Factions

Origins

A pact, a demon, and a bloodline born from all three — though Reyes wasn't the one who found him.

Before Reyes, there was Tolcaz — decades spent on obsessive research into blood sorcery and fleshcrafting, chasing a power he could sense but never fully reach. His own ritual worked, in a sense, changing him forever and scarring him with a crude, painful echo of what he was actually reaching for. But it never gave him what he wanted most: every childe he tried to Embrace through it died in the attempt. Old, scarred, and out of time, Tolcaz went looking for someone to succeed where he couldn't, and found Reyes Ludorix.

Together, the two of them found what Tolcaz had spent his unlife chasing alone: Vesh'kal, an ancient entity of balance and twilight. Reyes performed the ritual that sealed their agreement with him — the Calling of the Vor, a precise geometric circle of blood, completed with ash wood, charcoal, and his own vitae — and Vesh'kal's power answered it. That power is what transformed Reyes into the first Valkory, marking him, and every Valkory after, with red, blood-dark skin and a prehensile tail, and granting the clan's signature ability, Stride. Between the three of them, the pact opened a refuge world previously unknown to any mortal: Asanha. The Valkory who followed Reyes made Altheria their home there, having never truly belonged among the mortal, medieval plane they left behind.

Vesh'kal

The ancient entity whose power made the Valkory what they are.

Vesh'kal is an ancient entity of balance and twilight, older than Asanha itself — old enough, by some accounts, to have helped create it. It was his power that split the world into Veshara and Luminara, and his power that answered the pact Tolcaz and Reyes Ludorix struck with him, giving every Valkory their form and their Stride.

The pact between Vesh'kal, Reyes, and Tolcaz didn't last. The Kurian Council broke it, bound Vesh'kal beneath Altheria, and drained his power in an event now called the Sundering. He's been asleep in a semi-bound, furious state ever since. His absence is the source of the Blight — not a disease, but a slow deterioration that comes for any vampire who strays too far from what's left of his influence. The Council paints the Blighted as corrupted, rather than admit what's actually causing it.

What Vesh'kal actually looks like isn't something any two accounts agree on — enormous, vaguely humanoid but wrong, too many limbs, eyes like voids, skin that won't settle on solid or shadow. Beautiful and terrible at once, with a voice that doesn't so much speak as shake the air around it.

The Kurian Council

Not a separate clan — the ruling caste within Valkory itself.

The Kurians are elite Valkory, not an outside power. Malachai, Seraphine, and Nyx orchestrated the Sundering itself and bound Vesh'kal centuries ago; Lysandra and Telerik round out today's ruling seats. Together, the Council hoards the true strength of Stride for itself, ruling as "living gods" while leaving the rest of their own clan to make do with only a fragment of what Vesh'kal originally gave every Valkory.

The Kurian Order

The Council's enforcers — not its rulers.

Below the Council sits the Kurian Order: elite Valkory, skilled in combat and Stride alike, who protect the clan and carry out the Council's decisions directly. Kara, one of Elyonwen's own childer, serves here — which is exactly why she was the one sent to monitor Tyberius. Darius, a scholar turned enforcer adept at manipulating flesh and bone, serves alongside her.

Notable Elders

Senior Valkory, unconnected to the Council's rule.

Victor — stern but fair, and respected for his combat prowess and sense of honor. A mentor to younger Valkory in general, though not to Tyberius specifically.

The Wider Clan

Valkory society runs deeper than its rulers and enforcers.

• Raven, a Lieutenant — oversees intelligence gathering and espionage.
• Marcus, a Lieutenant — trains new recruits and maintains discipline.
• Nina, an Acolyte — a promising newer member with a pull toward exploration.
• Felix, an Acolyte — known for quick reflexes and an eagerness to prove himself.

The Gift of Crimson Resonance

Valkory don't simply feed on blood — they absorb the memories, skills, and emotions of whoever they feed on, through a process called Crimson Resonance. It's a genuine advantage, letting a Valkory temporarily draw on knowledge and ability that was never their own — but it comes with real risk: being overwhelmed by memories and personalities that aren't theirs.

The Crimson Codex

The principles that govern the ethical use of Crimson Resonance, and keep the clan from losing themselves in the memories of others.

• "Feed with purpose, not merely hunger."
• "Honour the memories thou dost partake."
• "Let not foreign thoughts overshadow thine own essence."
• "Share knowledge gained, lest wisdom be lost."

Paths of Power

Valkory abilities aren't predictable — they're shaped by which skill trees a fledgling commits themselves to. A scholar might lean into Scholarly Pursuit and Resonance Mastery; a former warrior into Physical Prowess and Shadow Weaving.

Clan Culture

The Valkory prize intellectual discourse, strategic thinking, and the pursuit of knowledge their gift makes possible. They see themselves as learned guardians, favoring careful analysis over brute force — though they're formidable when cornered. In battle, they favor the khopesh, a curved sickle-sword that's become the clan's signature weapon. That said, the clan isn't free of its own internal struggles; as with any powerful bloodline, there are those within it who seek to challenge the status quo.

The Curse

Power this significant doesn't come free.

• Light-bound Phantom Stride — Valkory cannot teleport in areas of bright illumination, limiting the ability to shadow and darkness.
• Tail dependency — severe damage to a Valkory's prehensile tail can sever their connection to their supernatural abilities until it fully heals.
• Resonance Overflow — when overwhelmed by strong emotion or stress, absorbed memories and feelings from past victims can surge forth and temporarily override a Valkory's own personality.
• Ancestral Whispers — the voices and thoughts of the consumed echo during moments of concentration or meditation, blurring the line between a Valkory's own thoughts and the mental echoes of the dead.

Clan Solaris

The light-touched — vampires who can stand what the others can't.

Solaris adapted to tolerate dim sunlight, letting them live where no other vampire clan can: Luminara's day-meadows and sunlit green regions. In place of Stride, their gift is sun-magic — light-based abilities the Valkory have no equivalent for. Their aesthetic runs bright: whites, golds, and yellows, worn with an elegant, flowing style shaped by the land they call home.

Solaris blame the Valkory for the world's decay, and they're not wrong to — they're the ones actually suffering as Veshara's red sands consume Luminara acre by acre, and they see the Valkory, as a whole, as extremists. Their light-based gear is genuinely powerful, but it's painful, even damaging, for a Valkory to wield — which cuts both ways in any real conflict between the two.

Clan Noctis

The shadow-dwellers — barely there at all.

Even more light-sensitive than the Valkory, Noctis are near-incorporeal shadow beings: constantly shifting, barely visible, ethereal. Where the Valkory have Stride, Noctis specialize in shadow manipulation, stealth, and near-invisibility. Their aesthetic matches — blacks, purples, and void tones that seem to swallow light rather than reflect it.

Noctis allied with the Kurians early on, and have regretted it ever since. Secretive and distrustful by nature, they're watching to see which way the wind blows before committing to anything — which makes them either a potential ally or a potential obstacle, depending on how things unfold.

Clan Sanguina

The blood-bound — for whom feeding is sacred.

Sanguina treat feeding and blood as sacred, with a ritualistic culture built around it. Their gift is blood magic, distinct from Tyberius's own alchemy — life-drain, and weapons formed directly from blood itself, like blood whips. Their aesthetic is organic and unsettling in equal measure: vein-like patterns, deep reds and burgundy, and armor that behaves like it's alive, healing itself over time.

Conservative and suspicious of upheaval, Sanguina are slow to commit to any side — if they commit to one at all.

Where They Stand

Four clans, one shared history with the Sundering — and four different grudges because of it.

• Valkory — via the Kurians, the actual cause of the Sundering. Resented by Solaris and Sanguina, entangled with Noctis.
• Solaris — direct victims of Veshara's expansion, and openly hostile to the Valkory because of it.
• Noctis — former Kurian allies, now ambivalent about everyone, including their old allies.
• Sanguina — neutral and conservative, but not unreachable, given the right approach.

Beyond Asanha

Once the infection is chased to other worlds, more vampire cultures wait — each with its own manifestation of Stride. Story content for later chapters, not the present one.