From Families of Blood: The Stokas Vampire, by Magus Geshath:
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Stokas vampires are a race of undead famous for their thirst for blood, fangs, and ability to create new vampires with ease. Despite only being able to infect humans, halflings, and elves, they are the most common form of vampire thanks to this ease of creating a new one of their kind.
Stokas vampires are the authority of rulership made manifest, and many of their peculiarities, so strange and contradictory, make substantially more sense when viewed through this lens.
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Introduction:
The first and foremost ability which vampires possess is the Blood. It is what gives them life, what gives them strength, and what continues their existence. While most mortals require a vast array of disparate nutrients and forms of sustenance to remain healthy (food, water, magic, sunlight, an absence of miasma), vampires require only Blood. This Blood is intertwined with every aspect of what it is to be a vampire, and is required to make them exist, to spread, to appear as one of the living, to move, and to utilize their magic. Blood must be taken from a living creature, usually consumed in the form of physical blood, the more powerful the target's life, as well as the more deeply drunk in, the greater the Blood which they may provide. Vampires, not being alive, do not produce Blood of their own.
Blood is, of course, analogous to political power. Without political power, a ruler can do nothing, but with it, they can do everything. A king does not produce political power either, it must be bargained for or taken from others, and is the only thing a kingdom truly needs to exist.
Each vampire is a part of a bloodline, roughly analogous to a single kingdom, and is first created by a Progenitor, then spread to all vampires which they create, akin to a warlord staking a kingdom and raising up lords. These lords share in the might of the king, and the king shares in the might of the lords, yet they both must work within their own might for all that they do.
Similarly, so too is Blood thus shared between members of a bloodline. A vampire may claim Blood from any individual which they themselves have turned, regardless of the distance between them, and they may give Blood to the same. This restriction, of only being able to give or take Blood from vampires which they have personally turned, does not apply if they are a Progenitor or Originator, the top of the power structure.
Thus, a vampire which turned themselves into a vampire may claim or bestow Blood from not only any vampire which they have turned, but so too any vampire which those vampires have turned, and so forth until the meanest fledgling. Should this original Progenitor of the bloodline later be destroyed, all vampires which they personally turned become Originators, and may freely claim Blood from any vampire within their smaller portion of the bloodline.
This may be understood as the true noble line of a kingdom. Each lord under a king is limited in their abilities, and may be called upon by their king at any time, and so too may the king be capable of calling upon the meanest laborer within their lands for their duty. Likewise, the lord may ask their king for aid and authority when enacting their will, though they may not obligate the king to action.
When a noble lineage is ended, so too is the kingdom shattered. Each lord’s authority over their lands is strengthened, yet lose access to the greater might and alliance of the king above them.
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A vampire most often appears as an exceptionally well-sculpted member of their race, save for unnaturally pale skin from a complete lack of blood within their body. A starving vampire, with little Blood, will look appropriately emaciated, losing their perfect appearance as their Blood no longer gives them the guise of a living body. A particularly well-fed vampire, by contrast, or one which simply possesses an inordinate amount of Blood (such as a Progenitor) may be all but indistinguishable from a living member of their race, with visible ‘blood’ and even being warm to the touch. However, even in this well-satiated form, many vampires possess a red gleam within their eyes, a drop of blood which is visible regardless of the darkness they may conceal themselves within.
When a vampire is low upon Blood, they look more and more akin to an emaciated skeleton. When completely absent of all Blood, they are outright mummified; black, dry skin stretched out upon a skeletal frame. While they may superficially appear dead in this state, and for most intents and purposes are, being not even aware of their surroundings, this is merely a state of hibernation. They continue to possess a soul and should they be given Blood (from a spawn, their creator, or through simple exposure to living blood), they will awaken.
This may be understood as a king, using or being driven from all the political sway which they possess. They do not die as a result of this state, but are powerless and completely vulnerable to any enemies which they may have made. Their kingdom appears dead, and there is nothing to be done until they find more political might either through their own efforts, the efforts of a subordinate, or a gift from a superior.
To create a new vampire, all that is required is for a vampire to drain a member of a compatible race completely dry of their lifeblood, then infuse a substantial amount of Blood into the corpse. After some time, the specifics of which are kept secret, a new vampire has arisen as the spawn of its creator. This process is believed to be fairly exhausting to both the creator and the new spawn, and is akin to a king raising up a new lord, at the expense of substantial political sway, choosing one candidate over many others. The mightier the candidate, the easier the appointment, and so too does the greater the lifeblood of a spawn make it easier for their creator to turn them, requiring less Blood from their creator themselves to complete the appointment. Much of this Blood is consumed in the turning, and differing amounts of Blood are required depending upon the bloodline, but any excess Blood serves as the spawn’s initial pool of power.
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Powers:
Though just as many kingdoms possess great strength in different fields, depending upon their lands and their peoples, the exact magics which a vampire may call upon varies with their Bloodline. However, just as there exist some powers universal to all kingdoms, so too are there some particularly common or outright universal powers that Stokas are able to utilize, as well as the embodiment of rulership which it emulates:
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* As their original state is that of an unmoving corpse, vampires must use their Blood to undertake even the meanest motion. However, they are not limited to the mere range of actions which they could use in life. With sufficient Blood, a vampire may be stronger than even a dragon.
* A ruler is wholly incapable of undertaking any action without the aid of others. Any mad fool may sit upon a gilded chair and demand a war be waged, yet without subordinates to enact their will, there is nothing that the false king may truly do. However, the more lords and soldiers which the king possesses, the more capable a king is of performing any act of strength.
* Though undead and thus less reliant upon biological processes, vampires still possess myriad weaknesses. However, with sufficient usage of Blood, vampires are capable of temporarily offsetting actually being injured from said weaknesses.
* The seat of rulership carries with it many dangers both obvious and hidden. Particularly for a new ruler, one who has little in the way of protection from assassination or political pressure, this can be insurmountable. However, as a king grows in strength, accumulating allies and lords sworn to them, these dangers become ever lessened. Political pressure is no longer a way to end a kingdom once they have their own allies, and so too is sunlight unable to vanquish the strongest of vampiric progenitors.
* Like most undead, vampires possess no automatic method of healing from wounds. Instead, they must spend Blood to heal from even the meanest scratch. However, similar to most undead, their ‘true body’ is quite mutable, and they are more than capable of repairing a wound in a manner distinct from its original form. They need not even be wounded for this flesh-sculpting to occur, and is the method by which all vampires appear to be such perfections of humanity.
* Once a proper line of succession is established, no mere wound can end a kingdom. The greater one’s allies, the less of a threat physical violence presents itself as.
* Similarly, the king of a mighty kingdom by nature becomes more mythologized. What a king once was matters little to how his people see him, and the truth of a kingdom is simply as the king decrees it, assuming they possess the political might to enforce such a truth.
* Vampires are capable of compelling action from others through mental domination. The subject is wholly aware of the compulsion the entire time, and is free to fight it, but with sufficient Blood used upon the compulsion, such fighting is futile. There is nothing which cannot be commanded in this way, but the longer the time the task will require, the more dangerous it is, or the more difficult it may be the Blood required is similarly increased.
* Rulers possess an incredible level of power to compel action through indirect force. It is not a subtle thing, but having soldiers appear and compel an individual to perform some mundane task is certainly a reliable method of forcing the task to be done. The more difficult or dangerous the task, the greater the difficulty of compelling an individual to undertake it, just as it requires additional Blood for the vampire.
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Weaknesses:
Stokas vampires, as the most common vampire, possess multiple well-known weaknesses.
There is nothing inherent to a holy symbol which repels a Stokas vampire, contrary to popular belief (it is Gai-Shaddah vampires which are weak to symbols of faith). However, for those gods who stand in opposition to vampires, brandishing a symbol of their power makes it substantially more challenging for a vampire to utilize Blood. The exact magnitude of suppression scales drastically, depending on how opposed to vampires, or that vampire in particular the god is, how highly-ranked the priest is, and how mighty the god is in that location. Even the meanest priest is able to bar entry of a vampire hated by their god into a temple, yet a high priest of that same god may be unable to rebuke a vampire when within that vampire’s court.
This weakness is not limited to only gods, either. Assuming there exists adequate authority behind the demand, it is possible for anyone to forbid entry of a vampire into their home. In fact, they often require an invitation to enter any private land or structure, but this does not apply if the vampire has some legitimate claim upon the land’s ownership (such as if they are a member of local law enforcement or outright the ruler of the area wherein the residence sits) or if there exists some standing understanding that others may enter, such as for theaters, temples, and shops. It is not sufficient to forbid vampires from entering a public space, either, so long as it would be generally acceptable for an unidentified individual to enter, so too would it be allowable for a vampire to enter.
It must similarly be noted, this forbiddance does not outright stop them from using their Blood, nor does it even force them to use additional Blood with their actions or magic, usually freezing them in place. It simply causes all of their Blood to be more challenging to bring to bear, but as noted, it is far from an absolute. Thus, with practice or sufficient Blood within their power, it is possible for a vampire to all but ignore this interference.
As with all kings, the power of a vampire is not absolute. As with kings, the will of the gods is often more than sufficient to prevent their political might from being brought to bear, or at a minimum cause substantial difficulty in the process. A king may yet ignore the will of the gods, naturally, and with sufficient allies, crushing a comparatively weak cult is trivial should they overstep their bounds even slightly. Similarly, no king may enter another foreign nation uninvited without inviting a war, but they may freely enter the lands of their vassals, regardless of the wishes of said vassal.
Similarly, staking a vampire through their heart makes it impossible for them to use their Blood. While wood is the most effective, metal, stone, or even pure magic are all wholly serviceable alternatives. The distinction is entirely within how quickly the effect begins, but regardless of the material, removing the stake instantly frees all the Blood to be used to full effect.
No matter how mighty a kingdom, it is never truly free from the dangers of war, or being cut off from communication. As the heart is the throne of the body, a stake through it will disrupt the use of power just as surely as a siege of a capital city will disrupt the normal flow of power in a country. Of course, when the siege is lifted, the power remains and may be used once again. Wood, being a commoner’s material, is especially effective, as should commoners rise up against a king, the siege may begin, and thus the flow of power cut, far faster than any foreign invader could manage.
Daylight is the most well-known weakness of the Stokas. The bright light reveals all, and the truth of the vampire is that they are a long-dead corpse, still walking around in defiance of all that Ought To Be. Thus, the truth of their existence is revealed to the world and it condemns their unliving flesh to death, unless they use an incredible amount of Blood protecting their body. It is speculated that it is not a particular power which allow powerful Vampires to protect themselves from the sun, but rather that they may heal themselves fast enough to be seemingly uninjured by even the sunlight itself.
This weakness to daylight is akin to the most potent of all weaknesses of rulership: the illusion of authority. To be a ruler is to be unseen, to be beyond the common folk, to be almost divine, and thus is your authority to rule. A ruler should never be seen outdoors by the common folk, doing common things, to do so is to reveal their mundanity. Instead, all appearances must be controlled and careful, never giving the appearance of weakness, for the appearance of weakness is weakness to a ruler, and nothing ends rule faster than the appearance of weakness.
As with all Corrupted beings, silver is a particularly effective tool against vampires in a way completely unrelated to their other abilities. In particular, it cuts off their connection to Blood, meaning wounds inflicted by silver weapons cannot be healed by Blood until the wound is fully cleaned. They may even find it difficult to use magic, as a vampire’s magic depends upon Blood, save for a few exceptionally rare outliers. Lastly, as a vampire’s appearance is a product of their Blood, so too does silver not reflect them.