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U'rth: Vampires

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The Legend

Even before the Cataclysm, the tales of vampires haunted the human race. The greatest of them all was Count Dracula, Vlad Tepes, “The Impaler”. He was a righteous warrior of Christendom, devoting himself whole souled to his religion. When war called against the Ottomans, he left his lands and his wife to destroy them in the name of his god. However, on his return, he learned of the castle where his wife was living was under siege. He made all haste to her, but was unable to reach it in time. As he broke the battle lines of his enemies, he found his wife’s body floating in the river surrounding the castle, having thrown herself from a tower. The priests condemned her as a suicide and would find no peace in heaven. This drove the Count into a rage. He renounced his faith and cursed god, pledging himself to darker powers that would grant him the ability to defy the terrible life he was rewarded.

Eventually, his reign of terror ended centuries before the Cataclysm. Current vampires recognize him as their Dark Saint, who strive to achieve the same fearsome greatness as he did. Some even believe that he was a real and that his remains must be brought together, to resurrect him and to bring a new age ruled by vampires.

Origins

In the ancient past, vampirism began as a simple rumor stating that the consumption of blood would increase one’s lifespan. Ingesting blood alone would not do anything; however, lacing the blood with a spell drastically did so. With continued use, the consumer would eventually transform themselves into an abomination whose lust for blood would never be sated. It is said that the transformation was a curse of the gods, those defying the natural order of things needed to be punished for their trespass. The exact origins of this practice are unclear.

To counteract such a curse, scholars and wizards alike began research into an “elixir of life”. Their reasoning was that if they used natural sources to extend one’s life, the curse would not affect them. One man eventually did and succeeded, so the stories say. The complete record of his work was never fully recovered and only bits and pieces remain. Those envious of his success gathered what they could and devised their own formula for the Elixir. All who partook of it died that very day. Such a loss of great minds spurned others to take no effort in creating another in the coming years.

The partakers of the false Elixir did succeed, to an extent. Rising from the dead, the partakers had gained a vile form of eternal life in undeath but with it came a price. They needed to drink the blood of others to keep themselves from perishing. Not only that, but another curse of the gods fell upon them: daylight would scorch their skin, children born of their females would wither and die and holy symbols pertaining to what is good and righteous would drive them away. So they hide away from the sun and isolated themselves from the world, only going forth during the night and carrying away helpless victims. They had become vampires.

Most died off in the early months of awakening, either not knowing of their curse or because of being hunted down. A rare few survived, only to resurface gradually in recent years, especially among the nobility of human cultures. They could afford the expensive fees of necromancers and other vampires so that they could extend their own life beyond their subjects. Those that were content with others having this power formed a society of undeath, a close knit group of family clans that ruled a kingdom forever bathed in eternal twilight.

Castes

Within the vampire social structure is a rigid caste system. At the top, ancient Vampire Truebloods lead their deathless servants. They are considered to be the first of their clan to be turned and are considerably powerful both in strength and magic. They are rarely seen outside their castles, much less their coffins. Much of the world disinterests them and they indulge themselves in their own affairs, waiting for a particularly enthralling event to distract them momentarily. Most of the Truebloods consist of males, but there have been reports of few female Truebloods leading a clan.

Below these are the Bluebloods, who make up the majority of the vampire population. These are the second generation vampires who have been previously been bitten by a Trueblood or have partaken in the False Elixir under a Trueblood’s permission. They range greatly in status and title: Barons, Dukes, Viceroys and the ever popular Count. Most of them manage a province or territory given to them by a Trueblood.

Knights and warriors make up the third caste. They are fiercely loyal to their liegelord and carry with them a tenacity that’s unmatched in the world of the living. They are turned by receiving the Blood Kiss, a bite to the wrist from a Vampire Lord’s mate or consort. The neck bite is reserved for only those a vampire is intimately familiar with and to give it to another of lesser class is considered uncouth. The turning is no different than if it were to the neck, it is merely a symbol of loyalty and honor to the vampire knight.

The lowest class is for the mindless servants of the vampires, be they undead or not. Boggarts and Skraelings, altered bat-creatures made to serve as familiars and minions, make up the majority of this caste. The Moroi, the lowest form of vampire, are not truly undead as they have a normal life span and death. Particularly powerful Moroi, usually females, become a Pelesit. which is physically frail or even unable to fend by itself, but with great psi-abilities. Usually kept in some container and regularly fed by other servants, they are used to torture the master vampire's enemies with madness and disease.

Outside of the caste system exists other vampires as well. The Mullo, vampiric hitmen, do the clandestine dirty work whoever hires them. While the Truebloods deny their existence, it is usually them who employ the Mullo. The Strigoi are self-imposed exiles, powerful dark sorcerers and changelings that do not see the benefit of attaching themselves to a vampire clan. Estries are rogue vampire knights with no leigelord and are shunned by other vampires for their mingling with “lesser species”.

Finally, there is the Dhampir. They are a rare form of creature, which is a creature born of a vampire through a mortal woman. They walk a fine line between the worlds of life and death, shunned by both but affected little by each other. They have incredible strength and agility, not to mention deep ties to magic that rival even that of the Truebloods and Archmages around the world. Children conceived this way usually die, but during a time known to the vampires as the Blood Moon, a new one will enter the world.

Other Species

There is more than one type of vampire that walks the earth. The Truebloods and the Bluebloods exist within the civilized domain of the vampires and are by far the most common. However, there are far viler, wilder creatures that even the vampires look down on in disgust.

Aufhocker - Vampiric shapeshifters, usually taking on the form of bats or wolves and reverting to humans during the daylight hours. Their tactics involve tearing out their prey’s throat.

Asasabonsam - African vampires identified by dark skin and unusually long limbs with hook-like claws. Often hunt by sitting on tree branches, letting their legs dangle to ensnare passing victims.

Bloodweed - A type of plant that grows freely among the grounds of some vampire lords, growing on mounds of fresh dead. By first glance, it looks like a patch of crimson coloured leaves. With a closer look, in the center of the leaves is a tiny barbed mouth, hell bent on sucking the blood out of whatever creature steps on it. Let it get enough nourishment and it grows into a rather nasty monstrosity. Its uses can be for a blood-boiling poison (if ingested).

Orlok - Mutant vampires often found in irradiated zones. They have toothy, proboscis-like mouths.

Draugar - Corpse-like vampires with scabrous skin and pronounced potbellies. Their bodies stew with noxious, magically corrupted diseases and parasites they can spread around with “belches” of multicolored gas. Not particularly confrontational, they prefer to hunt by unleashing their pestilences as they go and feed upon those that fall victim to them.

Jiang Shi - Oriental vampires with heightened speed and agility, moving around in quick leaps. They collect themselves in small family groups or gangs, using their own caste system outside of the norm.

Penanggalan - A breed of vampire from Malaysia that looks normal at first glance, but casts off his or her body by night, becoming a disembodied head with a trailing set of viscera. They are able to squeeze through the smallest gaps and cracks, and enjoy popularity as vampiric assassins, but other vampires consider them either gross or needlessly flashy. They are understandably vulnerable to thorns and sharp implements, and deathly afraid of salt.

Vaital - Indian vampires, typically short of stature but gifted with the ability to animate corpses from the very moment of their creation. Solitary and inquisitive, they seldom if ever unify and have a fame of cruel tricksters, torturing and pranking mortals with horrifically twisted undead.

Vrykolakas - Regardless of variety, a vampire that remains unable to feed for an extended period of time or has gone too far in its regenerative madness will visibly and increasingly degenerate until they “harden” into a cocoon-like husk, from which will emerge a hideous entity known as a Vrykolakas, or “Blood Wight”. Losing all of their original personality, Vrykolakas are all feral, horrible and greatly powerful beasts, driven only by an unquenchable thirst for the blood of all other creatures, up and including regular vampires, and leave a path of brutal murder and destruction wherever they go in their nocturnal rampages. Every vampire fears the Vrykolakas, not because of the danger they represent, but for what they are; the horrifying, very real fate that could very well happen to them.

Vrykolakas go through a “molting” process every so often, but never seem to actually change, if only growing slightly bigger in some cases. Scholars theorize this might be a glimpse into the future, or perhaps the very thesis, of the vampire: eternal larvae, endlessly metamorphosing towards a perfect form that was never achieved and will probably never exist.


Weaknesses

There are many different methods of killing a vampire. They are as follows:

Holy Objects/Symbols/Ground - These are only effective if the vampire was a devout worshipper of a particular faith at some point in their lives. The vampire will stop dead in its tracks if makes direct eye contact with a holy object or symbol. Not only that, but the wielder must have a strong faith in such a symbol.

Sunlight - Some vampires are more affected by this than others, but typically a vampires powers are weakened during the day. Others are reduced to ashes.

Water - Unless otherwise noted, vampires can be defeated after been completely submerged in water. However, when they are taken out, they will come to life again.</span></p>

Garlic - While not a powerful enough poison to kill vampires, it will cause paralysis if consumed or injected by a vampire.

Silver - As will all unholy creatures of the night, vampires and their kin are susceptible to silver, as they find it toxic.

Stake - A wooden stake driven into the heart will stop a vampire from rising up from its grave. A silver stake, on the other hand, will kill it outright.

Decapitation - Unless otherwise noted, any vampires can be killed by decapitation. However, if the body and removed head are placed close enough together, they may be rejoined and the vampire will rise again.
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Comments69
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DuchessKitsune's avatar

Oh my god. Such description. Lovely art. Splendid job!


Draugar

This one sounds horrible. Good work!


Orlok

Interesting.


Vrykolakas

Nightmarish. Horrible. Splendid job!