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Way back, I was asked by Chris the Story Reading Ape about how one would kill a Dawn Fang.  It seems very difficult since they can regenerate and continue fighting with severe injuries.  At the very least, they’d escape to heal and come back within a few hours or the next day.  Funny thing is that this issue comes into play with Savagery and it’s the perfect time to answer it.

First, you need to know what the two most important parts of a Dawn Fang are:

1. The Brain–  This is what controls their powers and maintains their life.  Not that different than a mortal’s brain.  Although, this can be healed albeit slower than other organs.  That’s as long as the Dawn Fang is still considered alive and the brain is still attached to the rest of the body.  Otherwise, the vampire goes into a coma until the brain is returned, which is usually a third party reattaching the head.  A Dawn Fang could feasibly spend eternity in this coma if their head is cut off and lost while the rest of the body is preserved.  Rather embarrassing.
2. The Heart–  Classic vampire weakness, but this won’t kill them.  It can weaken a Dawn Fang immensely by turning them back into an old-world vampire.  This means they’re affected by the sun, are about halved in physical abilities, and their special skills are either lost or minimized to a fraction of their power.  Unlike the brain, the heart can be regenerated even if it’s completely gone.  It takes a year, so the Dawn Fang will go into hiding until they regain their power.

Note that neither of those two sections stated that destroying the brain or the heart would kill a Dawn Fang.  It was a coma and a devolution.  Both of those can be undone if enough time and help are granted.  Of course, beheading and staking are the two most common ways to destroy classic vampires.  This means that a hunter who isn’t aware of the difference may go for one and forget the other.  They could decapitate and walk away, which doesn’t solve the problem.  As for staking, a Dawn Fang may go along with it in order to end the fight and then leave once the coast is clear.  Remember that most Dawn Fangs don’t really want to get into this type of trouble.  Easier to play possum and leave to report the hunter to somebody who can do something about it.  So, how exactly do you kill a Dawn Fang?

Step 1–  Make sure it isn’t Clyde because you’d be dead before you can start.
Step 2–  Also make sure it isn’t Mab because that isn’t any better.
Step 3–  See Step 2, but for Lost . . . Okay, I’ll get to the steps.
Step 4–  Decapitate first.  This will leave the Dawn Fang defenseless due to coma.
Step 5–  Destroy the heart, which turns it into an old world vampire, which can be permanently killed by decapitation.

That’s the easiest way to do it since you need both organs destroyed or removed.  You could go for the heart first, but then you still have an active vampire on your hands.  It will be a lot more panicked and ferocious too since it’s a step closer to death.  A weakened Dawn Fang is still a Dawn Fang, which means you might not be able to finish the job before you’re killed or it runs away.  Not to mention, going directly for the heart and then preparing to decapitate will make it clear what you’re attempting.  So, you won’t have much time to deliver the second blow.  Incapacitate and then kill is a smarter way to do the slaying.

Of course, you’re still talking about a creature that’s fast, strong, and cunning.  They also have three powers that you probably won’t know about.  This makes Dawn Fang hunting incredibly difficult and dangerous.  Probably not the best way to make your money, especially since they’re trying not to cause any trouble.  Any Dawn Fangs that are causing trouble tend to get handed by their own as long as they’re reported.

A funny thing in War of Nytefall is that it took a while for the Dawn Fangs to realize that decapitation didn’t permanently kill them.  So, many of their enemies who they killed prior to that were able to be revived as long as they found the head.  A big reason for this is because Clyde had a habit of pulverizing his opponents.  His strength made it that he was killing any Dawn Fangs who tried to kill him, so his friends thought they were doing the same thing.  Nobody ever thought to question this until later.  The knowledge didn’t change anyone’s behavior though.  To them, it was a war and they saw their opponents as irredeemable enemies.  Well, one person thought differently.  Read the books if you want to find out who.