LORE: Vampires of Eyre

VAMPIRES

HISTORY

Vampires were the final creation of Morbrennia, an empire of the Second Age largely responsible for the Second Apocalypse. In the terrible war-torn world of sorcery and spawn they had unleashed, humans simply could not survive in Morbrennia's awful ruins, and so those mages who survived there near the world's end devised a new Curse of Unlife: Vampirism. It was intended as a way to survive and continue their arrogant legacy.

However, raising humans into Vampires almost destroys their existing personality and even their memories. Morbrennians who became Vampires knew nothing of what their country was and cared not for what it became. They fed on their countrymen, rather than turn them, and built a new country on the northern peninsula of Morgbrell in centuries time: Dracoslava, a bitter nation of Vampires always in strife because of its limited human livestock and constant bickering amongst bloodsucking nobles. Dracoslava has never had a king or ruler, only counts and lesser 'nobles' who own prisons of human slaves either descended of Morbrennia or captured at sea.

The eldest counts of Dracoslava narrowly control its impulsive Vampire population. Wary of new human empires and civilizations, Dracoslava's elite prefer to keep the country a secret, as no one has been mad enough to sail north of Morgbrell into Dracoslavic lands. Politically it operates as a federation that agrees on few things but their need for slaves.

REVIVAL

To raise into Unlife, one needs only to feed or inject Vampiric blood into a dying human in order to assure their revival as a Vampire. Orcs, Beastkin, Elves and other non-human humanoids cannot become Vampires: only natural humans, as the other races were already remade once from humankind by Morbrennian blood mages.

Normally, Vampire's blood is poison and does not raise those who received it while healthy, but if it is inside the body at the time of then it perpetuates its own curse. A Vampire-to-be's organs will stop function, but they will remain conscious, never truly dying. They exist in an unpleasant coma for three days before finally turning on the night of the third. Any remaining lifeforce in them is fully corrupted to Unlife in this time, after which they awake and hunt in a rage. A Vampire's organs resume function after reanimation and, unlike many Undead, Vampires emulate many biological processes.

For weeks after revival, Vampires do not possess abilities of speech or reason, despite having human intelligence; they are born into a frenzy in which they are only motivated by raw, basic predatory instincts. They will only feed on blood, fight or evade threats and rest to preserve their strength if they cannot readily find blood. Fresh vampires are aptly called 'fledglings', having little control over their powers much less their changed bodies, but superhuman strength and speed allows them to seize prey. They are restless and fearsome in this time.

Once a month has passed, a fledgling Vampire's rage subsides and ebbs, after which functions of personality emerge in the new Vampire. They will become capable of patience, speech and other mental capacities to about the same level as prime humans... but they never fully recall the memories of their human life. They can remember them, but they are dark, emotionless and distorted recollections. More than that, Vampires gain a very different personality than their living one after fledglinghood, losing most empathy and remorse; almost all of them are sociopaths. It's an invention of the curse, causing them to not identify as human nor to even identify as their former selves, which leads most Vampires to consider their human life a 'past life', with nothing to do with who they are now. Those few Vampires who do retain empathy are far from kind compared to humans.

ABILITIES

Superhuman strength and speed is a foremost asset among all Vampires. All of them can easily overpower normal men, having two to three times the physical capabilities of a human. In addition, although they can damage their bodies by overexertion, they can use the full strength of their muscles on a whim whereas the human body naturally operates at only around thirty percent of its potential so-as to prevent injury. But, as a Vampire's blood reserves thin and dry-out during exertion or starvation, a Vampire quickly loses their incredible strength. Blood-starved Vampires are no stronger than sickly old humans, unable to fight on-par with men during weakness.

Permanent regeneration is another ability making Vampires some of the most troublesome and dangerous Undead on the planet. As long as they continue consuming living blood, a Vampire's body will constantly self-repair at both a rate and depth exceeding humans. They can grow new limbs and organs in weeks, if they don't bleed-out or perish of their wounds. Common or minor battle-wounds heal for Vampires within days. A Vampire's regeneration only ceases if their blood reserves become dry and thin, as they must consume blood both daily and frequently in order to maintain themselves. However, destroying a Vampire's heart or brain kills them outright, and survivable damage to either takes months rather than weeks to heal.

Heightened senses and reflexes is another capacity of Vampires. They don't quite have the heightened senses of some animals, but can tell if a person is afraid or stressed by the smell of their sweat, may hear heartbeats from hundreds of yards away, and have excellent tactile senses able to discern the quality or fabric or armor simply by touching it. They enjoy sensation more than humans and love pleasant smells, soft silk and beautiful artwork because they can perceive each sensation to a far greater magnitude than mortals. However, Vampires are completely unable to taste food, only able to taste live blood... but their taste for blood is so refined they can discern a person's diet, health and even their current mood by the flavor of it. What kind of person- and blood- a Vampire prefers varies greatly, depending only on their personality: the actual health or condition of the person it's from doesn't matter, as all blood renders the same sustenance for them, but picky Vampires only choose certain prey for taste and aesthetic alone. Dead blood tastes repugnant and nauseating to Vampires, so they cannot feed on stored blood even if it is preserved.

Vampiric flight is an ability Vampires eventually gain about a year or so into their Unlife. They do not actually fly by physical means, but are so rejected by nature that they can temporarily make themselves weightless, or change the vectors of gravity on their bodies for a short time. It is a difficult skill for Vampires to master, but by selectively excluding or manipulating gravity upon themselves, they can are capable of slow flight or running across walls and ceilings. Although unearthly to witness, Vampiric flight goes at a slow speed, leaving them to stakes and arrows if they are in combat. Notably, Vampires cannot actually lessen nor increase the of gravity on themselves, as by distorting it they are 'allowing' physics to reject their bodies in a manipulable capacity.

_Vampires cannot use magic. _It is unknown exactly why. They possess no mana in their bodies, being creatures of pure Unlife. It's speculated the Curse of Vampirism prevents them from even channeling this Unlife into spells to prevent the Vampire from killing itself. However, very old and powerful Vampires do eventually develop a counterpart equal to magic, known as Sanguinum. But, most Vampires never acquire powers of Sanguinum, and those who do only ever develop very specific and limited magic-like abilities. It's a rare gift that barely surfaces in one out of one-thousand Vampires. Even elder Vampires may live for hundreds of years before developing Sanguinum.

For most Vampires, their powers cease developing for many years after they gain the above abilities... but so long as they can consume live blood, a Vampire's power and potential increases endlessly, limited only by time and prey.

SANGUINUM

Normally, Vampires don't develop powers beyond their basic faculties, and completely lack the ability to use, cast or manipulate magic because their bodies are incompatible with mana. However- some rare Vampires develop Sanguinum, a domain of magic-like casting derived from their blood instead of mana or Unlife. But unlike magic, a Vampire doesn't make spells, and has no control over what their Sanguinum will be. Some examples of Sanguinum include the ability to transform into a red mist, or Vampire bats, or even the ability to hypnotize humans with only eye contact... It's theorized a Vampire's personality and desires as a human before turning are what determines their Sanguinum, as well as their Vampiric bloodline. In addition, most Vampires only develop a single power of Sanguinum, but should multiple users of it work together Vampires as a group are immensely flexible in combat, or espionage. There are stories of Vampires able to completely alter their appearance or read a person's mind simply by drinking from them.

Sanguinum powers are, however, hereditary among Vampires: a Vampire who can use Sanguinum will sire new Vampires (from humans they turn) who often have the potential to use a Sanguinum ability(ies) similar to their own. For this reason, Vampires keep a close eye on blood pedigrees and who's sired who, so-as to predict the usefulness of a new Vampire based on who's blood will cause them Vampirism. Useless or dangerous Sanguinum is not allowed to be passed, while Vampires may carefully pick from noble or elder Vampires to try and propagate their abilities.

Vampires begin with only ever being able to use Sanguinum on a single scale: if they can make bats from their blood, they will always make the same number of bats each time they use it. They can only barely manipulate the behavior of their Sanguinum. However, as they use their abilities, their Sanguinum develops: very old Vampires can control the scale and even sometimes the effect of their Sanguinum, eventually mastering its use and capabilities. A single Sanguinum ability may become much more advanced and flexible after a hundred years of use. But, developing Sanguinum abilities to improve their control and function takes more than time... they must be used constantly, and in extremes. Sanguinum evolves most quickly when a Vampire uses it in danger.

No matter what a Vampire's Sanguinum power is, however, it constantly consumes their blood while in use. It's dangerous for a Vampire to use this power recklessly. In addition, most Sanguinum is draining a Vampire's blood to some extent whenever it's having an effect at all: if a Vampire has a hypnosis ability and uses it on one human to make them follow a command, then the Sanguinum is still in effect and the Vampire will lose blood constantly as long as the human is hypnotized, even if that human is idle or unable to act on the command- the Vampire using the Sanguinum will consume far more blood and tires quicker, until the ability's shut off... or in that example, until they broke the hypnosis. More impressive or larger-scale Sanguinum can potentially consume so much blood from a Vampire that they can die simply by overusing the ability.

A few Vampires have appeared in Dravoslavic history who had multiple powers of Sanguinum, only two of which survive today as the eldest counts. However, it's known that using them all at once consumes even more blood, a stress of constant damage that even an elder cannot endure for long. Sanguinum, thus, is regarded among Vampires as being a dangerous gift one must use cautiously and sparingly. Some do not refine or practice their Sanguinum for fear of being killed by it.

Although dangerous for its Vampire users, Sanguinum carries the advantage of being immune to all anti-magic wards, enchantments or spells. It cannot be negated and technically isn't magic, even though it is spawned by sorcery contained in the Curse of Vampirism. Only very strong Holy powers typically used by priests can lessen or suppress Sanguinum, but even high-level Exorcism struggles to fight Sanguinum, and is seldom able to actually disable Sanguinum.

BLOODLINES

The abilities of a Vampire are known to vary slightly depending on their sire, the Vampire who raised them to Unlife. A long bloodline of Vampires that has perpetuated for centuries shows differences in basic and advanced abilities compared to lowborn Vampires, or those sired from the First Blood, the original Vampire's blood made at the end of Morbrennia. It is still kept in Dracoslava today and is used to occasionally make new bloodlines; elite Vampires are always cultivating 'lowborn' Vampires from the First Blood to try and create new Sanguinum powers, in hopes of passing on useful Sanguinum onto new clans.

Vampires sired from an existing Vampire, however, vary slightly and will take on some aspects from their sire: when raised by a Vampire, a new Vampire's appearance slowly changes, often taking on the hair and or eye color of their sire among other slight cosmetics to resemble them. As a result, Vampires often consider new Vampires that they sire to be their 'children', treating them as relatives.

Younger Vampiric bloodlines are considered 'default', having standard abilities and only rarely developing Sanguinum. However, when new bloodlines continue to sire, what differences that are in their bloodline rapidly accentuate to become more prominent. Eventually, even new bloodlines will begin producing Vampires of distinct Sanguinum and variations in Vampiric performance, given enough generations...

Noble bloodlines among Vampires, or clans and families that've survived for a few centuries, vary slightly in abilities- some clans of Vampires are known for having extremely high-attuned senses, or being much faster than other Vampires. However, these increases in some abilities come at the cost of others being reduced: Vampires who are unusually swift are usually much less strong than other Vampires, and sensory abilities can distract or even torment 'gifted' Vampires of distinguished clans. The worst case scenario, feared by all Vampire bloodlines, is a lessened or lost ability to regenerate: some abnormally powerful Vampires are sired with the inability to heal at all, making them almost mortal. Only one clan is known to lack abilities of regeneration in exchange for monstrous physical strength, but they are prohibited from ever siring new Vampires.

Among established and continued bloodlines, any power of Sanguinum a Vampire develops can be passed down to its descendents, but often with slight differences in the Sanguinum itself. An example is multiple targets and or effects: some Vampires with hypnosis can enthrall many humans instead of just one, but lose the ability to make complex commands or consume far more of their own Unlife in sustaining the Sanguinum. Older, higher-prestige Vampire clans tend to have more Sanguinum re-occurrence in their bloodlines, and even sometimes multiple hereditary Sanguinum powers.

Bloodlines gradually mutate over time, but more developed bloodlines are not necessarily stronger than lowborn ones: they are only more specialized, as all Vampires are similar in strength- except when variables of age and diet are considered. Well-fed, older Vampires are stronger than young and starved ones by far. Visually, however, some clans differ wildly in appearance: some sires pass on only their eye and or hair color, while others all have bat-like ears or deformed fangs. Some noble houses are infamously ugly, turning even beautiful humans into hideous ghoul-like Vampires. It is more often these visual differences rather than actual distinctions of Sanguinum or specialties that causes conflict among Vampires, who dislike those that don't resemble themselves by instinct.

While utilizing Sanguinum, the sclerae of a Vampire's eyes turn from white to pitch black.

WEAKNESSES

The Curse of Vampirism was made hastily and has flaws never corrected, as the creators of Vampirism were soon consumed by it. All Undead are rejected by nature on some level- but Vampires, by far, are the most unnatural Undead and are the most to Holy powers.

Vampires cannot withstand sunlight, the source and sustenance of all life energy on Eyre. Though they must consume living blood from mortals to sustain themselves, sunlight rejects and damages Vampirism, causing their bodies to break-down and combust into ashes and cinders. Being caught in the sun has been the of many Vampires... but the stronger a Vampire is, the longer it can endure sunlight, though none can survive more than just a few seconds of it. Many Holy spells can briefly generate sunlight as the ultimate weapon against Vampires.

Vampires have a severe allergy to garlic- every part of the plant is toxic to them, causing their arteries to swell shut. Enough garlic can blood-starve a Vampire in minutes, but it is normally used to weaken them instead during combat.

Vampires have a crippling aversion to running water. Although water normally sustains life- for Vampires, being submerged in flowing water shuts down their metabolism, rejecting the flow of Unlife in their bodies. Flowing water cannot kill a Vampire... but they are paralyzed for as long as they are submerged, after which they might die if the waters they're under receive sunlight.

Vampires cannot rest except upon the soil of their homeland. Most do not leave the land they were born in as humans, before turning, but Dracoslavs cirvumvent insomnia by bringing the soil of their home with them in coffins. This allows them to sleep even if far from home. Insomnia can be problematic for Vampires because without rest their regenerative powers and stamina slow greatly, though they do not die for lack of rest.

Vampires are averse to the religious paraphenalia of Styria's Crossed Church, from its holy texts to blessed holy water and even the symbol of their faith. Notably, they are not averse to any other faith, and Bakal texts and objects fail to have any effect on them- much to the frustration of Bakari clergy. But the aversion is minor, only putting Vampires into a temporary state of fear and shock. They cannot enter Styrian churches of their own will.

Holy magic is very effective against Vampires, especially its wards and offensive light spells. A successful Exorcism kills a Vampire, but only priests of the Crossed Church can practice it.

Although not a specific weakness, Vampires are to being stabbed through the heart. It is no harder to pierce it than a human's, and if the heart is completely stabbed-through, the damage is always fatal for Vampires.

SEX & DHAMPIRS

Vampires can only be made by spreading their Curse to a dying human- however, Vampires do retain a sex drive and can produce offspring. The result is always a Dhampir: a half-Vampire, all of which are considered bastards in Dracoslava and denied their parent's birthright.

Dhampirs are lowly citizens in Dracoslava, but do at least have freedom. Their blood is unpalatable to Vampires and so their only worth is their labor- which is valuable, as Dhampirs can withstand sunlight.

Being half Vampiric, Dhampirs possess enhanced physical abilities and can survive solely on blood, but cannot use Sanguinum and are only one-third as strong as a Vampire.

For Vampires, sex is simply a recreative passtime, and Dhampirs are but meaningless accidents. Female Vampires carry them during pregnancy, and male Vampires may impregnate mortal females with them, but Vampires can't produce offspring at all with other Vampires- only with mortals. Only humans can produce Dhampir offspring with Vampires; sub-humans, such as Orcs or Beastkin, can't produce Dhampirs.