Introduction
When one makes it their duty to deal with the baser vampire―the night child who relishes in their abominable nature―then that one must also make it their duty to study and catalogue the multiple strains of vampirism that exist on Nirn. And since even the Tamrielic strains aren’t fully documented, it should be no surprise that entirely foreign vampiric diseases are close to nonexistent in the mind of the average vampire hunter. Which is why the members of my noble house have formed a coalition with the order of warriors known as the Dawnguard so we can mutually support one another (as well as the fledgling young warrior who wishes to crusade against bloodfiends and the like) with techniques, knowledge, expertise, and lore surrounding the horrific spawn of Molag Bal.
But are all vampires children of the King of Rape? It seems that through our intense studying of historical records and traveling abroad that this common belief may not be as all-encompassing as we thought. Perhaps the greatest example of an entirely unique―in both origin and perspective―strain of vampirism can be found in the eastern archipelago-continent of Yneslea, or In’eslae in the language of its foremost and dominant inhabitants.
When Uriel V’s Expeditionary Force first encountered the Echmer in their homeland in 2E 277, several legionnaires recorded in journals that they believed they had stumbled on to a lost vampire civilization due to their appearance and when the war between the Empire and the Yneslean Directorate erupted many tried using sun-based spells on the enemy’s armies thinking that they would be effective. These attempts, of course, did not work; the Echmer are just a type of chiropteran beastfolk who call themselves bat elves, whose racial origin involves ancient Dwarven mystery so intriguing yet confusing that I will not try to commit it to paper here. The legionnaires quickly realized their mistake when the Echmeri soldiers were able to fight at full effectiveness during the day, but in the calming months after the Imperial Conquest several of the more bold and curious members of our continent started asking questions relating to vampirism in bat elven society.
As one Domicius Gilan stated inappropriately in his journal: “If them people are bats, and have all the usua’ battiness of flying foxes', then how does vampyre sickness even work for them? Does it just make them turn into...super bats?”
The bat elves, who try to stay as far back from Tamrielic interference and ‘corruption’ as possible, at first found themselves hesitant to discuss more delicate and archaic matters concerning their culture with outsiders. Thankfully, however, they eventually warmed to the growing western presence in their domain and became more comfortable discussing their racial lore and traditions with foreign scholars and adventurers. This led to the revelation and documentation of the vampiric strain Imperial researchers came to call phantasis chiroaeris, or what the common man or hunter will refer to ‘spiritual vampirism’. Although this strain is extraordinarily rare in the West, some individuals with the disease crop up in the strangest places, which is why I have chosen to discuss the historical relevance of its creation.
Origin
When an antique order of Nemeri (ancient Echmer) monks dedicated to Gralmoghal―a slightly more benevolent and sympathetic, but no less disgusting and volatile, Molag Bal―heard of vampirism from the god’s otherworldly servants in the Mid-Yneslean second era (which is actually the latter years of the Tamrielic first era), they became entranced by the condition and sought to attain it, as they believe it would lead to the true perfection of their physical forms. They were able to successfully enter Gralmoghal’s abode in the Dripping Halls through excessive sacrifice on his summoning day and formally requested an audience with the deity, who was honored enough by their ritual to grant them permission to speak. But when the monks discussed their request with their patron god, Gralmoghal utterly denied them; he chastised them on seeking perfection, and revealed that although he favored the Nemer people, he believed that the vampiric condition would only unravel the magical evolution that made them true descendants of Mereth before dismissing them from his realm.
Disillusioned by this harsh truth, the monks felt abandoned by their patron god and began to wander the archipelago without purpose until they found themselves embraced by Mamma Namma, or Narhi’ma, the Dreg-Queen of Spirits and the closest equivalent to Namira the bat elves have in their culture. The goddess told them that Gralmoghal was foolish for believing that her children could not become vampires, so she convinced her husband, the pendulus-drake Paeikael (Peryite), to steal the nightstalker curse from the Soul Refineries of their nephew. Narhi’ma twisted and warped the monks with the soul sickness inside her scuttling dark alongside her spouse, and when they returned the Nemer to the mortal realm they had been changed: their fur had dried to dust, their skin had grown wizen with stone veins filled with ectoplasm, and their bones were now twisted, cobbled, stiff, and rotten.
But in this immobile state of physical decay they found spiritual rejuvenation, as they had now gained the ability to weir-walk from their bodies and become one with the night as telepathic entities of possession. Narhi’ma told them that they were still bound by the red drink as all vampires are, but now did not need to worry about the loss of their sapience, as they had become ghosts even amongst that kind. And Paeikael told them that their spiritual abilities would be stronger the longer they went unfed, but in comparison their bodies would hardened and transform to monstrous stone as they no longer had blood of their own; in order to remain youthful they would have to feed on the blood of others, at the cost of their soul magic and existence as living spirits.
And with the married gods' departure from the material realms, so did vampires come to be known in Yneslea.
Condition & Treatment
Those infected with phantasis chiroaeris (which is transmittable to non-Echmeri, although in turn bat elves cannot be corrupted by the Tamrielic strains) live cursed lives. Their bodies essentially become petrified husks when they are not able to or do not wish to feed, with only their minds remaining intact; while in this state ghost-vampires are able to spiritually project themselves in a wide vicinity around their body, which allows them to communicate with normal mortals and try to charm them back to their lairs in order to feed upon them. More powerful and or capable ghost-vampires are even able to possess multiple people from a distance by way of mental domination or soul invasion, making it easier to acquire sustenance when smarter prey reminds itself it is capable of running away.
Ghost-Vampires that are able to feed regularly will grow youthful and unpetrify to an extent, allowing them to persist in regular society at the cost of the majority of their spiritual powers. The few that they are able to keep when well fed are telepathy, telekinesis, the ability to temporarily possess others for brief periods of time, and the ability to bestow a ‘soul-curse’ on objects and people. Soul-curses are described by Yneslean witch-hunters and exorcists as being/feeling like a seed of burning void that contaminates whatever it manages to burrow into, allowing the ghost-vampire that planted it to keep track of their location while weakening them at the same time.
Those infected by phantasis chiroaeris are weak to sunlight and fire like all vampires are, but due to their stone-like quality of their bodies will crumble into dust when exposed to too much of either element. Silver and solarite are also effective weapons due to their natural aetherial qualities. Note: Killing a ghost-vampire’s soul-projection will not guarantee its body is destroyed as well, so be sure to exercise caution and thorough hunting practices. More weirder weaknesses are their inability to swim due to their heavier composition due to the petrification, which is why ghost-vampires will build their lairs away from the coasts, lakes, and any other place they might have to cross running water. Placing the head of a beautiful flower like a rose or a petunia on top of their bodies (whether mobile or immobile) will also render them incapable of using their spiritual powers, as being creatures born from entropic forces causes them to be weakened by things with inherent beauty and vibrancy.
The curing of phantasis chiroaeris is often attributed to three different Echmeri gods: A’xark, Mystara, and Gralmoghal himself. It is unsure if traditional Tamrielic treatments will work on them, although some Dawnguard Templars have claimed success when invoking Rites of Arkay and it is a confirmable fact that alchemical solutions will not work on ghost-vampires (as their condition deals more with the alteration of the soul than it does with the alteration of the body).