TL;DR »

• 1923 | Ernest is born in Kailua to George and Ida Swanson.
• 1927 | Ernest meets and befriends Mele.
• 1929 | Ernest and his family move to Georgia to care for his sick grandmother.
• 1936 | Ernest's grandmother dies.
• 1939 | World War II begins.
• 1939 | Ernest and his family move back to Hawaii; Ernest starts to date Mele.
• 1941 | Japan bombs Pearl Harbor; Ernest enlists in the army, but marries Mele before he is deployed.
• 1942-1945 | Ernest works for the armed forces, as well as as a spy for America.
• 1945 | Ernest returns home from the war and meets his son, Davey.
• 1947 | Bennet turns Ernest into a vampire and advises him to join in coven; Ernest refuses and returns home. Ernest goes feral and kills Mele and Davey, before agreeing to join Bennet.
• ~1950 | Ernest attends his first meeting, and meets Nicchia.
• 2016 | Ernest betrays Bennet's plan to force Aurelius and Cian to join his coven and leaves the coven himself to join Nicchia's.
• 2016 | Ernest and Nicchia begin to date.
• 2017 | Ernest becomes second-in-command of Nicchia's coven.

  ---

History »

Ernest was born in 1923, in Kailua, Hawaii. His parents, George and Ida, wanted nothing more than to live in paradise after enduring the separation of George's time fighting abroad in World War I. Though originally both from southern/midwestern United States, they have saved enough to go to Honolulu for their honeymoon when they were first married, and they completely fell in love with the island. Ernest, or Ernie to his parents, loved the island as much as his parents did. He spent most days in the sun or on the beach once he was old enough to go out and play. He made friends easily as a child, best friends with a girl named Mele.

When Ernest was six, Ida's mother in Georgia fell ill, and Ida felt it was her responsibility to go home to look after her mother. They temporarily moved back to Georgia, far from the ocean and even further from Ernest's friends and home, but Ida promised as soon as her mother started to look better, they would return home. Her mother didn't seem to recover much--her health fluctuated, dipping and rising but never quite to the point where she didn't need Ida. Eventually, George and Ida realized that they couldn't afford to keep paying for the house in Oahu, forced to sell the house and accept that they would have to live in Georgia.

Ida's mother died when Ernest was 13, and though the couple wanted to return to Hawaii, it was expensive, and they had to save up in order for it to be possible. But eventually, they managed to save enough to move back and be financially stable--when Ernest was 16. He adapted back to life on the islands easily, always seeming more at home by the ocean's side. After some time, he reunited with Mele, and the two started to see each other when they grew up a bit.

Being a teenager on the islands of Hawaii meant that Ernest didn't think a lot about life away from Oahu--but his peaceful life as an islander changed on December 7th, 1941. The attacks on Pearl Harbor were far enough away for Ernest and his family to be safe, but certainly close enough to shake them to the core. The illusion of safety and isolation from the dangers of the outside world were gone, and Ernest decided that he wanted to enlist in the Navy, in order to keep Mele and his family safe. Before he left, Ernest and Mele married, wanting to be husband and wife and bonded for life in case the worst happened.

Thanks to his Germanic heritage and tutoring in the language from his German grandmother, Ernest was trained for more than just basic training. While his height meant that he wasn’t exactly covert, his features and knowledge made him a good contender as a spy for the army. Of course, his basic knowledge wasn’t enough, but after training he had enough experience to be deployed. Being a spy wasn’t particularly fun or easy, and Ernest still did his fair share of actual fighting in the war--but it meant that communication with his wife was impossible, with the army not wanting to risk sending American mail to his German address.

Between his work spying and actually fighting in the war, Ernest made significant contributions intelligence-wise and worked well with others as a soldier. The war isn’t something he ever tries to think about or reflect on, but regardless, he did well enough to achieve two commendations; one for bravery in combat, as well as one for contributing to intelligence efforts. The titles and awards didn’t mean much to him; he was just relieved that the fighting was finally over.

Nothing felt as good as returning to Kailua after the war was over; world peace was assured, and his wife and parents were safe. He didn't expect what he came home to, but it was a happy surprise--a son, almost four years old. Although he was young, Ernest stepped into a parenting role with ease, immediately working to bond with and get to know Davey. Things weren't always easy, being young, being a father, and being a veteran, but Ernest worked hard to keep Mele and Davey happy and taken care of.

His renown from his time in the war eventually attracted the attention of a vampire in the habit of collecting strong ‘tools’; Bennet, and Bennet didn't care about whether or not Ernest was providing for his family. He attacked Ernest on a late night back from work, taking his by surprise and turning him. Bennet insisted that Ernest come join his coven, but Ernest adamantly refused, wanting nothing more than to be with his family. The vampire had shrugged it off, but warned him that Ernest would see things his way son. As scary and strange as everything was, Ernest wanted to believe if it was out of sight, it was out of mind, and he returned back to his wife and son.

He couldn't completely ignore the new shift in his nature; he clearly couldn't go out in the sun anymore, something Mele attributed to a cold and ordered him to stay in bed for, but the symptoms didn't seem to be passing as hoped. He became more fallow as he continued to resist feeding, and cooked meat could do nothing to sate his appetite; eventually, there was nothing he could do. His instincts kicked in when the hunger grew too much, causing him to go feral in his desperation for blood. Mele tried to defend herself and their son, scarring Ernest's face in her attempts to fight him off, but the wounds didn't mean much to the vampire in the grand scheme of things. Ernest didn't regain his control until he was completely sated, the tragedy and guilt of what he had done setting in fast. Bennet had seemed to appear after if he'd been watching the entire time, offering a place in his coven again and promising the offer help controlling himself. With nothing left to keep him in Kailua and desperate to keep himself from hurting anyone like that again, Ernest agreed, joining Bennet's coven.

For the decades that followed, Ernest was content to wallow in his guilt. Living with Bennet wasn’t quite a torture, but it wasn’t a happy life, and he felt he deserved even worse than what he had. Bennet’s desire to grow a larger coven than he had meant that the coven never stayed in one place long; as nomads, they traveled (primarily around Europe) as Bennet sought out stronger humans to turn to join his ranks. Ernest was protection, as he had developed a forcefield like power that he could use to protect others from other vampire powers--and he was protection as well because of his size and strength. He didn’t spend time interacting with the other coven members; simply going through the day to day motions that he presumed he’d be going through the rest of his life. END