Filiean Vampirism

The old kingdom of Filiea fell apart centuries ago but its one remaining legacy is a tragic one. Its queen was known as the

Transmission & Vectors

Biting, birthing, sexually transmitting. Very contagious.

Causes

Should probably mention that The Night’s creation of vampires was in the way of torturing the spouse of a king of a land long forgotten. Ha I made it sound cliché! Look at me go! But seriously it’s been a long time since it’s been mentioned in any history books. Has anyone ever mentioned the Lycians to you? Well they were located right by Rome back in the day but have long since phased out of history, regardless of their closeness to one of the most geopolitically important historical cities… ever! The small city and surrounding lands this king ruled were not infested with worshippers of The Night but the king thought it well to flaunt his love for his wife. He proposed to her publicly in the city marketplace. Bleh. Had a rose garden constructed for her with the crown’s finances. Slightly more expensive but tolerable blehh. Always smiled at each other whenever they were seen together in public. Gr. It was known was so beautiful of a creature, so delicate of a flower, a real looker and so it was that she was kidnapped by worshippers of The Night and some townsfolk who had just had enough of this really happy couple in a city that wasn’t doing too great (not impoverished, mind you, just not doing great). The queen was taken to an altar and under the guidance of The Night was tortured, her skin taken off and teeth all removed. It is said that she then met The Night in something close to physical presence. It did not have sexual relations with the screaming woman that was once a queen. Anyway so short story short, the queen was transformed by… the process… and in place of the teeth that were removed formed the fangs of a carnivore and the skin, bloodied and raw, stretched itself over her body in the way a drumskin does, and looks. A very small rip had been torn in her soul. The worshippers allowed her go, this scarred, fanged thing and she found herself in the castle of her king. A handmaiden screamed as she passed by and the broken queen yelled at her in a voice that did not sound like hers. She went to her lover, where he was, in his bedchamber. She wanted him, she wanted him so badly. “My King!” she yelled, flinging her boney arms around him as she fell on their bed. He screamed too. He screamed, “Get away, get thee gone, back foul beast! Guards! Guards!”. This could not happen, she wanted him, the guards did not, she wanted him, she wanted him, she wanted him. He had stopped screaming. She had him. She had all of him. Forever and ever. The guards burst in as she was cleaning the last of him out of her teeth. One of them put a halberd a clean 8in into her torso but she felt nothing, breaking the metal weapon in two. The last time anyone connected to the family heard from her, she had flown through the bedroom window and fallen to the ground ten metres below. When the guards looked out, the only trace they ever found was cloven-hooved. Love, am I right?

Symptoms

• Bloodlust
• Sometimes also usual lust
• Higher mystical concentration
• Unless treated (with blood), the host will go onto try to drain the blood of whosoever is closest uninfected to the host. This part of the process is called the 'red haze' and is rather unrecallable for the victim.

Treatment

Beheading. No other known method will keep the vampire dead.

Prevention

Unblooded vampires are not aware enough to determine that you cannot, in fact, bite through armour. Debilitating one (they're quite weak) whilst in full-plate armour will give you enough time to get away. Blooded vampires, on the completely other hand, are often powerful enough to eliminate little problems like "victim trying to protect itself". Obviously, blooded vampires can be killed in the same way but, given their often less animalistic fighting style, they will tend to overpower victims, if they so choose.

Epidemiology

• "Oh damn, I got bitten. Now I gotta go bite someone else."
• Otherwise, it can be spread like a normal bacteria, blood, spit, coughing, also sex on very, very rare occasions.

Cultural Reception

Filiean Vampires are universally feared and hated, except by weirdos and probably Twilight fans. Unblooded, they are dangers to people. Blooded, they are dangers to society. Some of them are sexy, yea, but is it really worth not only contracting but releasing an epidemic strain of a life-changing disease unto the public?

Type

Bacterial

Origin

Engineered

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired & Congenital

Rarity

Rare