Vampirism
Then the black wings of Camazotz emerged to blot out the heavens, and the land was sucked dry beneath the starless night. Crops and children were pale, feeble, and small—when they lived at all, that is. The sun hardly seemed to rise. In the darkness, a few men heard Camazotz whisper in their ears, promising them their heart's desires and more. And so the children of Camazotz emerged into the long, starless nights, and sucked dry the lives and livelihoods of the people as surely as the drought drained their wells. They fed on misery, and they (and only they) prospered.
—Xhaosankant, Tablet VII (trans. Langsämm)
Vampirism is a condition where a person is permanently suspended in a state of undeath that requires them to sustain themselves off humanoid blood.
Some vampires feed by becoming lords of the land they reside on and keeping serfs under their thrall. These Lords' treatment of their thralls differs wildly from vampire to vampire. Some become vampires, usurp the Lordships, and quickly suck their tenants dry, destroying a small town in a matter of months. Others take great pains to keep their towns happy and well-fed, feeding off them in a responsible rotation and using their mastery of fear mostly to keep their secrets. It primarily depends on the personality of the vampire and their taste for blood; some vampires prefer the taste of fear in blood, while others want vigorous, healthy blood in ample supply.
Causes
Only a vampire can create another vampire. They do so by sucking the blood of a mortal and then feeding that same mortal some of their own blood. The mortal must actively drink the blood for the transformation to take place; blood dripped passively into their mouth when they are unconscious, for example, does not cause the transformation to take effect. However, the target may be charmed or otherwise tricked into drinking the blood.
Symptoms
When a person becomes a vampire, they retain a similar appearance to what they had in life, with a few subtle changes. Their skin becomes paler, as if any sun or life had been drained from it. Their canine teeth become noticeably sharper, almost fang-like. The eyes of a new vampire are an unnerving bright yellow, fading to a more natural-looking amber or gold hue after three to six months. A vampire's eyes darken as they go without blood, fading from gold to brown to a deep black over the course of roughly two weeks. The hair on a vampire's head becomes fuller, thicker, and often wavier or curlier than it was in life.
Treatment
Despite all their power, vampires do have a few weaknesses. Water blessed by an ordained follower of any priest or Celestial burns a vampire's skin like acid burns living flesh. Silver-plated weapons disrupt their supernaturally fast healing abilities, making them easier to wound.
Bright sunlight is also incredibly harmful to a vampire, burning their skin and overwhelming their senses. Over the course of decades of careful, controlled exposure, vampires can build up a tolerance for dim sunlight. Vampires who live in dim, cloudy, or largely subterranean cities can even live somewhat-normal lives, going largely undetected by the populace.
Vampires are tied to a resting place—usually a coffin sealed somewhere within their lair—and they are particularly vulnerable there. If a vampire's mortal body is destroyed (a difficult feat in and of itself), it turns into a nearly invisible blood-scented mist and flies towards its resting place at full speed. In this form, it cannot cross running water; a vampire killed across running water from its resting place is effectively banished forever. If someone blessed by the gods writes a holy symbol on their resting place, they cannot emerge from it. The vampiric energy of the resting place corrupts and decays the holy symbol over time, though, so this is only a temporary solution.
Prevention
Vampires are only mortal under sunlight or in their resting place. If they are immobilized in their resting place while in vampiric form (by a holy symbol or any other means), a pure mithril blade or a blade suffused with radiance driven through their heart can permanently kill them. They are slightly easier to kill in full sunlight; a mithril blade, any radiant energy, or powerful arcane fire can destroy them in sunny conditions.
History
Vampires are the creation of the Demon Lord Camazotz. In ancient Dovrian legend, they were one of the Eight Plagues of Dovria brought on in the Age of Anxiety.
Cultural Reception
Vampires are an incredibly popular subject for art, appearing in countless songs, paintings, ballads, plays, operas, and copper novels. Romances between vampires and humans are a particularly popular subject of these fictions. Sages who study the Undead stress that under no circumstances should a mortal ever attempt to have sex with a vampire.
Comments