Vampire AU
Some lore
There are 2 types of vampires in this AU, born vampires (which I’ll call “dhampirs” from now on to make my life easier, but they call themselves vampires too) and made vampires (simply “vampires”, unless I specify the term to include dhampirs as well)
They each consider the other the “lesser” type
Ironically, the first vampires were technically dhampirs and not vampires
Dhampirs and vampires are technically the same species, so vampires can produce dhampirs and vice-versa, HOWEVER two dhampirs can’t have children, so they can’t make more dhampirs without either a vampire or a human
This makes the “vamp-dhamp-human” balance essential to all their survivals, since if humans were to disappear, then vampires couldn’t be made anymore, meaning dhampir populations would increase while vampire populations would stagnate, remaining vampires would die out from starvation (reminder: dhampir blood is toxic to vampires), and dhampirs couldn’t reproduce anymore
Which is why well-informed people (i.e.: those who know dhampir blood is toxic to vampires) are worried about the overhunting
Vampires often overhunt, especially when they’ve just been turned, as they expect to feel satiated the way they did when they were alive and struggle to understand when they are full, but it’s actually quite rare for vampires to hunt out of malice
Some dhampirs are born with special abilities. When they turn a vampire, they also give them a lesser version of their gift. Those gifts are not hereditary
Wolfgang can hear heartbeats, which make it fairly easy for him to recognize other vampires
Vampires as a whole (so dhampirs and vampires) have a slower metabolism and heartbeat, and their heartbeats is pretty faint when they didn't eat for a while (it is more distinct when they just ate), however vampires have a little faster metabolism than dhampirs, which makes their healing capacities faster, but their appetite bigger
Contrary to popular belief, in this AU, their healing is slower than that of a human
All vampires (dhampirs and vampires alike) have an animal form, most of the time a bat or a cat, but it can be more original than that. It often takes them a while to get comfortable with it, but some vampires chose to live their lives as their animal form
They can also "teleport" in moonlight (they actually change into dust for a brief moment but it's really all the same)
I'm not even hiding the Dracula inspiration here (it's not copy pasted, but close, but if you're familiar with Stoker's vampires you've probably noticed a few differences)
Since vampires are real in this AU, it means Gerard van Swieten (Maria-Theresia's personal physician) actually confirmed their existence, first in 1755, then again in an essay in 1768 (instead of denying it like in real life), which is considered the first official acknowledgment of vampire existence (as he was sent to investigate alleged vampire cases by the Empress herself), meaning the trend of high society hiring vampire hunters for protection is fairly recent, despite the job itself being extremely old
It also means the job is becoming more and more popular and competition is a lot harsher
The Mozart family
They’re all dhampirs safe for Anna-Maria
In this AU, Leopold is an acclaimed vampire hunter, who uses his skills to hide his family's secret and secure himself a comfortable position alongside mortals
He doesn't prey on humans, but on animals, which isn't nearly as filling for vampires (dhampirs and vampires alike)
There's a vampire court, but no one really knows much about it outside the court itself
Since he's outside said court, he doesn't know much about it either, but assumes they're violent, bloodthirsty, and elitists. He'd never admit it, but he also fears the court and what little he thinks he knows about it
To be able to defend himself in case he came across a vampire from the court, he perfected some hunting technics and even made one of his own, which made him famous across Europe
Another thing that made him famous was his son's natural ability to distinguish vampires from humans
They travelled throughout Europe, showing off the kid's gift without ever explaining to young Wolfgang what they were doing to the vampires he exposed
When he found out, he was horrified and faked the loss of his gift to stop
It didn't stop Leopold from hunting vampires, and later teaching his son how to as well, but it did stop the whole "travelling" and "showing off" thing, much to Wolfgang's relief
Vampire Colloredo
Wolfgang obviously knows, but doesn’t say a thing
Because Wolfgang was a little scared of the man, Colloredo started suspecting his "long-lost" gift hadn't actually been lost, and pushed him to overwork, which lead Wolfgang to want to leave
Colloredo was scared that, if he let him leave, Wolfgang might expose him, so he refused, arguing he needed protection
At the time, vampires' hunting/preying had become a little reckless, especially in big European cities, so people felt unsafe, and people didn't really question Colloredo's reasons
Despite people feeling so unsafe, vampire hunters had a hard time finding jobs and keeping them, so they usually just stuck to one noble person's court and that was that (which, fun fact, in this AU caused the French Revolution, the people were unsafe and being actively preyed on with little defences, while nobles had all the defences they needed to stay safe)
Anyhow, because of how hard it was to make money as a vampire hunter, Leopold agreed that Wolfgang shouldn't leave the court and refused to accompany him when he said he was going anyway, which lead to his mother deciding to accompany him instead to watch on him and make sure he was safe
The Weber family
Aloysia is a dhampire
Remember how I said the first vampires made deals for dark knowledge or immortality? Well, she did too, wanting eternal youth, afraid her beauty might fade someday. Along with immortality, she got a special ability, giving her a mesmerizing voice, not unlike that of a siren, which she uses to find preys
She rarely kills her food, instead letting them walk away freely after making them promise to come back to her (they all do, and I would too)
Her family is aware of her condition, and actively helping her find preys
Her dad met Wolfgang after he almost revealed his real nature in a tavern fight
He recognizes his name and, recognizing Aloysia might need protection from other vampires because she’s admittedly been stealing their food, he proposes to make Wolfy weapons for free so long as he accepts to meet his family, hoping he can convince him to protect Aloysia for free
Wolfgang falls in love with Aloysia at first sight and, despite knowing she's a vampire, accepts to help protect her
In this AU, she still wants to be a singer, but mostly so that her voice reaches more people, and she doesn't have to worry about food anymore
When Wolfgang's mother asks him what he sees in her, he tells her everything, including that she's a dhampir (since Anna-Maria can't tell), so she sends a letter to Leopold about it
Leopold is not too pleased about it and, claiming Wolfgang to be too inexperienced to really protect her, sends him to Paris (who is one of the cities in Europe with the biggest vampire problem) to perfect his skills then come back to her maybe. Aloysia is NOT happy with that
She also gets attacked by a vampire in his absence, and resents Wolfgang for not being there for her when she needed him (or at least she thought she did)
Vampire hunter Salieri
He works for the Emperor, but the Emperor is looking for more hunters to work with him
He's doing amazing but also putting his life at risk way more than he should, using his own blood as a lure, to the point he's anaemic
He’s mostly proficient with traps and rarely “actively” hunts, and practically never uses a stake when he does, preferring to use his holy water gun
Despite his profession, he’s very interested in vampires, always has been, and has a lot of books on them (we’re talking entire walls of books here)
He’s also working on a “beginners guide” for self-defence against vampires, so a bunch of hunters are unhappy with him because they already struggle to make a living, and he wants to make their job more accessible to the masses
He thinks safety shouldn’t have a price tho, and is actively working with authors like Da Ponte (well, he was working with Da Ponte before they had a fight), Casti or even Beaumarchais (who is also a vampire hunter) to make sure to write the most accessible guide they can. Beaumarchais has also agreed to print it once it’s done
Salieri’s mother died when he was a teenager, but in this AU, his father didn’t quite die for a change, and was instead turned into a vampire (presumably later ended by Gassmann when he was on his way to Venice), making Salieri’s relation to vampirism all the more complicated
On one hand, he’s fascinated by it, by the concept of undeath and how vampires seem to be both unnatural and a part of nature, fully belonging to the life cycle as apex predators, but on the other hand, he’s also disgusted by the thought of anyone being able (in theory) to lose their humanity and turn against those they once loved
He does get turned into a vampire eventually because life has a sense of humour
It's an accident, but he does get mad at Wolfgang for it, feeling he was robbed of his humanity
He does end up forgiving Wolfgang when he realizes his animal form is a huge black dog (mutt, but if you want a mental image, I imagine he'd be somewhere between "wolf" and "cane corso", which is very vague but I swear it makes sense) and Wolfgang's is a tiny bat
Still, he never gets fully comfortable with the loss of his humanity, and having his hearing sharpened because of Wolfgang's gift drives him nuts, and makes it harder for him to enjoy music since everything seems so loud now
Wolfgang does play him music when he asks him to because he's had super hearing his whole life and knows what volumes are comfortable, but Antonio's pride keeps him from asking too often, so he just sulks in his room or read when he's not working
He's also very sad about his tastes changing since he turned because now sugar disgusts him and he can't really enjoy sweets anymore
Overall he has a hard time adjusting to the change, but he's mostly content about it making his job (and his relation to Wolfgang) a little easier
Some differences between dhampirs and vampires
Vampires are always ex-humans that were turned by exterior factors, most of the time by the bite of another vampire (or dhampir), but not always (for instance, in rare case, necromancy or improper burial can bring someone back as a vampire), while dhampirs are usually born that way but can also have been turned willingly (for instance by making a deal with “dark forces”, typically for immortality or knowledge)
Dhampir blood is toxic to vampires and is often a few shades darker than human blood, but few people know that, even vampires themselves
Dhampirs are born with pointy ears, however it's not uncommon for them to cut them to make them rounder
Dhampirs tend to have more "vibrant" complexion, so when they haven't eaten in a while, they look paler but can still easily blend in with humans, while vampires have the same skintone they did when they were alive and look a lot more sickly when starved
The canines of dhampirs are a bit closer together compared to those of vampires and humans, which makes their bites very distinct
Basically, if you know the differences, telling the difference shouldn't be too hard, but if you don't then they're the same (like for a lot of things)
Some vampire weaknesses
In this AU, vampires are essentially weak to what they believe themselves to be weak to (for instance, a Christian vampire might believe itself to be weak to Christian imagery, while a Jewish vampire won't be affected by it). A lot of them also believe they can't come in unless invited, but that's not true at all and it's a bit of a mystery why they even think that
Additionally, all vampires are weak to the 5 elements of traditional chinese medicine (not really, but that's the trick I use to remember): burning them gets rid of them (fire), they can't stay in water for too long without feeling their skin burn (even in the rain) and can't cross running water (water), a stake to the heart prevents them from rising again and moutain-ash repels them (wood), they can't touch "pure" metals like silver or gold (metal), and being buried ith garlic in their mouth also kills them for good (earth)
Vampires are also weak to decapitation, garlic and some herbs I'm too lazy to go over and starvation puts them in a catatonic state, but outside of that, they can't really be killed
