Vampires

Vampirism was a curse, first created through the magic of an incredibly powerful Elvish warlock by the name of Dominicus Vir, who had sought to enslave those whom he infected and utilise them as a force that could not be rivaled by humanity. Dominicus Vir's plan was foiled by his youngest sibling, a valiant warrior by the name of Emeric Vir who had amassed a following in order to apprehend his brother and put an end to his plans. The Horde of Emeric Vir successfully defeated his brother but not before he managed to flee the land and escape the grasp of his would-be captors.

Dominicus would leave Larilin, his homeland and flee to Ìyáíyá where he would encounter a woman by the name of Lillith. The warlock quickly seduced the woman and became her lover, who in turn hid him from the forces of Emeric Vir who had been trailing him for weeks. As a gift for her loyalty, Dominicus bestowed upon her his magick, his disease, transforming her into the first of many fiends of blood, the harbinger of anguish.

## Transition into a Vampire

The myths of Iommirath tell of various techniques that one might become diseased and take on the curse of immortality that Vampires wield. Historically, there have only ever been two procedures of creating a Vampire, firstly, one would need to replicate the conditions, rituals and magick that Dominicus Vir used to shed his humanity and take on the physical body of an immortal malevolent creature of emotion and hunger. A feat such as this however is believed to be impossible as not only has their never been a warlock as powerful as Dominicus Vir since his day but also, the tomes containing the processes he followed have been lost for tens of millennia.

The act employed to transform Lillith Vir, wife of Dominicus, in contrast to the method he had created is still an option for those who vie for a never-ending life. A "child of Vir" may transmit the disease by puncturing the neck of a victim with their canine-fangs, their saliva carrying the toxins necessary to replicate their ailment.

## Physiology of the Vampire

A Vampire is a beast ruled by their emotions, one that forms grudges rather easily and oft finds it a herculean task to do away with such a grudge until they have achieved retribution. Nevertheless,

Vampires suffer from an eternal hunger, an emptiness within that can never truly be satisfied regardless of how much a vampire gorges themselves. It is believed that as this hunger grows within a vampire they find themselves unable to ignore their yearning, in synchronicity to this, their outward appearance contorts and shifts, unveiling a vile countenance; the nails on each of their pale, ghoulish digits garnering an edge as they grow long into long polished black talons, the whites once adorned by their eyes drowned in black as the irides burn deep red — this is the true face of a vampire, the wolf in sheep's clothing that stalks Larilin's towns.

## Powers of the Vampire

Vampires possess an innumerable number of abilities at their disposal, capable of developing entirely unique powers of their own, these powers grow in potency dependent on the age of the vampire in question. It is believed that commonly all vampires share the following basic abilities:

* **Vampiric Speed:** To be written.
* **Vampiric Strength:** To be written.
* **Vampiric Bestowal:** To be written.
* **Vampiric Regeneration:** To be written.

## Shortcomings of the Vampire

Immortality, eternal youth and an invulnerability to mortal disease does not come without its own fair share of shortcomings. Vampires are not exempt from the give and take of reward and consequence. The Gods, aware of the chaos that would grip the world if these aberrations weren't kept in check decided to impose several bans upon the undead such as:

* **Non-invitation:** Dominicus Vir upset the balance of nature and in doing so spat in face of Iommirath's creator gods, to counteract his disobedience the gods placed a ban upon his creatures, it is because of this that vampires cannot enter the home of another being unless they are invited by a permanent occupant of the residence. The few that have been foolish enough to try and trespass without invitation have found themselves thrown from the foundations of the building.
* **Flame's Hatred:** The physique of the Vampire is unlike any seen before within the land of Larilin, or across all of Iommirath as a matter of fact, it is a mixing together of natural flesh and the perversion of Dominicus Vir's incredible magickal prowess — his mastery of intricate death magic the cause of their being beyond the call of the grave curried the scorn of the gods, whom together, set about cursing the seed of Dominicus the Warlock. A lesser god, with dominion over flame lended his hand to the task placing a divine ban. In short, the god decreed that the Vampires when kissed by embers would find themselves ravaged and overcome in tandem with the beating of their hearts.
* **Magicka's Disdain:** In those days when Larilin's moon bled, indeed, in those perilous times when a husband wouldn't so much as blink as he offered up his wife as a bargaining chip to a coterie of "ferals" in hopes that he might receive of their portion and live as they did; a sojourner within the land that bowed to no law, knew no prohibition, one that could give into the deepest and most rich impulses. The gods yet again, despite already placing two bans upon the vampires saw fit to strike them once more, robbing them of their ability to connect to the most powerful force on the planet. Seeing this, and despite their hatred for her, Lillith Vir the blood matron and their god, a foul creature that had shaken off her mortal coil to stand below the major gods blessed her children with an alternative to the magicka of the mortals.

## History of the Vampire

Iommirathian legend tells the tale of a powerful Elvish warlock by the name of Dominicus Vir who dedicated much of his lifetime toward the effort of cementing himself as an authority, a wielder of powerful and ancient magic that could not be stopped by "The Consortium" despite their attempts to mentor and orchestrate the use of his infamous talents. It is no secret that Dominicus Vir wished to separate himself from the age-old order of mages that had taught him the fundamentals of magick; having grown quite resentful towards them because of their wish to direct how he would utilize the power he possessed, power that he believed that only he alone was worthy of having dominion over. However, far from a fool, the young elf knew all too well that without might greater than the entirety of the seven continents combined, separating himself from The Consortium would be impossible. Thus he sought to assemble an army that the world would fear, a loyal force, a legion unlike any other.

The lying bards of Larilin oft twang their lutes and sing songs that gloss over the many years it took Dominicus to finalise the preparation of his horde, they will recount that it took him but a day, but the mages and those with access to the right tomes know that decades passed before he acted upon his plan. Each year spent, slaving away under the instruction of his "superiors" fueled his ambition to break apart the shackles upon him. Every investigation of a new species bored him to no end, each gathering of the schools and pointless ceremony spurred him on further. Alas, the day finally came and opportunity arose for Dominicus to achieve to his lifelong ambition. The warlock had pondered long and hard, poring over the works of mages that had come and gone, communing with the spirits of these mages caught between the land of the living and of the dead, that frequented the Magus Praetorium (the headquarters of The Consortium) supping from them all that they knew as he meant to be successful in this endeavour.

Scholars cite that prior to the "Age of Heroes", the children of Lillith were hunted to the point of near-extinction by Horde of Emeric Vir, their numbers believed to have dwindled beneath even a measly hundred, in an act of self-preservation the few that remained fled the land of Larilin and sought pastures far beyond their indigenous home -- it is unknown as to whether or not the ancient vampires that remained came across one another following their dispersal. Historians opt to support the idea that arrogance, naivety and an ignorance to the magnitude of the great loss they had suffered led the elders to neglect the process of recruitment or the repatriation of their beloved Larilin, remaining in the shadows. Even less is known of "The Bloodmother" and her whereabouts.

## Culture of the Vampire

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Vampires consider their elders conduits of strength and knowledge, those that have withstood the test of time often, but not always, assume positions of power within Vampiric society as they possess the power to take what they want with force, the progressive few that belong to the coterie believe that this tradition is contradictory to the mantra of their creator, Dominicus Vir. It is because of these conflicting beliefs that the vampires have gone to war with one another many a time, with the neonates pushing back against those that gave them eternal life in a bid for status and power among their ravenous and mysterious society.

## Trivia and Other Information

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit ut aliquam. Diam quam nulla porttitor massa. Elit duis tristique sollicitudin nibh sit amet. Donec ultrices tincidunt arcu non sodales neque sodales ut etiam. Dolor sed viverra ipsum nunc. Arcu ac tortor dignissim convallis aenean et tortor at risus. Euismod nisi porta lorem mollis aliquam. Tincidunt augue interdum velit euismod in pellentesque massa placerat duis. Odio tempor orci dapibus ultrices in iaculis nunc sed. Convallis a cras semper auctor. Ac feugiat sed lectus vestibulum mattis ullamcorper velit sed ullamcorper.