Dhampyr

Like the sun on the horizon, bloated and waning, dhampyrs exist in the boundaries between life and

death. Born with dead blood in their veins, they must walk a delicate road, unable to fit in mortal society due to their unnatural hungers and capabilities, but also unaccepted among the Kuei-jin because of their status as half-people. This lonely path leads to great yearning and frustration, to a life spanning generations, combining the frailties of humans with the despair of immortals.

The Kuei-jin, as dead creatures of stolen Chi, are capable of simulating life with Yang energies. This is little more than a simulacrum, though; even their children are tainted by death. Whether born of a human parent and a vampiric parent, or by the union of two vampires, dhampyrs are sustained as much by the mortuary forces of undeath as by any half-living tissue. As a result, dhampyrs can survive like humans, but they share the passions of their parents and the risk of falling to karmic corruption.

Gifted with superhuman resilience, dhampyrs can expect to live hundreds of years. Some survive as many as three centuries, and a few are rumored to exceed even that lifetime. Given this slow maturation, it's no surprise that they often share the outlooks of their vampire parents. Of course, for people surrounded by life and forced to watch it all die (able to interact without the curses of shadow or sundeath, but still far beyond other humans) this span can be an agonizing period of grief and dehumanization. It is little wonder, then, that the eldest dhampyrs are remorseless creatures of no compassion, and that even young ones relate to humankind with difficulty.

The powers of vampiric heritage are no mean matter, though. A dhampyr draws upon Chi energy much like his parents, able to shape and use his body's forces in ways that most humans master only with rigorous training and self-discipline (if at all). Although these talents pale in comparison to the greater Disciplines of the Kuei-jin, they are nonetheless a potent edge in the centuries of conflict and alienation. Additionally, dhampyrs can steal the Chi of other creatures, just like their parents, though such "feeding" carries moral repercussions.

Dhampyrs in Kuei-jin Society
Much like their Western counterparts, the revenants and ghouls, dhampyrs are outsiders, servitors and occasional foes to the Kuei-jin. Unlike the sad and frangible servants of the West, though, dhampyrs do not require the grace or sustenance of their Kuei-jin progenitors. Once he comes of age, a dhampyr is as free as any mortal - shackled only by the obligations that he chooses to accept and by the threats that his contemporaries may level.

As a result of their relative freedom to walk in both the shadow world and the mortal one, dhampyrs are valued as ambassadors and go-betweens. Often, a court will grant a dhampyr the status of heimin, considering the nominal outsider a half-person, figuratively as well as literally. In this fashion, the court can properly call upon the dhampyr for services, while recognizing his contribution to Kuei-jin society. Of course, not all dhampyrs choose this route, and the rogues and vagabonds of this nature rarely have any positive interactions with the courts. Indeed, some particularly recalcitrant dhampyrs have had the misfortune to find themselves akuma, shunned and hunted by the Kuei-jin.

Raising a dhampyr is a difficult undertaking at best for a Kuei-jin. After all, the dhampyr lacks many of the definitive weaknesses of the Kuei-jin. The prospect of carrying a halfdead child to term is also a rather disturbing one for most Sunset People. The potential rewards do lead some Kuei-jin to this course in any case. The prospect of a nigh-immortal child, well trained and positioned to fulfill obligations in both human and vampire society, has a definite appeal. Raising the child is a daunting prospect, especially given the Kuei-jin problems of fire soul, and strictest secrecy is required; it would not do to have one's offspring taken by the government or influenced by other members of the court, after all. Kuei-jin rarely, if ever, sire dhampyrs without some sort of agenda - and this agenda always shapes the dhampyr's formative years. A dhampyr may be a pawn in a political game, a half-human filling a needed role in crossing societies, even an object for affection that was never received in life, but dhampyrs are rarely accidents. Whatever their functions, dhampyrs are tools first, not children. As a result, maturation for dhampyrs is... intriguing... to say the least.

Growing up is difficult for dhampyrs. Their passions set them apart from their human relatives and friends. Their Kuei-jin parents use them as objects without consideration to their dreams and ambitions. A dhampyr must either accept a perpetual role as a servant and functionary, or else break with his parents to determine his own role; he must build his own direction and life out of individual choice. Conceived as a tool, hi' must become a person.

Once the dhampyr leaves his parents' mold to build his own life, he occupies an uncertain place in Kuei-jin society. He is not returned from the grave to fulfill karma, and so he is abjured from participation in the courts. At the same time, his slowly aging body, unusual powers and subhuman thirsts often drive him out of mortal contact. He may choose to travel between courts, or to hide amongst the fringes of mortal society - but he will not be accepted in either world. No wonder, then, that many dhampyrs are loners and wanderers by choice and by nature. Selling their services to the highest bidders, the Shade Walkers are free to forge я destiny unfettered by Dharma or mortality.

Reference

 * Kindred of the East Companion, pg. 27, 28