Red Fern

Red Fern
Biographical Information
Born	Stone Age
Aliases	First Lamia Vampire Founder of Redfern family
Status	Unknown
Physical Information
Species	Lamia
Gender	Male
Hair Color	Red
Relationship Information
Family	Hecate Witch-Queen † (maternal grandmother) Grinnel Riverman † (father) Maya Hearth-Woman † (mother) Redwing (son)
Relatives	Hellewise Hearth-Woman † (maternal aunt) Iluna Hearth-Woman † (cousin) Redfern Family (direct descendants) Lamia (descendants)
Significant Others	Nightwing † (mate)

“ Maya had a vampire son called Red Fern and she bit people. — Thea Harman about Red Fern ”

Red Fern is the first lamia vampire and the son of Maya Dragonslayer. He is noted for being the progenitor of the Redfern Family, the most prominent family of lamia in the Night World.

History

Early life

During prehistoric times, Red Fern was born to the first vampire in history - Maya Dragonslayer - infamous for drinking the blood of four of her tribe's babies as part of a spell to attain immortality (the identity of his father is unknown, although the family tree lists him as Grinnel Riverman)  .

Red Fern himself was born a vampire; the first of vampires known as the "lamia". Sometime after Red Fern's birth, his aunt Hellewise Hearth-Woman challenged Maya in a single combat duel to end the blood feud between the vampires and witches of the tribe. Hellewise ultimately proved victorious, resulting in Maya and Red Fern's exile from the tribe.

Birth of Redwing

At some point, Red Fern took a woman named Nightwing as his mate and their children, including his son, Redwing, carried on the Redfern line.

Spellbinder

While not physically appearing in Spellbinder, Red Fern is mentioned by Thea Harman explaining the history of the Redferns and Harmans to fellow witch Dani Abforth.

Soulmate

Red Fern is once again mentioned in Soulmate. During a flashback, Thierry Descouedres recalls Maya being pregnant with Red Fern before changing him into a made vampire.

Night World: The Ultimate Fan Guide

Maya's son, the first born vampire, and the namesake of the most illustrious vampire family. Red holds a special place in lamia lore. Red receives his name because of the flaming color of his hair, a trait that is passed down through the millennium in the Redfern line.

Physical Appearance

Red Fern was named after his blood red hair, a trait that is passed down through the Redfern family. Other than that, not much is known about Red Fern's appearance, as he has never physically appeared in the series. It can be presumed that Red Fern has the yellow eyes commonly exhibited by his descendants, as well as being "inhumanly beautiful" like other Night People.

Personality

Little is known of Red Fern's personality as he's barely mentioned in the series, only in the context of a character explaining the history of the vampires and the Night World. It is mentioned that he was also driven from the witch tribe after Hellewise defeated Maya, suggesting that Red Fern may have supported his mother's views on vampire supremacy and may well have participated in the war against the witches.

Trivia

• Red Fern was the third overall vampire in existence (after his mother and Thierry Descouedres) and the first lamia vampire to be born.
• The Redfern and Harman Family Tree states that Red Fern's father was a man named Grinnel Riverman
• The mate of Red Fern is stated to be a woman named Nightwing, but, as Red Fern was the first lamia and the progenitor of all lamia, it is likely that Nightwing was a witch or a shapeshifter (as vampires cannot produce children with humans).
• Additionally, as Red Fern was the only lamia around at the time, his lamia children might have either mated with witches or shapeshifters to continue the species (although witches is less likely due to the ongoing Night Wars), or engaged in incestuous marriages (similar to real-world royal dynasties). 
• It is unknown whether Red Fern is still alive or not, but seeing as he is only mentioned in the history of the Redferns and Harmans, he is most likely deceased (possibly by the Great Flood which destroyed the Third World and caused the downfall of the vampires, or possibly killed in battle against the witches).
• Red Fern's direct descendants initially titled themselves "of the Red Fern" in his honour, which later became modernized as simply Redfern.

Appearances

• Spellbinder (mentioned)
• Soulmate (mentioned)