Abel Nightroad from Trinity Blood
Unlike most monsters, vampires have this strange habit of turning on each other. It doesn’t happen in stories where you only have the one bloodsucker and maybe a few enslaved underlings. This is when you get a society of vampires, which inevitably becomes riddled with classism, elitism, and a few other -isms. Backstabbing and destroying each other is standard operating for these creatures, which can be a little disappointing. On the other hand, predators tend to be territorial and have hierarchies, so maybe that’s where this comes from.
In many ways, vampires demonstrate human nature taken to an extreme. They eat with no end to their appetite, lust for lovers with a supernatural libido, and demonstrate a destructive rage. So, a society where they are one of the most dangerous things to their own kind seems to make sense. Although, half the time I think they’re being used as a commentary on the elites of our world. Very heavy-handed with the ego, vanity, and quick to kill those they see as inferior. Makes me wonder why vampires bother making more if they treat so many of their kind with disdain.
That snobbery is something I tried to avoid when I designed the Dawn Fangs, but I did put it into the traditional vampire system. Keep in mind that War of Nytefall is about the vampire civil war, so it makes sense that they are the most dangerous enemy out there. It isn’t only the physical threat, but both societies are at risk if the Dawn Fangs are exposed to the world. The revelation that there is a vampire species immune to sunlight and able to hide among mortals with ease would terrify the world. Anything that is remotely fanged and not a serpent would be at risk. So, this is a war that is being drawn out over years because it isn’t easy to have battles without being seen.
One of the things I enjoy about having vampires fight each other is that they’re on equal footing. With hunters, you have a mortal underdog and holy warriors tend to have an advantage. A battle between vampires isn’t as clear cut and you can have a different flavor to the event. It isn’t always a one hit kill since they have the same resistance and healing ability, so you can make the fight really brutal. This fits their monstrous persona. You can demonstrate the resilience of the species by having them continue with wounds that would kill a mortal enemy. Because of this, I think the vampire as enemy situation is very important to the genre. Not to mention it creates the dynamic of them having the same range of good and evil as humans, which makes them relatable.
Right now, it’s hard to fully explain how much of a threat other vampires are to the Dawn Fangs. There is a pretty big power gap between them and the traditionals, but they lose out when it comes to numbers. This could change as the story progresses and you might see some Dawn Fangs turn into ambitious warlords. Clyde is able to control a small gang, but an entire society is new to him. There’s going to be some blips and he’ll have to figure out when to be a leader and when to be a monster. I would go so far as to say the biggest risk to him from this enemy is toward his humanity instead of his mind or body. Imagine being very powerful and trying to restrain yourself, but people keep rising up to put your world at risk. You could get a little paranoid and possibly start inching towards preemptive actions that are extreme. I’ve actually noticed with the second book that Clyde fights less and is spending more time thinking about his role in the world he is creating. Having members of your own citizenry be enemies can really mess with his head. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out since even I’m not sure where I’m going with this part of his evolution.
Legends of Windemere 
I’m always fascinated by stories of leaders who fall victim to their paranoia after someone tries to assassinate them. It’s a pretty common theme in history, actually. I guess you’re not paranoid if they’re really trying to kill you, of course, but it does seem to create a self-fulfilling prophecy as they become increasingly heavy-handed in their handling of their (real or perceived) enemies.
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Sometimes they don’t even have to be attacked for paranoia to set in. Especially with creatures as prideful as vampires, one could easily make them fear a potential threat before it makes a move. As you said, the self-fulfilling prophecy is a pretty common story. Both in fiction and reality.
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You’ve mentioned the brutality and healing abilities on a couple of posts. Is it possible to dismember a Dawn Fang and have each part heal completely to the point they are clones of the original?
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Not unless they have a cloning ability. Even then, one would be the superior and the others would fade away. The parts that aren’t connected to the life-giving core (the brain here) will rot away and be replaced by new limbs and organs.
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Great post and comments. Hierarchy and civil war are two subjects that interest me. When beings are on equal footing, you have the opportunity to be really creative to make the war compelling.
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Especially when they’re also trying to keep their existence a secret. That’s a disadvantage that he Dawn Fangs have, but it can’t be easily exploited.
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Another interesting look at vampire characterizations, Charles.
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Thanks. 👍
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Amazing is what I keep thinking.
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Sounds interesting, but it also sounds like it could be very gory.
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It’s going to be bloodier than the previous series. Only because the vampires can survive more.
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“Makes me wonder why vampires bother making more if they treat so many of their kind with disdain.”
Maybe they feel more powerful if they have a bunch of followers?
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That’s if the younger vampires obey. Fiction tends to have most of them running wild. It’s a really odd aspect of the mythos where they just make new ones without much of a plan.
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Definitely sounds like most society now-a-days! 😉
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Might be why so many monsters resemble humans to some extent.
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… Or, might be why so many humans resemble monsters…. 😉
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Pingback: Writing Links…4/23/18 – Where Genres Collide
You have the elements of a great character development arc here. I’m curious to see where you’ll go with it. Will he turn into a Windemere Kim or a benevolent ruler?
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The second book is going to show how Clyde is having trouble with this part of being the Dawn Fang progenitor. Regardless of his confidence, he doesn’t know what he’s doing and really only has the more ruthless rulers he’s interacted with to go by. One tough part here is that some of the books will have many years passing between them, so Clyde may make a few odd jumps in temperament and personality.
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I’m sure you’ll find a way to bridge the gaps 🙂
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I start editing it tomorrow, so we’ll see what happens.
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