A Field Guide to Vampires

by Alyxandra Harvey

  Current Families with Unbroken Service (Western Division):

  Chevalier, Wallace, Shandor, Reeves, Stephenson, Black, Greenberg, Olafson, Wild.

  Other Hunters of Note:

  Sisters of the Sanguine Heart

  A sect of vampire-hunter nuns, founded in France in 1222. They whittled the crosses of their wooden rosaries into stakes and taught hunting along with catechism. Later became famous for saving a small village from a Hel-Blar infestation after Montmartre passed through the area. Currently inactive.

  Richard the Lionheart, Joan of Arc, and Emily Bronte were said to have been members of the order but this has never been definitely proven.

  7.

  Traditional Vampire Lore (Mostly Debunked)

  Habitat:

  -Anywhere as long as soil from homeland is nearby—a jar’s worth is enough (debunked)

  -Old castles and basements preferred (debunked)

  Characteristics:

  -Pale skin

  -Fangs

  -Cast no reflection (debunked)

  Of course they cast a reflection. Do you think Logan could dress the way he does without a mirror?

  -Shapeshift into bat, wolf, or mist (debunked)

  -Sleep in coffins (debunked)

  Strengths:

  -Very fast and strong

  -Can fly or levitate (debunked)

  -Strong sense of smell and sharp eyesight

  And they can smell a lie.

  Weaknesses:

  -Cannot enter without invitation (debunked)

  -Wooden stake in the heart

  -Decapitation

  -Garlic (debunked)

  -Traditional holy water (debunked)

  -Crosses, churches (debunked)

  -Sunlight

  8.

  Basic Vampire Statistics

  This handbook focuses on the two major types of vampires generally dealt with by the Western Division. This is meant as a brief introduction as there are too many vampiric creatures across the world to properly explore in this handbook.

  I’ve heard that there are vampire watermelons in the Balkans and that in Russia, vampires can turn into butterflies. That’s seriously weird. Now I kind of want to keep a butterfly in my room and freak out my roommate Sarita by telling her it’s Nicholas.

  Habitat:

  Any topography, nighttime preferred. Rarely found in desert settings. Live in tribal family groups. Some prefer to live together for safety; others are more solitary by nature. Look for blacked-out windows.

  Distinguishing Characteristics:

  -Sunlight weakens the young; elders can withstand indirect light for short periods of time.

  -Elongated retractable canines (fangs)

  -Vampire pheromones not consciously detectable to human noses but still have effect. A few vampires have exceptionally strong pheromones, which may be processed through the body as the scent of lilies and chocolate. In insect and animal populations, pheromones are used to trigger alarms before an attack, to mark territory, or to call a mate. In vampire populations, pheromones are used to attract victims and make them willing and/or forgetful.

  -Irises of eyes grow paler with age; common eye colors are blue, green, gray, and hazel

  -Age very slowly

  -Low body temperatures

  -Pale skin

  -Vampires cling to the fashions and traditions of their youth.

  Ever seen a vampire turned in the 80s? It’s not pretty.

  -Find it difficult to resist fleeing prey

  Food:

  -Blood, both animal and human

  -Human blood preferred when ill or wounded

  Strengths:

  -Heal quickly

  -Move with incredible speed

  -Well-developed sense of smell and sight

  -Extremely strong, especially during newborn hunger frenzy at sunset

  Weaknesses:

  -Allergic reaction to sunlight

  -Wounds through heart do not heal; vampires disintegrate entirely at moment of death. (This is thought to be a natural stealth process meant to hide their presence from the general population, even in death. Research is understandably difficult to apply.)

  -Decapitation leads to instant death.

  -Vampires sleep or are unconscious during daylight hours.

  -Transformation ("bloodchange") can be painful and leaves the victim vulnerable.

  Reproduction:

  -Vampires are created when a vampire drinks a human’s blood, usually through a bite, and offers his or her own blood to the human in return. The bloodchange can be quite violent, and subjects do not always retain sanity, should they survive.

  -In rare ancient families (currently surviving: Drake, Joiik, Amrita), vampire children are born to human females. In some cultures, they are known as dhampirs. The ancient families are not traditional dhampirs, in that they transform on their sixteenth birthday. Regular dhampirs are born vampiric. The Council families have been known to change, as families occasionally die out and are replaced.

  Young:

  -In those rare families, the children born to human mothers age naturally until their sixteenth birthday, when they weaken and die unless human blood is given to complete the transformation into a vampire.

  -Once transformed, vampires age normally up to and through puberty, until they reach a biological age equivalent to their early twenties. Some variations occur.

  Political Structure:

  -Family/tribal groups are generally ruled by the oldest member of the lineage and his or her consort. If their leader is incapable of ruling, consensus rules generally apply. In some cases, the successor is named well in advance; in other cases trial by combat still prevails.

  -A nation of families/tribes can be ruled by a single king or queen. This is not necessary and may cause intertribal warfare. This is to our advantage as it weakens them and makes it easier to hunt and dispatch.

  9.

  Vampire History

  The basic structure of vampire society is a combination of feudal medieval values and tribal autonomy. Vampires cling to their youthful cultures and deeply respect tradition and ritual.

  They can be ruled by a king or queen and their royal court. Primogeniture is not the general mode of royal succession, though it can sometimes be relied upon. Usually the right to rule is determined by political worth and/or usurpation. There has never been, to our knowledge, a monarch that rules over all the vampires of the world. Usually, kingdoms are determined by modern country territory lines, though some earlier historical lines may also be used. Most families are more concerned with following their matriarch or patriarch, or their personal sires.

  Solitaries and renegades reject the power of the family unit, the sire, and the royal courts.

  Royal Crest: Ruby crown with sword

  Current Queen (self-styled): Lady Natasha (long white-blond hair)

  Not in power anymore, thank God!

  Lady Natasha was abandoned by her sire, the shaman-king Leopold, in 1722, Switzerland. She survived and was adopted into a Russian vampire family (Romanikovs) in 1851. She took over the North American vampire throne in 1957 when the king (Edward Gopi) was mysteriously chained to a tree and died at sunrise. The culprit was never found though popular belief points to Lady Natasha. "Lady" is a title she appropriated from her aristocratic foster family. The only remaining family member is her step-sister Juliana Romanikov.

  She ate a raw deer heart thinking it belonged to Solange. She was way scary.

  The Araksaka:

  Lady Natasha’s personal guard. Marked with a tattoo of three raven feathers on the left side of their faces.

  Reapers:

  In the 1980s Lady Natasha sent her reapers through the streets of Violet Hill. She was staying in the royal caves inside one of the more remote Violet Hill mountains, once said to belong to the Hounds (see section 12), and demanded victims be brought to her to feed on. Her favorite reapers were the Domokos siblings, Elisabet and Lyle. They were dispat
ched in 1983.

  Mom helped with that! And so did Bruno. And I think they might have dated but neither of them will admit to it.

  Raktapa Council:

  The three ancient families of Drake, Joiik, and Amrita form the Raktapa Council. They hold some sway over other vampire tribes, but exactly how much is not known.

  10.

  The Host

  Leander Montmartre is known to all vampires and hunters. He has been creating his own army of vampires for centuries. They are known as his "Host." Once a lover to Lady Natasha. Reason for separation unknown.

  Montmartre was a creepy old perv.

  Habitat:

  -Manor houses in private countryside settings

  Distinguishing Characteristics:

  -Fealty oaths sworn to Montmartre

  -Act as his personal bodyguard and army

  -Uniform of brown leather tunics

  Food:

  -Blood, preferably human. Take unwilling donors.

  Strengths:

  -Trained fighters

  -Extremely fast and strong, well-developed sense of smell and sight, quick healers

  -Unified in purpose

  -Loyalty

  Weaknesses:

  -Usual vampire weaknesses (see section 8)

  -Arrogance, blind obedience to Montmartre, power-lust

  Reproduction:

  - The Host are turned by a vampire bite (from Montmartre, traditionally) and abandoned to suffer the bloodchange without guidance or a sufficient quantity of the sire’s blood. This is believed to make them strong. If they survive, Montmartre returns to claim them as his own. This process is notoriously unstable and vampires often go mad. This is how many of the current Hel-Blar plague were created.

  Political Structure:

  -Medieval-style fealty to Leander Montmartre

  11.

  The Hel-Blar

  Hel-Blar were at one time considered to be rare. They were mostly human victims who were infected and turned into vampires without knowledge of the process and were driven mad by bloodlust and insufficient feeding. Some retain speech and reason but many are rendered insane beyond cognitive functions.

  Ew. Seriously. These guys are gross.

  Now dangerously common, especially in small European towns and Violet Hill, due to Montmartre’s attempt to create his own army. Hel-Blar numbers more than tripled as he perfected his creation of the Host.

  Hel-Blar means "blue death" in ancient Viking dialect.

  Habitat:

  -Nesting tendencies in abandoned houses and thick forests

  Distinguishing Characteristics:

  -Sharpened, elongated teeth; every tooth is a fang. Unretractable.

  -Blue-tinted skin

  -Smell like rotting mushrooms and swampy water

  Food:

  -Blood. From any source.

  Strengths:

  -Strong fighters

  -Feral

  Weaknesses:

  -Usual vampire weaknesses (see section 8)

  -Can lose themselves in battle frenzy, as did the Viking Beserkers.

  Reproduction:

  -The Hel-Blar bite is known as a "kiss" and, unlike a regular vampire bite, can turn the victim without the need for blood exchange. Saliva in an open wound is sometimes enough.

  -Even other vampires fear this bite because of the contagious effect on other vampires.

  -Always made, never born, even in ancient families.

  Political Structure:

  -None, beyond nesting. Work in small clans or tribes.

  12.

  The Hounds

  The Hounds are notoriously secretive and information is difficult to gather and decipher. They know themselves as the Cwn Mamau, “The Hounds of the Mother.”

  Habitat:

  -Prefer caves, the more remote the better. Walls are painted with scenes from their ancestral myths. Details unknown.

  Distinguishing Characteristics:

  -Sharpened, elongated teeth; double set of retractable fangs

  -Very misunderstood; little is known about them

  -Superstitious

  -Wild demeanor and appearance is common.

  -Pale skin

  -Wear bone beads and amulets

  -Dogs taken into their tribes as totem-type animal companions

  Food:

  -Blood, both human and animal

  Strengths:

  -Strong fighters

  -Fiercely independent

  -Extremely fast and strong

  -Well-developed sense of smell and sight

  -Quick healers

  -Good trackers and hunters

  -Magical knowledge about which we have little information

  Weaknesses:

  -Usual vampire weaknesses (see section 8)

  Reproduction:

  -Many of the modern Hounds were turned by a vampire bite and abandoned to become one of Montmartre’s Host. Instead of being reclaimed by Montmartre or another unrelated sire, they are rescued by other Hounds and adopted into the tribe in elaborate initiation rituals.

  Political Structure and Miscellaneous Customs:

  -By all accounts the Hounds do not swear an oath to a particular royal bloodline. They prefer to follow a shamanka (sometimes a shaman) who rules through the use of ritual magic and superstition. They can be recognized by the bone bead necklaces they wear carved into the shape of their particular animal totem. Teeth pulled from previous shamanka totems are also worn.

  My dad wears necklaces like that too.

  -Braiding of the hair is an initiatory practice. Seven braids is said to be the number of luck for the shamanka, five for their apprentice, four for the sire of a tribe, three for the ordinary warrior. Newly turned Hounds wear no braids until their first kill; afterward a single braid.

  -The Hounds are among some of the oldest vampires known. They are fierce and strong and very solitary. They have managed to avoid entanglement in human history and conflict, preferring life in the deep woods or caves.

  Current Shamanka:

  Kala: (white hair in braids and dreadlocks, blue eyes, painted ritual deer cloak)

  Little is known. She is at least three hundred years old, rumored by some to be as old as two thousand. She spent several hundred years living alone in the mountains until she took the mantle of shamanka when the last shaman-king was killed. Her witch-dogs are famous for tracking and finding abandoned vampires during the transformational process of becoming Host or Hel-Blar. Currently the only shamanka we have intel on; if there are others, they are unknown to us.

  Hound Princess: Kala’s handmaiden

  Isabeau St. Croix: (long black hair, green eyes, favors fighting in leathers with sleeveless shirt and chain mail)

  Turned: during French Revolution and left for dead

  Distinguishing Characteristics: beauty mark on right cheekbone, petite, double set of fangs, French accent, numerous tattoos (Celtic knot work, greyhound, fleur-de-lis)

  Personality: very reclusive, polite, strong

  Strengths: good fighter, determined, loyal to shamanka, magical training

  Companion: gray wolfhound “Charlemagne,” Magda (Hound), Finn (Initiated Hound)

  Point of Interest: parents killed by guillotine during the French Revolution

  There’s a whole new vampire race the League didn’t even know about called the Na-Foir. They’re something between a Hel-Blar and a Hound. They were more reclusive than even the Hounds, because their veins are so blue they get mistaken for Hel-Blar a lot and shot on sight. My cousin Christabel was kidnapped by them so she could be a political liaison. They thought she was me. I’m still not sure what to think about that.

  13.

  The Drake Family (Local Clan)

  The Drakes are of particular interest as they are the current linchpin to most political intrigue within North American vampire society, especially in Violet Hill. Only sons have been born to this lineage since the Middle Ages, until the birth of Solange Drake (b. 1993) to Lia
m Drake (b. 1901) and Helena Drake (b. 1953-died/turned 1994).

  As mentioned previously, a historic treaty is in effect between the Drakes and the Helios-Ra. The Drakes do not drink from humans without consent and never drink enough to cause irreparable damage. We do not hunt the Drakes at this time. A bulletin will be issued should this change.

  Exiled but still powerful. Not enough is known about the prophecy regarding Solange Drake.

  Because it’s none of your business!

  The surname Drake is thought to have originated from the Old English word “Draca,” or possibly from Old Danish “Draki,” both meaning “Dragon.”