The most notable abilities that vampires have are their physical capabilities and senses. They are extremely strong and fast, and their senses are heightened well beyond that of a human. They regenerate very quickly from injury, but cannot properly regenerate without blood. In these ways, they are very much like the legendary vampire. However, they have a special form that other vampires do not. It is a fail-safe of the vampire virus to keep the host alive.

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For the Goddess, High Priestess, and a rare few, this form can be shifted into at will. For all others, it will only surface if the physical body is damaged to near death. The form is called the Rovina and it is a bestial thing that transforms from the body of the host. The flesh inflates and then hardens into a grey scale that is near impenetrable. It's blood is acidic and can burn through any weapons that are slung at it. The Rovina stands roughly 10 feet tall and weighs no less than 400 pounds. It will rampage until the host, which is formed into a protective internal sac, recovers from their injuries. The creature will wear down after that point until it 'dies' and the process of shedding the Rovina is like being birthed. Any clothing or belongings are destroyed by the Rovina blood so the host will return nude.

Vampire History

Vampires look like normal humans, though they tend to have a healthful glow. Regenerative capabilities allow for vampires to almost always appear healthy even if they were infected at an advanced age. Being turned does not turn back the years but it does repair any maladies of the body or mind. Unlike the vampires of legend, not all Aronian vampires are lithe, figureless people. Because they are living and breathing they still require other forms of food than blood. In fact, their heightened sense of taste makes the ritual of eating all the more enjoyable to them. It is not unusual to see a curvy vampires all the way to truly obese vampires. Their abilities, combined with an extreme metabolic rate, increase their need for high calorie intake. They also can rapidly fluctuate in weight. This is perhaps also their largest weakness - they require food and blood to survive. Without one or they other they can actually die. Eating frequency is dependent on how much they exert themselves.

Fig. 2. Vampire Jaw

The first vampires appeared in Aronia more than a thousand years previous the beginning of the storyline. The first two humans to become vampires were Lillith and Caine. They came into contact with the virus unexpectedly and, realizing shortly after what had happened, destroyed the location so that others could not be infected again in the same way. They did not want their daughter, Gwendylan, to contract the virus. They understood little about it and did not want to destroy her future as they worried theirs may have been. It was only a couple of years after that when their second daughter was born.