Vampirism
“...What in the name of the Gods..”The Man mumbled to himself as he dropped his bloodied axe, staring down at the bodies that littered the room.. He wished he could say this was his doing, but it was not, which made him all the more horrified… All of them having chunks taken from their necks with no remorse..
What made him more terrified.. Was the figure that did do this, standing in the shadows.. Staring, waiting for its moment to strike.. Red orbs for eyes shining through the dark.. And a smug grin on their face, revealing fangs that could tear into his neck any second.
Background
Vampirism has been seen as a disease among the lands, plaguing it for as long as people could remember.. Tearing up relationships, families, and even causing small towns or cities to crumble due to vampiric influence, or vampires raiding to feast on the people in the lands. It acts a lot like another well-known affliction, Lycanthropy.. However this one holds no cure.
The longest known Vampire to Exist is known as Maverick Lamozion, being the inventor of the Harvest Season, causing those who hunted vampires to become the hunted. The Harvest month.. He invited all Vampires to his festivities, serving up wine bottles and glasses of blood, meats of all different races… Tapeti, Human, Elven, Kalfarian.. It is because of his Actions, that during the Racial War, a lot of civilizations no longer trusted in vampires.
Appearance
Vampires take on either one of two appearances;
Their first appearance is the one that is most commonly known, as they are the ones that tend to roam the streets of towns trying to blend in. They have a generic, Tamed, and controlled look; their overall appearance being charismatic, coupled with blood red eyes. Their Skin is Pale, almost paper-white at some stages, and has fangs lining the inside of their mouth. They're put together and able to act like normal citizens, However some have crossed this boundary, having evolved to obtain Bat wings upon their back, exposing themselves for what they are, rather than using a normal bat form, but can still swap between.
Then there's those that have lost themselves. They’re feral vampires, unable to control their thirst and hunger for blood. Black veins showing throughout their wrists, hands, arms and face- They have sharpened nails, and their eyes turn a complete shade of red rather than just red pupils, and overall their appearance is unpleasant, hagged and wrinkly, some having no hair even. These ones have lost control of themselves, and can no longer function like your average vampire, thinking of only food as their end goal.. And enough, is never enough. Some still hold sentience long enough to plan unthinkable acts to reach their end goal, and can still turn into a bat form like normal vampires, and obtain the Bat-like wings upon their back if chosen to.
Culture
Vampires, these days, move more silently through society-using their stealth to their advantage, keeping a bit to themselves as they prey on people who are not likely to be reported missing, or use their charismatic skills to entice people into following them into potentially dangerous situations to justify their death. Although not all vampires think with their stomach, a lot of vampires on the flip side tend to target criminals or those that have bounties upon their heads, feeding off of them rather than harming innocent people.
When it comes to a person being converted into a vampire, Vampires inject a venom from their fangs into the victim after biting deep enough to allow it to spread through the body. This process is at least a week long, for the venom to take full effect.. The transformation of the body is quite painful, almost unbearable. They’ll find their skin getting paler, Fangs growing in their mouth, eyes turning red.. And their body lacks any heat; Their body stops ageing, only showing small signs of ageing at a much longer period of time, even surpassing Elves, Pure Borns take years to get into their 20s in Human-years. The Difference between Pureborns and None Pure-borns is when a Vampire is born from two afflicted parents, and not-pure is vampires born from only one parent being afflicted, and the offspring may not hold the affliction either.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Vampires have the Ability to go invisible, they can be invisible as long as they wish, just as long as they aren't injured and/or do anything too intensive in the meanwhile. aka being attacked, attacking, etc, and require a few turns to recover from their invisible state whenever they engage in combat, although when it comes to mirrors, they are constantly invisible, holding no reflection. To couple with this sneaky ability, Vampires are naturally silent, their footsteps and barely-beating hearts are silent, allowing them to sneak around- At fast speeds, too, when including their natural intense speed. Their speed is able to keep up with lycans, along with their reaction times. Vampires also have the natural ability to regenerate quicker, and can drink blood to speed up this process; although that blood being consumed would not satisfy their hunger as it goes towards the healing process. Finally, Vampires are more attuned to a certain type of Mysticism; The Malignant kind. Casting with this magic is much easier for them and quicker to learn compared to Neutralism, Mysticism, or Radiant.
On the Flip side, Vampires using their invisibility will make them quite tired afterwards, as Vampires may be immortal; but not invincible, Dying of wounds is still an issue, and its best not to be tired in the middle of a fight. Another weakness is the Daylight; Vampires will get rashes from being in the sun and get irritated skin, but when exposed to the sun too long begin to have mild to severe burns. Weakness of Daylight also plays into one of their biggest weaknesses; Mysticism. When It comes to Mysticism, Vampires are extremely vulnerable to one type; Radiant Mysticism. They may still attempt to cast it, but not without serious backlash, getting burns all over themselves to a severe degree. Injuries, such as Stab wounds, when left to bleed out, not tended properly, etc- will still kill a vampire, however first they may turn feral in an attempt to cure their wounds, following the sound of nearby heartbeats and smell of blood within a 10m radius.