Dhampir

A dhampir is the child of a human and a vampire. Possible vampires include the moroi, strigoi and upire. Dhampirs receive abilities from both parents. It is chance that decides which abilities are involved and to what extent they are inherited. The first dhampir was created by chance and there are only a few of them, as the possibility of pregnancy in different races is lower than if both parents come from the same race.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Dhampirs generally resemble humans. There are minor differences in appearance, depending on which vampire genes they possess. And how far they have been inherited. Some Dhampirs are indistinguishable from humans, while others have the eyes of strigoi, moroi or upirs. In some cases, a dhampir also inherits the horns of an upire. This results in a wide variety of combinations.
For example, a dhampir may inherit the dark skin color of his human mother and the eyes and horns of his upir father, or he may only inherit the pale skin color of the vampires. In very rare cases, a dhampir inherits all the outward characteristics of the vampiric parent.

Dhampir by Midjourney

Dhampir by Midjourney

Genetics and Reproduction

One disadvantage of dhampirs is the problem that they find it difficult to have children of their own. If there weren't always children between humans and vampires, the race would die out. A pregnancy with a dhampir child lasts about nine months and childhood about 21 years. Then they are considered adults and assume their duties in the special army.

Dietary Needs and Habits

In most cases, damphires feed on a combination of blood and normal food. Depending on how strong their vampiric genes are, they have to drink more or less blood and, in return, get along better with human food. The strength of the vampire side also determines how high the risk of falling into a blood frenzy is.

Civilization and Culture

History

Origin

The first dhampir was created by chance through a union between a male upir and a human woman. As there had never been such a child before, it was under constant observation to rule out any possible danger. The development of the child astonished the upirs. It developed almost like a normal human child, but had better reflexes and was stronger than other children.
The upirs observed the child for several years until they were sure that it could control its vampire genes. Then a group got together and discussed the discovery that this child possessed the best qualities of both races and, unlike the upirs, had no problems with the sun. They decided to conduct an experiment in which more such children would be conceived.
One important question was how they could get enough human women without getting into trouble with the other peoples. If they used force to bring the women into the underground, conflicts would be certain. After several discussions, they decided to try to entice poorer women with money and a better future. This was successful and enough women volunteered.
At the beginning of the experiment, their children were taken away from them to be raised under the care and observation of experienced upires. However, this practice did not last long. Some of the mothers wanted to have a say in the upbringing of their children, which led to various dangerous conflict situations. To prevent this in the future, the mothers were left to decide. Those who were prepared to look after their child together with the upirs were allowed to stay in Andera. Those who did not want to were taken back to their homeland.
The experiment soon revealed a pattern in the traits that were inherited. Each of these children had no problems with the sun and was both faster and stronger than normal human children. There was also an increased predisposition for magic, so that a large proportion of the children were trained not only in the use of weapons, but also in magic. As the experiment was successful and there were now many of these children, the scientists looked for a name for the children. As they were neither humans nor upirs, they were called dhampirs.
Because of this characteristic, it was decided among the high-ranking upires that the dhampirs would form a special army to protect the upires who lived closer to the upper world, or even in one of the lands, during the day. Over time, they were given the same rights as the common Upir population and were allowed to develop their own traditions.

Today

Most dhampirs live in Andera today, as the upirs have developed a tradition from their creation. Every five years, they invite a group of human women to carry a child in exchange for money and a better position. Each woman is given the choice of whether she wants to help raise her child or not. However, there are also children between dhampirs, or even more rarely between a dhampir and an upir.
Dhampirs are rare in the various countries, as they only come about by chance. If a woman becomes pregnant by a vampire, the rule is that the child is raised in the race whose traits were inherited the most. It can therefore happen that a dhampir with hardly any vampiric traits is raised as a human. Other dhampires who strongly resemble humans are also raised among humans, but receive support from the vampires if they need it.

Lifespan

200 Years

Related Ethnicities

• The Strigoi from Cheria