Vampyrism
"It doesn’t start with blood. It starts with silence. The kind that follows you. The kind that waits for you to sleep." -Father Kreel, Cleric of The Knights of All-Faith.
Vampyrism is not merely a sickness, but a transfiguration of soul and flesh, a parasitic rebirth into an ageless predator whose hunger rewrites both body and mind. It is whispered to be the last true horror that walks in the skin of man. Born in the shadow of arcane catastrophe, this affliction devours mortality and leaves behind something worse: a thinking corpse that grows ever more cunning, ever more powerful, and never dies unless made to. To glimpse a true Vampyr is to see evolution in defiance of the gods, a sculpted nightmare that sheds its humanity as a snake sheds skin, replacing it with fanged charm, immortal insight, and the infinite patience of a being no longer tethered to time. They move in secret, breed in silence, and feed in ways that leave only whispers, wounds, or wailing. Some wear the faces of nobles or priests. Others dance naked through forgotten woods, cloaked in mist and entrails. A Vampyr is not a monster to be fought, it is a force to be survived, if only barely, and even then, never again the same.Transmission & Vectors
The curse spreads through blood, ritual, and sorcerous will. Most commonly, it is contracted by being bitten and fed upon by an existing vampyr, especially when the act is deliberate. More powerful vampyrs require no bite at all, spreading the affliction through blood sorcery, sigils, or magickal emanation alone. New vampyrs can begin creating thralls or blood-linked kin within days.
Causes
The origin of vampyrism lies in long-forbidden blood-rituals of immortality, born from attempts to fracture death itself. It is a condition of arcane resonance, the soul displaced, the flesh remade, now known to arise spontaneously in cursed regions or during uncontrolled magickal surges, particularly where souls have been sacrificed en masse.
Symptoms
Initial signs include:
- Aversion to sunlight.
- Blood cravings.
- Sensitivity to silver, salt, and holy wards.
- Heightened perception.
- Emotional numbness.
- Occasional levitation or misting in sleep.
Treatment
There is no known cure once transformation is complete. Some treatments can delay the process if caught in early stages: Magebane draughts, exorcisms, or bloodletting rituals can suppress symptoms temporarily. Once fully turned, only complete physical destruction (beheading, incineration, or magically-purged staking through the heart) can end the condition. Advanced vampyrs may resist even these measures unless weakened first.
Prognosis
The vampyr condition is permanent and progressive. Newly turned individuals may struggle with hunger and identity but eventually stabilize. Over time, they grow more powerful, cunning, and detached from humanity. Without regular feeding, they descend into blood-starved frenzy. With ample blood and time, they evolve into near-immortal masterminds, increasingly difficult to detect or destroy.
Sequela
Long-term effects include loss of humanity, physiological mutation (fangs, claws, mistform ability), and heightened arcane sensitivity. Surviving relatives of victims often suffer trauma, and vampyric infestations can lead to societal collapse. Some former mortals develop hive-mind links with their vampyric sires or thralls, complicating emotional or mental recovery if their link is severed.
Affected Groups
Anyone can fall victim to the vampyr curse, even animals are not safe from this plague, though the young, beautiful, and magically sensitive are often preferred targets. Mages and nobles are disproportionately targeted due to their blood quality and influence. Those with weak willpower are more susceptible to mental domination and turning.
Hosts & Carriers
Vampyrs themselves are the primary vectors. Some carry a “thin” strain, able to dominate minds or steal blood without full turning. Corrupted animals and blood-slaked familiars can carry minor versions of the curse or act as eyes and mouths for their masters. No plant or soil resists the curse entirely, some lands become steeped in it.
Prevention
Preventive measures include enchanted amulets, silver-tipped weapons, holy warding rituals, garlic-infused barriers, and abstaining from unknown blood. Avoiding night travel, blessing water sources, and Magebane-laced perfumes are common folk practices. Anti-vampyr guilds actively promote public education on the signs and defenses against these predators.
Epidemiology
Vampyrs tend to rise in chaotic times, wars, plagues, or famine give ample cover for their expansion. Outbreaks start with one elder vampyr and spiral quickly as they create thralls or turn others. Hidden covens form inside cities, leading to silent epidemics. By the time local authorities act, entire communities may be compromised. The threat spreads exponentially unless eradicated early.
History
Though vampyrism is cloaked in shadow and myth, history bleeds with moments when its horror surfaced too clearly to be denied. These are not mere tales, they are scars left on the world:
- Padraig Von Enger, the First of the Crimson Line - Said to have whispered with gods and danced with death, Padraig Von Enger is widely understood for unknown reasons as the progenitor of the vampyric condition, a once-noble warlock who traded his soul for eternal flesh. His name is spoken only in hushed tones, for many believe his blood still flows in the veins of elder vampyrs today, and some, believe it still flows through his own.
- The Night of Open Graves - On a moonless eve during the early The Civil Age, the noble quarter of the now-lost village of Marrowvale, hosted a masked ball that none would live to forget. Beneath silken gowns and lacquered masks, guests were turned one by one, until dawn revealed an entire city elite transformed into a silent, crimson court. The event became legend as The Night of Open Graves.
- The Burning of Nestrow - A desperate attempt by local clerics to purge a rising vampyr coven with a sun-ritual went horribly wrong. The invocation backfired, igniting the entire chapel district in consecrated fire and driving surviving vampyrs into the countryside. Nestrow still bears scorch-marked ruins where hymns once echoed.
- Fall of Openhearth - None suspected the genteel aristocracy of Openhearth, another settlement lost to Everwealth's endless fury, to be blood cultists. It was only when a rogue dragon, maddened by hunger, razed the city in a blast of searing breath that their glamours melted away, revealing ash-pale faces, fang-lined mouths, and blood-slicked halls. The dragon perished, but so too did the vampyric host. Smoke was their requiem.
Cultural Reception
Feared. Hunted. Worshipped only by the mad or the damned. Children are warned not to speak to pale strangers, and even suspected vampyrs are burned alive in rural villages. The Knights of All-Faith carry ash-bombs and soul-ink blades specifically to counter vampyric regeneration. Yet some view them as gods. Immortal. Beautiful. Eternal. Those people do not tend to live long.
Origin
Magical
Cycle
Chronic, Acquired & Congenital
Rarity
Extremely Rare
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