vampire

A vampire is an undead creature which feeds off the life force or vital essence of living beings to sustain themself, usually in the form of blood. Any being may be made into a vampire, but the dominant clans of vampires are almost all humanoid in form.

Civilization and Culture

Major Organizations

There are eleven main tribes of vampires: the Adze, the Camazotz, the Garkain, the Estrie, the Hannya, the Lilin, the Nosferatu, the Rakshasa, the Revenant, the Shtriga, and the Vrykolakas.
Each tribe is said to have been gifted their specific abilities and appearance by the ascended Varnus.
The Adze can appear as normal humanoids but can transform into lightning bugs, into enormous montrous insectoids, as well as shift individual parts of their bodies into insectoid forms.
The Camazota cannot transform, appearing almost always as fearsome vampire bats. However, unlike balayang, the Camazota have humanoid limbs in addition to wings.
The Estrie are probably the most well-known vampire tribe, appearing as normal humanoids with piercing multi-colored eyes (usually yellow, white, or red). They can transform into bats or into fog, among other things.
Garkain are among the most grotesque vampire tribe. They walk bipedally, but run quadrupedally. They are green or brown in color, and are notable for the two bony protrusions from their heads. Garkain cannot transform.
Hannya have faces which appear to almost be mask-like, being bright red or white. However, this is merely reflective of the blood they have consumed, flowing through their faces. Their skin is so sensitive to light as to be translucent. They have very large fangs, even among vampires, and two large protruding horns. Some believe that the first hannya were descended from cambion because of their horns, but this theory remains unproven.
Lilin appear similar to Estrie at first glance, but they are notable for their pure white eyes, long prehensile tails, and their horns. It is said that each century a Lilin lives, they grow another pair of horns. Some Lilin have been reported with so many horns that their scalp is no longer viewable. While male lilin could theoretically exist, the Lilin are matriarchal, only turning women, as called to by their own ancestor, Lilith.
Nosferatu are humanoid in appearance but with deep blue skin and piercing yellow eyes. Unlike the Estrie, whose fangs are their canines, the Nosferatu have their upper front two incisors as fangs.
Like Nosferatu, the Rakshasa are blue in color, but they have beastly faces more similar to Hannya. They are known for their variable appearance, being able to shapeshift their physical forms to include wings, multiple eyes and arms, as well as huge horns and fangs.
Revenants are one of the lowest castes of vampire tribes. Their bodies are almost more similar to those of zombies, slowly decaying, but kept alive by consumption of blood. They can even stay alive when little more than a skeleton.
Shtriga are one of the more beastly vampire tribes, being mostly quadrupedal, and described as hybrid bat-like and dog-like humanoids.
Vrykolakas, also known as Children of Judas, are perhaps the most beastly vampires, having some of the largest upper canine fangs and purely white soulless eyes. They are entirely quadrupedal, hairless, and could be described as having skin stretched too thin across their bodies.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

The largest vampire settlement is known as Selene, the City of Vampires, La Ville Vampire, the City of Darkness, or the Dark City, among non-vampires. Vampires refer to the settlement as Sepulchre.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

Traditionally, a single humanoid vampire is designated as pharoah of vampires at one time. During this time, there is a ceremony known as a coronation, during which time each of vampire clans provides a mixture of the blood of all of their members, thereby endowing the pharoah with the immense power of all vampires. After a pharoah has served successfully for a century, they undergo a process known as Ascension. Although the particulars of this process are unknown, it is said that it was by this process that the first vampire pharoah, Varnus, ascended to godhood, becoming the god of vampires.

History

All humanoid vampires trace their lineage back to the original vampire, Varnus (also known as Varnae). Varnae is said to have been a genocidal warlord, bringing peace to the early world through intense bloodshed. He was then cursed by a group of mages to always hunger for blood equal to that of the blood that he spilt.