Concerning Vampires

Vampires are magical creatures in that they are undead--their magic sustains their 'life' while they have no heartbeat. They do have circulation, but, powered by magic, it flows continuously rather than in pulses. Their magical also allows them exceptional regenerative abilities; this is what lets vampires maintain the age at which they were turned. It also allows them to heal at an exceptional rate and thereby increases their physical ability, sometimes to phenomenal levels. Although this does not give them the ability to regenerate limbs, vampires have much higher success rates with reattachments and transplants. Because their magic holds them in a near-suspended-animation, vampires are unable to bear or sire children. Also, due to their status as magical creature, vampires are unable to cross threshholds.

The canine teeth of vampires are sharpened compared to those of normal humans. Although they are unretractable, most experienced vampires are able to hide them under simple glamours.

Vampires' bodies are incapable of producing blood; therefore, they are forced to consume the blood of others to survive. A victim need not be drained, and in fact rarely is except out of malice. Newly-turned and the very thirsty, however, have a difficult time controlling their bloodlust, and are therefore more likely to make kills. The blood need not be human, either, as the magic that propels a vampire can adapt any manner of blood. Human blood, however, especially of the vampire's original blood type, is magically far easier to digest, and is therefore a favorite, largely illegal dish of sorcerer vampires.

A human becomes a vampire by exchange of blood. It must be mutual and of significant quantity--the minimum varies around a cup to a pint--by both victim and sire. However, the amount is usually unbalanced in favor of the sire. Oftentimes, the victim will be drained almost to the point of death and is forced to drink of the sire in extreme thirst. This excess of blood on the sire's part gives the sire a hold and power over the newly turned. This will wear off in time as new blood is mixed into the sire's system, but it can also be negated by drinking more of the sire's blood to equalized the exchange of fluids. No matter how traumatic the turning, an affection tends to form between sire and turned, oftentimes to the dismay of both.

Quickly after blood has been exchanged, the newly-turned takes on many of the symptoms of death as certain systems are modified to accommodate for vampiric 'life'. This lack of heartbeat, nearly absent breathing, and unnoticable circulation have, in the past, resulted in many vampiric burials. Also, due to the reduced oxygen as their system switches from physical to magical circulation, it is not uncommon for new vampires to temporarily or permanently lose memories of events prior to their turning.

There are many myths regarding ways to injure and/or kill vampires, many of which are false or exaggerated. Vampires are extremely sensitive to sunlight, such that more than a minute in direct sunlight can cause serious burns, and sunscreen has little to no effect. Indirect sunlight, however, is not overly harmful--the danger is perhaps as much as a human might experience unprotected in direct sunlight.

Silver is also a problem, though it is generally disregarded by popular culture. It can be said that vampires are magically allergic to silver; that is, the magic which fuels their 'life' is disrupted by the presense of silver. In most cases, the symptoms are mild, such that a vampire can wear a silver object for several hours without being overly affected, but situations have occurred where a vampire has been killed by prolonged exposure. This magical allergy is also the origin of the myth that vampires have no reflection, as many old mirrors were made of polished silver or had silver backing. As most reflective surfaces manufactured now are backed with aluminum, this is largely no longer an issue.

The majority of vampires are also physically allergic to garlic, much as any person might be allergic to a food product. Certain medications have been designed to combat this allergy, but they can be otherwise troublesome and only those especially fond of the food tend to take it.

More obvious means of killing are generally effective--decapitation, stake through the heart, death by fire, etc.--but it could be argued that anything might die from such a wound. Holy objects, however, have no specific effect on vampires; in fact, there are many devoutly religious vampires. A vampire, despite its method of 'life', is not inherently evil, just as humans, and it is only the strength of faith magic that inflicts damage through holy symbols. These symbols would be equally effective against other creatures, magical or otherwise, but their effect depends on the faith of the person weilding them.

When a vampires dies, they do not invaribly turn to dust, as some would have you believe. Usually, they leave a corpse, though these corpse tend to vary in resemblence to a human depending on the chronological age of the vampire. Many reported cases of spontanious combustion, however, were in fact vampires who remained far too long in direct sunlight and simply went up in flame and smoke. Oops.

Over the Years

Almost a year ago I decided I wanted to write the story of how Shin'nen and Asque first met up after realizing that the two seemed to have absolutely nothing in common and, in fact, had such contrasting personalities that I couldn't fathom why they got along. Shin'nen is my oldest continual character, surviving even a genre switch and a few random time periods, but I don't remember her starting out much differently than the character she's come to recently be. Certainly, she's grown older--she was my age in junior high, and in recent years has become a few years my senior. With age, she's grown more confident and stable, and perhaps a little more solid as a character, but overall I see her as a friend I've known closely for years; her changes have come gradually, and I'm far too close to her to see them clearly.

Asque, though . . . Oh, Asque.

Asque appeared as a doodle during the summer of my sophmore year of high school (had to double-check the dates on that--somehow I thought he'd been with me longer!) while visting Washington, D.C. and entirely enamored with the concept of a paranormal detective agency. I knew Shin'nen would be involved, and Ann added her own character, Danya, but a random male character was sketched in for some variety. Ann named him, and thus Asque came into existance.

Ann and I never got very far into our roleplay, but another friend of mine, Sara, and I soon began what has now become our longest-running roleplay yet. I'm not quite sure what happened to Asque over that span of time, but recent searches through my roleplay file archives show that he changed drastically to become the stoic, boring wizard with a pechant for scowling. I noted in one of my more recent roleplays that Asque didn't smile--possibly had never smiled, and I had apparently forgotten about this incident back in late 2003:

"Mmm, let's see . . . " He pretends to ponder for a moment. "Ride in a potentially cooler car, yet risk some sort of high-speed chase, or play it safe while risking being seen in a 'cute car' . . ." He grins. "Sorry, Shin'nen--I'm going with Rei."

So it seems that Asque was originally a character much like Shin'nen herself, or (at least, as Shin'nen would say, like an actual person and not, for example, a robot). I'm beginning to suspect that Asque gained his personality by losing it, and I must say I like him much more as he is than I do this weird joking character. Of course, it's obvious to me now why Shin'nen and Asque originally became friends--originally, Asque was a much different person. But now that he's who he is, I need to figure that all out again. Huzzah!

On a side note, Samiel's personality has changed a bit, too, since I first implimented him, but he settled much more quickly into his present personality. Oddly, he started with a formalness that could be mistaken for Asque's current tendencies, but it didn't take him long to become the casual, obnoxious dragon I know and love.

Concerning Dwarves

Dwarves (not to be confused with dwarfs, humans with height-stunting genes) do not exist. Or, rather, they do not exist any more--at least as a distinct race. Unlike elves, dwarves have never had difficulties procreating with humans, for although many consider their race 'magical', dwarves are not magical creatures and rarely posess magical abilities stronger than the average human. Therefore, over the centuries, dwarves have interbred with humans such that it is highly doubtful that any 'purebred' dwarves still exist.

Concerning Cats

Human researchers have often debated the intelligence of cats, manytimes debunking what most cat owners will agree: cats are terribly intelligent creatures. In truth, their intelligence often matches or exceeds that of humans, and it is feline morals that most strongly differentiate their behavior from that of people. The feline heirarchy and system of morals have never been fully documented by a human. It has been suggested, in fact, that a facet of both is an effort toward the utter bafflement of humans.

Cats have often been associated with the practice of magic, whether appearing as familiars, pets, or dieties. Cats, in fact, have their own variety of magic, which allows them to assist with and perform various magic. The main reason, however, is that although cats do not have nine lives, they do have nine incarnations, and retain the memories of all their previous lives. This makes them ideal assistants, for although their 'lives' last an average of 1.5 to 2 decades, their combined nine lives can allow them to help more than a generation of practitioners.

Practitioners who work with a cat are strongly advised to avoid having the cat declawed. This does not foster friendly feline/human relationships. Spaying/neutering should be discussed at length with the individual feline.

The nature of a cat's relationship with its human is not entirely understood, and cats have been largely silent on the subject. However, it is notable that practitioners have been known to understand the 'speech' of 'their' cat, as well as instinctively know its location and easily share energy with it. It is largely believed this connection is a choice entirely of the cat--likely, the rapport occurs when a feline decides that a human has become 'hers/his', as the understanding has been known vanish and appear with a cat's affections.

Possible floor plans

Here are two possible layouts for the Eidolon agency. The first is my drawing, sketched this summer after I discovered I had a mental vision for each of the floors, and none of the staircases could have possibly matched up. The second is the design of my friend Sara, with whom I roleplayed Shin'nen and Asque the longest. So although the top one is most accurate to what I'm now thinking, some of the elements of the second may appear . . .

Concerning Dragons

It should be noted that the following remarks apply largely to Western dragons. What are known as Eastern dragons are in fact another species entirely, perhaps more akin to the fae.


Dragons do not have tear ducts. Therefore, most strong emotions are expressed through fire-breathing and are often mistaken for anger.

The dragon physical structure maintains many similarities to large cats. While on land, they move as such, wings folded against their bodies to provide streamlining. Their talons are retractable, as well, to avoid snagging while running.

In modern times, dragons retain their land and fortunes through the acquisition, loan, and sale of antiques and art. They currently possess, though various avenues, 37% of the world's great art.

On Dragon Hearts:
A dragon clan will preserve all the hearts of its deceased members. Through an undisclosed ceremony, the memories of the heart's bearer can be retrieved. Because dragon 'hands' are not well accustomed to writing, this serves as a means to preserve history. All dragons are taught the specifics of the ceremony following their 300th year, but only the Eldest and Lorekeeper are generally permitted to enact it. As the hearts of deceased dragons often resemble gems, the preservation of such helped give rise to the idea of dragons hoarding treasure.

On Dragons' Bane:
Like most "-bane" substances, use is strictly restricted/prohibited by the governing councils and, in theory, the plant only exists in laboratory situations (much as smallpox exists in the human world). It causes, on immediate contact, symptoms akin to hypothermia, and attacks a dragon's ability to regulate body temperature. If contact persists, it can causes an extreme inverse reaction of raised body temperature ultimately resulting in premature pre-death "burn-up".

On the Death of Dragons:
Once circulation has stopped, blood builds up in the heart and elevates it to an incendiary temperature. Within minutes the heat excites the flamelungs and the entire body is engulfed in fire. Following this, naught but the heart, burned dry to a solid, rock-ish form, remains. Only be restarting circulation or quickly removing the heart can "burn-up" be avoided.

On Dragon Walkers:
Because of their distressing size and appearance, it is no wonder that dragons strive to avoid appearing to the general human populace. Despite what stories may have you believe, dragons do not naturally possess the magic necessary to take on another form. Only through a complex ritual involving months' preparation and a ceremony lasting, at times, weeks, can a dragon gain the ability to take on a human shape. Because of this, even large clans are usually unable to maintain more than one "walker", and small clans are often forced to hire non-dragons, such a firemages, to conduct their business.
As dragons are creatures of magic, rather than with magic (that is to say, their bodies require their magic to operate), their magical attempts tend to be clumsy. Therefore, the 'human' forms of walkers are a bit ramshackle--although they bear a strong outward appearance to humans, their internal configuration is anything but similar. Instead, it is a strange conglomeration of human and dragon organs. Due to this awkward configuration, a walker must be cautious to avoid overheating his or her human organs, especially while using the fire-lungs.

Concerning the E.I.D.O.L.O.N. Organization

As written this summer:

Eidolon was established in the early 18^th century as events brought to light the necessity of a strong international presence to promote the safety of magical entities. Originally formed of the numerous regional magical councils, the organization had a turbulent first few centuries, but has since become a smoothly-running worldly power. It is due to Eidolon's efforts that the world at large is able to work under the assumption of magic's nonexistence, thus protecting magical entities from the persecution they so often face.

Although some species chose not to join Eidolon when it was first established, instead retaining their own government systems, the organization has close relations with the majority of these nonmember species and provides indirect protection to these affiliate. These include, but are not limited to the Dragon Councils, the Elven Courts, the Vampiric Hierarchy, etc. Eidolon also maintains relations with most national governments, whether in their guise as international investigative and relief organization or as their true identity of magical global government.

January addendum:

ei·do·lon (ī-dō'lən) n. 1. a phantom; apparition. 2. an ideal.

There is wizardry attached to the name of the organization--names have power, and definitions, also. The meaning of 'eidolon' allows its members to easily manipulate how much information is presented and remembered to those considered 'normals'. Depending on the person's openmindedness and perceptions, the organization can be seen/remembered as anything from a nonprofit investigation and charity organization to the magical international government that it is. Likewise, the agencies themselves appear more overt than others, depending on setting and the region's populace.

Structure and Heirarchy (as recorded in July, 2006):
Eidolon is directed by the Council of Thirteen. Of the thirteen, twelve are elected from nominees from the regional agents of the world. (Agents are spaced approximately two per state--or equivalent area--dependent mildly on necessity. Whilst elected, they continue to reside in their respective districts, but do not actively patrol; their agency duties are taken over by another individual. Terms are seven years, but a Council of Thirteen member may at any time be removed by vote of the Eidolon agents.

The thirteenth member is chosen on a rotating basis from active Eidolon agents. Oftentimes they will be a voting member for only one meeting, but there have been occasions where an adjunct member remains for several weeks, as circumstances require. The 'leading' member of the council also rotates. At least one Agent from each continent (excluding, on occasion, Antarctica?) must be a member of the Council.