Vampires

Vampires are a form of living dead created by Magic. There are many strains. Some are thralls of homunculi, while others appear to be as they were themselves initially made. It is the consensus within the Assembly that vampires were made by the First Children as a more sophisticated soldier drone Class III homunculus or even as incubators for more powerful homunculi should they be slain, but there have been a few strains which appear to be wild magic, so it’s entirely possible some were domesticated versions of the wild strain.

   Regardless of their origin, these strains have much in common. All are bodies of people modified by an injected retrovirus which activates with contact with vampire blood. Some in the Assembly argue against their inclusion amongst the living dead, as they must be made while living and have a functional metabolic system. The virus must kill the host in order to modify, so they are technically undead, even if they are only dead for a few moments. They generally have aspects of a predatory animal to enhance their senses and afford a few natural weapons, and these aspects generally only present themselves when the vampire is preparing to feed. When not feeding, they look as they did at death. Their metabolism can process anything they could have eaten as a person, though human blood is their most efficient diet.

### Composition and Metabolism

   Like most Class III homunculi, their metabolism is influenced by heterothermes like the Moørkutlot. Their skin is extremely dense and hardened by mineralized near-microscopic denticles, another feature typical of Class III homunculi taken from an unknown creature which some theorize may be from a planet besides Earth or Kaimere, though it could be modified shark skin. Their hide also has photosynthetic properties: despite the myths claiming sunlight burns a vampire, it actually heals and offers supplemental nutrition.

   Though vampires do not need sleep, they often fall into a stasis to preserve energy. In this form, their metabolism slows to a point of near-death. Active vampires can persist for a few centuries, but those who let their bodies slip into stasis, especially for an entire season or even years at a time, can find their lives last into the thousands. Coming out of stasis is a grueling process, as the body is sometimes stiff as the dead, but once they fully revive and have a drink, they are good as new.

### Infection

   A vast majority of people only experience lethargy when infected by vampire venom, which is how vampires are able to feed. A few are completely immune to its effects, and do not make good prey. Some are also allergic and die shortly after being bitten. Those allergic or immune cannot be turned into vampires, and of those who are lethargic to the venom, most do not reawaken if the virus is activated by vampire blood and kills them. Because of this, it is actually fairly difficult and unreliable to make more vampires. Kaimerans are generally immune to the venom of Earth vampires, as their hereditary magic is of comparable power in their proverbial home court, but Kaimeran strains are more potent to overcome this. In turn, kaimeran strains outright kill most human hosts rather than turn due to their aggression, so there’s minimal overlap between the strains and their respective species.

   The number of Kaimeran strains is unknown. There were very many during the Age of Demons, but their numbers dwindled in the Age of Witches. The few strains of the Dark Ages had a lot of success, but the Consolidation Era saw many exterminated from the known world, and in modern times they are very reclusive.

   In Pakardiant folklore, the tarekopa were vampires who served their master Olikideu, the crocodile demon. Olikideu’s vampires had elasmosaur traits like him, with grey hide and long hooked jaws. When the kodrakai drove Olikideu from Pakardia, his vampires were also killed or chased off. While Olikideu himself has not been seen, his tarekopa have been among the Maku invaders who attack the island every few centuries.

### Introduction to Earth

   Vampires are, alongside shifters and witches, the most successful magical beings on Earth. While it was at one time posited they might have been introduced during the Mercantile Age, the fact that all three are found the world over and many have significantly adapted with human hosts has lent a lot of weight to the idea that these originated in First Children outposts on Earth back during their dominion 10 thousand years ago. There are many theories as to why they would be made, though vampires were almost certainly a very convenient soldier drone that could replicate using whatever people were local to the outpost. When the First Children fell and their mental subjugation ended, the vampires, witches, shifters, and other experiments on Earth were set free.

   On Earth, there are dozens of strains that have been identified, however only four are common. Though there are many animals incorporated into their feeding aspect, they are generally identified by the predator which makes up the majority of nonhuman characteristics: wolf, leopard, hyena, and tiger. Less common strains lead by mountain lions, jaguars, lions, thylacine, crocodile, bear, smilodon, and numerous rodents and shrews have been identified either from surviving vampires or preserved specimens. All have heterotherm, leech, vampire bat, shrew, and some other creatures across all strains.

### Vampires in Earth History

#### The Civil War

During the Civil war, a confederate officer by the name of James Donovan sought to create an army of vampiric supersoldiers to get an edge in battle and win the war, he was not successful in this goal, as he and his platoon of Vampires were slain once the Assembly caught wind of the situation, alongside the help of Henry Abernathy.

A depiction of Captain James Donovan- Keenan TaylorHenry Abernathy, a confederate vampire turned Assembly agent- Keenan Taylor
### Blood Drinking

   Vampires have been modified to have extremely specialized and efficient if sensitive digestion. Human blood contains all they need when in good health, and they can get by on as little as a liter a month. When injured, they often need more, and sometimes crave more from their host than just blood. They can get by on a diet conventional in humans, but the more that isn’t human that they eat, their digestive system has to work substantially harder to metabolize. They need twice as much nonhuman meat or blood, and vegetation requires around twice as much food as a person needs, all while still not providing them with a lot of necessary nutrients. As a compromise, many Assembly vampires get by on a mix of livestock meat and blood from butchers and blood from medical surplus. Drinking humans can only be done under heavily regulated circumstances, in no small part to ensure too much is not being consumed, that the person is fully consenting, and the they aren’t allergic or otherwise vulnerable. The Assembly’s initiative to keep their peoples a secret has further resulted in strict regulations on vampire consumption.

   Like most parasitic magic, the magic of vampires preserves the host as they were at the time of death, and it is very difficult to change. For example, cut hair or lost weight will return to the death form within a few days as long as they drink. Vampires do age, especially those further descended from the prime members of their strain, though regular consumption of blood returns them to their death appearance. Because of this, a vampire abstaining from human consumption will age, take scars, and can modify their appearance, but it won’t take long for them to revert if they start drinking again. Abstaining will also make their stasis

   Eventually their need for blood to maintain their youthful appearance increases, and this becomes exponential once they reach this point of deterioration. When this aging happens depends on a variety of factors, such as strain and individual, but eventually the hunger outpaces what they can actually process. They can become insatiable, falling to a hungry madness as the magic doesn’t want to let go and move on, twofold if the host doesn’t want to die.

   There have been a few now-extinct strains which quickly deny their host any mental autonomy, though this will happen to any vampire of sufficient age and sometimes to those who abstain too long. Regardless of origin, this creates mindless predators which carve through a population. Eventually the metabolic demands of these killers gets the best of them, and the magic consumes the body before perishing. Unfortunately, hundreds or even thousands can die if these rabid vampires aren’t put down.

   Destroying a vampire is quite difficult, usually requiring injuries with an enchanted artifact, mauling by a shifter, or powerful witch magic. For those without magic: restraint, dismemberment, and incineration is the only reliable method, and even that can fail. Cutting apart a being with extremely dense muscles and mineralized skin is extremely difficult. Having a witch, shifter, or another vampire in the hunting party makes bringing down a problematic vampire much easier, though like skin-changers, the vampire’s magic protecting their host is extremely powerful, so it’s often much more difficult than a simple werewolf bite. Far more than witches and shapeshifters, vampires have faced extreme regulation in the centuries since the Assembly increased in power and authority. Making new vampires must be authorized, as must the consumption of humans, living or dead. Violating these regulations is often punished quickly and decisively.