Legends of Windemere

Vampire Hunter D

This is another question by L. Marie and I went into detail on this post.  So I’m not going to go too far into the origin of the vampires.  I’m going to compare the two vampire species of Windemere.

Old World Vampires

These are the ones that existed prior the Great Cataclysm.  They are true undead and feed entirely off blood.  Powers include transformations, mesmerizing, enhanced physical abilities, vermin control, and they can learn spells like a caster.  Magical weapons, beheading, disintegration, and holy magic can be used to kill them.  Stakes to the heart don’t work because they don’t have a heart to be stabbed.  Sunlight only drains their powers, but they avoid it in order to keep themselves safe.  To do this, the Old World vampires wear Shadow Cloaks if they go out during the day.  This species is very much high society and close to the original version that we think of.  In recent history, they’ve been rare and scavenger-like because they lost the war with the Dawn Fangs.  It’s really only a matter of time before they go extinct.

Dawn Fangs

Born from the Great Cataclysm, these vampires are more powerful and human than their ancestors.  They have a beating heart and can get nourishment from food, which makes them alive instead of undead.  Each Dawn Fang has his or her own set of three abilities that work off a ‘Body/Mind/Aura’ system.  For example, one who runs a tavern might have the abilities of Stretching Limbs/Sense Emotions/Blend into Surroundings.  The Aura powers can overlap or be mistaken for the other categories.  The wide variety of abilities and the fact that they don’t weaken in the sunlight makes them very dangerous.

At least, they would be dangerous if they had monstrous intent.  Over the course of the vampire Civil War, the progenitor of the Dawn Fangs realized something.  Any species or individual that attempts to conquer Windemere will be met by an agent of the gods and be thrown into an endless battle to hold onto their throne.  He didn’t like this idea, so he create a government for the Dawn Fangs where they live among the other species.  Since they can feed without killing, they can gain followers that offer themselves for some type of payoff.  There are enforcers to make sure the vampires don’t start any trouble and every government knows that Dawn Fangs handle their issues brutally and in-house.  For example, if one kills then they are taken to the capital to be punished.  Serial killing and high risk actions result in termination.  They don’t do jail.

A question might come up about biting people and turning them into vampires.  This can only be done by vampires that are at least a century old or have just been born.  By born, I mean live birth and those don’t really create vampires.  They make protectors that are closer to obedient ghouls that are freed upon their master reaching the age of 13 and his/her powers awakening.  Gestation for a vampire is the same a their mortal kin and they can breed with non-vampires, which creates a 50/50 chance of the child being a vampire.  A third way to create new Dawn Fangs is if an Old World vampire ingests the blood of the progenitor, but there really isn’t a chance of that happening these days.

A final note on Dawn Fangs is that they are very hard to kill.  Total obliteration could work for casters, but a warrior needs to do two things.  Chop off the head and destroy the heart.  If you decapitate without hitting the heart then someone can put the vampire’s head back on.  If you destroy the heart without decapitating then the organ will grow back within a minute.  A heartless Dawn Fang can still move, but their Aura and Mind abilities are unusable.

So that’s the difference between Old World vampires and Dawn Fangs.