Vampire (Kinoko Nasu)
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In the world created by Kinoko Nasu and used in various works by Type-Moon, the term Vampire is used as a common denominator for most kinds of bloodsucking species predominant in occidental regions. Though they share some similarities, these vampires are significantly different from their traditional literary counterparts on a considerable number of aspects, from their nature to their abilities. Though their primary appearance is within the visual novel Tsukihime, they appear in some side-stories and are treated as an important aspect of Nasu’s world setting.
Though there are numerous kinds of subdivisions among vampires, the two main categories are that of the original True Ancestors, and their offspring, the Dead Apostles.
[edit] True Ancestors
Creatures created by the world as a countermeasure against the humans who were threatening its balance. As the planet did not have any direct means of defence against the progressively disruptive human kind, it called for the help of other celestial bodies, on the criteria that only a planet is able to correctly judge another of its kind. The one to answer to the plea was the king of the moon, Crimson Moon Brunestud, whom the planet used as the base model to create the True Ancestors as the manifestation of its will to act as the rulers of earth. However, these all shared a common flaw with their original, an insatiable thirst for blood. The planet realized that it had been tricked by the Crimson Moon, who in fact desired to rule over the earth itself, and meant to use the True Ancestors as its means of resurrection.
Aesthetically indistinguishable from humans, True Ancestors are extensions of nature that are meant to act upon the will of the planet, born, or rather manifested directly into the material world. Powerful enough to rank among the strongest creatures on Earth, their natural lifespan is unlimited and they are capable of regenerating and reconstructing themselves from any kind of damage. In addition to their naturally overwhelming strength, as they are meant to act as a defensive mechanism for the planet, they may even receive an additional surge of power from the world in accordance to their target’s power.
In spite of their power, their fundamental flaw, the insatiable blood thirst, proved to be their undoing. Though they do not require blood as sustenance, the urge to drink it is so overwhelming that the True Ancestors were normally forced to employ the great majority of their power only to suppress this impulse, rendering them incapable of acting at full strength. Even then, the thirst would only increase over time and despite what countermeasures they could manage, such as the creation of the Dead Apostles, all True Ancestors eventually needed to make a choice, whether to unleash their thirst and become Demon Lords, or enter a state of eternal sleep to prevent their rampage.
Among the True Ancestors, those who could manifest the Millennium Castle were given the title of Brunestud and regarded as royalty. There were only two cases known, the half-breed princess of the Dead Apostles, Altrouge Brunestud, and later on the princess of the True Ancestors, Arcueid Brunestud. The latter is the only one considered a successful clone of Crimson Moon, as well as possibly the only one among the pure True Ancestors whose birth did not occur naturally, but was caused by her fellow kin. These two are also the only remaining Ancestors alive and active by the time of Tsukihime.
[edit] Demon Lords
Fallen True Ancestors who succumbed to their blood thirst and became a threat both to humans and the Ancestors themselves. As they no longer needed to suppress their thirst, they could employ their powers to their full extent and therefore vastly overwhelm their still restrained kin. It was with the purpose of their elimination that the Ancestors caused the birth of Arcueid Brunestud. By the time of Tsukihime, all of them had long been eliminated. It should be noted that despite the name, they are not to be confused neither with the demonic ethereal beings born from human belief, nor with the oriental demons of Japanese folklore known as Oni.
[edit] Dead Apostles
The term used to designate the majority of present vampires and the ones most similar to the folkloric interpretation of this race. Humans who had their blood sucked and became sentient bloodsuckers themselves. The primary target of the Church. Originally a kind of “emergency ration” for the True Ancestors to quench their thirst as a last resort, chained to their masters for as long as they lived. In order to serve the immortal Ancestors, their lifespan had to be increased and so they began to drink blood in order to extend their lives. This in turn created more Dead Apostles under their own command, eventually increasing their power enough to break apart from the Ancestors and claim freedom.
As they are fundamentally humans who have unnaturally mutated their bodies and extended their lifespan, their bodies decay at an alarming rate and so they require to constantly ingest biological material which is found primarily in humans and other living creatures. Unlike the Ancestors, their thirst is not just an impulse, but the only means to remain alive. A Dead Apostle’s strength depends primarily on the power held by their “parent” vampire, that which turned them into vampires, and the amount of minions under their control. Obviously, those who were turned into vampires by the True Ancestors are the strongest. Like traditional vampires, they cannot operate during the day, but unlike them their lifespan is merely extended, not perpetuated. As centuries pass, their souls degenerate and their bodies’ decaying rate increases forcing them to consume more vital beings such as beasts, progressively diluting their humanity until they become shadows of their former selves.
Though normal physical weapons such as guns are able to inflict damage on them, their unnatural speed capable of dodging bullets, and their regenerative powers which do not simply “heal”, but cause their bodies to turn their time backwards to a point in which they where unharmed, render most traditional weaponry useless. Those charged with their elimination, such as the Church Executioners, normally employ supernatural artifacts in their hunts.
Another difference from folkloric vampires is their reproduction. The majority of their victims do not immediately, if ever, become full fledged vampires, but some go through a long process of growth through several stages:
[edit] The Dead
The nonliving slaves of the Dead Apostles. Mindless animated corpses who prowl during the night and suck the blood of humans, sending the energy to their master. Normally used by the Apostles to feed without needing to move from their hiding spots themselves. They have no will of their own and will never become vampires.
[edit] Ghouls
Humans who have had their blood sucked by a vampire, but had some of their predators’ blood slipped into them preventing them from achieving true death, fixating the soul to their bodies. Corpse eaters who consume flesh to make up for their decaying bodies. They have little to no consciousness, limited to the state of a hungry beast. Even if they are given the parent vampire’s blood, the chances of achieving this state is one in a hundred.
[edit] Living Dead
Ghouls who have successfully restored their bodies by consuming living flesh. Comparatively weaker than The Dead, but possess a will of their own and a soul. The chances of achieving this state are one in a thousand.
[edit] Vampires
One of ten thousand cases is able to transcend the state of Living Dead and become a full fledged vampire of their own. On extremely rare occasions, a human with an exceedingly spectacular mystic potential might directly skip these transitions and immediately rise as a vampire after being bitten, as was the case of Satsuki Yumizuka from Tsukihime. If their parent vampire, the Dead Apostle, is killed, these rise up and become Dead Apostles themselves.
[edit] The Twenty Seven Ancestors of the Dead Apostles
Originally, the name given to the first twenty seven Dead Apostles who had gained their freedom from the True Ancestors. The strongest of the human-born bloodsuckers and the Church’s maximum priority. Most of them are capable of employing Reality Marbles.
Presently, the list has changed greatly from its original state. The most logical case is that of the Apostles that were either succeeded by their servants after being killed, or were destroyed by other vampires who then took their rank. However, the present list seems to follow very contradicting criteria, evidenced by the following points:
- Even though Roa was considered an “unnumbered” because his goals were not the same as that of the other Twenty Seven, the list does include beings who are either equally atypical, have no relation to the other Apostles, or are explicitly opposed to them.
- Some of the creatures who succeeded an Apostle after killing them, while showing bloodsucking tendencies, do not belong to any vampiric race.
- Some of the numbers are left empty because the Apostle was either destroyed or sealed, yet some of the spots are filled by beings who are also presumed dead.
- The only clear criteria known is that, while the numbers do not reflect their powers, the ones belonging the first ten ranks cannot be killed by normal physical means.
Though there are many independent members, most Apostles have their own castles and armies of slaves. Having achieved such an extreme longevity, the Apostles began a game of conquest among themselves suggested by Ortenrosse, first to chase and kill the remaining True Ancestors and then to fight among each other. There are two primary factions that divide them, those who follow the formal King of the Dead Apostles, Trhvmn Ortenrosse, and those who follow Altrouge Brunestud.
Some of the Twenty Seven were eliminated during the course of Tsukihime and some of the side stories, but because of the game’s multiple scenarios and, in the case of the side-stories, their yet unconfirmed canonicity; there isn’t one absolute version of the final list. Therefore, it is presented as it is at the beginning of Tsukihime:
No. 1. Primate Murder
No. 2. the dark six
No. 3. Crimson Moon Brunestud a.k.a. Type-Moon
No. 4. Wizard Marshal Zelretch a.k.a. Kishua Zelretch Schweinorg
No. 5. ORT a.k.a. Type-Mercury
No. 6. Rizo-Waal Strout a.k.a. Black Knight Strout
No. 7. The Forest of Einnashe a.k.a. The Disemboweling Sea of Trees
No. 8. Fina-blood Svelten a.k.a. White Knight Svelten
No. 9. Altrouge Brunestud
No. 10. Nrvnqsr Chaos
No. 11. Stanrobe Calhin a.k.a. Lord of Predation a.k.a. City Devourer
No. 12. Empty
No. 13. TATARI/The Night of Walachia a.k.a. Zepia Eltnam Oberon
No. 14. Van-Fem a.k.a. Valery Fernand Vandelstam
No. 15. Rita Rozay-en
No. 16. Gransurg Blackmore a.k.a. Lord of the Black Wing
No. 17. Trhvmn Ortenrosse a.k.a. Lord of the White Wing
No. 18. Enhance a.k.a. The Knight of Vengeance
No. 19. Empty
No. 20. Merem Solomon a.k.a. Crown
No. 21. Sumire
No. 22. Empty
No. 23. Empty
No. 24. El Nahat
No. 25. Empty
No. 26. Empty
No. 27. Caubac Alcatraz a.k.a. Millennium Lock
Unnumbered. Michael Roa Valdamjong a.k.a. The Serpent of Akasha a.k.a. Infinite Reincarnator
[edit] No. 1 - Primate Murder
The White Beast of Gaia. A white dog born with the sole purpose of killing humans. Its power is so high that seven Counter Guardians would be required to keep it restrained. It is currently under Altrouge's control, and though it is not related to vampires, it copied its master's habits and began drinking the blood of its victims.
[edit] No. 2 - the Dark Six
The first Dead Apostle. There is not much known about it at all, besides the fact that it is currently regenerating and is supposed to bring all Dead Apostles together once it awakens in the Aylesbury Ritual.
[edit] No. 3 - Crimson Moon Brunestud
The ultimate being of the Moon and the origin of the True Ancestors, also known as Type-Moon. It foresaw its own destruction, and meant to use the True Ancestors as vessels for its reincarnation. It was later destroyed by Zelretch when it was taken by surprise by the power of his True Magic. Though it has never fully reincarnated, it still exists within Arcueid and has manifested in a number of occasions.
Among its skills was an unnamed Reality Marble which allowed it to manifest within the True Ancestors, the “Rainbow” Mystic Eyes of the highest rank among noble colors, and a skill called Alt Nagel (Ancient Nail) which is described as an immensely destructive pillar of wind which stretches as far as the heavens.
[edit] No. 4 - Wizard Marshal Zelretch
The wielder of the Second Magic, Kaleidoscope, which controls alternative dimensions and possibilities. He was the one who destroyed Crimson Moon in order to stop it from crashing the Moon into the planet, but had his blood sucked in the process and became a Dead Apostle. Despite this he still retained his mentality and remained an ally of humankind. Due to his age he can no longer use Kaleidoscope extensively, but is still regarded as a notorious character by the Magic Association who still refer to him by the rank of Wizard Marshal, and is famous for his habit of taking promising students and submitting them to insufferably harsh and traumatizing training. It's unknown whether he drinks blood to survive, and is currently presumed to be in an alternate reality.
[edit] No. 5 - ORT
The ultimate being of the planet Mercury, also known as Type-Mercury. An alien life-form called by the planet to obliterate humans, it arrived on earth approximately five thousand years too early during the BC era and submerged itself in deep sleep somewhere in South America. As an attack-oriented life form, it boasts an offensive power far beyond anything existent on earth and based merely on raw strength, is the strongest of the Twenty Seven Apostles. The previous No. 5 attempted to capture it and was obliterated in a matter of seconds, but since it displayed a bloodsucking habit, it was considered as the successor to the rank. It remains fully asleep having no interest in the surrounding world and does not act unless disturbed.
Its appearance bears resemblance to that of a giant spider, and it possesses a corrosive trait by which its presence alone transforms the surrounding landscape into a crystallized terrain similar to ORT’s home world. While not exactly the same, this ability has similarities with what earthly sorcerers call Reality Marbles, and was given the particular name of Crystal Valley.
[edit] No. 6 - Rizo-Waal Strout
One of the oldest three Dead Apostles, also known as Black Knight Strout and is one of Altrouge's bodyguards. He owes his immortality to a curse and is the wielder of a demonic sword named True Demon Neardark.
[edit] No. 7 - The Forest of Einnashe
A sentient mobile forest nicknamed Disembowelling Sea of Trees with a diameter of approximately fifty kilometres that manifests every fifty years and consumes the blood of any living creature within its reach. Anything unfortunate enough to find itself inside it is collectively attacked by the trees and plants and has its blood sucked dry, which in turn runs throughout the entire forest and gives the vegetation a dark-red colouration. Every fifty years at the time of its appearance, the Church sent an expedition in order to destroy it, but failed in every occasion. It is also said to contain a fruit in its core that would grant immortality to whoever could successfully retrieve it.
At first, the forest was thought to be the Reality Marble of the Dead Apostle Einnashe, who inexplicably would have been able to sustain the spell for an unnatural amount of time. The truth however was entirely different: Einnashe, a sorcerer vampire who specialized in controlling minds and memories, had been killed by Arcueid Brunestud with the aid of Len’s original master a long time ago, but his body had been left lying under a tree. His blood was absorbed by the tree’s roots and as a result, it gained supernatural powers akin to those of a vampire and eventually grew to its present size.
The forest’s abilities are simple yet effective. The collective vegetation swarms any direct opposition from all angles regardless of size, including Merem Solomon’s 200 meters-long Right Leg demon. In addition, as it constantly consumes all environmental energy by itself, spell casting within its area of influence becomes nearly impossible, rendering almost any known offensive method useless.
In the side-story “Talk” which seemingly follows Arcueid’s True End in Tsukihime, the forest was successfully destroyed by Satsujinki, though the particular side-story’s canonicity is still unconfirmed.
[edit] Einnashe
- The previous No. 7 and the origin of the Disemboweling Forest. A sorcerer who became a vampire and specialized in all kinds of hypnosis, such as memory rewriting. Though he could not erase memories, he could remodel them with such precision that could even hide his existence from anyone who ever encountered him. However, another sorcerer who had the ability to dive into the deepest reaches of the subconscious was able to resurface the information on Einnashe from Arcueid Brunestud's mind, and with his aid, the vampire was eliminated.
[edit] No. 8 - Fina-blood Svelten
Another of Altrouge's bodyguards, together with Rizo and Primate Murder, also nicknamed White Knight Svelten. He possesses a Reality Marble of unknown nature called Parade and is the captain of a ghost ship. He likes to suck blood from young boys and is on bad terms with both Rita Rozay-en and Van-Fem, the latter due to having destroyed one of his castles during a previous battle between the two.
[edit] No. 9 - Altrouge Brunestud
The Princess of the Dead Apostles, born from a mix between a True Ancestor and a Dead Apostle. The leader of one of the two main factions among the Apostles and the only other being who could manifest Millennium Castle and earn the title of Brunestud. Though her appearance is described as that of a fourteen-year-old girl, she supposedly has a stronger second form.
Though there isn’t any particular information regarding her skills, she has supposedly beaten Arcueid in the past and is the one responsible for cutting her hair, though she was also defeated by the first incarnation of Roa when she tried to stop him. Her guardians, Rizo-Waal Strout, Fina-blood Svelten and her servant Primate Murder are so strong that Merem Solomon believed that he could only defeat them by going down with them. She was also the one responsible for giving Walachia his powers.
[edit] No. 10 - Nrvnqsr Chaos
A living mass of chaotic matter analogous to a primordial soup, created from the accumulation of the lives of 666 creatures. His name, phonetically spelled "Nero", was given to him by the Church as a play on words in Gematria by which the letters that compose it add up to 666, the so-called Number of the Beast.
Originally an alchemist named Fabro Rowan[1] from the Sea of Estray, a cluster of smaller sorcerer organizations on northern Europe. His attempt to attain immortality led him to develop, with extensive help from Roa, a method by which to absorb and merge his existence with the lives of other creatures, leading to his transformation into the form of Chaos. He eventually became a sole accumulation of lives with a collective consciousness, aligned with his will yet not entirely under his control and of nature beyond his own understanding. Even as he was conscious that his mind was fading by being united to the beasts, his ultimate desire was to come to understand the chaos that formed him.
The beasts that compose him range from mundane animals like dogs, to giant creatures such as elephants and even mystic beasts like a unicorn. The animals within him aren’t merely controlled by him, but are in fact an extension of his own self. The entire collective is only one being which is capable of manifesting into the form of any of the six hundred and sixty six beasts if necessary and act separately from the collective, though always mentally and spiritually united as one. Nrvnqsr is not entirely capable of controlling the chaos, as such even if he forces the mass to take the form of beasts, he is incapable of deciding which form should they take, and the body may even act without his prompt to defend himself from external attacks. When destroyed, the beasts return to the chaos and are regenerated, making him virtually immortal unless all 666 lives are obliterated at once before they have the chance to revive.
The nature of his being is owed to his Reality Marble, the Lair of the Beast King, which allowed him to merge with the beasts and transform his body into its present state. Because it is only being deployed within his own body and never superimposes over the external space, it is capable of avoiding the corrective impulse by the world and can be sustained almost indefinitely as long as he possesses enough energy. Whether Nrvnqsr himself was ever a normal vampire or became Chaos when he was still human is unknown, but he displays similar feeding habits as he constantly needs to consume living matter in order to absorb the energy required both for the sustaining of the Reality Marble and the regeneration of the destroyed parts. Unlike vampires, he and his beasts consume the entirety of their preys’ bodies, not just their blood.
He was also taught an ancient technique by Roa which allowed him to manipulate 500 lives of chaotic matter into an imprisoning mass named Soil of Genesis, which would require the same firepower needed to obliterate an entire continent in order to destroy it. In addition, Nrvnqsr can condense all the chaos into one ultimate form, the 999th Beast, the ultimate expression of the chaos’ strength.
Following Arcueid and Ciel’s endings in Tsukihime, he was destroyed completely by Shiki Tohno.
[edit] Lourve
- A Dead Apostle over five hundred years old whom Ortenrosse appointed as the new No. 10 to fill the void left by Nrvnqsr. He possessed a conceptual weapon of apparent great value and was aided by both his son and daughter during battle, supposedly becoming a considerable threat when all three worked together. In the prologue of the yet unconfirmed Tsukihime 2, he was assassinated effortlessly by a stealth attack from Satsujinki. By the time he realized he was being attacked, the upper and lower parts of his body had already been severed apart, and he died moments after.
[edit] No. 11 - Stanrobe Calhin
A Dead Apostle who had been destroyed by the Church, but whose spirit still lingers as a ghost and retains an immense destructive power, nicknamed the Lord of Predation and City Devourer. He still has 200 years until his existence dissipates completely.
[edit] No. 13 - TATARI/The Night of Wallachia
A Dead Apostle whose form is that of a phenomenon instead of a real creature, a disembodied Tatari (Literally “Curse”) with the power to grant physical shape to the fears and rumours that circulate within a community. He has no definite form, though the name by which he is usually referred to belong to the first fear he ever manifested: the image of the vampire that was falsely believed to haunt the province of Wallachia in Romania, Count Dracula.
Originally an alchemist from Atlas named Zepia Eltnam Oberon, a member of the prestigious noble family of Eltnam, for whose downfall he was responsible for. During his research, the ability of the Atlas alchemists to calculate and predict the future eventually revealed to him that only destruction would be an absolute result for the world. Obsessed and driven mad by this realization, he sought to achieve the miracle known as The Sixth with the intention of creating an impossible future that would escape even his calculations. His metamorphosis into the Tatari, theorized and formulated as part of his research of The Sixth, was realized through a pact with Altrouge Brunestud who summoned the Crimson Moon and transformed him into the curse, casting him into a cycle by which he would continuously manifest in pre-calculated areas, the journey destined to finalize a thousand years later when the reappearance of the Crimson Moon would return him to his original form as Zepia Eltnam.
The nature of his being resides in his Reality Marble, the Night of Wallachia, which allows the materialization of fears into physical entities. In order to manifest himself, Wallachia requires that a certain condition be met: The community in which he should appear must be circulating an increased amount of malignant information, such as urban tales, fright stories, unfounded assumptions and all manner of rapidly spreading but ultimately void rumours. This information is what Wallachia uses as the conduit for his power, and is even capable of condensing it onto the Night on the Blood Liar, a rapidly swirling torrent of virtual information of such magnitude that is even capable of having an effect on the physical world by sucking blood in quantities as massive as entire cities. Because he is indeed nothing but a materialized rumour, complete destruction of his being is impossible, as no matter how many times the material forms are obliterated, the reoccurring phenomenon will ensure his reappearance. Furthermore, the behaviour of each appearance is subject to that of the model created by the circulating information, yet no matter what this becomes, its personality will invariably be twisted into that of the bloodthirsty Dead Apostle.
In Melty Blood, Wallachia appeared within the city of Misaki and was able to manifest the fear present in several of the main characters’ hearts, creating entities such as an evil Arcueid who had succumbed to her bloodlust, a form of the bloodthirsty assassin side of Shiki Tohno and even the memory of Nrvnqsr Chaos. He was eventually destroyed when Arcueid used her Marble Phantasm to prematurely summon the Crimson Moon, stripping Wallachia of his power and giving him a definite material form, after which he was killed by Shiki Tohno.
[edit] No. 14 - Van-Fem
Valery Fernand Vandelstam, better known as Van-Fem. One of the oldest Dead Apostles, and a Puppet Master, a type of sorcerer which specializes in crafting artificial puppets to do their bidding. An odd case among the Apostles who took a liking to human society and set up a casino boat in Monte Carlo after World War I, earning himself a high social status among humans.
He has seven giant golems similar to castles under his command, known as the Demon Castles. He neglects his duties as a vampire due to his preference for human life, and is on bad terms with both Ortenrosse, whom he considers too old-fashioned, and Altrouge, due to having had his fifth castle destroyed by Fina-blood Svelten.
[edit] No. 15 - Rita Rozay-en
A vampire with a liking for artistry. As a formal successor of her parent vampire by inheriting his/her castle, she became quite arrogant. She supposedly takes a blood bath every night and holds an odd friendship with Sumire. They swore that if they were ever to die, it would be by each other's hands.
[edit] No. 16 - Gransurg Blackmore
A sorcerer who became a monster through his own magical research and adopted the form of a feathered humanoid reminiscent of a crow. He was nicknamed Lord of the Black Wing by the other Apostles in mockery of his shape and to contrast with the Lord of the White Wing Ortenrosse, but at the same time equally feared for his immense power. Whereas vampiric victims who possess enough capacity become humanoid vampires, Blackmore's victims adopt the same monstrous avian shape as himself, which caused him and his clan to be alienated from the other vampires who consider him a deviant.
Originally a sorcerer of unknown origin and name who became fascinated by birds, whom magicians superstitiously consider the carriers of souls after death, he deified them as the true rulers of the planet. Despite his achievements, he had neither particular power nor lineage to speak of, so when Crimson Moon challenged him to a duel, he was hopelessly defeated. By chance, he was spared under the condition that he would serve Crimson Moon from that moment on, which his sense of decorum graciously accepted. He then proceeded with his work, finally becoming a monster at the culmination of his research. Following Crimson Moon's death, he became an independent Apostle and succeeded the previous No. 16 after completely obliterating him and all of his clan.
He currently resides somewhere in Austria, and to this day still retains an unmatched loyalty towards Crimson Moon. Although he diligently participates in any ritual organized by the Apostles, he never meddles in their conflicts and refuses to fight them, unless it is to punish them for having deviated from the wishes of his deceased master. Also, like Merem Solomon aids the Church, he has a similar relationship with the Mage's Association
Blackmore's Reality Marble, Nevermore (a likely reference to Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven"), is formed by a multitude of black wings that completely envelop the skies and create a closed world of death around its target. In one night, without spilling a single drop of blood or causing any damage to the castle, the 16th Dead Apostle and his entire clan were completely wiped out by this skill.
[edit] No. 17 - Trhvmn Ortenrosse
The first servant of Crimson Moon, a sorcerer over five thousand years old who became a vampire through his research. The formal king of the Dead Apostles, nicknamed Lord of the White Wing, who holds the greater influence among vampires and the leader of one of the two main factions among the Apostles, opposed to Altrouge.
He was the one who proposed the extermination of the True Ancestors, and is described as an archetypal, old-fashioned vampire, an attitude which earned him the dislike of some of his kin. Although he hates the True Ancestors, he reluctantly shows a certain level of restraint towards the ones worthy of title Brunestud. Merem Solomon describes him as fool with too much power and influence.
[edit] No. 18 - Enhance
A relatively young vampire nicknamed the Knight of Vengeance. For an unknown reason, he is actively trying to assassinate all the remaining Dead Apostles. Though he possesses no particular powers, and in fact is not even capable of using the full extent of his vampiric nature, his swiftness and willpower turn him into a very dangerous foe.
Whereas centuries of life have given the other Ancestors a calm and calculative mindset, Enhance still retains much of his human traits, particularly an irascible and brash temperament. Not only his mind, but also his body still retains a human side. He wields the Demonic Sword Avenger which he received or stole from the former No. 18, and a Holy Scripture from the Church given the shape of a gun. His still human right arm is damaged every time he wields the sword, and his vampiric left arm is harmed every time he uses the gun.
In the as yet unconfirmed Tsukihime 2, Enhance is one of the six Dead Apostles who plotted to assassinate the sleeping Arcueid Brunestud. However, because of his own motives, he betrayed his companions and formed an unstable alliance with Arcueid's guardian, Satsujinki.
Even though Enhance just recently gains his status as one of the Twenty Seven, he was removed from the rank soon after.[2] In Kagetsu Tohya, he is mentioned as looking alike to the protagonist from Devil May Cry, Dante.
[edit] No. 20 - Merem Solomon
A Dead Apostle with the appearance of a child, also named Crown. An independent Apostle and a collector of treasures who joined the Church in order to have access to holy relics. In spite of his nature, he was admitted into the Burial Agency, the branch that specifically deals with assassinating vampires, and became the No. 5 of the agency’s eight Executioners. He seems to like Van-Fem’s carefree nature, and dislikes Ortenrosse’s old-fashioned personality.
Originally a child with a mysterious connection to nature who could speak with animals and materialize people’s wishes. The inhabitants of his village cut off his arms and legs to prevent him from ever leaving the village and revered him as a deity, while keeping him trapped for their own convenience. Crimson Moon took notice of him, and challenged the villagers to a morbid game: all throughout the night, the villagers would have to imagine beasts for Merem to materialize so that it could fight for them, and if by daybreak none of the imagined wishes could defeat him, it would slaughter them all. Nothing the humans imagined could stand up to Crimson Moon, so it kept its word and killed them all at dawn. However, the act of materializing the beasts exhausted Merem and eventually killed him. It was Crimson Moon who revived him as an Apostle, freed him from his captors and told him to imagine beasts to replace his lost limbs. Ever since then, Merem felt an immense sense of gratitude towards Crimson Moon, a feeling which after its destruction he would redirect towards Arcueid.
In the side story “Talk”, he accompanied Ciel in her expedition into the Forest of Einnashe. For an unknown reason, he confidently states that Satsujinki has no way of harming him.
Though Merem himself does not appear to have any personal offensive powers, the four demonic beasts which replace his limbs are immensely powerful, on the same level as divine creatures. While the beasts are not under his control and he has no power over them, they cooperate in a symbiotic manner: the beasts serve as Merem’s limbs and guardians, and Merem recreates them whenever they are destroyed. His four demons are:
- Right Leg
The King of Earth. The monster that Merem materializes more often, specialized in mass destruction. He originally wanted to craft it as a dog, but because of his poor artistic talent the shape ended up being closer to a legged whale. Thought it doesn’t have any specific abilities, its mass which spans over 200 meters is enough to make it a fearsome monster. Both Leg demons have no consciousness and limit themselves to follow Merem’s orders.
- Left Leg
The King of Sky. A flying giant monster similar to a multicolor Manta Ray, specialized in combat against a single super-powerful enemy. It possesses an enormous destructive potential, but because it is destroyed after dealing damage Merem considers it too consuming to use often. Like the Right Leg, it has no mind of its own.
- Right Arm
The Lady Windup. A living mechanical statue shaped like a girl, approximately 10 meters tall. It’s made of an accumulation of personal-use weaponry from approximately a hundred years ago and it possesses a very limited intelligence, which causes her to confuse orders very often and makes her difficult to control. She also has a shrine built on her stomach. Merem apparently doesn’t like taking her out too much.
- Left Arm
The King of Rats. A simple small white rat with absolutely no battle abilities whatsoever, but is the smartest of the four and capable of taking the form of any human. He is the one taking care of Merem’s duties within the Church, usually by taking the shape of a kind old priest and employing regular rats to send messages to Merem. He is apparently regarded as the world’s third most handsome rat, and likes cheese a lot.
[edit] No. 21 - Sumire
A Dead Apostle who dwells underwater. She is among the strongest of the Twenty Seven, being the only one among them with the power to use a Marble Phantasm, but because she is constantly drunk, she isn't much of a threat for anybody. Supposedly, she sobers up in the rare occasion in which she returns to the surface and is able to use her full strength. She has an odd friendship with Rita, and although she has a castle on land, it is completely empty.
[edit] No. 24 - El Nahat
An odd vampire that is currently sealed by the Church, and is trapped in the form of a Holy Scripture which the Church considers as a final weapon against other Dead Apostles. He supposedly has an ability which, if used in a one-on-one battle, is certain to destroy the enemy at the cost of destroying his own body, taking several decades for him to regenerate. It was precisely by exploiting this weakness that the Church sealed him.
[edit] No. 27 - Caubac Alcatraz
The Dead Apostle of the Millennium Lock. A magician who became a vampire through his research, and an old friend of Zelretch. He created a labyrinth to protect his Holy Scripture, Triten, but became trapped inside and hasn't been seen for over a century. He supposedly looks like a padlock.
[edit] Unnumbered - Roa
Michael Roa Valdamjong, also known as the Serpent of Akasha. While the Church considered him a threat on the same level as the other Twenty Seven, he is not part of the Twenty Seven by the other members since his goals differ too much from those of the rest.
Roa was originally a high-ranking priest from the Church who became an expert sorcerer and sought to achieve true immortality. Realizing the limits of the human body, he became a vampire by tricking Arcueid Brunestud into drinking his blood and stealing a great portion of her power. He is indirectly responsible for the extermination of the True Ancestors, and is an old friend of Nrvnqsr. At the pinnacle of his research on immortality he developed a method by which to transfer his soul onto the body of another and reincarnate into the chosen vessel.
He and Arcueid became tied to each other by his trickery. Every time Roa reincarnated, Arcueid awakened from her slumber and killed him, returning to sleep until his next appearance and repeating the circle. This happened for a total of seventeen times. However, with time his power slowly deteriorated both by merging with so many different bodies and due to the fact that none of his chosen vessels ever had the magic potential of his original body. Because of this, the powers of his seventeenth reincarnation within the true Tohno Shiki were merely a shadow of those of the original.
The original Roa was an immensely skilled sorcerer, supposedly unmatched during his time. He specialized in Numerology, an art by which one could apply metaphysical mathematical principles onto spells. Such applications of this art could be seen in Square, a skill which multiplied the strength of his sorcery to the rank of EX-level power, and his Reality Marble, Overload, which automatically applied Square to all of his spells. In his eighteenth incarnation, he gained a similar skill to that of Shiki Tohno’s Death Perception which used his host body’s ability to steal the life energy of others, however he couldn’t realize that its nature was entirely different from that of Shiki’s eyes because despite his experience, he could never truly understand the nature of death.
[edit] Non-Vampiric Bloodsuckers
A category which designates all creatures who suck blood yet do not have connections with vampires. This includes anything from small animals to non-human people such as Akiha Tohno. Regardless of their activity, the Church pays no attention to this kind of creature.
[edit] References
- ^ Type-Moon/Tsukihime Project (w), Sasakishonen (p,i). Tsukihime vol. 2, (October 2005) DrMaster Publications Inc. (75/2). ISBN 1-59796-076-4
- ^ Melty Blood: Act Cadenza Encyclopedia, French-Bread, August 2006.
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