#amun.

Amun is an ancient vampire and the leader of the Egyptian coven and one of the only two survivors from the Volturi’s assault during the war between their covens. Members of the Egyptian coven, including Amun, existed as individuals for centuries before the Romanians’ rise to power. After the Romanians began to grow as a coven and dominate their part of the world, several solo vampires and vampire couples joined forces to protect their dominance in the Nile River Valley. Unlike the Romanians, they did not form a guard of subordinates or try to overthrow other vampire covens. Similar to the Romanians, they kept many human slaves and lived as gods. Although none of them possessed any particular gifts.

The Egyptians and Romanians coexisted: they were cordial to one another, though not friendly. Had the Romanians continued the expansion of their empire, eventually they probably would have tried to overthrow the much smaller Egyptian coven. Before the Romanians had time to move that far south, however, the Volturi attacked.

A century later, after the Volturi overwhelmingly won the war against the Romanians, they continued their march against other covens that lived ostentatiously. Their next target was Egypt. Again, the Volturi began with an attempt at diplomacy. They sent ambassadors to the Egyptian “gods”, explaining their cause and asking the Egyptians to comply. For the most part, the Egyptians were furious and refused to grant the Volturi any power over them. Only one Egyptian pair changed sides—Amun and Kebi. Amun knew that if the Volturi were able to overthrow the Romanians, the more peaceful Egyptians would be totally decimated within a few years.

Amun has a very strong survival instinct, and he was willing to bow to the Volturi if it kept him alive. Kebi followed Amun’s choice without question. However, Amun has always been bitter at having to surrender his former lifestyle. He loved the worship, the towering desert monuments, and the excess. He knew he could not plot against the Volturi, because Aro would find out. But he hoped that, over time, he could gain the strength to oppose them. He had learned from the Volturi methods, and he sought out talented humans and vampires.

Unfortunately for him, Aro was well aware of Amun’s true desires. He felt the need to let Amun survive in the first place as an example to other covens, so they could see the truth of the Volturi’s offer: as long as they did as the Volturi commanded, they could live. Aro always kept a close eye on Amun’s movements afterward, so Aro was able to identify individuals Amun was trying to integrate into his coven and—if they had a valuable talent—invite them into the Volturi guard first. Demetri was one of Amun’s acquisitions. But with Croesus on his side, it was not hard for Aro to woo people away from Amun. In many other cases, Aro would simply accuse a coven of a crime when he wanted one of their talented members. He’d kill the rest and save the special one. But Aro enjoys toying with Amun too much to end his life that way. Over the centuries, Amun had given up trying to create his own talented force. However, when he stumbled across Benjamin—who, as a human, was performing “magic” tricks in the streets of Cairo—he began to dream again. He became a total recluse, keeping Benjamin a deep secret by avoiding contact with any vampire or human who might possibly cross paths with the Volturi. He treated Benjamin as a son, and Benjamin viewed him as a father.

Amun is mistrustful, paranoid and outspoken. Amun is also easily intimidated and has a strong survival instinct that prompts him to do whatever it takes to survive, even switching sides and leaving someone behind.