Tiaral

"A threat to all of Tiara," "empire of darkness," "demonic spawn," "land of the dead" — the inhabitants of the south have given the Sarseid Empire numerous names, however, the northerners themselves do not see themselves as such.
The conflict between the north and south began a very long time ago and is not as straightforward as the southerners wish to portray it. The Sarseid Empire (then a kingdom) was founded by a Visterian traveler and simultaneously the first vampire of Tiara — Asalia Sarseid. The circumstances of her transformation remain one of the many mysteries of Tiara, but for the history of this country, they are not so important. The Mistress of the Night and newly turned vampires from among her Visterian companions settled in the far north of Tiara. There, they subjected the local inhabitants to their will, and since the vampires themselves were very few in number, the ruler sent her former comrades and now subjects to govern neighboring lands in her name. For the northerners, this led to most ambiguous consequences. On one hand, they lost their freedom and sank to the level of livestock; on the other, the new rulers gave them peace, which for a region accustomed to constant warfare was a breath of fresh air. Furthermore, since the bloodsuckers themselves were very efficient rulers and did not need to satisfy the same needs as humans, the northerners lived in complete security, crime was absent from the country, and order prevailed. Of course, the fact that their blood was extracted to satisfy vampire thirst did not go away, but they were treated quite delicately in this matter, and overall, the northerners began to live noticeably better than many inhabitants of the south.
The small kingdom of Sarseid continued to exist in this form for several more decades until bandits from neighboring lands began to appear on their territories. The lords of the night, naturally, could not allow this to continue and dealt with the wrongdoers exemplarily to avoid a repetition of such events. This led to rumors reaching neighboring regions that monsters inhabited these lands, and soon armies of southerners appeared on Sarseid's borders. Then the queen insisted on a meeting with the leaders of these armies, wishing to negotiate peace with them. Her wish was granted, and the kings of the south agreed to meet her. At the meeting, she demanded that they lead their armies home but agreed to open the country for trade beneficial to both sides and the strengthening of relations between states. The terms of the treaty promised to be very profitable for the southerners, yet they rejected this offer. One of the attending monarchs declared that he did not intend to conduct any negotiations with a monster and instantly drew his sword from its scabbard, intending to kill the vampire queen. The Mistress of the Night avoided the insolent man's attack with incredible ease and grace, but she did not undertake any aggressive actions in response. Instead, she released a powerful and all-consuming aura that plunged everyone present into a state of true terror. "Leave my lands and never return" — was the last thing she told them before withdrawing.
The humans did not obey this demand, and soon war broke out. The vampires far surpassed their opponents in individual strength, but there were too few of them, and it proved impossible to repel attacks from all sides. By the end of the war, the kingdom of Sarseid was destroyed, many of its inhabitants dead, and some of the queen's companions slain by the enemy legions. The south, tired of the prolonged war and suffering from a lack of resources, proposed signing a truce lasting ten years, and the queen, having no other options, signed it. She understood, however, that they would certainly attack again, and therefore began to take certain measures. First, she ordered her companions to turn the inhabitants of her country into professional soldiers — so that they could protect the lands where they lived without outside help. And second, she began "recruiting" new vampires. The turning ritual proceeded as follows — upon fulfillment of certain conditions and with the consent of both parties, a vampire had to bite the candidate in the neck. And although the prospect of having an army of such warriors sounded very tempting, this process was not without flaws. By performing this ritual, the vampire lost a tenth of their strength each time; thus, not only did the first generation lose part of their power, but every new convert was weaker than the previous one. The third generation had only a hundredth of the strength possessed by the first generation. But there was another downside — as the number of bloodsuckers grew, so did the kingdom's need for human blood, which threatened serious consequences in the future. For this reason, and also expecting the inevitable attack of the southerners, the queen made the first move and led her improved army south. Fighting on foreign territory proved to be significantly easier, and the element of surprise gave her the necessary time to deal a crushing defeat to one opponent after another. The monarchs of these countries and their associates were driven out, and their lands became part of the kingdom of Sarseid.

Expansion
Along with victory and the annexation of new lands and inhabitants, the hierarchy of the kingdom grew more complex and harder to manage. Several decades later, the queen faced two problems: a lack of territory and population in relation to each vampire, and the emergence of an aristocratic layer among them, which she absolutely did not want to allow on her lands. Then she declared that all who desired to rise above others must achieve this outside the kingdom. In other words, she thus sanctioned the creation of personal armies and the organization of military campaigns into the territories of neighboring countries. Thus, the kingdom's territories expanded eastward, and two new influential houses emerged — Chimeliaf and Nenufar, headed by Count Layosh and Countess Adelheida, respectively. With the queen's permission, the rulers of the new territories of the kingdom were allowed to govern them as they pleased.

County Chimeliaf
A high sense of pride and strong contempt for beings he considered inferior made Count Layosh Chimeliaf an extremely cruel and heartless ruler. Compared to the mortal inhabitants under the queen's command, the count's subjects were treated like slaves who had no hope of happiness.
Turning Ritual
The vampire makes a cut on the forearm of their left hand and allows a person kneeling beside them to drink their blood.

County Nenufar
This island captured Adelheida's cold heart long before she received permission from the queen to expand the kingdom's territories. With its noble and flawless beauty, it satisfied all the aesthetic requirements of the future countess; therefore, the opportunity that arose greatly pleased her, and she did not intend to let it slip away.
After capturing the island, the countess first attempted to exchange its inhabitants for more educated subjects of Count Layosh. The Count of Chimeliaf agreed to this 1 to 2 exchange, and Adelheida accepted these terms — she had planned to reduce the island's population anyway, as she disliked crowded places.
After that, she ordered the island to be refined and insisted that all slaves be well-dressed and washed — the sight of untidy people, regardless of their status, spoiled her mood. Soon, beautiful gardens, majestic castles, and comfortable estates were built, and romantics among the kingdom's vampires began to flock to the island.
Turning Ritual
Vampires from the Nenufar clan perform the turning ritual only on their beloveds; while members of the royal line prefer to live in solitude, Adelheida's subjects try to spend as much time as possible with their own other halves. The process itself is individual for each couple.

Tiades Clan
After expanding eastward, the kingdom of Sarseid quieted down for a short while, but soon its warriors had to raise their battle banners again and march against a new opponent. It became known that a country in the southwest was involved in conducting experiments on vampires captured during the last war. The queen, naturally, could not leave this unpunished and intended to free her subjects and trample the insolent ones. Doing so, however, proved harder than it sounded: the Tiades clan, as they called themselves, managed to find a use for cursed blood and obtain power unprecedented for an ordinary human. For this reason, the war with the new opponent dragged on and promised to be very bloody and costly. Consequently, Queen Asalia Sarseid and the head of the clan, Hilderick Tiades, agreed to peace — the queen forgot about the crimes of the Tiades clan against her subjects and agreed to supply them with tiny doses of vampire blood; in return, Hilderick freed the captured vampires and, along with all his subordinates, became her vassal.
Turning Ritual
To enhance their physical and mental capabilities, the people of Tiades drink modified vampire blood and lie down to slumber in pre-prepared sarcophagi for several decades. When the time comes, their comrades descend into forgotten tombs and treat the sleepers with human blood — after this, they slowly wake up and grow younger right before one's eyes, becoming stronger than before. This procedure is repeated every time the Tiades vampires age and enter a comatose state.

Hisotaisin Clan
Unlike the countess of Nenufar island, who did not plan to expand her territories and found these most beautiful lands surrounded by the azure sea sufficient, Count Layosh Chimeliaf did not plan to stop; after thorough preparation, he continued his expansion south, where he easily swept away the resistance of independent tribes of the people living there. After that, things became harder, and the count encountered an eastern fragment of the Sugirrassida civilization — winged bird-people, as his soldiers called them. The winged warriors took advantage of their wings and the impassability of the mountain region in which they lived. Layosh's warriors were subjected to unexpected attacks and repeatedly suffered numerous losses from a hail of enemy arrows. The count suffered a devastating defeat and returned in shame to his home region; however, the winged demons did not even give him a chance to relax — taking advantage of the moment, the Sugirrassida warriors shifted from defense to attack and invaded the count's lands. This situation led to the queen having to intervene in Chimeliaf's affairs to resolve it — she and her warriors subdued the attackers and soon brought them to their knees. In exchange for mercy and promises of eternal life, some of the defeated were turned into vampires — thus appeared the Hisotaisin clan, headed by Temaria, a former leader of the eastern Sugirrassida.
Turning Ritual
The same as that of the Chimeliaf clan, but it works only on representatives of this specific people and has no negative consequences.

Grafenroit Clan
The Grafenroits were for a long time an influential family of mages in the Holy Empire of Deizia with many lands at their disposal; however, a failed coup attempt forced them to lose all of it. By the mercy of the emperor of that time, their lives were spared, and the price was exile. Bypassing Visteria, the aristocrats and their small retinue settled in northern Lorea. There they learned that this region bordered the kingdom of Sarseid — home to monsters of the night. By this point, it turned out that Lorea was training so-called "vampire hunters" and, unlike all other victims of this kingdom, was better organized and possessed a larger amount of raw materials and human resources. Additionally, they had experience — repeated attacks on Lorea by vampire clans had well-prepared them and shown what could be expected from them. What happened next is easy to guess: the Tiades, Chimeliaf, and Hisotaisin clans began a joint attack.
During this war, the Grafenroits, using the knowledge of the Loreans and gaining access to vampire remains, began studying their blood. The conflict would end in a truce several years later, but this time proved sufficient for the sorcerers: Gisella von Grafenroit, granddaughter of the current head of the dynasty, became the founder of what would later be known as "blood magic."
Over the next decade, Gisella would have immense influence not only within the family but also in northern Lorea, which then led to a civil war and the victory of the Grafenroits. Along with this, the Tiades clan took advantage of Lorea's weakness to expand their clan boundaries south. Simultaneously, Gisella's rise did not go unnoticed, and she was offered to become a vassal of Queen Sarseid, which she accepted, finding the terms acceptable and the alternative unfavorable.
Secrets of Blood Magic
Kept in strictest secret.

		Sarseid Clan (unplayable) Distinctions — Pale and smooth, almost marble-like skin; pointed ears; snow-white hair. — Sharp fangs. Very convenient for satisfying blood thirst, however, these vampires generally find it loathsome to touch others and therefore use them extremely rarely. — Absence of warmth and sensitivity. Most internal organs do not function. Rejection of any food other than blood. — Not subject to the effects of aging, diseases, poisons, etc.. Passive Features — Those who fail a will check against the character's charisma cannot resist them. Those who fail a will check against the character's charisma and will shall obey their will (three checks total). Range: 6 cells. — Being under the direct influence of sunlight weakens the character and reduces all characteristics except health by half. Regeneration and the use of unique features or skills become impossible. — Immunity to any forms of mind-affecting effects, immobilization, paralysis, etc.. — The character sees the intentions of those around them. — Those who taste the character's blood become the character's minions, grow stronger and rejuvenate. Those who somehow do this without the character's consent turn into ghouls. — As long as the character's head is not damaged, they can always restore their body regardless of how terrible its state may be. — Unlimited movement speed on the battlefield, ability to overcome obstacles. — The character can perform two actions per turn. — Initial characteristics are increased fourfold. — Regeneration of 20% health at the start of their turn. Active Skills — Hypnosis. The character can impose whatever they wish upon those around them (e.g., the need to follow the hypnotist's words, see another person in them, create the appearance and sensation of losing limbs or anything else). Will or charisma check against target's will. — Eclipse. The character can change day to night in a region for ten turns. Once per day. — Diamond Dust. Turns all enemies within 7 cells of the character to ash if they fail a check of their total characteristics against the average value of the character's charisma and will. Cooldown: 3 turns.
		Chimeliaf Clan Distinctions — Dark gray skin; pointed ears; gray hair; red eyes. — Sharp fangs and claws. — Absence of warmth and sensitivity. Most internal organs do not function. Rejection of any food other than blood. — Not subject to the effects of aging, diseases, poisons, etc.. Passive Features — The character can read the thoughts of those around them. — The character can use two spells per turn, and their amount of magical energy is four times greater. — Being under the direct influence of sunlight weakens the character and reduces all characteristics except health by half. Regeneration and the use of unique features become impossible. — Immunity to any forms of mind-affecting effects. — Damage received from fire is three times higher, and resistances to it do not work. — Being in the rain causes paralysis. Being in rivers and other sources of moving water causes immobilization. Water spells can paralyze the character. — The character cannot enter another's house without an invitation. — Opponents must pass a will check against the character's charisma; otherwise, they cannot cause them harm. Active Skills — The character can raise the dead and force them to fight on their side (number equals will/10). Original characteristics and skills are used. Raising takes one turn in combat. — The character can turn into mist and gain immunity to any effects, but cannot act themselves while doing so. Used/interrupted at the start of the turn and consumes a turn.
		Nenufar Clan Distinctions — Pale skin, red eyes. — Sharp fangs. — Reduced sensitivity and body temperature. Most internal organs do not function. Rejection of any food other than blood. — Not subject to the effects of aging, diseases, poisons, etc.. Passive Features — Initial characteristics are increased by a number equal to half the characteristics of their other half. — Being under the direct influence of sunlight weakens the character and reduces all characteristics except health by half. Regeneration and the use of unique features become impossible. — Immunity to any forms of mind-affecting effects. — Character's attacks in melee or ranged combat always deal critical damage. — Character's attacks have a 10% chance to instantly kill an opponent. — +3 to evasion for each unit of agility. — Two additional perks of choice. — Damage is converted into health. It can exceed the maximum value but is nullified after combat ends. — Familiar. The player can create a certain creature or creatures (depending on their strength) at the start of the game, with the ability to summon it(s) at any time (counts as an action). Abilities can be very diverse. Active Skills — A chosen character must pass a will check against charisma; otherwise, they become the vampire's slave. — Paralyzing Gaze. Opponents looking toward the character must pass a will check against charisma; otherwise, they are paralyzed until the end of combat. Once per battle.
		Grafenroit Clan Distinctions — Red eyes, blond hair. — Have full control over their own body. — Not subject to the effects of aging, diseases, poisons, etc.. Passive Features — Character's magical energy is converted into health, and using spells consumes health rather than energy. — The character will rise from the dead even if their head is destroyed. The only way to kill them is complete incineration. — Immunity to critical attacks. — The character automatically absorbs 25% of the maximum health of killed opponents within 5 cells of them. — Immunity to any forms of mind-affecting effects, immobilization, paralysis, etc.. Active Skills — Red Spear. The character uses their life energy and deals damage to an opponent equal to the amount of health spent. Range equals accuracy. This attack can only be evaded. Hits everyone along the line of action. — Blood Pool. The character can turn into a bloody puddle (3x3), gain immunity to physical damage, but lose the ability to perform any actions other than movement. Opponents and allies on these cells lose 25% maximum health per turn, transferring it to the character. Used/interrupted at the start of the turn and consumes a turn; consumes 15% current health each turn. — Blood Explosion. A chosen target must pass a will check against the character's intelligence; otherwise, they take damage equal to their maximum health. — Penetration. A chosen target must pass a will check against the character's intelligence; otherwise, the character penetrates them and controls their actions. In case of failure, the character loses 40% current health.
		Hisotaisin Clan Distinctions — Generally long and pointed ears, but not always. — Sharp fangs. — Presence of horns and wings. — Not subject to the effects of aging, diseases, poisons, etc.. Passive Features — Ability to fly, +10 to movement speed. — +1 to evasion for each unit of agility. — +1 to accuracy for each unit of perception. — Immunity to mind-affecting effects. — The character can parry attacks and shots directed at them (accuracy). — The character can reflect spells directed at them back at the caster (accuracy). — 50% chance to avoid any melee attack. — Character's melee attacks deal damage to all opponents around them. — Character's ranged attacks deal damage to all opponents around the target. — Character's melee attacks paralyze the target for one turn (strength check against perception). — If the character delivers a final attack to an opponent, all of the target's allies must pass a will check against the character's charisma; otherwise, they skip their next turn. Active Skills — The character deals modified weapon damage to all opponents and allies on their line of movement and in adjacent cells. Can be used diagonally. Cooldown: 3 turns.
		Tiades Clan Distinctions — Sharp fangs and claws. Passive Features — If the character spends even a day without blood, their body will cease all vital functions. — No limit on characteristic distribution. — Health and magical energy units are doubled. — A substantial amount of blood will bring the character back to life after defeat in battle or recover them from a state of total exhaustion. — The character can use parts of defeated opponents to modify their own body (if any of the character's characteristics were lower than the opponent's, they can swap their values). — The character can learn a skill or ability of a defeated opponent. — The character can take the face of a defeated opponent. — Only one thing can be taken from a defeated opponent (one characteristic/skill/ability) and only once per day. Active Skills — Corrosion. Equipment quality of characters in adjacent cells is reduced by 20%. — Erosion. Characteristics of characters in adjacent cells are reduced by 20% permanently.