Blood Gift of Fera

The Blood Gift of Fera is a power used by vampires which enables them to commune with and control animals, manipulating both their mind and spirits using the power of vampiric blood. Many of the clans and bloodlines more at home in the wilds than civilization wield this power, and it proves most useful for any who travel through the wilderness to have at their disposal.

## Mechanics

Fera functions by vampires psychically communing with animals, both on a telepathic and spiritual level. This enables them to converse with, command, and even possess animals, and at more advanced stages, draw power from and merge with their very spirits. The process of commanding an animal involves manipulating their instincts and primitive thoughts to the vampire's will. This means that some of Fera's powers can be employed to manipulate certain primitive instincts within sentient beings, such as humans.

## Powers

### New Blood Gifts (Levels 1-2)

* **Beast Tongue (Level 1):** The first step towards mastering the power of Fera is learning to use the Beast Tongue, which allows a vampire to communicate with any animal they come across. They intuitively understand whatever communication an animal makes, and may speak with them in turn, magically producing animal noises that they naturally would be incapable of making. Even the most intelligent of animals communicate far more simply than humans do, and cannot understand most advanced concepts. Still, the ability to gain information from a bird or ask a wolf pack to do a favor can be very useful.
* **Dominate Beast (Level 2):** Upon acquiring this power, vampires can employ the communicative abilities that Beast Tongue allows them to command an animal they make eye contact with to carry out their orders. Certain creatures are harder to command than others, typically the more intelligent and wild spirited they are, the more difficult they are to control. Furthermore, the more adverse the creature is to the command, the harder it is to force them to do. For instance, it is harder to convince a bird to attack a human than to merely spy on them. As a vampire further masters Fera, their commands become more potent, and harder to resist.

### Common Blood Gifts (Levels 3-4)

* **Call Beast (Level 3):** Vampires who acquire this ability become able to issue calls to an animal type of their choice, summoning them to their location. This call is both auditory and psychic in nature, sounding like a call of that animal, but able to be heard by them over a distance depending on the vampire's Fera mastery. In order to issue a Call, the vampire must be reasonably familiar with the animal type they are attempting to summon. Once the animals arrive at the location they were summoned to, additional powers must be used to command them.
* **Ride the Beast (Level 4):** Upon employing this power, a vampire may, after prolonged eye contact, take over the body of an animal, similar to the Mesmer based possession. When the Ride begins, the vampire's body is inert, and they instead find themselves inhabiting the animal's flesh. They may break the connection at any time, snapping back to their body, and will automatically do so if their unconscious form is damaged in any way.
* **Soothe Frenzy (Level 4):** A power useful for any vampire who has to control any creature with a wild side, the ability to Soothe Frenzies enables vampires to calm instigated fear or fury. When an individual is driven to terror or anger, the vampire may attempt to quell their instincts, soothing them into a calm state. The more intense the aggression or fear felt, the harder this is to do, and the greater the vampire's mastery of Fera, the easier it is to accomplish. If a target is successfully Soothed, they cannot be provoked by anything frightening or agitating, unless it is extreme enough to break through the vampire's Fera. This enables sufficiently skilled vampires to use this power to feed without their victims fighting back.

### Elder Blood Gifts (Levels 5-7)

* **Dominate Horde (Level 5):** An advancement on the ability to Dominate Beasts, this power enables a vampire elder to command multiple creatures at once, though they can only control one species at a time. The greater their mastery of Fera, the more creatures they can effectively control at once.
* **Provoke Frenzy (Level 5):** The opposite of Soothing a Frenzy, this power can provoke one. When used on a single passive victim, it causes them to become extremely agitated, making them perceive everything around them as a threat, and causing the victim to be likely to lash out violently or attempt to run away from every "threat".
* **Sanguine Reins (Level 5):** Upon attaining this power, the vampire gains the ability to Ride any animal who has consumed their blood, without the need to make eye contact with them. This can be done from any distance, though the restrictions that their body lies comatose and any damage done to it pulls them from the Ride still applies.
* **Leap Mounts (Level 6):** This considerable advancement derived after mastering the Sanguine Reins enables a vampire to hop from Ridden beast to Ridden beast, by either making eye contact using the animal they are possessing, or having them touch another animal, which they then transfer their control to.
* **Wild Nourishment (Level 6):** Normally, sustaining oneself on animal blood is far less satisfying and nourishing than human blood. The elder who gains this power, however, becomes so in tune with animals that they gain just as much from subsisting on animal blood.
* **Packride (Level 7):** Upon attaining this power, the elder may Ride numerous animals at once, inhabiting the bodies of multiple creatures at the same time. However, this power is limited in that only one type of creature at a time may be Ridden. The greater the mastery of Fera, the more individual animals that can be controlled at once.
* **Mass Frenzy (Level 7):** Mass Frenzy enables a vampire to provoke multiple victims to Frenzy at once, with the number possible increasing with the elder's mastery of Fera.

### Ancient Blood Gifts (Levels 8-9)

* **Breed Mastery (Level 8):** Most powers of Fera are restricted to being able to work on one type of animal at a time. When an ancient acquires this power, that limit disappears forever, as they become able to communicate with, Dominate, and Ride multiple creature types at once.
* **Rein the Get (Level 8):** Ancient vampires are able to Ride any animal who is descended from one that they have ridden previously, without need to be in their presence. As a result, many ancient vampires ensure that the creatures they Ride breed successfully, so that in future generations, they will have an army of creatures that they may immediately exert control over.
* **Wakeful Riding (Level 8):** Ancient wielders of Fera are able to overcome the most glaring weakness of Riding Beasts: The fact that one's body becomes inert and vulnerable while they do so. The ancient who acquires the ability to Wakefully Ride can maintain full control of their body while they are Riding an animal. Their body being injured does not force them from an animal's skin.
* **Ark of Flesh (Level 9):** The mighty ancients who wield this power are able to carry their chosen animals wherever they go, within their very flesh, as they may bond with them so strongly that they mesh together in spirit and in body. To utilize this power, the vampire requires physical contact with the animal they wish to meld with. When that is achieved, the beast will be absorbed into their body, and sustained by whatever blood the vampire consumed. Being within the vampire themselves, the animal will achieve the usual benefits of one who consumes vampiric blood, but too a massively heightened degree. This makes any creatures carried within an Ark of Flesh vastly more potent than they could be naturally, allowing the vampire to unleash them upon their foes at a need.