#biology.

[magioffire]

the different types of moths that my dokkalfar ocs are based off of

vali = cecropia moth

gwym = oleander hawkmoth

sinclair = death's head hawkmoth

lucanis = emperor silk moth

faelon = blue tiger moth

tisiphone = buck moth

ivy = bad-wing moth

[vhampyrs]

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ— 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 —

For clarification's sake, "vampires" will mainly be referred to as "vampyres" in this entry in order to emphasize that this applies to this specific species known as vampyres, not the beings categorizes as vampires as a whole.

The turning is a horrific and damnable process. Amongst vampyres, it is not something taken lightly or to be done without consideration, lest one wants to earn the ire of their fellow undead. It is a valuable tool for those high in the hierarchy of power to add to their ranks and strengthen their houses, but extremely discouraged amongst common vampyres and those of lower status. Even for the highborn, they must be careful about the creation of fledglings (turned individuals) as others might see it as an indication of the desire to climb in power and potentially take it as a challenge to their own positions.

Beyond the implications within the hierarchy, there are other reasons that the turning is typically a carefully calculated act. The failure rate is extremely high, with only approximately 1% of turnings being successful on average. Those who do not successfully turn will die, and even those who do turn are not guaranteed survival or to become anything more than mindless beasts unless they have the aid of their sire or prove strong enough to survive the early stages of their new un-life on their own. For those who turn humans recklessly and often, especially when they themselves are from less powerful vampiric bloodlines, they are likely to leave a trail of deaths in their wake, risking the exposure of vampyres as a whole; such behavior is not tolerated, and the dominant vampyres within a particular territory will certainly take notice and deal with such careless individuals.

Despite the risks involved, it is a notable statistic that vampyres are most likely to turn those whom they have personal attachment to or have developed a particular interest in such as their family members from their previous human lives, mortal lovers, friends, and other valued individuals. It can be proposed that this is the innate selfishness of vampyres; their way of combating the loneliness of such long lives. This is not a universal occurrence, however, and there are those who will refuse to turn those they love out of refusal to risk their deaths.

𝐁𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐘

The turning is both a process of science and of the arcane. There is an incomprehensible factor within a vampyre's biology that can only be ascribed as mystic in nature. It is intertwined with a similar factor within human biology (and other creatures with humanoid biology) that is imperceptible to most mortals. Vampyres, for all intents and purposes, value the lineage of their sire's bloodlines because their very existence is linked to the power and life bestowed by that lineage.

When vampyres drink from another being, it isn't truly the blood that sustains them, but rather, an arcane "essence" that each living being possesses, which flows through their blood. This substance is called vitae, which in Latin means "life". Vampyres don't drink blood for the blood itself; they drink the life inside of the blood, a substance unique to each individual. The secrets of vitae have been lost to time, buried and sealed in hidden locations by the most ancient vampyres to keep their secrets out of the hands of younger generations for fear that they could use that knowledge to usurp them or the hierarchy altogether. It is said amongst many that vitae is the essence of the soul itself, which is why it is a broad belief that vampyres lack souls as they lack their own vitae. This is, however, untrue for this strain of vampirism; while there are other forms classified as vampires that become such due to demonic involvement, the loss of souls, or other means, the primary and widespread sprain discussed here are beings with souls, not formed by demonic influence but by arcane biology.

It's important to understand that vampyres seek vitae from their prey in order to understand the turning process, as the process itself is, in all basic sense, a transfusion and full replacement of an individual's vitae with that of their sire. Vampyres must regularly drink to replenish the blood and vitae within them because they no longer produce their own vitae; rather, they convert the vitae of another into their own vitae using the essence implanted in them by their sire. The process is as follows.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐒

The first and most important step in the turning is the individual being turned must consume the blood of their prospective sire. A single drop is not enough; they must consume, as a mortal, an entire unit of their sire's blood. This is approximately 250–350 mL of blood, which is a basic minimum that would be given in a normal blood transfusion. (This will not deprive the sire as long as they are well-fed.) The reason this amount of blood is required is to induce broad usage and acceptance of the sire's blood within the body's system. The most important scientific factor outside of the sire's embedded essence is the hemoglobin; a binding structure found on red blood cells that acts as an oxygen carrier through the body. The essence of vitae follows the path of red blood cells as it is carried through the body, and while not confirmed due to the suppression of information and the outdated research on vitae, it is hypothesized that vitae similarly binds to the oxygen carried by hemoglobin. (Another reason why the act of breathing is considered spiritual rather than only physical in many esoteric cultural practices.) Essentially, in shorter terms, the would-be fledgling must consume enough of the sire's essence to where its contribution to their functions is notable.

Once they have consumed the required minimum of their sire's essence, the fledging must be drained of all of the blood in their body. Technically, they only have to lose enough blood to the point they could not survive. This means the fledgling must, at least, lose approximately half of their blood volume, though it is generally better for the turning process to lose more to prevent their vitae from competing with their sire's. In even further numerical terms, any amount over 40% of their total blood volume should be sufficient at the most basic level, but turning has better chances of success when this is above 70%, hence why the process is extremely fatal if it fails as recovery from such high blood loss is nigh impossible.

This is, effectively, the killing of the fledgling, though if they survive the turning, they will never technically fully die throughout it. They will be medically dead from outer appearances, but in a successful turning, their soul will never leave their body, thus they are not counted as "dead" in spiritual manners (an important distinction for the affairs of afterlife management). The reason for this step in the process is, as stated before, to rid them of their own vitae and replace it with that of their sire. When their blood is drained, whether only as needed or entirely (as most sires would prefer for better chances of success), the sire's essence persists within them and reshapes their inner chemistry, turning them into a vampyre. The power of the sire is what keeps them alive as long as their body doesn't reject it as it binds to their soul and roots it in place in lieu of their lost vitae, which is why sirebonds tend to be so strong (and the blood of a vampyre will share the mixed taste of their sire's blood as well). If the sire's vitae is rejected, the turning fails and the would-be fledgling will truly die.

When the turning is a success, the fledgling will eventually wake up after a period of time proportionate to the amount of blood drained from them, corresponding with how long it takes their new, sire-born vitae to regenerate to functional levels. But without blood in their body, they are susceptible to immediate hunger and the will of the beast; the mysterious, primal force that drives every vampire within their subconscious, the "curse" beneath the gift that is only at peace within a vampyre as long as it is properly sated. Because of this, a newborn fledgling must fight to regain control of their mind immediately, and, if not able to properly feed and sate the beast inside them within the first day, most will succumb to it and become nothing more than a feral, mindless animal that will inevitable be put down. This is another pitfall of the turning; even those who survive the initial process may not survive the aftermath or early life as a fledgling.

For this reason, sires who seek to keep their fledglings and turned them purposefully will typically keep them close. Some may choose to feed them to stave off the beast immediately, whether from mortal prey they have acquired or from their own blood to further strengthen their sirebond. Others may want their fledglings to prove themselves worthy of the gift, leaving them to find their first prey on their own. Rogue vampyres who routinely sire fledglings and abandon them fully are highly frowned upon, and if these fledglings manage to survive life without the guidance of their sire, they may be "adopted" by different clans or houses as low-ranking members or servants to add to the strength of the house.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐃

Though siring a fledgling inseparably links their blood to that of their sire, this does not create any genetic relation between the sire and the fledgling. The turning is a soul binding, not truly a binding of physical blood attributes as explained. It is analogous to an organ transplant; the sire gives a piece of themselves to their fledgling, and this piece proceeds to keep the fledgling alive for the rest of their days. Some may create familial bonds with their fledglings, and some may turn family members from their previous lives, but many also turn their lovers, friends, and other individuals deemed of value as mentioned before.

Sire-fledgling relationships can take many forms and be as complex as (if not moreso than) mortal relationships. However, in any case, no matter how a relationship may shift between sire and fledgling for better or worse, the sire bond is unbreakable, ended only through a true death. There will always be a part of the sire within the fledgling's soul, and it will always call to the fledgling as a fragment taken from a whole.

As a consequence, vampyres with powers of persuasion, charm, compulsion, or other mind/emotion altering abilities will have an easier time influencing their fledglings through this bond. In addition, both a sire and fledgling will grow an affinity for each other's blood; this was a mechanism evolved for the purpose of strengthening sirebonds between sire-fledgling pairs. The taste of blood shared between a sire and fledgling is often described on either end as unique and fulfilling in ways normal human blood cannot match. In practical terms, this is also because drinking from such a compatible source makes the replication of vitae easier, meaning a sire and fledgling could gain more from each other's blood while drinking less than they would from others.

𝐅𝐋𝐄𝐃𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

Not everyone can become a vampire. Some individuals are more compatible with vampirism than others, and there are certain biological and mystic factors that play a role in this. These traits were once documented for fledgling selection, but the full process of the proper selection of fledglings is yet another secret safeguarded by the ancients to discourage the overzealous creation of more vampyres. As such, it's hard for the majority of vampyres to determine the success chances of turning an individual beforehand. This contributes to the high failure percentage of turnings. There is some knowledge that is more commonly known (albeit typically kept amongst the higher echelons of the hierarchy) and certain traits confirmed to increase the chances of a successful turning. While the full list of compatability is, again, a closely-guarded secret of the ancients, the following traits and circumstances have been confirmed to contribute to potential turnings.

Most important: a prospective fledgling MUST be turned under a Balsamic Dark Moon (waning crescent) under any circumstances. Any and all turnings, no matter the probability of success, will automatically fail if not performed during this 3-4 day period before the moon changes phase into a New Moon. The barrier between worlds is the weakest during this period, and this short span of time is the progenitor of transformation among vampyres, owing to the forgotten ritual that first created this species of vampyres millennia ago. It is impossible to turn a vampyre outside of this phase of the moon.

Those born under the same Balsamic Moon have a much higher probability of success when being turned; in fact, it's estimated that those born under a Balsamic Moon have a 50% chance of success by this factor alone rather than the average 1% in other individuals.

Those born under certain sign placements can also have a higher or lower chance of success influenced by their stars.

Sign placements that can increase the chances of success:

any of the major triad (sun, moon, ascendant) in Scorpio

Neptune in Scorpio

Scorpio, Aries, or Leo in the 8th house

Neptune, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, or Pluto in the 8th house

Lilith in Scorpio or Pisces

Moon or Saturn in Pisces

Moon, Jupiter, or Pluto in Sagittarius

Midheaven (Medium Coeli) in Scorpio, Sagittarius, or Pisces

Sign placements that can decrease the chances of success:

any of the major triad (sun, moon, ascendant) in Taurus

Chiron in the 8th house or in Scorpio

Pluto or Jupiter in Taurus

Lilith or Saturn in Aries

Neptune or Jupiter in Virgo

Neptune or Mars in Libra

Libra in the 1st house

Taurus, Capricorn, or Aquarius in the 8th house

Numerology can also play a part in increasing or decreasing the odds of success, though as such a broad subject, it is hard to pinpoint specifics outside of a few old tales. Birth order for those born amongst siblings is one such example of the influence of numerology, as the seventh born child in a family is believed in some old customs to be doomed to become a vampire; this has some truth to it, as being born in the seventh order increases the chances of a successful turning, doubly so if one is the seventh child of a parent who was also a seventh child.

Something unquantifiable that also helps determine the odds of success is the willpower of the individual themselves. The more they will internally fight to live throughout the process, the more tightly they cling to themselves as their soul threatens to cleave from their body, the more chance they have of surviving. This requires a balance, however, as they must have the willpower to will, but also the willingness to surrender to their sire's power within them and allow it to sustain them. One must fight, but it is also possible to fight against the turning rather than for it, and some stronger-willed individuals may thwart the turning altogether if turned against their will. But the fact remains, it is not possible to survive the turning out of sheer willpower alone; you can have all the willpower in the world and still die if the circumstances of your personhood simply do not align with the mystic aspects of transformation.

more information may be added over time as headcanons develop.

[strxnged]

@kohi-zeri you’re literally so talented wow

[grcndel]

gren’s eyesight is really just.  terrible.  partially descending from a race of mostly-blind cave-dwellers kinda does that to a guy.

he can see the contrast of light and shadow very acutely, as well as detect motion, but hard lines, depth perception, and complex definition are virtually lost on him;  it’s part of why he trips over things, or bumps into them.  

distinguishing features on faces is difficult, and he can’t read far-away lettering or road signs or bumper stickers.  they look like unintelligible blurs to him  --  he sometimes pieces them together based on the words he Thinks they might be, and this often spits profound statements back at him, which he then uses in his poetry  &  prose.

[pohocounty]

don’t call me a foot fetishist for this but :

the creeper has  ...  Beans .

if you place your finger directly in the center of these beans his toes splay out and Activate like cat paws when they’re touched

the four toes on the fronts / ends of his feet are all long, but roughly the same length, are nearly prehensile, and have long, hooked, bat-like talons at the tips

each foot also has a dewclaw near the ankle-bone and a  ‘thumb’  at the heel, which faces the opposite direction from the other digits and curls inwards to grasp prey, not unlike the structure of a predatory bird

the feet themselves are relatively stout:  about half the length a human-shaped foot proportional to the rest of his body would be  --  more accurately defined as  ‘paws’

his paws can grip onto limbs, building ledges, etc. and hold his weight easily whether he’s perched upright or hanging upside down;  they can even more easily support the weight of a grown human as dulu carries them off, regardless of how much they might struggle

peets.

[magioffire]

The Wisteria Groves of Amorium are a sacred and life-giving place. The wisteria tree itself is considered a living representation of life and fertility, serving as a powerful symbol of the Alfar. Wisteria trees were brought by the ancient Tuatha from their home island of Avalon, and the trees have hence spread all over the continent of Beatha. The tree is so important to the Alfar for it is one of the main food source and host plant of their offspring. During the earliest developmental instars, where Dokkalfar babies are naught more than overgrown caterpillars, they feed primarily upon the leaves and flowers of the wisteria. Not long after the babe is born, they are placed upon the wisteria to feed for the first time. The leaves and flowers themselves have the side effect of making the caterpillar babies mildly poisonous. Young Alfar will spend a couple instars here in the Groves, eating and developing until they are ready to cocoon. Adult Dokkalfar also like to consume wisteria, but more often in the form of the flowers pressed with water and sugar/honey, turned to syrup, and then added as a flavorant to sweet, fortified wines. As such, the Groves are highly guarded and protected, as the young Alfar are vulnerable not only to the wild predatory animals of the Sidhe, but also mimics and parasitic fae that specialize primarily in feeding upon and taking the place of the young of other fae.

[magioffire]

dokkalfar purr, but its less like a cat's purr, or even anything akin to mammalian purring, and more like a muted clicking sound from them stridulating their mouth parts together happily.