Visio Aeternae
Long before the age of men, elves and dwarves during the early stages of the world existed three ancient races. Becoming known as Vampyre, werewolf and the Zhethrh'ithar (‘daimon’ in the common language). These three races have also been fighting a secret war against one another since the fall of the Zhethrh'ithar.
Vampires are a proud race of highly intelligent and almost arrogant people. Having pale colored skin, beautiful features, keen mind, strong sense of pride, heightened agility and a unique life cycle. Emotions are rare and limited among the vampires, they understand it but have always felt it's nothing more than a weakness. Showing emotions of any kind in front of others is always viewed as highly distasteful and rude.
It is said that no vampire has ever died from old age or health related reasons of any kind. They can be killed by murder or accidents but never of natural causes. No one really knows how old the oldest vampires are, but rumors claim that the current Elders have childhood memories of the Great War. Unfortunately, longevity and perfect health comes with a cost, their birth rate is extremely low. They can only remain healthy if they consume fresh blood as nurturance, after a couple of days blood becomes toxic so cannot be stored.
Bearing children is extremely rare among them, having one child born maybe once every 100 years or so. This causes them to place high importance on pre-arranged marriages. The ‘Elders’ are the ones to make these decisions for prearranged marriages, this is never taken lightly, and it is always the will of the Elders to strengthen the bloodline of their race. If a Vampire is of low social standing, does not have a family name of high reputation then marriage is never an option for them and tends to end up belonging to the labor class. Once the marriage is set by the Elders, it becomes non-breakable. If a woman does become pregnant, they are immediately removed from their homes and placed into a sanctum sanctorum. These locations are always secret, heavily guarded, considered of extreme importance and rumored to have advanced medical technology. There have long been whispers of great medical advancements and research by the vampires that others could not begin to comprehend.
Their culture is different in the aspect of their social standing being nearly the highest importance. Social standing not only measures power, influence, roles but also one's value and worth within their society. A vampire's family name is everything to them, their actions or lack of actions also reflect upon their family name. Multiple families will join together under a clan to further their social standing and influence. Larger clans almost always being the ones in charge while smaller clans tend to be the ones doing the heavy lifting. One of the last surviving vampire clans is ‘Visio Aeternae’ whose goals and agendas are completely unknown. An old book with a short story named ‘The legend of the vampire monks’ is the only mention of them in this area. This book was recently discovered by a female barbarian seeking information to fulfill her curiosity after accidentally discovering monk coffins with vampire remains buried under a monastery.
They are fearless warriors on the battlefield, a sight that would give most sane people nightmares. They are stronger than mere humans, but their agility is legendary along with being able to heal themselves by drinking the blood of those they fight against. Their preferred weapon on the field are long curved scimitars that are designed to bleed the target. They process ancient magics that are both dark and terrifying. Due to their high value on their women, it's very rare to ever see a woman fighting on a battlefield. They have proven Master of Physical warfare as well, using their intelligence, experience and lack of emotions to mentally break their enemies before battle. Even if they are always fewer in numbers, they are more than capable of dealing with any enemies that outnumber them with ease.
The Visio Aeternae work from the shadows, preferring the stealth of night to keep their existence cloaked in secrecy. Having to hide their race for so long, they have become experts at hiding their true appearance and race. Always guarding their secret of them actually being real as this makes things way easier for them to operate their hidden society. They would almost never reveal their true nature, speak of others of their race and would sooner die than reveal any information about them. They may always be trying to gain high social standing, but it is also their undying belief that the greater good of the race is more important than the one. Thanks to old rumors and tales, plenty of books have been written about vampires that go bump in the night to scare little children. Make no mistake, most of what you read or hear about the vampire race is more than likely false.
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