Vampire

CW: Mention of cannibalism and sexuality

You hear of vampires in legend, terrible and unholy creatures capable of unspeakable horrors, unfathomably evil beings who will slay entire cities to still their hunger for blood, and from those stories you make one of three assumptions; 1. Vampires are just tales meant to scare children; 2. Vampires have long since been extinct; or 3. Vampires are real, but not like they seem to be in the stories.

I had always assumed the first option to be the case, seeing as there were no credible sources of an encounter with such a creature, yet it was the third option that was proven to be right. In the second year of the ongoing plague I had not only one encounter with vampirism, but two, and mentions of more.

From "A study on vampirism" by an unknown Ghardaise monk.

A vampire is a person suffering from vampirism, a genetic condition that affects body and mind, manifesting in delusional survival instincts and slight physical deformities. The condition predominantly affects men.

Vampirism

Main article: vampirism
Stereotypically, vampires are known for their need to consume blood, a trait arising from a psychological "thirst" or "hunger." This thirst or hunger may manifest in other ways, as cravings for raw human flesh or marrow. It is, however, entirely psychological. There is no actual, physical need.

Despite myths of immortality and supernatural abilities, vampires are essentially mortal humans. Physically, they exhibit traits like elongated canine teeth, pronounced facial features, and variations in skin and eye color. Some may have heightened senses and physical capabilities, but these don't reach superhuman levels.

Treatment for vampirism focuses on managing the cannibalistic hunger, with methods ranging from consuming raw animal meat to more controversial practices like drinking human blood (ethically sourced) or breast milk. There is no known cure.

Vampires in folklore

by DALL-E

History has been quick to brand every cannibal, serial killer, dark sorcerer, or hermit mutant as a vampire, and no doubt history has gotten things right on a few occasions. But ignorance, fear, and speculation has made vampires beings of folklore and superstition. The lines between history and tales of imagination are blurred.

While the condition likely exists all over the world, stories of vampires only seem to appear on Crownmark among Middish cultures, particularly in Ghardlind. Here the folkloric vampires are seen as charismatic seducers utilizing charm and sex to feed off unsuspecting people.

Ghardaise studies on vampirism

Sanctist monks from Ghardlind were among the first to consider vampirism more than a curse, and vampires no more than human. Studies conducted by a monk, whose name was not written and is thus lost to time, brought notes on the heredity and treatment of the condition.

My first encounter with a vampire was with none other than the mayor of our town, Valdimar Silance. Mayor Silance had always struck me as a kind and generous leader, always taking the monastery's opinions into consideration on matters concerning the town, always caring for his family as well as his people. He neither looked like nor acted like the beasts described in the tales.

My second encounter was mayor Silance’s infant son, Frederic. The mayor had another son, Elric, with his first wife Harmonie (rest her soul), but had according to him not inherited any vampiric traits. His second wife Amelie (Saints grant her peace), had contracted the plague during pregnancy and died during childbirth. It is my hypothesis that without the plague the boy would have been normal, and that the sickness killed off his humanity in the womb, giving a way for vampirism to set.

Valdimar had kept his unnatural hunger (which had manifested as hunger for human sinew) in check by first gnawing on whatever his chasseur had left over from hunts. Though ever since the birth of his first son, whether through sexual desires or mere curiosity, breast milk seemed to keep his stranger instincts at bay.

The Siren

Perhaps most famous of all vampires of legend is the rare female immortal, known as the siren. Stories thought to have originated in the north of Arkovoij describe this creature as a beautiful, mature woman, capable of convincing nearly all men to do her will. And where her magical gift of gab fails, an inhuman screech escapes her lips, rupturing ear drums and forcing eyes to cry tears of blood. For that is how she feeds, paralyzing men with her wail before biting at their throats.

This siren, she of vampire kin, with voice of silken thread,
Could weave a spell o'er any man, and fill his heart with dread.
Her words, like honeyed poison sweet, did lure them to her side,
And there, her truest nature showed, where none could then abide.

For when her charm did fail to sway the hearts of steadfast men,
A screech, most foul and ungodly, would emanate from within.
This cry, like daggers to the ear, would rupture and would rend,
Till eyes did weep a crimson tear, and wills did break and bend.

And in this weakened, piteous state, where men could naught but groan,
The siren, with her thirst unslaked, would strike unto the bone.
Her fangs, like daggers sharp and keen, would pierce the throbbing throat,
And drink the life that once did gleam, now naught but hollow note.

"The Siren," an old Middish poem.

An accursed lineage, the siren's powers allegedly passes down from grandmothers to their granddaughters, skipping every other generation.

Related stories

Hypocritia

The legend of the siren predates even the tale of Hypocritia, with many writings drawing similarities between the fallen saint's deceits and "siren song". Merely a colorful metaphor, Hypocritia, if she even existed, was no vampire.

Rusalki

In some stories from Arkovoij, the siren is associated with water maidens, the rusalka, and the terms are used interchangeably. Rusalki live under water, and lure young men with beatiful song into the sea, where they will drown them and eat them.