Physical Description

Vampwelf look like anthropomorphized bats. They have batty faces with large red eyes that seem to peer into one's very soul, a pair of large ears, and a prominent set of fangs jutting from their upper lip. They have a white or light gray 'collar' of fur around their neck. Their skin is usually chalk white, though darker skin is possible.

Their entire body aside from their face is covered in a layer of short fur that is usually dark brown, though it also comes in black and lighter shades of brown. Colors such as red and tan are very rare, but not unheard of. They have a head of hair that is variously styled and is the same color as their fur generally.

Vampwelf have a pair of large bat wings where there arms would be, that end in a three fingered claw. These wings are used as arms when they are not in flight. They have a pair of lithe legs ending in smallish feet. Vampwelf are generally not seen not dressed in some sort of high-class outfit. Their attire is generally styled after either "Victorian" or "Medieval Eastern European" styles.

Personality

Haughty and high class, vampwelf are regarded by many as "upper class twits", which is far from an entirely undeserved reputation. They generally desire to be pampered and served, and regard anyone who would deprive them of these things as scum undeserving of respect, on the other hand, those willing to bend the knee are often subject to lavish affections, mind, it's in a manner similar to a pet, but still, lavish affections.

Vampwelf generally disdain what they regard as "lower life-forms" treating them with an acute lack of regard. To the vampwelf, such creatures have no purpose in life but to serve vampwelf, and if they refuse, then to be food for vampwelf.

The vampwelf are a proud and eccentric lot, filled with ancient traditions and rites that date back a millennia. Divided into innumerable houses and clans to which they feel an acute sense of loyalty, they see familial honor as equally important, if not more so, than their own sense of pride. They love to tell elaborate histories and stories about their ancestors, generally without regard for how accurate they are, embellishing, if not outright fabricating entire cultural epics.

The vampwelf are very dedicated to their pretensions of nobility and refinement, and not fond of insinuations that they are anything but regal. Deep down however, vampwelf are monsters of the most basic sort, and in times of acute desperation they might let their "true" selves slip out.

History

The origins of the vampwelf are a mystery as, for all their fondness for telling elaborate and embellished legends of their history, real or fake, they are very tight lipped on where they came from. What is known is that long ago, they lived with another race, called the 'Svlanoi' who worked with them as servants just as the oomn do today. They came upon the svlanoi on a "Dark night, still and as cold as the grave" for such things were evidentally notable on Transylvaar at the time. The vampwelf built their dark castles and began to prey upon these simple peoples, and in short order the svlanoi where bent to the brink, and left with no recourse but to surrender to the vampwelf.

For a time all was right with the vampwelf in this arrangement. The svlanoi tended to their every need and desire as servants, and the vampwelf would only feed on them on occasion. But then came the "Long Night". On a certain day that no-one remembers, a vibrant comet streaked accross the sky and crashed upon the land. The vampwelf did not pay this much mind, noting it as a vibrant oddity. But then things went awry. Shortly after the comet fell a horrible plague gripped the land. Undaunted, the vampwelf simply retreated into their castles and waited out the plague that went on to ravage the svlanoi.

After some months of this, the gas giant of Nocturnas arranged itself in such a way to completely blot out the sun. This itself was not so strange as it had happened on occasion before. The vampwelf, at this point beginning to go wild for the drought of blood that their seclusion had induced, swiftly concluded that this must be a sign that the plague was gone. And it was, for when the vampwelf emerged they found what was left of the svlanoi free of plague. And so they set upon them like wild beasts, feasting upon the weakened peasants. Both this, and the eclipse, went on for some time, and the svlanoi became more and more scarce, until it seemed that all of them were gone.

The vampwelf did not handle this well. The vampwelf had gradually been fracturing, as family lines and clans grew they become unique, and distinct, though up until this point, they had been united by their common sense of superiority over the svlanoi. But now the svlanoi where gone, and they turned upon themselves, in great wars that would forever break whatever semblance of unity they once had. Worse still, the night continued and wreaked its devastating effect upon the creatures of their world. Many plants died, and with them, animals, and so too the animals that fed upon those animals. Ultimately this resulted in very few creatures for the vampwelf to feed upon, and so then, began the darkest part of the Long Night. Vampwelf set upon vampwelf to slake their thirst. At first it was clan against clan, but soon, this grim diablerie expanded beyond the constrictions of clan, and kin set upon kin in dark cannibalistic orgies of death.

In response to what was soon being seen as the imminent end of their race, the leaders of the greatest clans banded together to avert this catastrophe, Vilkmar von Elsenstein, Draculas von Drakken, Igo Karleit, Eren vann Erent, and Wilhulf Dorph. Together these five legends, by force of arms more so than by words, forced their kin together, banished the diablerist cannibals, and established codes of conduct that vampwelf still follow to this day... mostly anyway. Then, the sun rose, and the vampwelf, made all the less fond of light by the years of darkness, recoiled even as they rejoiced. Shortly thereafter visitors from the stars arrived on Transylvaar. The Elders made secret deals with these strangers, and soon they introduced the vampwelf to the greater universe, and the rest is history.

Subspecies

Sanguinelp: Also called 'Blood Fiends', they are taller and lankier vampwelf who live within the marshlands on the southern end of the planet. Their wings are vastly atrophied and largely useless flaps of skin hanging off their long thin arms. They feel their species 'Dread Hunger' more acutely than their more common kin, which usually makes them essentially feral, but one will occasionally find one that is 'lucid', those that are, are usually noted as 'a bit off'. They are the believed to be the end result of vampwelf engaging in diablerie, or the act of drinking of vampwelf blood, and the population in the marshes are believed to be descendants of those vampwelf who engaged in such vile practices during 'The Long Night.'

Chiropteroth: Larger and stronger vampwelf that live in the mountains and highlands of Transylvaar. They are large and intimidating creatures that rely more on brute strength than agility or cunning to accomplish their goals. Their wings are stunted and worthless for actual flight, though the large brutes can make a go at gliding to help them get on their way. Though dismissed as feral and stupid, they have a peculiar grim intellict, that while far beneath a respectable sapient, is not to be trifled with.

Special

The Red Thirst: Vampwelf require blood to properly function, while they can subsist on insects and/or fruit, not drinking blood causes them to go gradually more and more insane. Eventually, if they do not get blood, they will enter into a "Blood Frenzy" wherein they will indiscriminately attack and feed upon whoever's nearby until they are satiated. Drinking blood, on the other hand, soothes them, and enables them to think clearly.

Their peculiar biology renders them immune with to most blood-borne maluses, with two exceptions, The Clockwork virus, and degeneration caused by drinking vampwelf blood. Drinking of vampwelf blood is taboo precisely because of this, those who engage in it frequently will rapidly and irreparably go mad, and perhaps worse.

Trivia

• Vampwelf are one of the few species in the universe entirely accepting of slavery, so long as it's not of 'higher life-forms' and certainly not of vampwelf. As they see it, slavery is merely the enforcement of the proper status quo of the universe, that lesser beings should serve higher beings.

• The vampewlf have numerous rules and strictures with regard to the proper consumption of blood, many of these vary from house to house, but a few are universal, the only one publicly know of course, is that vampwelf are not allowed to drink the blood of other vampwelf, and those that do so are generally exiled from society and disowned by their families, a grave punishment in vampwelf society.

• They're extremely taken to the oomn, as their self-depricative attitudes and servile nature make them perfect servants. It's like they were meant to be together.

It is believed by many that if a vampwelf drinks your blood, you become a vampire. This is, of course, untrue, but when questioned on the subject a vampwelf will usually respond with a blank red-eyed stare before hissing loudly in one's face.

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