vital magic

Vital magic is a form of magical energy that is key to all forms of life, but is the only means of sustenance for Vampires. It is very commonly used in fae workings in healing and natural growth spells. This form of magic is very particular to the Werewolf as they use a large quantity of it to achieve their rapid healing and longevity. 
All living things contain a small amount of vital magic, which is transferred through the consumption of the flesh of the organism. The fae are able to commune with natural spaces to accept some of the excess vitality from the ecosystem without death or destruction of the environment. Werewolves are unique in their ability to take energy obtained from other sources - pack magic and lunar magic, especially, and converting it to vital essence without having to go through some sort of ritual and there is little energy wasted in the conversion. Most of their magic is stored as vital essence, which makes them essentially walking vital batteries. As this energy is the only thing keeping vampires animated, it makes werewolves an especially tempting target for feeding. Vampires who give in to this temptation often do not survive the ordeal, as werewolves are more than equipped for self defense, but the wolf-blooded who cannot shift have historically been common targets for vampire attacks, even being kept as slaves to be fed upon repeatedly. This is one of the major motivators behind the territory wars between the two species, especially in Eastern Europe. 
Even humans have cashed in on werewolves as valuable resources, keeping wolf-blooded women and even she-wolves as nursemaids, especially. This is considered to be a much more plausible origin behind the myth of Romulus and Remus by many supernatural scholars. In fact, many of the agreements between werewolf packs and their local human governments have involved the trading of such a nursemaid, which is one particular reason why so many royal offspring were able to survive despite severe congenital health problems, specifically hemophilia. It is believed Rasputin was a human magician who repeatedly attempted to recreate the vitality of werewolf milk in order to gain favor with the Tzar after a failed diplomatic attempt with local werewolves to secure a new nursemaid. He purportedly was experimenting on himself extensively and this collection of vital magic is considered to be the reason why his death was a rather difficult accomplishment.

Type

Metaphysical