Monster Rules

In every novel series, one must decide what the rules are for each magical creature. Take the Twilight series for example, whether you loved it or hated it, the author created her own rules as to what the vampires and werewolves were like. But if you compare that to the vampires of Bram Stoker, or those of Buffy the Vampire Slayer,  Darren Shan, Dylan Dog,  True Blood, or those of Anne Rice... well, let's just say they each established their own rules.  

Can the vampire go out into daylight?
Is your vampire susceptible to garlic? Holy Water? Wooden stakes?
Must the vampire drink blood, or can they live off of something else?
How long do they live?
Can they shape-shift?
How does one become a vampire?
And so on...

In the case of Hallowedspell, I've also made my own monster rules.  Let's take the case of vampires, since it is on topic. I generally look at things from several angles, such as the classic/historical definition, the Hollywood version, and my version. Because if people looked beyond works of fiction and looked at the real history behind the Vampire myth, you'd find things are not all cut and dry. For example, most vampire lore is intermingled with lore about witchcraft and werewolves. In fact, most stories about people accused of being werewolves are also about vampires. In some legends, vampires and werewolves are in fact the same creature.

But this is my view, taken from my appendix to the Hallowedspell books.

Vampires—classically defined as blood sucking undead with abilities of flight, and predilection for tempting the naïve; garlic and sunlight are deadly to it; must be killed with a stake in the heart; three bites on the neck will turn a person into a vampire.

 

In the Hallowedspell universe:

1.     Vampirism is a ‘life choice’, not something contracted through three bites on the neck. To be a vampire one must willingly drink the blood of another vampire, accepting the lifestyle.

2.     Vampires are more famous for simply sucking their prey dry after using them up for pleasure.

3.     Vampires are more likely to live in remote areas usually feasting on lone hikers, lost travelers, impetuous campers and the like. Usually when they do, they form groups or ‘colonies’.

4.     Lone vampires tend to live in the city taking night shift jobs.

5.     Vampires are allergic to garlic--but can survive it.

6.     Vampires cannot abide the sunlight at all.

7.     A vampire’s age is set at the date he enters vampirism.

8.     Vampires cannot reproduce since they are not ‘alive’ anymore.

9.     Vampires tolerate electric light, but feel the heat in fire as it is a more ‘naturally’ formed light.

10.  Vampire’s eyes turn red when they get hungry.

11.  Vampires are not wonderfully beautiful, but they do seek to lure in their prey through male/female attraction. Often they go to bars and nightclubs if they intend to do this.

12.  They can transform into animal-ish shapes to travel faster. They do this in wooded areas more often. In the city they would not do animals as much since animal control has been formed.

13.  The saliva in a vampire’s bite makes it difficult for the wound to heal and the blood to clot. Thus, once bitten victims often have a ‘constant bleed’, which is more like a trickle. And though a bite may heal, often the wound would open up again if another vampire comes near. There is treatment for this, but it has to be constant and the bite victim has to remain vigilant.

The complete list of Rules for monsters of the Hallowedspell universe can be found here.

Here's the thing, witches and elves are major players in the Hallowedspell universe.

Witches are defined more strictly as human beings who dabble in dark magic (and not as Wicca followers, though they may use Wicca as a smoke screen). Witchcraft in the Hallowedspell universe itself is defined as magic with selfish intent.  Witches are not born to it. They learn it, like any skill. Though some witches may be more gifted than others (like with any skill). Witchcraft itself is considered magic stolen from Elves, or counterfeit power opposite to that of God's. Most witches gather in covens, often masked as community clubs, benevolent societies, and/or businesses.  Their goals are mostly for power to do whatever they want without the usual consequences. Demons do not consider witches allies, as witches are only in it for themselves. In fact, demons often see witches as irritants and threats, as witches often hunt for demons to use in their spells. And the worst part is, witches have often created worse demons out of it.

This is where the Vimp comes from. She is the result of a witch curse of the vilest nature.

So, what about Elves?

In Hallowedspell, the word Elf is a general term used to describe several kinds of supernatural beings. In this universe, they are eternal beings (quasi-angelic) that were part of Creation. But along the way they shirked their duties and were summarily punished to remained on the earth until Judgment Day. To regain their previous status in the Heavens, they have been tasked to guard specific natural elements on earth while mankind spreads across the globe. The problem is, most elves have abandoned their tasks and are currently partying, just like they did at creation. And worse, some elves lifted themselves up as gods to the mortals in the ancient days. So, in short, the elves are incredibly naughty, yet powerful beings. And like with all legends about elves, sometimes they interbreed with humans, leaving half-blood offspring. Thus the tales of Zeus, Ra, Thor, Vishnu, etc. are all real--but they were extremely powerful elves and not really gods. And the reason they are no longer in power today is that the gods themselves were either destroyed or scattered. Eventually the true God either let them self destruct, or he removed those that were causing too much trouble. Most of the 'god-elves' still exist. But they are in hiding, as per their disobedience to the tasks laid to them by the true God, their power has diminished. To put it simply, a god-elf could walk past you on the street, and you might not be able to tell it from a mortal.

The elves that kept true to their tasks (and there are a good few), generally keep away from human civilization and quietly go about their work. Currently, I have two tales about such an elf...which I think I will edit again...
The Elf Elfwood

 A calendar just for fun.

More monster rules later.