This story would be set in the 1880s Texas, and would follow the remnants of a government-and-religiously mandated group of vampire hunters who were created after various vampire massacres before The Civil War. These groups were not aligned to either the Union or Confederacy, but instead battled vampires on the outskirts and shadows of the war, where the creatures feasted on the bountiful conflict of blood and massacre.
Although successfully driving vampires to the point of extinction, a new breed of vamprie, the Ishara, were born from the conflict. These Ishara, powerful and extremely intelligent beings that have the power to bend matter and control minds were immediately dismissed by the government and religious leaders as a fabrication.
Many groups of vampire hunters were mandated into service in post-Civil War America, but none have reached the infamy of a group known as The Night Stalkers (working title). The Night Stalkers were renowned for their combat prowess and knowledge of vampires.
This order was falsely attributed to the assassination of Lincoln. This was never made public. The stories read in the newspapers and history books following The Civil War were a lie. John Wilkes Booth was just a stage actor, not the mastermind he was made out to be. The real assassin was a Night Stalker by the name of Ethan Greer... and he was at the time of the assassination, not in control.
Now, The Night Stalkers, having fled to the west, hunt down the mysterious Ishara and their attempts to reproduce. All the while they are actively hunted by religious groups and the government that wishes to eradicate their existence.
The Night Stalkers fear that, one day, an army of Ishara will prove the most deadly adversary the world has ever seen. And they feel they are the only ones able to stop it.
The Russian scientist Irinei Volkov had one pupil at Saint Petersburg Imperial University, a Polish student by name of Wit Maly. Irinei was a leading mind on contagious disease and virology throughout Europe. His research delved into the spread and variations of various pathogens, but his most important contribution to virology was his study on vampires. Lecturer by day, and vampire hunter by night, Irinei Volkov is considered one of the first people to bring vampirism from the shadows and into the light of science and governmental entities.
Vampirism, up until the mid-19th century was believed to be satanic in nature, and was actively hunted (and repressed) by the papacy. Irinei Volkov, who was able to show that tobacco mosaic disease was caused by something smaller than bacteria (suck it Dimitri Ivanovski), took it upon himself to discover the reasons behind vampirism. He employed his pupil, Wit Maly, in long detours into greater Siberia to hunt, kill, and collect vampires for study.
Volkov named the contagion that caused vampirism 'Haemonitatum' (Greek for blood, and Latin for feast). He was ridiculed and forced out of his academic position after presenting the information, and was dismissed as a hack. Three years later, after dying of consumption, Wit Maly became the sole heir of his research. Wit Maly was later employed by the United States government to continue Volkov's research into vampirism and to provide ways of eradicating the menace.
During the Civil War, Maly was allowed to be a permanent member of The Night Stalkers for his skillset and exceptional knowledge. When The Night Stalkers went rogue, he continued with them rather than falling back to a governmental position.
Vampirism in this roleplay will be more scientifically inclined than traditional vampirism. Vampirism is an infectious disease caused by the virus Haemonitatum. Haemonitatum is passed from host to others via saliva or blood. Therefore, the only way to pass on the disease is through this contact.
There is a latent period of three to five days before the common traits of the vampire are seen. As the disease progresses beyond six months, these qualities are more profound. Its believed that the disease promotes these traits in order to help the host pass along the disease to another person, including a diet of blood and flesh.
These traits include heightened strength, speed, durability, rapid regeneration of most tissues, and vastly increased calcification of bone. A vampire struck in the abdomen with a bullet need only wait twenty-to-thirty seconds before clotting factors and cell repair push the bullet out. The only exception to this is the brain. Due to the armor-like reinforcement of the skull, shooting a vampire in the brain is almost impossible, except for through the eyes or nasal cavity.
Therefore, decapitation is preferred, as cutting the fibrocartilage that forms the disks between the neck spine has proven more effective than any other method of disposal.
There are two known ways to kill a vampire: decapitation or extreme damage to the brain (notably the medulla oblongata, which controls life functions such as the cardiovascular system; parts of the brain that control for personality or memory can be regenerated with minor loss to those functions); and finally immolation. The latter of the three has to create intense heat, enough to cause fifth-and-sixth degree burns within a short time, essentially cooking the brain in the armor-plated skull.
There are two ways to ‘hurt’ or ‘damage’ a vampire: silver coated weapons such as silver-bullets and edged blades, and UV light (sunlight). Silver affect the diseased tissues in incredible ways, by incapacitating pain, drastically slowing rejuvenation, and causing paralysis (in the same way electricity might affect a human body). The method by which silver works is not yet known, but its high electric and thermal conductivity might play a role. Sunlight causes extreme pain to vampires. The disease affects the creation of melanogenesis, which prevents DNA photodamage (and is also responsible for skin color). This is why vampires have very pale skin, and why UV light can cause incredible pain of the skin. Irreversible skin damage can occur within minutes to vampires, and can make them susceptible to identification or unable to protect themselves from harm.
The way to detect a vampire is by the pigment of their eyes, which becomes blood-red, or by the abnormal paleness of their skin. Vampires do not have enhanced canines as in other literature.
Crosses, holy water, garlic, and wooden stakes are wholly useless against vampires, and any attempts to kill a vampire with these tools will assuredly result in death.
Certain heritable diseases such as Huntington's disease provides immunity to the disease, although people infected with the virus can still be carriers, just without any of the traits or symptoms that come with the disease.
Ishara are extremely intelligent vampires that have nearly all the benefits of other vampires, but with one notable addition: they have telekinetic and telepathic abilities. The single limitation of these abilities is distance--they must be in somewhat close proximity to that which they intend to influence, whether it be a person or matter.
Ishara are born to women who carry the virus, but due to having certain inheritable diseases, do not succumb to vampirism. While in the fetus, the head enlarges two-fold compared to a human fetus. The women are drained of energy throughout the process, and will likely die in the birthing process. Ishara age remarkably quick and retain information at an accelerated rate. After seven years, Ishara hit puberty, and after nine years, they are in their prime.
Ishara are notable from other vampires, and most humans, in that their skulls and brains are around 1.5-1.6x larger than a human’s. This makes them easy for identification. Ishara also do not have issues completing melanogenesis, meaning the only way to potentially hurt one is via silver-coated weapons. Ishara, while having similar healing properties to other vampires, are not nearly as strong or fast.
There were three known Ishara throughout The Civil War, all born to the same mother; one was killed by Confederate soldiers in a battle via immolation, and another was killed by The Night Stalkers. The last Ishara fled to Texas, where he attempts to find more women capable of breeding Ishara, so he can build an army capable of saving his species.
Players would assume control of the last few Night Stalkers as their main characters, but would be able to control any number of supporting characters. Think of it this way. At the core this is an RP where we'll write about our main characters, the vampire hunters, but we'll also fill the world with interesting characters ranging from bounty hunters, prostitutes, government agencies, Native American warriors, ranchers, greedy businessmen, and much, much more. I want to give the role players enough to help world-build, but the core story revolves around these Night Stalkers. I'll include a sample of what I mean in the main topic.
Also, as a Night Stalker you are a badass, but you're not unstoppable. One wrong move in any direction, by any agent of death, and your character could die. Unlike the government, your resources are limited. Unlike the other vampire hunters seeking to end your legacy, your numbers are low. And unlike the vampire horde that you hunt, you are not invincible.
So let me know what you think guys! Glad to hear any advice, concerns, suggestions, and so on.
