Vampires

Of all the monsters of Emaxus, few occupy such a large place in folklore as vampires. While tales may tell of vampires solely as bloodsucking monsters born of dark rituals, vampires are far more diverse than such tales lead people to believe. Comprised of three main bloodlines (Bloodbound, Lovebound, and Ragebound), vampires are a powerful and varied race of predators.
While Envalanath, Mother of Blood was the first vampire, modern vampirekind was actually created by her children, the Bloodless. It is for this reason that there exists three bloodlines of vampiredom: Entherinith created the Bloodbound to be wise and ancient, Engainaral created the Lovebound to siphon mortal passions and love, and Envorinan created the Ragebound to live like predators and hunt like them, too. While the bloodlines vary in how they stick to those initial pursuits, it is a rare thing to encounter a vampire who does not love---or hate---their Bloodless progenitor.
Each of the true vampire bloodlines are detailed below, alongside the two kinds of false vampires within each: spawn and strigoi. Spawn are weaker versions of their true counterparts which are created in ways dependent on their bloodline, while strigoi are uncontrolled monstrosities created when a true vampire's Turning fails in some way.

Bloodbound: Night Stalkers and Bloodsuckers

In the folklore of Emaxus, Bloodbound are the only vampires referred to as vampires. As their name implies, Bloodbound feed on blood. They do not need blood---and, in fact, there are notable cases of Bloodbound forsaking blood entirely; however, food and drink loses all appeal to the Bloodbound and blood becomes an intoxicating, steroid-like form of sustenance.
With or without blood, Bloodbound are incredibly powerful, especially as they grow older and learn to harness their mutations to their fullest. They are impervious to the wears of time and age, exceptionally strong and agile, and possess senses far more developed than any mortal race. They need not sleep nor breathe, and their hearts do not beat. While Bloodbound typically physically resemble the mortal race they belonged to before Turning, they are physiologically identical among each other as opposed to their former, mortal brethren.
When a Bloodbound consumes blood, their strength and agility increase greatly. If they practice magic (as many do), their connection to the lunar-arcane grows stronger. This effect tends to further increase with more blood, but blood is like alcohol for the Bloodbound and too much puts them into a drunken rage, often known as bloodfrenzy. Most respectable Bloodbound avoid this, and the codes of many Bloodbound tribes and clans forbid the frenzy. And, as a Bloodbound consumes more blood over the course of their life, they steadily grow stronger. The difference between a well-fed Bloodbound of five centuries and a well-fed, newborn Bloodbound is in orders of magnitude.
While not harmed by the sun (despite common folklore), Bloodbound prefer the night because of the many advantages it affords them. They know mortals do not have the senses to navigate the night as they do, and they don't sleep regardless. Also, the closer Lysithea is to full, the greater a Bloodbound's strength during the night.
While Bloodbound tend to walk among mortals in the forms they had before they Turned, Bloodbound can adopt their true forms for hunting or battle: dagger-length claws, bat-like faces, elongated fangs and, for some, leathery wings.

Bloodbound Spawn and Strigoi

When a Bloodbound feeds on a mortal till death when Lysithea is in full, their victim will rise as a Bloodbound spawn. These false vampires are granted many boons---strength, agility, and prolonged life---and many curses---an uncontrollable hunger for blood and a love of night that often manifests as a fear of day. And, unlike true Bloodbound, these spawns always appear like ghouls: pale and horrifically emaciated versions of their living selves.
Bloodbound strigoi, on the other hand, are controlled wholly by their thirst for blood. They become even more monstrous than a Bloodbound's true form, often appearing like a horrific bat-humanoid hybrid. They stalk the night and feast on the living, rarely with the subtlety that allows their true brethren to survive for so long. Strigoi have many of the advantages granted true Bloodbound, but they lack the control and intellect that their fully-turned brethren maintain. The failure to convert fully drives strigoi to insanity and back, and thus they are naught more than starving beasts who can never slake their thirst.

Children of Hunger

Vampires are an incredibly diverse species, with each of the three Trueblood types being so different, their spawns behaving and looking different, and strigoi being completely different based off the bloodline they were supposed to belong to. Their behaviors are unique, their appetites are determined wholly by their bloodline, and the evolution they undergo is completely different based on said bloodline.
However, the one thing that unites all vampires---Trueblood, spawn, or strigoi, regardless of bloodline---is their hunger. Whether it is a hunger for blood or emotions or a voracious ambition for power, all vampires have an innate hunger. Some vampires learn to control and even completely kill this hunger, though this process takes centuries and leads to a certain numbness; thus, ancient vampires who have mastered their hunger are often hermits and sages, numb to the ebbs and flows of mortal life.

Born of the Bloodthorn Rose

All true vampires are created with The Blackthorn Rose. For more information on the rituals related to turning, see its article.

Envalanath, Mother of Blood's Misbegotten Spawn

Although true vampires must be Turned with the Blackthorn Rose (which is believed to have been created by Envalanath), they are distant from their ancient progenitor. Some vampires form cults devoted to her worship, but most look instead to her children, the Bloodless, as the true paragons of vampirekind. While the Bloodless can be just as aloof as their mother, they are the originators of the three vampiric bloodlines and thus act as ancestors for all vampirekind.

Hard to Kill

All true vampires can only be killed in a few ways: decapitation with a silver sword, decapitation in sunlight, or mortal wounds dealt by another true vampire (hence the predominance of the Creeds of the Lycan and Blood in The Iron Order).