Vampyre Houses

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The eight vampyre houses form the aristocracy of the Sanguinesti region. Their history can be traced back to Vampyrium, where the current houses were formed as a result of a civil war.^[1] Previously having a tribal culture, the vampyres were introduced to the concept of civilised society by Zaros.^[2] This drastic change of society divided the vampyres which threw the tribes into a civil war. Eight tribes emerged victorious which eventually reformed into the current houses.

On Vampyrium, each house had their personal preference in blood taste and hunting methods. Before the vampyre migration to Gielinor, the burgeoning House Drakan managed to increase in power and eventually subjugate the other houses to become the most powerful house on Vampyrium.

As the houses originated from Vampyrium, it is presumed house members are true-born vampyres. It is unknown if human-born vampyres, the majority of vampyres in the Sanguinesti region, have any affiliations with the houses.

The following lore is sourced from the A taste of hope (book).

Its ruler being described as a contemptible vyre, members of House Alzeph tended to eat vyres from other tribes. The other tribes loathed House Alzeph, and the tribe was wiped out after the birth of the new aristocracy. The blood stored in their blood stores was described as "disgustingly spicy, and held a grainy texture".

House Drakan is the leading House of the vampyric society with Lowerniel Drakan originally being the supreme leader of Morytania and Darkmeyer. House Drakan also consist of Vanescula Drakan, Ranis Drakan and Draynor Drakan (before his banishment). House Drakan grew to be the prevailing power on Vampyrium by draining the leaders of opposing houses of their blood, before the concept of law was established.

During the events of the vampyre quest series, the Drakans are slowly eliminated by a human adventurer, culminating with Lowerniel's death during the events of The Blood Moon Rises, leaving Vanescula as the remaining noble of the house, albeit with significantly reduced power.

The Drakan prefer blood with optimism and hope. They would usually allow their prey to escape and feel safe again before bringing it down, with the tinge of hopefulness in the blood giving it a "sweetness beyond measure".

The Ghrazi were the most vicious of the tribes, priding themselves on their ability to fight rather than stalk. They would not capture their prey so much as bait it, goad it into combat. They would only hunt the most fearsome and territorial beasts of Vampyrium for food, not the myriad of docile creatures. Lord Drakan had the majority of the House Ghrazi members' wings clipped and kept them alive to be used as pack animals for his hunts, stating that were it not for their ferocity, he'd have put them all down. The Ghrazi rapier was a weapon wielded by a fearsome Ghrazi warlord, who was slain by Sugadinti Vitur.^[3]

Vardorvis was a Ghrazi vampyre.^[4]

Prior to the aristocratic reformation, the Jovkai were the longest ruling tribe of Vampyrium in the pre-Zarosian age. Lord Jovkai was a beloved leader, as well as the oldest recorded living vyre. Members of House Jovkai would treat their food with care and tenderness, allowing it to live among them feeling safe and cared for before mercilessly slaughtering it behind closed doors. This can be seen in Sins of the Father, where Lord Alexei Jovkai treats Gadderanks' family well.

When Lowerniel Drakan united the vampyre clans under his leadership, the Jovkai put up the most resistance. After a particularly devastating battle between the Drakans and the Jovkai, Lord Jovkai was invited to Castle Drakan to discuss reparations. He decided he would humiliate the Drakans for their loss, for which Vanescula Drakan responded by slowly poisoning him, which eventually killed him.

The House is currently led by Lord Alexei Jovkai, and also consists of Nakasa Jovkai.

The Myrmel tribe would stalk entire families or social groups, quickly striking down one of their number, yet not feeding from that first kill. Instead, they would hunt down the remaining family members as the cries of their wounded rang in their ears, who were either forced to fight or flee, the latter causing them to regret leaving a loved one behind. Blood consumed this way had an effervescent fizz, making it very aromatic. Lowerniel saw this as wasteful and decreed that this process only be used for special occasions, which the House complied with.

The House was led by Lord Mischa Myrmel until he was vaporised by Lowerniel during the events of The Blood Moon Rises.

The Pyrah were a loathsome tribe of carrion-eaters, they would capture whole families of creatures at a time, keeping them in appalling conditions until death took the weakest of them. Any survivors would be mournful of such losses, their grief heightened by being left with the corpses of their families in tight confines. Once entire families had died off, the Pyrah would harvest their congealed blood for later consumption. This congealed blood was surprisingly rich and complex, but Lowerniel found the practice as abhorrent and had the entire House destroyed, along with their blood stores.

Their main source of food was from the aranei, a race of creatures they had enslaved, a subjugation they had willingly entered into, submitting to another so they would not have to make choices on their own. The Shadum were sadistic in their dealings with the aranei, breeding them as both subservient and food. The blood of the aranei was described as holding a quality both salty and sweet.

The House is currently led by Lady Nadezhda Shadum, it also consists of Misdrievus Shadum and Natalidae Shadum.

The Vitur were in thrall to their long-dead founder, whom they considered a god. He was a figure of awe and wonder to the Vitur, and there were volumes of histories dedicated to him. He was not only worshipped by his vyres, but a number of sapient races sacrificed themselves willingly out of respect for him and House Vitur's opulent culture. These creatures are now scarce on Vampyrium.

When Lowerniel Drakan was uniting the vampyre clans under his leadership, Sugadinti Vitur, the leader of House Vitur at the time, rejected Drakan's rule. His daughter Verzik Vitur conspired with Drakan however, and betrayed her father. She attempted to kill him, leaving him for dead and taking over as leader of House Vitur herself.

Verzik Vitur would lead House Vitur until her demise to the Nylocas Queen, which replaced her and assumed her form. The vampyres of Morytania were unaware of this, though the Queen maintained cordial relations with the vampyres in the hopes of later overthrowing them. During the events of The Blood Moon Rises, it is revealed that Sugadinti had survived on Vampyrium all this time, plotting to defeat Drakan with the help of his aranei followers and the icyene Efaritay Hallow. After Lowerniel's defeat, Sugadinti took over as the latest ruler of Morytania, which many vyres accepted.

• The emotion preferences of the eight houses are based on the eight primary dyads (feelings composed of two emotions) described in Plutchik's wheel of emotions: Optimism (Drakan), love (Jovkai), submission (Shadum), awe (Vitur), disapproval (Pyrah), remorse (Myrmel), contempt (Alzeph) and aggression (Ghrazi).