A Report on the Bloodlines of Tamriel's Vampires Vol V

Links to Volume I, Volume II, Volume III and Volume IV

Celann

I hope you receive this letter and the attached notes and know that I still live. I have had to take extra precautions when travelling now as the Cyrodiil Vampyrum Order has poisoned the very Empire against me. I believe I am being followed, hunted perhaps by those despicable fiends, but I am resolved in finishing my task so that the Dawnguard may one day eradicate all vampires from Tamriel.

My encounters with the vampires of Valenwood were as varied as the bloodlines of Valenwood itself. I find the stark differences in these bloodlines that are in such proximity to each other fascinating. It very strongly points towards my theory on differing origins and strains of the disease for each bloodline as no sane man could reason that the vampires of Valenwood share a common origin.

I shall try to write again soon from my next destination.

Ragnar Lothbrok

The Vampires of Valenwood

There are at least four different bloodlines present in northern Valenwood, but each has very distinct characteristics and behaviours. The most insidious is the Telboth, who murder children and take the form of their victim to infiltrate the family and slowly kill them one by one. The Bonsamu have similar hunting patterns due to their unique ability to show no vampiric traits unless a candle is held to them. There are some less subtle bloodlines too, as the Keerilth are easily identifiable due to their unnatural pale and sunken skin and ability to transform into a cloud of mist. The most aggressive though would have to be Yekef who can dislocate their jaw like a snake and swallow a man whole.

The vampires of Valenwood also have an advantage over those of any other province due to the green pact. The meat-mandate of this pact demands that any Bosmer of Valenwood eat the flesh of a vanquished foe or slain beast. As any member of the Dawnguard should know, consuming vampire dust or flesh will force you to contract the strain of vampiric disease of that vampire. Due to this, almost every time a native Bosmer does successfully vanquish a vampire, they themselves become one as by the time they realise their mistake, it is too late for a cure disease potion.

Telboth

The Telboth are one of the most sinister vampiric bloodline I have encountered as their hunting patterns are depraved and horrific even when compared to the evil that most vampires enjoy. They exclusively feed on children, and through their feeding process take on the form of the victim, creating a duplicate capable of near perfect mimicry.

The monstrous creature then murders each remaining family member out of pure sadism. It does not feed on them, but remains in the child body and picks off the mother, father and siblings one by one. Once it has finished, it will revert back to it's true form and begin hunting for a new child to prey upon. From tales of their attacks and asking around towns with urchins running about it would seem that a Telboth vampire will target a child with a large family so it may have the enjoyment of destroying it, only using orphans as a last resort for feeding when desperate.

I learnt of these fiends while in Arenthia, talking to a man who watched his eight year old son butchering his wife and had to kill what looked like his own child. His tale was beyond harrowing. In perhaps the only luck left in his life he went for the silverware to fend off the vampire, something Telboth have a strong aversion to, and thus he was able to survive the encounter. Though he claims he wishes he did not.

Bonsamu

The Bonsamu are very elusive vampires, though they would appear to be the most widespread in Valenwood. I came across almost half a dozen examples of this particular bloodline during my travels in Valenwood, always in backroad taverns and inns. The Bonsamu are solitary creatures almost entirely indistinguishable from a mortal Bosmer, indeed I myself was almost fooled by one. Like most of their kind, they avoid the daylight, though Bonsamu primarily hunt at dusk, as true night brings with it their greatest weakness... candlelight.

My first encounter with one such being was at a small roadside tavern. Weary from my journey I was looking forward to laying down to rest. As always in Valenwood, there were a few hunters scattered about the tavern, drinking in groups and swapping tales. Always one for a good yarn, I pulled up a chair and listened to the mer recount tales of various hunts. Eventually it came my turn to speak and I of course was able to recount several hunts, though not of the prey these fine mer were used to. One hunter took particular interest in my tales of vampire lore and offered to by me a drink.

As is my custom (though some would call it paranoia) I made sure to look the man directly in the eyes before allowing myself to relax around a stranger. I saw nothing there that could warn me of the beast within him. Eventually, as the sun began to dip below the horizon, my new friend offered to show me a trophy of his own encounter with a local vampire. I must say I was very interested and followed him to what would have been my doom had I not decided on a whim to light a candle as we strode down the hallway to his private room. This revealed his true nature, his skin turned grey and wrinkled under the light of my candle, aghast I drew my blade. Luck, rather than skill saw me through that battle. I have since begun lighting candles at dusk when staying in inns, a trick that has warned me of five other Bonsamu on the prowl.

Keerilth

The Keerilth are a somewhat rare breed of vampire in Northern Valenwood. They have the appearance of a drowned corpse left to rot, likely this is a result of the disturbing origin I was able to reconstruct from local folk lore. It would appear that in ages past, Molag Bal was displeased by a champion of his, in his anger, Molag drowned this champion in a lake and proceeded to do unspeakable things to the corpse. This champion then rose again as the first Keerilth, regaining Molag Bals' favour by beginning this dreaded bloodline.

The Keerilth boast a rather unique form of magic, the ability to turn themselves into a cloud of mist. As discovered by Movarth and detailed in the boastful tome Immortal Blood, they are unable to move very far in this form. I can corroborate this fact and would like to further add that they are particularly vulnerable to flame based destruction spells in this form. This ability seems to be key to their hunting technique, something I was unlucky enough to experience first hand...

Passing a lake, and wishing to refill my waterskin, I found myself upon its shore. As it was early morning I thought nothing of the dew upon the sand, nor the low mist rolling in over the lake. The only thing that was able to warn me that something was not quite right is that the mist was rolling towards me, in spite of the fact I was upwind of it. This allowed me to prepare myself as the form of a drowned corpse coalesced from the mist before me. I immediately swung my enchanted silver dagger at the creature. It simply smiled and vanished back into mist, my blade passing harmlessly through the vapour. Left with few options, and I will admit a small amount of anger that I was so easily ambushed, I cast as many fire based destruction spells that I know.

A scream erupted from the mist and a stumbling burnt figure appeared from the mist lunging at me. This time I was able to plunge my dagger deep into its chest. I saw the panic in its eyes as the fire enchantments and silver in my dagger took devastating effect. Unfortunately my victory left me covered in the sticky, gloopy mess of a deceased Keerilth, as apparently they dissolve into a wet paste when killed. It took most of the day to get clean again, even though I was already next to a lake.

Yekef

The hardest bloodline of Valenwood to track down was the Yekef. I was not able to examine a specimen myself and were it not for the folk lore and abundance of tales involving these creatures I would dismiss the Yekef as a myth. Unfortunately this made it very difficult to discern any solid facts about the creatures. The only common theme among all tales of the Yekef is their supposed ability to swallow men whole. Yet this strikes me as very odd behaviour for a vampire. At first, with stories of their almost beast-like appearance I suspected it may be that the locals were confusing Bosmer who had succumbed to the wild hunt with a new kind of vampire. Yet later tales described the Yekef as almost normal in appearance until they begin to feed. With so many differing tales, I cannot be sure about the exact description for a Yekef vampire, though I have come to believe they exist and are indeed able to disengage their lower jaw, much like a snake, in order to swallow prey much larger than themselves.