To the other authors who write horror, dark/urban fantasy: What is your take on vampires?
Well, I don't write horror or dark/urban fantasy, but I've had a couple of ideas for Vampires:
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On a world called
Aluirian, there used to be vampires here, there and everywhere. And, of course, there were vampire hunters, one of whom was also a very strong mage. Now he more or less rounded the vampires up, and herded them into the
Junip Mountains on the continent of
South Monterassat. Here, using some kind of spell, he turned them all into trees. Of course, this is just legend, more likely than not derived from the fact that the trees native to the Junip Mountains seem to grow distorted, and not very high, and are also called
Vempier trees.
Which brings me on to the second idea. Not as vampirey as true vampires, but still vampirish.
The second idea is a group of 'super-beings', created using Dark Arts. Now these 'super-beings' are exceptionally strong, more or less invulnerable, and have retractable blades in their hands and feet. They're also very magical (
creation: dead body, organs and soft tissue removed, body undergoes surgery to add blades and whatnot, seven magical gems* placed in key positions in the body, and seven dark mages then pour magic into the gems. There's also a sacrifice of a mage, the soul of whom ends up in the body of the 'super-being'). The key part of the creation ritual, is that the dead body is lain on a table made from Vempier wood, and stays on that table until the ritual is complete. As a result, the 'super-beings' were given the name
Vempier, and, for some magical reason, can only be killed by wood from the Vempier tree (
coming into contact with Vempier wood weakens the 'super-being' a lot, and drains their magic. A stake of Vempier wood can also shatter the key gem placed in the heart position, and kill the Vempier).
The vampirey thing about Vempier, is that once they have killed something, man or beast, they drain the blood of their victim (
they don't actually latch on to the neck, though - that's very inefficient. As they're magical beings, they just use magic to force all the blood through the pores of the skin. It then hits the Vempier as a red mist, which seeps through the pores of their skin).
*On the subject of the seven magical gems, just a little aside on their importance - each mage, at the end of their training, must journey to a group of islands somewhere on the world of Aluirian. On the island they must travel to the extinct volcano and perform a ritual. At the end of the ritual, seven gems become linked to them - it's these seven gems that they get their power from, and that decide whether they are, in a few words, good or bad.
The seven gems used in creating a Vempier are the seven from the mage that has been sacrificed. Of course, any seven can be used, as long as they're magical (could be one from seven different mages), but for best results, the seven gems should be from the mage that is sacrificed as the mage's soul is linked to the gems. It just makes it that little bit easier for the seven doing the ritual, and it means that the Vempier is stronger magically.
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And that's my take on Vampires.
