The race of vampires first appeared in the Pre-Cataclysmic Era (before the sinking of Atlantis and Lemuria) circa 18,500 B.C., when the Atlantean cult of the Darkholders used the power of the Chthon Scrolls in order to oppose King Kull, who had slain their leader, Thulsa Doom. The result was Varnae, one of their own who was raised as the world's first vampire (Varnae had willingly allowed this to happen so that he could cheat death and live forever). Varnae quickly slew the other Darkholders and used them to found the vampire race, with himself as Lord of the Vampires
According to legend, the evil and beautiful Stygian Princess Akivasha reveled in the black halls of Luxor circa 20,000 B.C. and became a vampire at some point
It can be presumed that the datation here is approximative and hyperbolic, considering that true vampires only appear circa 18,500 BC, and that Stygians came to inhabit the area known as Stygia during the Hyborian Age only thousands of years later
Other races of vampires - the Adze, Ancient, Charniputra, Huskies, Jumlin, Nosferati, Purebloods, Tryks, and Yiki Onna - either diverged from this original Varnaean line, or else arose out of other circumstances
Somewhere near the land that would become Wakanda, Varnae built a large temple, which he used to imprison and sacrifice countless locals as part of his ascension rituals. From his killings, some of his victims were turned into vampires who began guarding the temple in order to allow Varnae to continue working on the rituals uninterrupted and unopposed. As the victims included worshippers of the Moon God Khonshu and the Orishas, the gods formed an alliance to not only get revenge on Varnae, but also stop him from completing his rituals. The coalition of gods managed to repel the vampires and rescue the surviving prisoners but, although the cursed temple was washed away, they failed to properly take Varnae down From then on, the vampires became Khonshu's mortal enemies due to them hunting in the night which was his domain and, as a result, the Cult of Khonshu would often battle any vampire that it came across
When Atlantis sank, Varnae went into hibernation, emerging from time to time to confront other threats to him, such as when he battled against Conan, Red Sonja, and Zula, but they were able to fend him off
