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Author's Notes

# Vampires

Story
The lanterns of Blackmere's streets guttered in the autumn wind, their flames dimming one by one. Siren bells rang faintly from the harbor, yet the alleys seemed too quiet, as though the city held its breath.
A lone watchman leaned on his spear, muttering about the cold, when a woman's voice drifted from the shadows. Smooth, low, inviting. He turned, and she stepped forward, her cloak heavy with rain, her smile soft.
"Are you alone?" she asked.
The watchman swallowed, his grip faltering. Her eyes caught the light of the last lantern, gleaming red for an instant, and the night folded around them. His spear clattered to the stones.
When dawn came, the patrol found him still alive, pale as milk, sitting against the wall with a dazed smile. He would not speak, but when they tried to lead him home, he begged to be left behind. His lips were stained crimson, and when he whispered, it was a prayer not to the city's saints, but to the Queen of the Blood Harvest.

Info
They walk at night, pale as corpses, with eyes that burn like embers. They drink blood, not of beasts, but of folk like you and me. A little sip is enough to make a man theirs forever, craving their touch, begging for more.
Sunlight burns them to ash, so they hide by day, in crypts or cellars or old ruins. Fire hurts them too, but only the blessed steel or a true prayer can strike them down.
Best keep garlic close, and never invite a stranger past your door. They cannot cross running water, nor linger when the cock crows at dawn. Some say they can fly, or turn to smoke or beasts, and I believe it.
If you see one, don't meet its gaze, and don't listen to its voice. Just run, and pray you're faster than the shadows.

Vampire portrait

Predators clothed in elegance and shadow, vampires are both feared and mythologized. They walk the night as hunters of blood, yet cloak their hunger in ritual and faith.

Unlike the vampires of myth, they are a race, not an affliction which can be passed on.

## Society

Vampires are rare and prefer solitude, though covens of three to seven sometimes gather. Such groups are often bound not by love or kinship but by shared worship, blood pacts, or convenience. Larger gatherings almost always collapse into betrayal. They prefer to infiltrate existing societies from hidden estates, crypts, or abandoned halls. A vampire alone may pass as human or elven for centuries, weaving webs of thralls and dependents, while a coven will often dominate an isolated village or fortress.

Some vampires wander as hermits or knights-errant of their faith, feeding only rarely and covering their tracks carefully. Others cultivate entire generations of bonded thralls, creating lineages of families who exist only to serve their master.

## Strengths

- Vampires see perfectly in darkness, their eyes catching even the faintest glimmer of light.
- They can fade into shadow, slipping from notice unless watched with unwavering focus.
- Their gaze can ensnare the weak-willed, bending thoughts and stilling resistance.
- Drinking blood heals their wounds with unnatural speed and restores their strength of body and mind.
- Time cannot touch them. They do not age and carry centuries of memory.
- Mortal weapons harm them little, save those touched by divine power or true sorcery.
- By feeding sparingly, they can bind mortals with hunger and longing, creating slaves who crave their touch.
- Their pain tolerance is inhuman. They can mask their breath, still their hearts, and endure blows that would shatter mortals.
- They move with unnatural grace, able to leap far and strike with a speed that defies expectation.

## Weaknesses

- Sunlight burns them, searing their flesh to ash. Even a few breaths under its glare leaves scars.
- Hunger gnaws at them constantly. Without blood, they grow frenzied, mindless, and violent before collapsing into a deep, helpless hibernation.
- Fire wounds them more cruelly than steel, though it cannot end them without holy or enchanted aid.
- Symbols of true faith, wielded with conviction, scorch their skin and repel their advance, no matter the creed.
- Though hard to kill, their ashes scatter easily. A vampire caught in their death-throes may be lost forever if burned or broken before feeding.
- Their shadows sometimes stir of their own accord, stretching or whispering toward prey.

## Myths

There are many false myths about them.

- They can create vampires by giving people some of their own blood. It is a myth they cultivate, though, offering eternal life for servitude.
- Vampires can't sire children. They can, but only with their own kind.
- They cannot cross a threshold uninvited.
- Garlic wards them away.
- A simple stake through the heart kills them. Unless blessed, it only pins them in place.
- Running water destroys them.
- The cock's crow turns them to dust if they still wake.
- They can take the form of mist, bat, or wolf.
- Silver is their bane. False, yet if it touches open flesh, it burns painfully.
- Mirrors cannot reflect them.
- They live only by killing. While some do, many feed carefully, leaving victims alive yet bound by craving.
- They can fly. They move with uncanny swiftness and leap farther than mortals believe possible, but they cant fly.

## Relations with Others

Carnees: Vampires see them as crude butchers, wasting the sanctity of blood by spilling it with no reverence. They destroy carnees whenever possible. Carnees, on the other hand, see them as vermin.

Primas: If a vampire has knowledge of the primas, it is usually secondhand or mythic. They see them as something closer to gods than kin, and rarely speak their names aloud. Primas see them as rough and primitive.

Mortals: Mortals are not prey alone but also a resource to be cultivated. A clever vampire may act as patron, protector, or ruler, ensuring a steady supply of blood in exchange for safety or power.

## Religion

The vampires venerate two deities above all others:

### Sanguira, The Goddess Queen of the Blood Harvest

She is the crimson chalice, the endless wellspring. Every drop of blood taken is considered an offering to her. Feeding is often performed with ritual precision, whispered prayers, and a moment of silence afterward.

Sanguira, The Goddess Queen of the Blood Harvest

### Noctyros, The God King of Darkness

He is the grave's embrace and the stillness of midnight. He is invoked before battles, assassinations, and moments of death. In him they find the promise of eternity.

Together these two embody the endless cycle of blood and night. Some cults argue they are two faces of one being, while others insist they are eternal lovers, locked in embrace since the dawn of creation.

## Legends and Fears

Some whisper that the first vampire was not cursed but the child of Sanguira and Noctyros, born to be there prophets in the world.

There are stories of "the Red Courts" - hidden kingdoms where vampires rule openly, surrounded by mortal vassals. Few believe these tales, yet wandering knights sometimes return pale, drained, and broken.

## Possible Secrets

### The First Turning

The origin of vampires is said to be a blessing from their gods, but some claim it was a punishment. The first vampire may have been a priest who stole blood from a divine ritual, cursed to hunger for it forever.

### The Price of Immortality

Each vampire's soul is slowly consumed by their gods. When they finally die, nothing remains but a whisper in the endless night. This is why elder vampires grow cold and empty, their humanity long gone.

### The Sleeping Ancients

Some vampires who fell into bloodless hibernation were never found. They lie entombed in ruins, mountains, or even beneath cities, waiting for blood to awaken them. Entire cults guard these places, hoping to revive their masters.

### The Blood Harvest

Not all blood is equal. The blood of the young grants vigor, the blood of the wise grants clarity, and the blood of kings grants dominion. Some vampires believe the right harvest can turn one of their kind into a living god.

### The False Myths

Though many stories about vampires are false, some are deliberately spread by vampires themselves to keep mortals confused and fearful. Entire traditions of vampire hunters waste their strength chasing shadows.

### The Endless Hunger

It is said that a vampire who drinks too deeply from another vampire can devour their essence, growing stronger. Such acts are taboo, but in the secret histories of vampire covens, whole lineages have been extinguished this way.

## Adventure Hooks

### The Silent Village

An isolated hamlet has grown strangely quiet. Livestock are untouched, yet no smoke rises from the chimneys. The villagers are alive but enthralled, serving a vampire who dwells in the manor ruins nearby.

### The Night Hunt

A vampire coven organizes ritual hunts, releasing captives into the woods before pursuing them. The party stumbles upon the game in progress and must decide whether to intervene, escape, or turn the tables.

### The Scholar's Bargain

A dying sage offers the party rare knowledge in exchange for protection. Unknown to them, he is a willing thrall of a vampire mistress, and she intends to reclaim him before he can betray her.

### The Weeping Abbey

An abbey has fallen silent. Monks found there are alive but weak, their prayers hollow. A vampire priest has turned the holy site into a shrine for the blood goddess, and pilgrims are drawn there unknowingly.

### The Ashened Knight

An armored warrior stalks the land at night, cutting down brigands and monsters alike. Grateful villagers sing his praises, but he never removes his helm. He is a vampire, bound by an oath to protect but unable to resist feeding.

### The Moonless Wedding

A noble bride is pale and distant, her family protective. The wedding is arranged not for alliance, but for feeding, as her new husband is a vampire who intends to bind the household through her veins.

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