Much debate has been spent over whether to classify vampires as beasts or simply a form of sentient life. While no official council has ever been held on the decision, they are consistently ranked by the annual threat council, and thus, are considered beasts by most experts.
The vampires were originally created by humans in Donitor, before the race spread out to mingle with the rest of civilization. Dark magic, born from the death of the god Hinchipol, allowed for their creation and subsequent domination of the country. Most sentient races (and some non-sentient beasts) can be infected with vampirism, which turns the body into a form of undead. While the vampires retain their intelligence, they lose the ability to sustain themselves off ordinary food, and must drink blood to survive. The process of drinking blood will usually cause the vampires to temporarily lose their intelligence and simply give in to bloodlust, which nearly always results in the death of their victim. If, however, a victim manages to survive being bitten, they will soon find themselves transforming...
Height: - Various, depending on species
Characteristics: - Must drink a body's worth of blood roughly once a week, or their bodies begin to decay. - While the process of becoming a vampire does nothing to the host's teeth, infected individuals will often file their teeth into points to make it easier to draw blood. - Many vampires will try to mingle with society, as they begin to feel isolated due to their illness. The need to feed and the associated bloodlust will usually expose them, though.
Weaknesses: - The vampire's heart is vulnerable to attack, as it remains the only part of the vampire's body that doesn't wither. Additionally, it is believed that this is why the vampires must drink blood, to keep the heart pumping. As such, if the heart is destroyed in any manner, the vampire will die. - Vulnerable in sunlight. While they won't die from sun exposure, it puts them in a state similar to grogginess, as if just awaking from a deep sleep.
Other notes: - Each species reacts differently to becoming infected with vampirism. - Aqahartis: Tend to focus on finding ways to produce or improve a vampiric nations. - Avians: Docile, will often begin to pursue written language. - Dwarves: Tend to become depressed, often dying of starvation. - Dark Elves: Extraordinarily aggressive. - High Elves: More aggressive than most, though not as bad as dark elves - Humans: Will often try to remain in society. Human vampires tend to form the foundations of the vampiric nations. - Orcs: Unfathomably aggressive. Orcish vampires won't often survive for longer than a few hours after being bitten, as activating blood magic in this form destroys them almost instantly. - Merfolk: Tend to react very similarly to high elves, often secluding themselves to the ocean depths. - Rootwalkers: Instead of requiring blood, these vampires will need sap from trees, and are often largely ignored. Some rootwalkers use vampirism as a way to escape slavery, as their telepathic powers cease working upon infection. - Trolls: Often become suicidal, and simply enter Calsin until the sun strikes them. As trolls are already vulnerable to sunlight, this often causes small explosions.
