Author’s Note:
This is the first of many short stories that I wrote during the pandemic, when I was mostly bored and wanted a creative outlet. None of them are particularly good, but they were fun to write and might be useful for others as inspiration for their own stories, so…here they are. Do with them what you will :)
As you walk along the street, you notice a sizable gathering around what appears to be a bonfire, near the town square. Members of the crowd all seem to be tossing scraps of paper onto the fire, and the few people speaking seem irritable, though not yet riotous. Regardless, you decide to duck down a side street to avoid the crowd. As you do, you notice a burning paper float through the air, landing a few feet in front of you. The edges are singed, but somehow the bulk of the page remains unscathed.
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On Vampyr
Vampyr are perhaps the most misunderstood and misinterpreted creatures of magic that exist today. Indeed, vampyr are not even a race, but rather a group of humans that have been transformed by magic. While their unnaturally pale skin and miscolored eyes are unsettling to some, they are certainly not the monstrous beings that farmer’s tales have made them out to be. I hope that in dispersing this document to the general public, I might be able to dispel such harmful myths.
First, a note on origins. Vampyr lose the means to procreate as a byproduct of their arcane transformation. This does mean that their sole means of expanding numbers is through sanguimantic transmission. Vampyr do not, however, drink blood. The sole purpose of a vampire bite is to transform another person into a vampire. The myth of vampires drinking blood stems from a core misunderstanding of the magic behind vampyric transformation - it is not a foolproof process. A vampyr bite has a not-insubstantial chance to kill the recipient outright due to the erratic nature of wild sanguimancy, and this failed process usually results in the blood vaporising, causing the appearance of a vampire bite having drained the body of blood.
This leads me to another falsehood; vampires are, largely, a docile culture. Although some individuals may appear cold-hearted, most vampyr are actually quite empathetic, particularly to social outcasts, the ill, and those in danger. I speculate that this may be because they see something of their own plight in these individuals, though the truth is likely much more complex. There are heavily distorted reports that vampyr are cruel and callous - this is mostly false. Some vampyr are understandably angry at the human populace as a whole, considering them responsible for their own status as social outcasts and oft-hunted creatures. Most, however, are somewhat protective of humanity, especially younger vampyr who still retain emotional bonds with those whom they were forced to leave behind during the transformational process.
In fact, despite vampyr culture diminishing due to the efforts of misguided monster hunters, vampyr do not attempt to add to their populace by biting random individuals. Vampyr selectively seek out those who are terminally ill or in great distress, offering the gift of vampirism as an alternative to their plight. Due to the regenerative nature of the vampiric transformation, a vampyr bite can cure a dying individual, even if treatment carries the risk of a painful death. Only rarely and in moments where the individual they seek to protect cannot respond - for example, if they are unconscious - will a vampyr transform an individual “unwillingly”. Usually such a deed is done at the behest of a parent or loved one in such cases.
A note regarding warding: vampyr are not allergic to garlic, nor are there specific signs or sigils that repel or bind them. The truth is far more mundane, and far kinder - vampyr respect the desires of individuals to be left alone. If they see bulbs of garlic hanging over the door to one’s house, they will not enter to provide their offer, no matter how ill the person may be. This is, however, a matter of choice, not any sort of magical restraint on behalf of their transformation.
Finally, a word on the abilities of vampyr. Vampyr do not have the ability to possess others. They are creatures of magic, and thus innately talented with matters of the arcane, given that they are molded by it, but they are still limited to the same laws of magic as a sorcerer or warlock of similar skill.
I hope that this information will provide some clarity to the common individual. I will not pretend that there are not vampyr that exist with evil intent, just as I would not assert that there are not men and women in every town with malice in their hearts. However, there is nothing innate to vampyr that causes them to be more prone to violence. Indeed, there are legends of vampyr coming to the defense of small villages and hamlets in the dead of night, protecting them from some of the truly vile beasts that roam the land. I can only hope that these rumors, and not the ones I have dispelled above, will be what vampyr are remembered for in the future.
Regards, Dr. Lon Talendar, PnO.D
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You glance around cautiously to ensure that you are alone before folding the page and placing it gently into a pocket beneath your cloak. You suspect that the crowd behind you would not take kindly to this page being kept, a suspicion that is confirmed almost immediately by several shouts echoing down the alleyway from the bonfire crowd. Before things can escalate further, you continue briskly on your way home.
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