A centuries-old war is waged between vampires and lycans (short for lycanthrope, from the Greek 'luk' [wolf] + 'ánthrōpos' [human], or werewolf). It begins with a fifth-century man, the sole survivor of a plague that wipes out his village. Somehow, his body turns the disease to his benefit, and afterward, he ceases to age. After living secretly, he moves often to prevent his immunity to the ravages of time from being discovered, even marrying on occasion. After he fathers twin sons who also inherit his gift, they learn its ultimate price after they become the first vampire and lycan after one suffers a bite from a bat and the other from a wolf. Once they learn they can "turn" normal humans into others like them by inflicting their bites on them, they terrorize the nearby countryside, taking from them either victims or tribute. The vampires ultimately enslave the Lycans until love leads to the Lycans' escape, igniting a bitter war that seems destined to have no end.