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''Wamphyri'' are a form of vampire described by Brian Lumley in his ''Necroscope'' series. Lumley has reinterpreted the traditional vampire legend. In his stories, a vampire is a leech-like parasite from an alien world which forms a symbiotic relationship with a host creature, usually a human or sometimes a canine such as a wolf or fox (werewolf). While the symbiosis puts great demands on the host (such as requiring to feed on blood to survive), the benefits include increased strength, speed, and resilience, a seemingly infinite lifespan that stretches into millennia, magnified senses, base emotional stimulation, access to latent psychic power such as ESP or telepathy, metamorphic flesh allowing flight or disguise, and certain narcotic effects. The vampires in the story have great control over people who are weak-minded, and could easily dominate the Earth if allowed to achieve their full potential. They also have the ability to produce lesser breeds of vampires for different purposes. ==Life cycle== The vampiric leech begins its original life cycle as a fungus similar to a mushroom, formed from the decomposed flesh and fats of a deceased vampire. When a suitable host is detected (the ‘mushrooms’ seem to have some form of awareness), the caps burst open, releasing a cloud of spores which are inhaled (or otherwise absorbed) by the victim. The transformation is slow, as the spores must first adapt the body to suit the growth of a leech. The only other means of infection are from direct transmission from a vampire, or by absorbing a leech’s egg, and becoming a full-blown "eggson" (or –daughter), or to be born the BloodSon/BloodDaughter of a vampire. The process is slow, and the actual time between infection and full-blown vampirism varies greatly from host to host. Early symptoms include an aversion to light, red tinting of the eyes, a propensity for rare or uncooked meat, as well as developing allergies to silver and garlic. When the body has grown enough to undergo the first change, or if the infecting vampire has personally seen to their becoming infected, the host enters a catatonic ‘death’ state. They awaken a thrall, and are psychically bound to their creators. This stage is skipped by Egg children, blood Children, and spore transformed, though in the case of egg children they often lose consciousness for a few hours due to the pain of the egg merging with their internal physiology. This becomes the first stage of vampirism. Thralls possess enhanced speed, strength, and agility, but require more feeding than full-grown vampires. Some thralls possess other abilities, usually ones characterized in their masters. Thralls are also psychically slaved to their creators, unless they are transformed via spores or a leech’s egg. Vampires who are spore created or Bloodsons or are created with an egg skip this phase and go directly to full fledge “-son” stage. At this point, the vampire takes one of two paths. It either ascends into a Lieutenant, or stops developing and remains as a thrall. This is usually based on the predilection of their master, and the strength of the host. The next phase are vampire Lieutenants, who are basically vampire thralls with increased attributes and abilities. They are stronger, larger, and live much longer. In some cases a Lieutenant can even develop into full Wamphyri without any further infusion (such as an egg) if allowed long enough (usually centuries). The most powerful of vampires are known as Lords and Ladies, and are referred to as true “Wamphyri.” They possess a wide range of abilities: enhanced transformational skills, psychic powers, extreme physical prowess, and a host of other skills. They have fully adult Leeches. They have exaggerated effects from sunlight, garlic and silver, but are more capable of recovery (unless the leech itself is damaged). These are truly monstrous creatures. Vampire leeches produce only a single egg in their lifetime, except for "mothers," who are highly feared due to their ability to produce a prodigious number of eggs and thus create many true eggsons/daughters to compete with the existing Wamphyri. However, becoming a "mother" is also a highly feared phenomenon, because the leeches of "mothers" (according to the legend of the one vampire "Mother") produce eggs until the vampire was drained to a lifeless husk. Unless the leech is fully destroyed, the vampire remains immortal, and can regenerate itself multiple times, although the regeneration process from grievous injuries leaves the creature more vampire than humanoid. The leech itself is a snake-like creature, resembling a shovel-headed worm with fangs and no eyes. If fed, the leech can survive without a host, but lacks high-level intelligence. Leeches can leave doomed hosts (only in extremely dire situations) and seek new hosts, including animals, but animals can only be vampirized so long before they die. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Wamphyri」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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