribute to Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. and also the twin sister to Apollo. He hoped that even if he could not steal her bow, she would be honored by the tribute and would be able to convince her brother Apollo to remove the curse.

On the 45th night, Ambrogio had only one arrow left. He shot it at a swan and missed, the arrow sailing into the distance. He had neither the blood to write Selena's poem nor the swan to sacrifice to Artemis. He fell to the ground and wept.

Seeing how good of a hunter and how dedicated of a follower Ambrogio had been, Artemis came down to him. He begged Artemis to let him borrow her bow and an arrow so he could kill one last bird and leave one final note to Selena.

Artemis took pity on him and agreed to let him borrow her silver bow and an arrow. He took the bow, and in desperation, ran to the cave that led to Hades. Artemis realized what was happening and cast her own curse on Ambrogio. The curse caused all silver burn his skin. Ambrogio dropped the silver bow and fell to the ground in pain.

Artemis was furious at his deceit, but he begged her for forgiveness. He explained the deal he was forced to make with Hades, his curse by Apollo, and his love for Selena. He apologized profusely and swore that he had no other choice.

Artemis took pity on him again and decided to give him one last chance. She offered to make him a great hunter, almost as great as she was, with the speed and strength of a god and fangs with which to drain the blood of the beasts to write his poems. In exchange for this immortality, he would have to agree to a deal. He and Selena would have to escape Apollo's temple and worship only Artemis forever. The catch was that Artemis was a virgin goddess, and all of her followers had to remain chaste and unmarried, so Ambrogio was never allowed to touch Selena again. They could never kiss, never touch, never have children.

After a number of years, Ambrogio's immortality allowed him to stay young, but Selena continued to age as a mortal. She finally fell ill and was on her deathbed. Ambrogio was distraught, knowing that he would not join Selena in the afterlife because his soul still resided in Hades. At night, he went into the woods and found a white swan swimming alone in a small lake. He killed the swan and offered it to Artemis, begging for her to make Selena immortal so they could stay together forever.

Artemis appeared to him. Thankful for his years of dedication and worship, she made him one last deal.  Artemis told Ambrogio that he could touch Selena just once - to drink her blood. Doing so would kill her mortal body, but from then on, her blood mixed with his could create eternal life for any who drink of it. If he did this, Artemis would see to it that they stayed together forever.

## **Powers and Abilities**

As the Alpha Vampire, he possesses abilities far superior to common Vampires and other monsters via the blessings the goddess Artemis gave him.

* **Enhanced Super Strength** - As the first Vampire in existence, Ambrogio is considerably stronger than humans, lesser monsters, and all Vampires. His strength is such that its demigod-like as he can overpower weak Demons also, though with some difficulty.
* **Enhanced Super Speed** - Ambrogio can move at speeds much faster than any human and lesser monsters.
* **Enhanced Super Senses** - Enhanced sight, hearing, taste, and smell inherent in the Vampire race, though his senses are much more attuned than normal Vampires.
* **Enhanced Super Agility** - He possess far superior agility to other Vampires.
* **Enhanced Super Stamina** - Unlike lesser Vampires, he tires less easily, and can control his bloodlust more easily.
* **Immortality**- Ambrogio is the oldest Vampire in existence and will live forever, provided he isn't killed, he is thousands of years old and has existed since the Ancient Greek civilization.
* **Low Invulnerability** - Ambrogio cannot be killed by conventional methods, he is also immune to being stabbed with a wooden stake.
* **Regeneration**- He is able to recover from injuries much faster than regular Vampires.

## **Weaknesses**

Unlike average Vampires, Ambrogio was immune to wooden stakes and was less affected by sunlight and dead man's blood.

* **Silver Stake** - Unlike other Vampires, Ambrogio is immune to wooden stakes, silver stakes through the heart will kill him, even touching silver burns his flesh.
* **Decapitation** - Like all Vampires, he is vulnerable to beheading.
* **Sunlight** - While still affected by this, he is less sensitive to it.
* **Dead Man's Blood - He is** still affected by this, it takes much more to subdue him and he can recover quickly from it.