Vampires

The Homo Abominus also known as "Vampires" are a nocturnal hematophagus mutant subspecies of humans in the "American Vampire" universe.

Vampire types
American (Homo abominum americana): The most recently formed sapient strain, the “American” vampire is the latest apex predator amongst the common Homo abominum. Not only are they faster and stronger than common Carpathia, but their necrology seems to be geared toward dominance over the day. Unlike Carpathia, American vampires can swim in large bodies of water. On top of all of that, American vampires seem to have heightened senses beyond those of other members of Homo abominus, to the point that they are especially sensitive to others, able to hear heartbeats or otherwise exercise sensitivity to other “vampires” as a whole.

Rather than be burned by sunlight, the American strain seems to grow stronger from it, and are weaker in the absence of ultraviolet radiation. In times of a new moon, where not even the light reflected by the moon reaches that area of the world, American vampires’ skin softens, enabling them to be more easily wounded by any means, from close combat to bullets. Furthermore, American vampires are much more tired during the new moon, and are unable to fully transform into their monstrous appearances (with claws and fangs) except on days with even a sliver of moonlight. In effect, their power waxes and wanes with the phases of the moon itself.

The venom of an American vampire contains a paralytic that allows for easier feeding on humans, though its effect on other Homo abominum remains unclear due to their reluctance to deal with the threat of other strains non-lethally (and not without reason). In terms of their necrology, an American vampire’s heart does beat, but at a rate of, at most, once per minute.

Those born into the strain come in two forms: natural and artificial dhampirs. Each of these types only has a single specimen known to exist, and so all traits determined come from those two samples.

In the case of natural birth, a male American vampire impregnates living woman, with the resultant child being someone who, physically, appears to be just a normal human being. A heartbeat exists, and there does not appear to be any kind of other-than-human form, unlike most American vampires, with neither the elongated claw-like fingers, nor the fangs, nor the change in eye color. Instead, many of the traits involved with being an American vampire are in place with even more subversive traits, from superhuman reflexes, speed, and agility to greatly decelerated aging. The latter is potent enough that a natural hybrid could easily look the same age when they are twenty-five years old as when they are fifty-five years old, though aging appears to progress at a similar rate to humans before reaching the twenties. On top of all of that, their blood incites a negative reaction in Carpathia, who recoil from it once taking a bite, but they otherwise do not outwardly register as an American vampire at all.

In the case of an artificial infection, the blood of an American vampire is injected into the womb of a pregnant woman. Depending upon how far along the woman is, the injection can cause a premature birth, leading to the woman’s stomach becoming distended and killing her over the course of childbirth. The child, on the other hand, is permanently in a transformed state, with their eyes yellow and their mindset completely feral, incapable of growing mentally, and appears to be in a near constant state of hunger through their toddler years in the very least, little more than a wild animal. The only solution is the Pavel cure, which renders them similar to a human being, but with a hidden transformed state very similar to that of a normally turned American vampire, with similar fangs and claws. On top of that, the semi-cured artificial dhampir is still vulnerable to corruption from other species, especially the index known as Carpathian Prime.

More than any other known strains, the Homo abominum americana are very solitary and reluctant to spread. As such, they are very rare, to the point that only three full vampires and two partial vampires are known, with one more having been killed in the 1954 purge of the Los Angeles Carpathian coven, and another having been cured with no known possibility of re-infection. See elsewhere for the list of persons of interest in this matter.

Rather than wood or silver, the only thing that can really harm and kill american vampires is gold. Asiatic - An old bloodline, has pure black eyes and longer fangs on the lower jaw than the upper. Balkan - Related to the Carpathians but with slight cosmetic differences. Bavarian - Similar in looks to the classic Nosferatu. Very resistant to to sunlight. Homo Abominum Canis Asiatic-2: Much like other Asiatic species, the Homo abominum canis asiatic-2 infect others through a highly infectious glandular toxin released into their saliva, allowing a bite, if survived, to turn into another of them and join their pack.

Due to their canid nature, infectious bite, and vulnerability to silver, this abominus strain can be confused by the uninformed as “werewolves,” a designation that isn’t exactly inaccurate, but perhaps overstates the influence of the moon.

As of 1954, the species appears to have been made extinct with the last known pack having been eradicated in Midway, Alabama, but other isolated packs may still exist, seeing as they were supposed to have already been exterminated altogether in the 1910s before then. Carpathian: Carpathian vampires, also known as “Carpathia,” are the most numerous of all Homo abominus, though not particularly virulent nor powerful. Their dominance comes of the purge in the late eighteenth century CE, at the behest of Carpathian Prime. On account of Agent William S. Harker’s tale to his cousin Mr. Stoker in 1892, theirs is the form most associated with the term “vampire.” Once killed, they deteriorate within a few minutes, even without sunlight (which itself accelerates the process through immolation).

Be warned: despite their relative difficulty infecting others and their abundant weaknesses, the Carpathian strain is singular in its hostility toward others. On account of whatever became of Carpathian Prime, there is something in Carpathian blood that damages the brain in a way that inhibits significant shows of morality even beyond the mindless instincts of the non-sapient strains. As such, no Carpathian should ever be trusted for anything but their own expansion and infestation. In a sense, the entire strain could be considered to have a form of congenital antisocial personality disorder, or “sociopathy” by common parlance. Furthermore, while they are inhibited in their show of morals, their antisocial personalities do not push down intellect in particular. As such, any Carpathian can be as intelligent and brutal as any human, if not more so. That said, their personality disorder renders them extremely vulnerable to shows of pride, and so can be tricked into traps much like other humans. Caspian - Has a larger mouth than other breeds. Gargoyles: Known as “gargoyles” or “guardians,” this species, much like the Ancients, heavily resembles stone. Their skin reacts to heat such as the sun’s light, hardening and toughening, resulting in them sitting completely still for hours on end. They also appear capable of camouflaging themselves against rocky walls to the point of appearing to intangibly phase through said walls to ambush others. Furthermore, on account of their stone-esque necrology and minimal vital fluids, they are capable of surviving for at least a few minutes as only a head, and capable of spitting as well, though not of speaking.

Gargoyles are known as burrowers, tunneling nearly a thousand feet underground where temperature is higher. In order to compensate for the requisite tunneling, they utilize their saliva, which contains a silicate resin that hardens in heat, to keep the walls from caving in. This resin is also useful for weakening reinforced glass.

Unlike many Homo abominum, gargoyles can reproduce on their own, budding off their offspring from their fingers regardless of the pregnant individual’s gender. Whether or not another gargoyle is necessary to allow for this process is unclear, but the primary source of this information was male. Gaelic: These species is known for shapeshfitng into large vampire bat-like creatures

The Strigus Gaelic-Prime very much encompasses the vampire stereotype of bat affiliation, with their transformed state being very similar to a bat’s own, with the flight that it implies. A fully-grown Strigus Gaelic-Prime is capable of relatively easily lifting an automobile with two passengers using only its feet and flight capabilities. In addition to their physical form, the Strigus Gaelic-Prime also prefer to live in caves. Much like vampire bats, they can primarily feed off of livestock, and in fact require very little nourishment at all, enabling them to remain undetected for a very long time.

The species was seemingly wiped out in the 1700s, but at least one remained as long as to 1937. With that specimen’s execution, the species is considered to be either heavily endangered or outright extinct, though other variations on the Gaelic-Prime line remain.

G’ul: Very little is known about the species identified as “g’ul” or “ghouls.” They were nearly used in Vietnam during 1964 in an attempt to create a biological weapon from their spinal fluid, which is where the entirety of our information is found.

While “zombies” eat flesh, ghouls eat bone marrow. Use of their spinal fluid for a chemical agent in biological warfare would have caused a cannibalistic pandemic across Southeast Asia, though whether said pandemic would involve actually transforming humans into ghouls, or if there is some other variation that is equally, if not even more contagious remains unclear. Due to the secondhand knowledge, even their appearance is unknown.

“Gorgon”: The species known commonly as the “gorgon” takes after its mythological source in one respect: its toxin. The venom of a gorgon, which is typically fired in the form of needles, seemingly from their hair, causes the petrifaction of soft tissue in humans to the point of making them appear to have turned to stone. For Homo abominus, or at least the American strain, it instead is used as a form of temporary paralytic. Even outside of a gorgon, the venom has its uses in warfare, such as being turned into vapor to utilize as gas grenades against humans and abominus alike, though such a process is likely to be in violation of war crimes regarding biological weapons, and thus not recommended.

Iberian - Immune or resistant to sunlight.

“Mummy”: The most notable element of the “mummy” abominus is the corrosive nature of their skin cells. With a touch, they can dissolve organic or inorganic matter, causing burn marks on their targets. However, on account of that corrosion, it is unlikely that they can utilize weapons of their own, relying on their touch to fight others. By means unknown, they are however capable of wearing clothing, perhaps specially treated.

That same corrosive nature seems to extend to their own necrosis, hence their corpse-like necrology. Unlike many other species, mummies have difficulty healing on their own, and must, especially when dismembered, rely upon scarab beetles, those of the Scarabidae family, to lick back together and repair their necrotic tissue. Native American Vampire: An early form of the American strain, the Native American vampire is derived from the Apache tribe of the 1700s and 1800s. The strain is extremely violent, to the point of eradicating entire villages within one week, and a small army within at most hours. The homicidal tendencies seem to be based around hunger and rage, with the Native American’s hunger extraordinarily difficult to satiate. However, they can also apparently go decades without any nourishment whatsoever, albeit with it being a rather torturous experience.

Taipan Vampire: The most important fact about the species found in Taipan during the Pacific theater of World War II is their sheer infectiousness. Any amount of body fluid, from blood to saliva, in the body can transform a victim, from humans to even other Homo abominus, into another of them within seconds. A tourniquet can slow the infection if applied early enough to the area just beyond the infection point, but the transformation is apparently inevitable as there is no known cure.

This speed of transformation is a good thing for their survival, because small arms gunfire (presumably lead based) and fire from explosions can kill them far easier than most other species, not helped by their lack of sapience leading them to attack en masse to make the most of their speed. While they are able to swim, this form of “vampire” appears to dislike sunlight enough to stay away from it even with possible prey near.

However, the infectiousness also allows their bodily fluids to be used as a biological weapon to transform entire populations, and so should be destroyed any time it is found. Ustrel: Also known as the “toothless ones” by Carpathians, the Ustrel of Lemkos had a single stinger underneath their tongues that was mostly good for feeding on cattle, and imprecise when compared to those of the Carpathians and other more hostile species. They also appeared to have the ability to fly by way of wings that are not dissimilar from clothes, to the point of appearing to have the ability to shapeshift from one form to another. This species was eradicated in the Carpathian purges. Tongue: Commonly known as “witches” or “warlocks,” the members of the Tongue were once human or one form of Homo abominus or another, before suckling from the Beast’s teat. They can still utilize nearly whatever abilities they once had, but develop new ones, on top of new weaknesses.

Tongue physiology has absolutely no sodium tolerance in the members’ blood, resulting in them being horribly burned by even a spray of saltwater. On the other hand, they have severely lessened weaknesses in other respects, such as a resistance to fire to the point of not fearing being lit by gasoline in the slightest.

In terms of additional abilities, the possibilities differ depending on the individual. For humans, an extended life is a given, one that was not nearly as much of an issue for the abominum. Others seem to possess psychic abilities, from telekinesis to an ability to speak and/or drive images into victims’ heads. In the case of the index, the enhancements extend to the point of being able to mimic another’s voice or mark someone as an agent of the Beast by touch alone.

In fact, the original member of the Tongue is so dangerous that it is best that, even if information regarding his identity is difficult to find, it is best to be aware of what he looks like to avoid his horrors, which are not unlike those of Carpathian Prime. Ancient: Aside from mummies, the Ancients are commonly thought to be one of the oldest forms of Homo abominus still active in at least part of the twentieth century. First found in tombs deep in the dark sides of the Valley of the Kings, they were revered, or perhaps feared, as deities in their own right. Judging from their knowledge of Middle or Late Egyptian, they appear to have been fully sapient, and seem to have a view on religion themselves as shown by their notation of a dhampir as a “chosen one” of some sort.

Presumably as a means of recuperation, the Ancients are known to hibernate for long periods of time. Not even being put out into sunlight can wake them, nor can being torn limb from limb. Loud explosions may have an effect, but there are no guarantees.

Unlike many species that are vulnerable to sunlight, the Ancients burn very slowly, over the course of days, with scar tissue emerging once they are out of direct rays. As such, they can be considered extremely dangerous regardless of the time of day, though they would likely prefer to be indoors during daylight hours.

Due to their wings, the Ancients are some of the few extant species of Homo abominus capable of flight.

Due to how old their strain truly is and how it appears to have some relationship with the Carpathian strain, the Ancients’ fluids can be used to manufacture synthetic psoralen for a photoreactive cure to vampirism. (See elsewhere for further information on Dr. Erik Pavel’s discoveries to this effect.)

While the strain was last seen in 1941 in Romania, there are no confirmed reports of the specimens being killed. As such, they should be considered active, yet endangered, and are targets of interest. Sixth and Seventh Breed: Proverbial “demons” to the Beast’s Devil or inverse god, the Sixth and Seventh Breeds are the Beast’s army, killing humans as they wish. While they themselves do not appear to be infectious, the Gray Trader’s touch can cause victims to transform into them, from humans to abominum.

The only way to prevent transformation in abominum is to utilize their weakness, preferably in a Pavel release valve or intravenous drip. As the infection relies upon them being at full health, weakening the infected can keep out the call of the Beast. Another possibility, at least for some species such as the American strain, is intense burning, such as the effects of atmospheric reentry, but for obvious reasons this is not a practical solution, and may result in them not only returning to life, but losing the ability to become infected by a vampire once again.

A notable trait of the Sixth and Seventh Breeds is the fact that they both die off, like all of the Beast’s minions, once it is forced away from the world, with the exception of those in cryopreservation.

Isakku: The army that Hurin, the founder of the Vassals of the Morning Star, used to fight back the Beast, the Isakku are said to be “the opposite of Homo abominus.” Construed as angels, or the closest possible thing to them, they possess the golden “blood of light,” a fluid that can act as a weakness to destroy even the highest agents of the Beast such as the Seventh Breed.

As the strongest weapon against the Beast, the Isakku is a heavily guarded secret, with the nine remaining drops of its blood only meant for use under extreme circumstances.

If there are more documents to come, we will hope to secure them in order to further our knowledge of how to protect ourselves. Previously, said documents were secured through the handle known as “Vertigo,” but hereafter will be the emergent “Black Label.” Unknown Aquatic Breed: a unidentified water-dwelling species that appeared during the Second Cycle arc. These creatures have serpentine bodies, fish-like tails and reptilian heads, akin to sea serpents. The Beast: a gigantic insectoid worm-like creature that is the basis for the Devil from Biblical mythology. This malevolent Abomidus wants to wipe out all humanity and make Earth only for vampires.