Strigamorphs were highly dangerous creatures which posed as the living in order to hunt with impunity, typically found in great cities where their killings might go unnoticed amidst the criminals and riffraff, much like the common vampire.

In actuality they were true undead, implanted with and resurrected by an ancient parasite which found it's way to Epressa long ago. The symbiotes were natural carriers of vampirism, but were more insidious in that they altered their host's bodies to be equally dependent on them, lest the host starve for blood.

First a dormant parasite was injected into the host's bloodstream via another's bite, traveling to the heart where it would feed and grow, inevitably killing the host. In time it would grow to become a twisted mimicry of the organ's form and function, using it's tendrils to splice into the veins and link with various organs including the brain, before flooding the circulatory system with powerful mutagens which altered and prepared the body for resurrection.

Most awoke with their memory intact up the time of death, unaware the symbiote and believing themselves to be like any other vampire.

Strigamorphs were capable of speech just as they were in life, however they had developed two languages of their own in ancient times, though most has been lost to history. Their spoken language, "Old Edaenian", was passed down from Sire to Sireling over generations, but few words survived. All that remains now are ways of referring to oneself;

Striga:
Referring to a feminine Strigamorph.

Strigoi:
Referring to a masculine Strigamorph.

Striggan:
Referring to either of the above,
the unknown, or they who are neither.


While the parasites themselves were incapable of intelligent speech, they sometimes communicated with their host via emotional telepathy, albeit baser feelings such as rage, fear or primal satisfaction which often influenced confused fledglings, though it was possible to differentiate one's emotions from the symbiote's with time. Those who did could learn to communicate their own rudimentary feelings and even "bond" with their symbiote, establishing harmonious control.

When infecting another with the parasite, the "Sire" formed a similar telepathic link to their "Sireling"[2], and might communicate words and feelings across short distances if they so choose.

A Strigamorph appeared much as they did in life, however their eyes tended to be more piercing or even unnatural colors, and appeared reflective[4][5] in low light akin to nocturnal beasts, leading some to believe them luminous on their own.

Other tells included their near-bloodless pallor and undiminished youth, as the Strigamorph ceased to age physically upon resurrection. This was due to their Symbiote, which derived magical power from blood to extend their lifespan with every victim. They possessed fangs with which to feed of course, extended canines and sometimes cuspids as well, which could be retracted between feedings.

Otherwise, they were passable for living humanoids who could be enchantingly beautiful or sickly and strange, depending on how often they fed.

Like other vampires, Strigamorphs gravitated towards population centers where living prey were plentiful. Some lived meager lives as highwaymen on busy roads, ambushing travelers, and a rare few may even retire to a castle or village with a host of ghouls, but most found themselves in the great cities of Arethil where they could hunt among criminals and riffraff who would not be missed. These folk typically lived double lives among the very people they preyed upon at night.

BLOOD EQUALS POWER:

They fed upon both the blood and magical lifeforce of sentient life which the symbiote used to extend the whole organism's lifespan for centuries, and fuel their supernatural powers. Their retractable fangs bore hollow cavities which were needle-thin and linked by fleshy tubes directly to the symbiote in their chest, ensuring it got first share of blood and gave to it's host only what was needed. Only the fresh blood of sentient beings would suffice, those of magical power especially, who tasted the sweetest and staved hunger longest.[6] The blood of animals staved bloodthirst the shortest, lasting mere hours at most.

Blood also fueled the Strigamorph's powers, by sacrificing blood in payment to the gods, the symbiote granted their host with a variety of abilities, but so too could the host sacrifice their blood stores to cast spells. The more they fed the more fuel for the vampire and the more to spend on greater feats, however they would need to feed soon after. To the Strigamorph, blood was a currency and nourishment both.

Without blood to spend on borrowed time, they risked going feral.[7]

In an emergency, it was not unheard of for Strigamorphs to feed on one another, though the blood of their own was less satiating, often leading one to drain and kill the other.

Some of these powers were otherwise mundane, such as enhanced strength and sight, but many wielded more supernatural powers, such as walking up vertical surfaces or even upside down from ceilings where gravity seemed to shift only to the Strigamorph. Others might achieve limited levitation or shapeshift into small animals such as hounds, insects or swarms of bats, though each cost varying quantities of blood, and significant injury to a transformed vampire could revert them to their original form.


CURSED BY THE SUN:

Though sunlight would could not kill, A Strigamorph's powers were greatly reduced by direct sunlight, which itself was subtly unpleasant to the skin and sensitive eyes of the vampire, and prolonged exposure could burn enough energy to force a premature feeding lest they succumb to exhaustion. They were robbed of rapid healing, though could do so slowly under heavy shade, and were so too deprived of sensory enhancement.[8] Their great strength and speed remained, albeit reduced to the peak of their former-species' performance without the supernatural boons of their symbiote.


SENSORY ENHANCEMENT:

By concentrating on a specific sense, the creatures could enhance it to inhuman efficiency, such a canine's sense of smell[9] or a bats hearing, however it took such focus that only one sense could be enhanced at a time. This was not the case for taste or low light vision however, as all Strigamorphs had a dull sense of taste for anything which did not contain blood or particularly strong flavors. Their sight was the only passively enhanced sense which required no concentration, possessing eyes similar to nocturnal beasts and hounds with which reacted to even the faintest light, making them excellent nighttime predators.


SUPERNATURAL BIOLOGY:

Each of their kind could perform extraordinary feats of both biological and supernatural origin thanks to mutation and power channeled through their symbiote. Their fangs could, with practice, inject venom on command such as mild paralytics[10], anticoagulants, and even endorphin releasers for enthralling long term feeding partners such as Ghouls. The affects and variety of venom varied from one symbiote to another, with some having no venom sack at all, but never more than three.

Unnatural strength was universal among them, with even the weakest Strigamorph competing with human athletes in peak condition. However, that strength could vary by symbiote and the skills of their host. Strigamorphs who boasted arcane potential in life may find themselves on the weaker end of this spectrum but wield mighty spells and move with unusual speed[11] while those of warrior inclination might lift the greatest weapons and foes with ease.

Rapid healing of the flesh was another, which saw small cuts seal in seconds and deeper wounds throughout a fight, provided of course the creature avoided direct sunlight, though even in heavy shade they regenerated quite slowly.


HOW TO BE SLAIN:

Though incredibly resilient due to their regenerative properties, there were a few ways to kill a Strigamorph.

Method #1(Decapitation): Destroying the brain or otherwise removing the head would sever the link between Host and Symbiote, killing the body first and depriving the parasite it's vessel. The symbiote could be moved into a new body, and some were even known to claw their way out in search of nearby corpses to commandeer, however doing so typically resulted identity crises or insanity as the new host became plagued with the fragmented memories of the previous host, with some personalities being overwritten entirely.

Method #2(Iron & Silver): All Strigamorphs were weak to either Iron or Silver in that one or the other may be toxic to the given Symbiote. Wounds inflicted by the corresponding metal could not be healed by the vampire's regeneration and must instead be healed as any living being's wound might, which hunters could exploit to drain them of blood stores used to fuel their powers or carve deep enough to slay the symbiote itself, without which the host would also die. It is important to note that only unalloyed iron or at least mostly pure silver would do, and steel on it's own could not halt the healing of wounds.

Method #3(The Stake): Though any instrument will do, the entire organism can be killed if one can puncture through the symbiote through one side and out the other, overwhelming it's ability to heal itself and the host, in which case it will die and the host not long after.

Method #4(Aversion to Fire): All Strigamorphs had an instinctual fear of open flame, though some were braver than others. To be set aflame was a slow and agonizing death by attrition, burning faster than they could heal but not so fast as to prevent the attempt, drawing out their pain and cooking the symbiote within the host's body until they both perished.[12]


THE STRIGAFORM:

The Strigaform was a large and monstrous transformation[15] in which the host body was flooded with vampiric mutagens. Their forms became entirely adapted to the hunt, strengthened by rapid growth of exposed muscle and shielded by an outer layer of bony plates which armored their vitals.

In most cases, the transformation was the parasite's last desperate defense against starvation, using the last of it's power to assume full control, devolving into a feral hunter with only bestial intelligence. Such instances were irreversible, and person they once were should be considered dead.

It was possible however, with time and effort, to voluntarily transform for brief periods by bonding with one's symbiote. This could only be done if the host fed often enough and learned to utilize their emotional link to the symbiote.
These "Harmonious" Strigaforms appeared less beastly than their feral alternative, their appearance taking after aspects of the host's intact personality, and offered them total control. They were however costly to maintain, burning through the vampire's blood stores very quickly before reverting to the host's original physiology.

Prior to establishing a bond, one could enter a state partial transformation in which only one aspect of the host body was transformed, such as claws or wings. A partial strigaform might occur under extreme duress[17] or voluntarily amid the earliest stages of bonding between host and symbiote, at which point they could be triggered at will.


GHOULIFYING BLOOD:

Strigamorph blood could be a miracle cure in the right dose, granting their regenerative properties to those who consume it, even curing them of disease. The more one drank from the same source however, the closer they came to addiction. Those who passed this threshold were called "Strighūl" or "Ghūls" in the Edaenian language, and were granted a fraction of the strength and regenerative properties of their undead masters. They were however bound to the particular Strigmorph whose blood they partake, and waiting too long to drink from them would result in severe withdrawal symptoms.

Bloodshot eyes were the first sign, headaches the next, increasingly painful day by day. By the second week, nightmares turn frequent as dreams, each more convincing than the last. Soon figures of illusion invade their waking vision, until one can no longer perceive the boundary between dreams and reality.

The oldest of ghūls, those who outlived their natural lifespan, simply turned to dust without the blood.

Few ghūls escaped their fates alive, and those who did either found themselves human on the other side, or looked to new masters for salvation. They otherwise were living sentient beings unlike their bond, though they would not age nor be struck with sickness so long as they regularly fed from their vampire, and the relationship between them could be as benevolent or malicious as they allowed.

Strigamorphs were the pragmatic survivors of a genocide committed long ago, but before this they were rulers one and all. Few remember those days let alone their homeland, except perhaps the last of their elders who slumber beneath the earth in their forgotten tombs.[18] Only they can recall in fragmented memory the Island where they were once worshiped as vessels of a celestial god by the living in an age lost to history.

Fewer still remember why the Dragon Riders came to burn their cities down, or why their monarch chose to hide them away in scattered tombs beneath foreign soil, their mission lost amid centuries of dreaming.

Knowledge of the True Elders faded with each dwindling generation until nothing remained of their history and culture, buried in the ashes of dragonfire for a crime they might never know.

They are a lost people, living as mere parasites among the very beings they hunt in the night.

Rumors stirs among them though, of an ancient being awoken to lead them unto salvation and the homeland they forgot. They say she rides under a red banner of their ancient gods, who whisper to her in the night and guide her hands on the battlefield.

Most vampires write her off as a fairy tale.

Those who believe, name her Keeper of The Red Oath.

From the private notes of Dr. Blackbriar:

Entry no.42

Studies hath yielded mixed results.

I shan't commit to ink the particulars of the latest trial, 'tis much too gruesome, though it doth confirm my suspicions; verily, though the subject shalt heal within the hour, I should'st hang curtains of black cloth over yon window, for sunlight hast slowed the knitting of flesh by half at least, perhaps more.
Subject's thirst remaineth stable as of last week's testing, though blood was administered to the patient following testing due to signs of mild thirst which seemeth related to the subject's healing properties. This seemest to sugest some relation some corralation between blood and the vampyre's powers, much as a hearthfire consumest fuel.
I must confess a morbid temptation to test said flame's effect on the subject, though I am afeared what legends mayest prove true and wishest no such risk upon my subject.

. . .

Entry no.43

It is on nights such as this, when I am awoken by the ghostly pain of teeth upon my neck, that I doth regret most my own failure to locate the one who did this to me. Had I but a teacher, I would have no need of these crude experiments to understand the nature of the vampyre.
Were I not a coward possessed of morals, perhaps another would taketh my place so that I might study them instead.
Yea though all I do be in the name of science, I grow tired of the things I must do to myself.
Alas, I must endure awhile longer, and pray to meet one of my kind soon.

---

(This is a partial list of Strigamorph characters. You can help by expanding it!)

• Alisande
• Carmelea Nosfir
• Lilette Blackbriar