Vampire Kingdom

Imagine this but under cover of tall trees

### Location

Spread through the Autumn Kingdom, but mainly in the dark woods near the Center and Maize

# The Vampire Kingdom

The current Vampire Prince is called Viktor. He was a chosen heir by the last prince, and is a bit less....strong willed? He let's most others make serious decisions for him and gets manipulated by his advisor, Artimus, and Carlotta of the Court, often. He really isn't well informed on the happenings of outside the Vampire territory, and has been groomed to be weaker willed so he can't stand on his own without his advisors. This is not a well-known fact, and despitebthe Prince's lack of actual power, the Kingdoms all believe the Vampires run their territory more-or-less like everyone else, royalty on top.

## History

In the War of Frost and Flame, the Vampires collectively sided with Amy, under her personal request, against Cato and Cieve, who they refer to as The Hunter and the Shadow Prince, respectively.

During that time, they fought with what will come to be known as the Good Side, against shadow creatures, kelpies, chupacabras and other dark allies of The Shadow Prince, but payed for it dearly. A fact lost to all but the Vampires themselves is that during their first day of battle, the Vampires were largely used as cannon fodder, and a way to see what the Good Side was up against. They were sent out with little help and mostly slaughtered for their troubles, though some survived.

## Vampires

### General

Vampires are a type of Shapeshift, specially a Vampire Bat shapeshift. They are often overcome with a desire for blood. Many myths have been spun around them, and it is said they were both blessed and cursed by the gods, givin powers and weaknesses.

They live mainly in Autumn, but have begun trying to invade Spring as well.  They are always looking to expand their territory and hunting grounds.

### Weaknesses/Strengths

Vampires cannot enter someone's residence without being invited in. They physically can not cross into the house without permission.

Vampires can be killed as anyone else, but many assume it is only by a wooden steak through the heart, and they are not about to correct anyone.

Vampires CAN eat garlic. It just gives them a rash so they mostly don't.

They can smell magic of all kinds, and it STINKS. Thystical magic smells bad, Ancient magic is worse, and even sorcery will make them gag. It gets hard to breath and many will wretch and vomit if they've never been exposed to it before. In enclosed areas, it's near devastating without extensive training to get used to it and build up some semblance of a tolerance. Still, drinking from such people will taste terrible, but drinking from a Thystical or Ancient Thystical is a great honor and victory, to be celebrated and bragged about, despite the smell and taste.

Vampires cannot cross over running water. Streams and rivers and such can be used as barriers against them. This is due to the gods of the sea disliking their kind.

Vampires have no reflection. Unearthly beautiful as they are, some of the gods became jealous and did this to keep them from enjoying their own beauty. (Electra was the one who cursed them so that they'd have to reflection since she was so jealous that they'd get any attention and take it away from her, so she was like, "Fine, you can be knock-out gorgeous, but you won't be able to see yourselves! So HA!" )

At first, she wanted to strip them all of their beauty and make them wander around forever as super-ugly monsters, but the Big Four stepped in and made her lessen their "punishment."

They all have bat wings and fangs, though the wings are sometimes hidden under cloaks.

They have inhanced senses, specifically hearing and smell, but sight is worse in daytime or bright places.

They do burn in the sun....by that I mean severe sunburn that is quite nearly instantaneous. Should their pale skin touch sunlight, it becomes red and burned and blistered, and can take time to heal. This includes their bat forms, which can make flying in the day extra difficult and painful. The gods are also to thank for this, though it is believed to be a group effort.

Vampire fangs are long, but not to the point of Echo's.   They are short enough to be disguised as canine-type Shifter fangs, while Echo's are what people *believe* Vampires look like.  The Vampires are totally fine with this, as it lets them hide among the people easier

## ScreechSpeak/Echolocation

Echolocation can be used by all vampires, sending a high-pitched cry that will bounce off the surroundings and return to them, giving a mental, 3d image of what everything looked like.  It is a **still** image though, so moving objects will appear still, like a drawing or photo.  Other vampires and bat shifters can tell when someone is using it nearby.

ScreechSpeak is used near-exclusively by vampires.  While other Shifters can do something similar, they won't know the language Vampires use when speaking it, and thus ScreechSpeak is vampire-only.  It is similar to echolocation, but higher pitched and silent to all but other bat Shifters, used to send quick messages back and forth.  It can - to an extent - be directed to a person specifically if they're near enough, but if the sender is lazy or inexperienced, the message could be intercepted.

Private ScreechSpeak messages rely on very specific frequencies agreed apon by both parties, which may not be guessed by most others.  For this reason, most vampires ave a specific frequency - almost like a phone number - that they can be contacted through.  It takes practice though, and most just send messages publicly or speak aloud.

ScreechSpeak voices also do not match the vampire's normal voice, so hearing a message via ScreechSpeak doesn't mean you know who it's from unless they say their name during the message, or you've heard them Screech before

### Other

They would totally be disgusted by the Chupacabra's "messy eating"

They have a strong hunger and most of their victims don't survive (and if they do, that's blood loss without current technology to fix it sooooooo) but the more savage ones will drain em or if there's more than one Vampire and only one victim. But light snacks aren't unheard of.

The vampires have a grudge against Electra. They can't be outright disrespectful or insulting because she'd fly into a rage and kill them all, but she's certainly not a very popular goddess among them.

Their favorite gods are gods of death, War,  darkness, night and bloodshed

Hallow has had dealings with the Vampires. At one point, a Whisperer tried to make him their 'pet human' that they gain money through. Didn't end well for the Vampire and they don't test Hallow now. Despite them taking any territory they can get, they stay far away from his Autumn manors and try to exhaust every other option before coming to Hallow for help,

For the most part, Vampires aren't overly impressed by anyone and people stronger than them are more a 'challenging hunt' than anything.

## The Prince

The vampires are ruled by the one they call "the Vampire prince", though it isn't as much a title of bloodline as it is a chosen title. When the current prince decides to retire, he will choose a new vampire prince to take his place, and this vampire doesn't need to be related to him in any way. Should the prince die without choosing an heir, there will be a competition of sorts to choose the next prince.

The competition consists mainly of who can lure the most victims to the others, though points are also given for general good looks and favorites of the people. These times are a time of fear for the kingdom of Autumn, as this is a very dangerous event for the common folk.

The Vampire Prince is always male, though there have been times when the women have done more for leading than the Prince. The Prince more or less is a figurehead, a name or face to throw around, and one who will have the last say in any big decision making. They can do more if they want, but that is really all the title grants power-wise.

The Prince may go on diplomatic meetings, but he will be surrounded by women 'hunters', who are more skilled in the hunt and in subduing their opponents through looks and charm. These diplomatic meetings are expected to result in either more territory for hunting, more food in general, or, should things not look good, the death of the other party. War brings food, so they do not care about the consequences.

If the prince returns with none of these, his reliability may be questioned, which could be quite dangerous for him.

## The Council/Court

The Court, a group of very well-trusted Vampires and lead by the Prince, are the ones who decide if one of their own has betrayed them. They listen keenly to the heart rate of the suspect, checking for lies, and can question them endlessly until the poor suspect is too tired to lie and spills the truth. They are merciless to those who are guilty, but smart enough to know when someone is being honest. Of course, humans may sometimes find themselves under The Court's questioning, in which case they always rule guilty. The Court gets hungry too after all....

## The Whisperers

Then there are the Whisperers. They are very talented men and women who can manipulate or threaten humans to get what they want. They handle the money and the trades from the shadows, using their humans as a face to keep people from knowing who they were dealing with. They are the only ones allowed to grow attached to a human, as they might get a favorite puppet that they don't want to get eaten. Should the Whisperer's human end up in the mercy of the Court, the Whisperer has the power to nullify the charges and keep their human alive.

The head of the Whisperers is called the Spymaster.

### **Rules for the Whisperers**

• Only one human puppet at a time, if you plan to switch the original must be killed

• A Whisperer may marry their human puppet if they choose

• A Whisperer's puppet will not be drained or killed by anyone but their Whisperer—not even the Prince or Court may touch them.

• A Whisperer will receive order requests for items to send their puppets out to find, things like clothes in a certain size, jewelry, etc. If a Court member or the Prince places an order, it is prioritized and a contest to see who can get it first

• All orders are up for grabs, none claimed but only fulfilled, and fulfilling more than anyone at a good speed, with quality and decent price can get you noticed by the court......or unfortunately other Whisperers

**Perks Include—**

• Can keep connection, friendship or romance with a human of your choice. This means you can protect your spouse, child or family member from all vampires without turning them....but only the one.

• You can stand against the Court in favor of your human without punishment or any questions of loyalty

• Should your human be killed by another Vampire, you will be compensated depending on how long they have been your human and how much work they assisted in completing

• Direct acess to the Court and Prince, as you can fulfill orders for them and gain favor. They are quite materialistic....

**Downsides Include—**

• Constant competition, as everyone will scramble for more high-ranking orders

• Being in charge of the money, if something doesn't get delivered or comes in sub-par, you take full blame

• You will get one of two reactions from other Vampires: "Please choose my friend/family member to save as your human" or "ew, you associate with humans"

## The Hunters

The Hunters (all women) find most of the food and serve as protection to the Prince. They often hunt in small, but close-knit packs, rarely hunting alone. There are no male Hunters ever, because the females are far more skilled, and more often than not, more deadly.

### **Rules for the Hunters**

• Packs are 5-member maximum, 2-member minimum

• Packs are sent on at least one nightly hunt each, and are expected to bring something back for the kingdom

• Hunters—is proficient enough to be noticed by the Court—may be granted personal hunting territory to reduce competition. This territory may also be for personal use, as what they catch there they may choose to keep for themselves.

• Ideal Hunter pack structure includes "Chaser", "Tracker", "Lure", "Finisher", and "Carrier". The pack leader can be any of these.

• Chaser is the one who would lead the chasing part of any hunt

• Tracker will find prey

• Lure may be sent into crowded locations to call away the prey somewhere more private

• Finisher is the one to do a clean killing blow, usually requiring self control to keep from draining

• Carrier will bring the prey home

**Perks Include—**

• Possible private hunting grounds

• Access to food first

• Close-knit groups

• Hunters for the Prince or Court may get special privileges and housing

• Training to recognize blood types for reports

• Promotion for one of the pack means promotion for all of the pack

**Downsides Include—**

• If there is a food shortage, its on you

• Feeding newly Turned is very tiring, as their hunger only ends when they regain clarity

• If you return with no prey after being assigned, your whole pack is punished.

• Shared quarters with your pack can be a tight squeeze early on

## The Secrets

The Secrets, a select few, go out and act as normal people to make 'friends' who they will invite back to the Vampire home for dinner. This is a bit dangerous, but mostly just tricky as they have to pretend to be human and live human lives. Besides that, if they are suspected of actually sympathizing with the humans, the rest will turn on them.

### **Rules for The Secrets**

• Do not get attached to the humans

• Secrets may not associate with other Secrets who are under cover while on a mission, as it may expose the both

• Secrets may have human jobs, ranks and positions, but they mean nothing to the Vampire Kingdom in terms of power, rank or importance

• Secrets are preferred to be weaker in appearance, as this makes them less conspicuous

**Perks Include —**

• Special Priority orders from the Whisperers if it helps your mission/cover

• Much freedom from the Court's close eye, so long as you aren't reported

• Can make your way close to Special Targets in order to get the glory of draining them yourself

**Downsides Include —**

• EXTREME danger of being accused of attachment

• You won't be hunted for while out

• You are out of protection range

• You will reek of human

• You have to deal with humans almost constantly and you need a lot of self-control to keep from blowing your cover

## The Fakers

The Fakers, this can go for anyone in a dangerous situation or imprisoned. The Fakers will pretend to be human sympathizers, saying they disagree with the other Vampire's ways, however this is purely an act in order to stay safe and get back home. Should they be suspected of actual treachery, the other Vampires will turn on them. It is important that any Fakers are careful in their attempts, as gaining the humans trust could loose the trust of the Vampires.

### Rules for The Fakers

• It must truly be a desperate situation to activate this status

• Often, distress signals should be sent out via open ScreechSpeak at intervals of every five to ten minutes, both to gain assistance and let others know your status of Faker, to prevent mistake and false accusations

• You may say almost anything during the moments of Faker status, but you mustn't mention the Court, the true powerless nature of the Prince, the true location of the Vampire Kingdom, any living Vampire identities or any Vampire weaknesses

• You are expected to build up the Prince as a dangerous and powerful figure

• You are allowed to make false information to feed the humans in return for your own release, especially if this information makes the Vampires seem stronger or more of a threat

• You may claim false loyalty to the humans in return for release and use near any means necessary to gain freedom

• Should you be forced into such a situation where you believe staying with the humans may be advantageous for the kingdom, you may plea your case to the Court for a role transfer to Secret. This is not guaranteed

**Perks Include —**

• Near blameless in association with humans, including faking attachments

• You may be rescued or released

**Downsides Include —**

• Possible suspicion from any nearby Vampires

• It is not guaranteed to work

## Slots

**Vampire Prince:**

Viktor

**The Court: (up to 12)**

Artimus Nightweaver (Head of Court)

Carlotta DeVance

**Hunters:**

Carmon Nightweaver

Elyon (Prince's Huntress)

**Whisperers:**

Alessandra Morozov (Spymaster)

Malik von Esper

Glory Greengrass

**Trainees:**

Amaryllis Lockridge

Didiane

**Unsorted:**

Captain Mariner Gale

## Vampire Rules, Laws and Common Courtesy

Do not drink the blood of a fellow Vampire unless they are dead, dying or you are a member of the Court/Council, or given permission by the Court/Council/Prince.

Don't drink the blood of a relative, Vampire or not. If they must die, let someone else do it. It will taste nasty to you anyway, not satisfy and thirst or hunger, and you'll feel sick for some time afterwards. It's just wrong.

Don't tell outsiders (Vampire or non), about the Vampire ways, ScreechSpeak or the identity of another Vampire. You will be charged with treason and killed.

Don't fight the Council. It's not a law, just common sense. You won't win. Best let them kill you and get it over with.

Humans are anyone who isn't a Vampire, 'Race' doesn't matter. Shapeshifts, Mimiks, Dwarves, Agells and Thysticals are all Humans to you now.

Don't talk to your food unless you're fully sure you can still eat it afterwards.

Don't spam the open ScreechSpeak frequency with annoying songs or random nonsense. It's noisy enough as it is.

Be careful who you give your private frequency to.

Chupacabras are not to be called by their proper name, nor anything they want to be called. They are "dog", "mutt", or any other number of unflattering names, preferably canine-based. They hate that and it's fun.

You also don't want to be near a wet Chupacabra, they smell like wet dog and you'll have that taste in your mouth for days after.

Only Turn someone once you're practiced and cleared by someone's more trained then you. The Turned have a dimmer instinct for it than the Fang-Born and young Fanglings can get overzealous and kill the one they intended to Turn by accident.

If you Turn someone, make sure they're contained. They will go crazy with thirst for a few days and it will take time and practice to calm them. If all else fails, find a Councilor.

Don't talk to the Prince without permission from Artimus. You would regret it.

No, you can't drink your own blood. It doesn't work, doesn't quench your thirst, and you'll just end up hurting yourself. Not worth it, even if you're starving.

Don't do anything to make the Council think you are fond of a human. If you are going to act, best to tell the Council first, and even then, don't sell it too well. They aren't forgiving.

If you give birth to a non-fanged child, you or a trusted loved one may Turn them as soon as possible, for their own safety. Babies do not cause a thirst in Vampires, but as they get older, they'll be in more danger, and it's best to get them trained to hunt early.

Don't collect the fangs of fallen Vampires. It's creepy, sick, and too close to the Hunters' thing. Older Vampires may get flashbacks. It can be traumatizing for them. I don't care if they'd make a nice necklace, Brenda, leave them alone.

## Other Info

### The Fixing

In the event that someone is connected to a traitor or criminal in the Vampire world, but didn't do anything illegal themselves, if it seems there is a chance the person could turn against them, Artimus takes them for punishment and....fixes their loyalties.....

This involves an unholy amount of solitary confinement in a room lined with mirrors, so no reflection is seen by the person inside.They are very nearly starved, and have no interaction with anyone.

Should they resist, there is a hatch that opens a window in the ceiling - blocked and focused by glass so the prisoner can't escape - but bringing a beam of sunlight to fill the room, causing a searing pain each time they resist, or say or hear the name of the person who did wrong.  This is conditioning that that person brings pain, and that they are bad.  This will stick with even the toughest victims, as the brainwashing is effective.

When they're on the verge of death and insanity due to lack of contact with the world, Artimus enters, baring plenty to drink, and being the first and only contact they've had in ages.  He becomes a being of kindness to them, a mercy.  Someone they can trust to end the pain, the isolation, the hunger.  He becomes the only good thing they've seen in ages.  During punishments, should any linger, Artimus' voice will be heard just before the window closes, imprinting into their minds that he brings safety, relieves pain, and is their only chance at peace.

By the end, the prisoner is blindly loyal to Artimus alone.  Occasionally, female victims develop a sort of crush on him from it as well, and the men will listen to him above all others