Vampires

Vampires, also known as Children of the Night and the Spawn of Lamashtu, are a race of Supernaturals created by the Greater Demoness Lamashtu. They are undead and are the most scorned of all the Supernaturals.

## Appearance

Vampires appear the same as ordinary men and women, however they are often unnaturally pale and sallow, and their eyes are a brilliant blood red color, harsh and unyielding. When they enter a state of bloodlust or heightened emotions, their appearance often becomes much more feral and beastlike. Their scelera become bloodshot, almost completely red with blood, a second row of sharp canines extends from their mouths, short sharp claws extend from their hands, and even the skin of their face shifts giving them a harsh, snarling appearance.

Due to their immortality, vampires also appear the same age as they were when they were turned regardless of how long it has been. Unless they were turned at an older age, they show no signs of growing older.

## Origin

The first vampires were made more than three thousand years ago in 1200 BC by the Greater Demon Lamashtu. The Egyptian sorcerer Amon, who is also credited as the first of the warlocks though there was no Oath at this point in time, summoned Lamashtu and asked her to give him and his mistress Talibah the ability to live forever, the strength and speed of one hundred men, speed greater than a cheetah's, and other gifts that would make them better than both Mortals and their brethren.

Lamashtu agreed, but at a price. Under the darkness of a new moon, Amon and Talibah drank Lamashtu's blood, and were killed. Lamashtu then worked her demonic magic on Amon and Talibah and they woke as the first vampires and fed on Amon's wife. This murder not only completed their transformation, but acted as the final seal to Lamashtu's deal and corrupted Amon and Talibah's souls making them other than human.

When the Casters heard of this blasphemy, they called on the power of the Ancestors and created a curse that would make a weakness to match ever strength Amon and Talibah had gained through their treachery. Since they hid their deed in darkness, the sun would scorn them and even the moon's sacred light would harm their skin; since blood sealed their bargain, only blood would sustain them and they would hunt like beasts in the shadows; since demons brought them about, they would suffer from seraphic influence of any kind.

Despite this, vampires soon became a plague on the earth, spreading their disease and killing Mortals and Casters alike and draining them of their blood. Eventually, the Casters declared war against the vampires, and brought down the full force of their wrath against them. But the Casters were unused to this enemy, and the fight dragged on until out of nowhere a new race was born: the skinwalkers.

The skinwalkers struck at the rank of vampires with a fury unlike anything seen yet, and they began to drive the vampires back. With the help of the Essex family, a group of Romanian Casters who were among the first to attack the vampires, they beat the vampires into submission.

Vampire hunting and persecution continued centuries later until 1392. Harkon, one of Amon's chosen and one who recognized defeat, held council with the Casters and suggested that not all vampires were inherently evil and that they did not deserve to be hunted and slaughtered like animals. He and his brethren agreed that in exchange for the vampires ceasing to feed on living humans the Casters would cease hunting them down and allow them to join the ????.

## Leadership and Society

### Leadership

After his own creation, Amon chose five other individuals and their wives to serve as his advisers and to help him rule over his people. They were Mikhail and Selene of Russia, Harkon and ~~Elena~~ of England, ~~Marquis~~ and Gervais of France, Caius and Aelia of Rome, and Vlad and Jusztina of Romania (Elena and Marquis are both dead, leaving only eight of the originals left).

These five pairs of extraordinarily powerful vampires are known as the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, and each pair rules for a century while the others do whatever they please. However, because vampires are a highly nomadic people, they do not rule like normal kings and queens, but rather act as a police force and the representation of their people as a whole. Vampires who break laws such as exposing the vampire society's presence in some way or somehow breaking a Caster's law, results in a visit to the Patriarchs, resulting in any punishment from torture to death. Murder, however, is not policed at all.

### Society

Vampires tend to form groups known as clans, ranging anywhere from two or three vampires to up 20 of them. The clan is led by one individual, typically an older vampire who started the clan, though this is not always the case.

While vampires are incredibly loyal to each other when it comes to other races and will band together to face a threat, in modern times the most common killers of vampires are other vampires (and skinwalkers).

Vampires also have a very strenuous relationship with Casters and faeries alike, as both the other races view their immortality as wrong. The former because it defies the Balance and comes from demons rather than the spirits, the latter because the lack of death is simply unnatural in the life cycle.

Their relationship with the skinwalkers is also rough, as the latter was brought into existence for the sole purpose of hunting and killing the former. Vampires and skinwalkers never agree and never help each other, no matter what.

### Reproduction

While many classify vampires as undead, they are in fact alive but under the effects of Lamashtu's dark magic. Because of this, vampires are indeed capable of reproduction and development, though it is very rare among them. Vampires that are born in this way are known as purebloods and receive a sum of both their parents abilities, making them stronger than both. They grow until they reach maturity, typically around 20 to 25 years old, and cease aging for the rest of their lives.

Most vampires, however, are born through Changing. A vampire sees a human (or very very rarely a Caster or fae) with desirable traits (beauty, strength, wisdom, talent, Wiccan blood) and decides to Change them. The human comes willingly through choice or *persuasion* or is forced. The Change is a complicated process: first the human ingests the blood of their sire (this sometimes creates a sire bond), then wrapped within blood-soaked bandages and, while in a deep coma, buried alive like a mummy within the bloody bandages. They then dig themselves up from their graves and kill the first and drain the first thing in sight: usually a human left there by the sire. This murder acts as both a sacrifice to Lamashtu to complete the Change, but also corrupts their soul and makes it inhuman.

## Abilities

### Ordinary Powers

Vampires are several times stronger and faster than a human being. The vampires are capable of punching through a foot concrete with ease, and they are fast enough to appear as little more than a blur and a whisper of wind to the naked eye. Their senses are also highly advanced, capable of smelling blood in the air of a crowded and otherwise odor infested city from up to a mile around when very hungry.

Vampires can endure plenty of damage, their skin being much thicker and stronger than a humans, and even when they are injured they are capable of healing very quickly.

All vampires are capable of surface level manipulation of a human's mind, allowing them to persuade them to their bidding, including drain their blood or undergo the Change. Vampire venom, when fed to other beings in small amounts, heightens this ability, and when coupled with small amounts of vampire blood further strengthens it.

When a vampire feeds on a human or any creature, their venom both paralyzes the victim rendering them motionless. Simultaneously, it also creates incredibly pleasure and creates a soothing effect, probably because the absence of fear makes for a better taste. This same venom is incredibly toxic to werewolves and will result in a slow and painful death.

Vampires are also capable of shapeshifting into rats, bats, and temporarily becoming mist to avoid damage for short periods.

As vampires age, all of their powers grow as well.

### Unique Abilities

Amon and Talibah were both powerful Casters and the magic in their blood remained, but changed, and when Amon created the Patriarchs, most of whom were also Casters, his magic was transferred to them as well. Because of them Amon and the Patriarchs alone exhibit a set of powers that other vampires lack:

* Lesser Control: Similar to how Greater Demons can control Lesser Demons, the Patriarchs are capable of manipulating the wills of other vampires, and their manipulation effect even works on other Supernaturals like Casters and fae but not Guardians.
* Daywalking: Patriarchs can walk in the sun without immediately bursting to flames, but still experience an incredible amount of pain when doing so.
* Control: Perhaps due mostly to their age and experience, Patriarchs are better able to control their bloodlust and the intense emotions that come with it.
* Resisitance: Patriarchs are resistant to the effects of werewolf bites, mostly just experiencing pain and a bit of weakness before recovering within an hour.
* Siphon: Patriarchs can drain the magic within Casters, rendering them powerless and fueling the vampire's own powers. This ability is also seen among some Casters who are turned into vampires.
* Demon Summoning: Having more demon blood than others, vampires are capable of summoning demons.

It is also possible that fae and Casters who are turned into vampires might also exhibit unique abilities, or altered, darker versions of their own.

## Weaknesses

Sunlight is a vampire's worst enemy. Contact with it will make the vampire burst into flame and die a swift but painful death. Wearing clothes does nothing to combat this, as the light will seep through their garments and still burn them so they remain inactive during daylight hours. Moonlight hurts them as well, creating an effect similar to a very harsh and constant sunburn, and most avoid full moons.

Vampires are also incredibly vulnerable to burning, as their bodies are unnaturally flammable. Even brief contact with a candle flame might run the risk of quickly overtaking their entire bodies.

Because of their demonic blood, holy water and other seraphically aligned objects and weapons are dangerous to vampires. Holy water burns them and injuries from Enochian steel heal incredibly slowly or not at all.

Decapitation is an easy way of killing a vampire, as is piercing them in the heart with wooden stakes made from oak or rowan wood. Breaking a vampire's neck will not kill it, but will render it unconscious for a period of time.

A bite from a werewolf proves to be a slow and very painful death for vampires, so awful in fact that they are often a danger to anything around them.

Vampires are in no way resistant to Caster, Guardian, or fae magic.