A vampire, identified by glowing red eyes and pallid skin. Cape not included.
- "Once green lands will be unbearably cold, the air will be death, and the blood will be ours."
- ―Cain, the First Vampire, Supreme Overlord of Apoproryia
Origin[]
There was once a peaceful and prosperous country, Apoproryia, ruled by a King named Abel who was chosen by the High Angel Malziel to rule. He had an older brother, Cain, a man that felt insulted and undermined by the divine decree. Cain went on to to acquire the power of vampirism through unknown means, perhaps aided by a dark entity. Abel's six Counts were transformed into vampires one by one in a violent usurping where Cain personally murdered his kin, replacing him as King. As the vampires dominated and grew as a species, Cain was empowered, enough so that his presence on Aproporyia made the air toxic and the temperature plummeted.
Over time, exceptional vampires were sent overseas to conquer, promised the title of Count should they be successful. Valmasia encountered the species under different circumstances, however, with Vlad being exiled in 550AC after attempting to overthrow the counts and their superior.
Traits[]
Almost all Valmasians know of the distinct physical traits of a vampire - pale skin, sanguine eyes and elongated canines are all hallmarks of the dreaded creatures that once haunted Valmasia. Their mana is muted and dead, comparable to that of a non-magi, making them tricky to catch.
As per the original conditions under which Cain cursed himself with vampiric immortality, vampires are driven to depravity and murder. Natural sadists, inflicting pain often brings euphoria to the vampire. Their compassion is dulled, though they're known to form bonds of eternal loyalty, usually to their elders, undead comrades or lovers, but this can vary depending on the vampire.
Vampires are compelled to the feasting of blood, and more often than not lose themselves while feasting; it's extremely rare for a vampire to hold themselves back from killing the human they're draining, sometimes leading to feelings of remorse after the act. While it's an addiction, a vampire can never die from not feeding. However, this comes with severe drawbacks--while the Vampire's body will remain forever frozen at the age they were turned, if they do not feed the body will begin to weaken, their appearance aging at a rapid rate. For newborn vampires, this can happen in a matter of weeks. For ancients (those that have lived for 200+ years) this would take months. Even older vampires could presumably go years without feeding.
As the vampire neglects its desire to feed, its powers will begin to regress. This is not a permanent loss, and full power will be restored if the vampire feeds in enough excess to bring it back. As the aging process happens, the vampire will start feeling sluggish, as if it's harder to move. Their skin becomes leathery and hard, their hair begins to grey, and their overall appearance will look aged and ragged. After enough time without blood passes (again varying with age) the vampire will be unable to move at all, and thus will require an immense burst of will or some sort of outside aid to become mobile again. A vampire could potentially exist for an eternity in this stasis.
Abilities[]
A vampire's mana circuit is destroyed beyond repair upon their mortal death, forever prohibiting them from utilising magical abilities, but it is the curse of Cain that grants them their unnatural power when they join the ranks of the undead. The curse gives them mana and special powers derived directly from the original vampire.
All vampires have agility and strength that far surpasses that of any human, along with lightning-fast reflexes and the unique ability to regenerate flesh very rapidly compared to conventional healing, at a rate that averages several minutes depending on the severity of the wound. It isn't unheard of for a vampire to regenerate an entire body from just its own severed head - of course, such a process would take several weeks of undisturbed regeneration.
Along with many talents from dispersing into red mist to flight, an experienced vampire can also manipulate either Ice, Blood, Illusion, or Poison. [A-Help at 150RPL+ to join one of these trees]
The potency of a vampire's abilities is magnified as the vampire ages and the curse sustaining them becomes more powerful. New abilities may also manifest with enough time.
- Three years after being turned, a fledgling Vampire is capable of hiding their depravity as well as being able to control their blood lust to a much greater extent than as a newborn. This is also the point in which Vampirism becomes irreversible.
- Vampires older than 150 years can regenerate wounded flesh in mere seconds, with a full-body regeneration taking a day at most rather than the weeks required for a younger vampire. They are also capable of flight and are able to take control of the minds of lesser men and beings.
- Vampires that are fortunate enough to age beyond 300 years gain a further upgrade to their regeneration abilities, allowing them to reconstruct lost flesh in the blink of an eye - re-creating their entire physical form below the neck would likely only take a number of seconds for these immensely powerful creatures. In addition, they can transcend their physical form and become a gaseous mist for as long as they please, and may also shapeshift into any form for a temporary period of time.
Infection[]
The vampiric curse is transmitted through blood: a vampire's blood must enter another's bloodstream for the curse to take hold. This follows after the murder of a victim. Infection is frequently unsuccessful - often the victim dies outright. Only a few 'fortunate' vampire victims re-awaken after their initial death. Human sub-species, such as Oscuri , Drakanite and Ookami , can become vampires. This comes with the cost of losing all ties to their respective racial skills.
A non-Magi has little to no hope of surviving the infection process. Lesser Magi, those new to their craft or just otherwise inept, are most likely to turn into Ghouls. Ghouls are vampires that never evolve past the newborn stage, and are slaves to their impulses and their master's will. Generally speaking, they are mindless killing machines with little semblance of their previous humanity.
If the infection succeeds, the supposedly-dead human re-awakens into their newly vampiric form after only a few hours, granted a second life after death by Cain's curse. For a full week after their re-awaking, a newly-born vampire will be consumed by an all-encompassing hunger for blood. This thirst cannot be sated for the duration of the week - a new vampire will think of nothing except their next meal, no matter their circumstances or how much they've consumed already. During this period, the vampire lacks its memories from its past life, thinking of loved ones or past friends it may encounter as nothing more than food. If fortunate, the vampire will be held captive and fed frequently by the vampire that turned them in order to prevent an untimely re-death at the hands of city guards or other hazards.
The curse of Cain can only be reversed by killing the vampire who infected the one who requires their curse to be removed. However, there is only a short window of time within which this method will work - it takes three years of vampirism for the curse to fully manifest and become independent of the cursed individual that spawned it, after which the death of the infecting vampire will do nothing to the infected. There is no other way to reverse the curse without permanently killing the cursed individual.
The overall success rate of infection is fairly low. The stronger the magi in question, and the stronger the vampire whose blood is being used, the more likely they are to survive. The only guaranteed chance at infection is through using the blood of Cain, the original vampire. The victim of Cain's blood would be a super-charged newborn, much stronger than any other newborn though not quite at Cain's level.