Trueborn Vampire

The dark gods saw an opportunity like no other when mages started delving into the dark arcane arts hoping to find something to help with the bloodshed and turn the tides in their favor in small skirmishes which mortals lost by the hundreds.

— Emaran Batun

According to scholars, the Trueborn Vampire was a creation of the gods, but unlike almost all other races whose creation days date back well before recorded history, these vampires came into being in the dark days of the Brink, when mortalkind dwindled by the thousands with every passing year and arcanists searched for solutions in the chaotic world that surrounded them.

History

The Corruption of Mages

In his papers on the lands of Vairedur- which are now known as the Kingdom of Arvanoc- the prolific scholar, Emaran Batun, noted that the great mountains of the region were formed by the wild magic that emanated off a celestial dragon's corpse. The lands were notorious for the abberations and dark abominations that crawled through the thin veils of magic and the mages that found they needed more time to study before contributing to the front lines found themselves here training alonside other mages that served as a last defense.
Over the course of the years spent here, the arcane practitioners, who had found themselves inadvertently settled besides a nexus, drew upon the remains of the raw magics around them and found themselves able to easily dive deeper into the study of dark arcane arts.
The shift in the arcane energies drew the attention of one of the lesser dark gods, Morvaarnhr, who took on the fair form and name of Andiel. He came to the group in the appearance of a boy- a talented prodigy seeking guidance and help to fight for his people. As he worked with the mages, he aged himself appropriately over the years working dark arcanic runes into the mages' discoveries and weakening the northern defenses little by little by sabotaging minor runes in the arcane walls.
On the day where the mages were set to awaken what they had hoped to be golems created from the armor of fallen soldiers, they'd created three large arcane circles in the main tower which was in the center of the fortified town they had built through magic. By that time, Andiel had worked his way into being one of the mages present at the circle but only had managed to get up to the rank that would operate the middle circle-- which was something that hadn't gone according to his plan.
In the subsequent transmutation ritual, all those that operated the circles and stood below Andiel had been killed and their energies channelled into the arcane circle which Morvaarnhr then absorbed into himself, ascending in power with each soul that came into him.
He had expected to ascend to a new tier of power, but the only reason the entire population of the town hadn't been slaughtered was due to the foresight of the town's leader, the Archmage Kenvaor who had always distrusted the magic the town researched despite the hubris of the group that made them delve deeper into the dark studies. Thus, the only people in the town were the archmages, their students, and even the youngest of apprentices.
While the souls and arcane energies of both the mage students and the young apprentices were absorbed by Morvaarnhr, the mages within the dark god's circle and higher realized in that fraction of a moment that they were tricked and instantly worked to countering the magics they were unleashing.
However, they could not stop what was coming forth... only take it upon themselves.

The Servants of Morvaarnhr

During the opening of the Dark Gate, as one by one, mages were absorbed into the arcane stream that was pouring forth into the world, those that remained shifted their strategy, absorbing the blighted magic that would have befallen the area for miles upon miles. Utilizing the magics of the transmutation circles they had drawn as well as whatever knowledge they had, they took in the cursed dark magic that poured forth and through sheer force of will overpowered Morvaarnhr's Blight and took it into themselves.
The transmutation magic in congruency with the cursed blight turned the mages into powerful undead servants of Morvaarnhr, mortals in the shape of man that fed off of others of mortalkind-- vampires . However, instead of becoming enthralled to him as all others were, they had miraculously maintained their own will.
At the same time this was happening, an invasion of the northern border was occuring and the soldiers had utilized Sending spells to contact the mages. The message was enough to rally the spirit of the Archmage Kenvaor who, along with many others in his circle, rescued those remaining in the tower, teleporting them out of the town and further east into the relative safety of the largest fort and the first line of defense of the north.

The Undead Champions

Due to the warning from the soldiers, the mages were able to enter the fight alongside the northern defenses. However, even with their new abilities, the entire northern defense barely withstood the forces of the dark gods. Instead of losing the wall along with at least thousands of men, they suffered casualties in the low thousands and were able to force the enemy to retreat. The mages that dared to fight in the sun repeatedly and over the course of those few days found themselves slowly ashing away until they succumbed to the dangers of the sunlight at the very end of the enemy's retreat.
While many had realized what the mages of the north had become during the battle, it wasn't until after that the group of spellcasters found themselves ostracized by many of the ancient peoples and asked to leave despite their useful abilities. While the mages did not fault them, they were left without a cause and without a home. It is said that certain cities of northern Zhadya opened their doors to them but not out of acceptance but rather pity and to keep them out of the sun.
During the following years of the Brink, the mages adjusted to their new lives while trying to be of assistance as they were in previous years. During their research and studies into planes as many wished to take on Morvaarnhr to destroy him and end their suffering, the group had discovered that there was a whole realm of beings similar to them, only they hadn't been able to escape the hold of Morvaarnhr. Begging for assistance in their venture to save the enslaved, they found that their efforts over the years had gained the sympathies of a great celestial dragon along with its champion, Dhirga of Zhadya, a known hero of the Mortal Campaign. It was said that Dhirga himself took on the mission alongside the high mages and delved into the dark god's realm, liberating all they could before shifting the rescued back onto the plane.
Those that were rescued found themselves free of Morvaarnhr's hold now that they were away from his plane and many wished to fight, joining the ranks of the mortals and fighting against the Void Eaters and the dark gods.
By the end of the war, these groups of vampires were lauded as heroes and had gained the favor and trust of those that fought alongside them. However, victory for these vampires would be short lived as with the defeat of Morvaarnhr, the curse that kept the people alive began to slowly ebb and the vampires began to die.
If it were not for the pity of Trygg as well as the newly made Valkeryth, the Servants of Morvaarnhr would have ceased to be after all traces of the divine were withdrawn from the world.

Creation of the Trueborn

To save these vampires, Valkeryth restored their souls with the aid of Kerythae who had taken on the responsibility of reaping the souls that had been captured by the now dead dark gods. After that, she then gave them the gift of life and the ability to outlive their affliction, integrating the curse into their being as she could not undo the decision made by the mortals-- and thus creating a new species of vampire. Restoring what was lost to them, Trygg gave the new beings the ability to reproduce and have families with their children becoming the first generation of Trueborn vampires.
Lastly, it is said at some point during the war, a great power gifted the Trueborn the ability to travel during the day, though the sun at its brightest and highest may still be bothersome.

Basic Information

Genetics and Reproduction

Due to the blessings of Trygg and Valekryth, Trueborn vampires can either choose to create Bloodborn Vampires or birth Trueborn Vampires/Dhampirs.
To create a Bloodborn Vampire, a Trueborn must feed the mortal their blood after draining them to a near-death state. If a Trueborn wished to create a Bond with their progeny and ensure a successful Turning, they would have to feed a small bit of blood to the mortal before draining them. Without the blood in their system, the chances of a successful turning drops to about 60% and the Bloodborn Vampire is not bound to their sire, nor will they retain any memory of them. The newly created Bloodborn Vampire is considered an orphan and if found, taken to a Ward of sorts until a family takes responsibility for them.
Other Trueborn Vampires are born naturally either via a Trueborn mother or another of a compatible species. For Dhampirs, the Trueborn aspect runs strong and normally supresses the expression of other genes.
For example, if a Trueborn and an Aasimar were to have children, the aspects and racial trait inheritance of the Dhampir would lean more toward the Trueborn parent with the only traits being appearance that are taken on by the child. In rare cases, expression of a magical racial trait can be passed on to the next generation.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Trueborn vampires are unique in that they can consume regular food for nutrition though blood- whether it be from mortal or beast- will always taste superior in terms of flavor.
However, for Trueborn Dhampirs, the taste of food is the same as if it were for any other mortal.

Additional Information

Geographic Origin and Distribution

While Trueborn can be found traveling and in many an adventuring party originating from Arvanoc, a vast number of the population reside within the Kingdom of Arvanoc.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Trueborn Vampires were gifted enhanced senses due to their original curse, among which include:
Keen Senses
Trueborn have acute hearing, sight, and smell. These heightened senses allow them to perceive much more than a human.
Darkvision
Darkness within 60-feet can be seen through as if it were dim light.

Gifted Abilities

The Gift of the Sun
Given to the Trueborn by an unknown entity, the ability to travel during the day was granted to the Trueborn for their efforts in fighting during the Mortal Campaign. While the sun is not a complete weakness as seen with their evil and undead counterpart as well as the Bloodborn (to some extent), bright and unrelenting sunlight can weaken and exhaust a Trueborn, an unfortunate side effect of the ancient curse.