The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers
How did the Red Court Originate?
Maz:
The Black Court we have definitive proof (Word of Jim) that it originated with the son of Drakul, Vlad Dracula. Drakul was something inhuman trapped in a human form and Vlad was his scion who created himself as a Black Court vampire in an attempt to win the approval of his Father. It apparently involved Outsiders.
The White Court appears to possibly originate from Etruscan civilization (pre-Rome Italy). Based on their ability to sire human children suggests they are biologically human with a parasitic hunter creature (apparently some form of Phage) from the NeverNever in symbiosis with them. This would suggest that a progenitor in that area used some form of magic to bind with it for extended life and/or power and thus began the Court.
The Red Court appears to be very similar to the White Court except with a South American slant and instead of being similar to Phages they appear to be creatures that feed on Blood instead of emotions / psychic energy.
g33k:
--- Quote from: Maz on August 21, 2019, 03:16:54 PM ---The Black Court ...
--- End quote ---
Yep, explicitly WOJ'ed.
--- Quote from: Maz on August 21, 2019, 03:16:54 PM ---The White Court appears to possibly originate from Etruscan civilization (pre-Rome Italy). Based on their ability to sire human children suggests they are biologically human with a parasitic hunter creature (apparently some form of Phage) from the NeverNever in symbiosis with them. This would suggest that a progenitor in that area used some form of magic to bind with it for extended life and/or power and thus began the Court.
--- End quote ---
Speculative, but seems entirely reasonable/likely. Also note that a "baby" WCV (a "White Court Virgin") has a chance to burn away their Hunger-phage if their first act of sex is also an act of "True Love."
--- Quote from: Maz on August 21, 2019, 03:16:54 PM --- The Red Court appears to be very similar to the White Court except with a South American slant and instead of being similar to Phages they appear to be creatures that feed on Blood instead of emotions / psychic energy.
--- End quote ---
They really are dis-similar. The Red's "Half-Vamp" stage is similar, in that they are evidently still human and their Vamp part can still be separated (according to Lea and to Mother Winter; and fae cannot lie).
It's like the Red is a magical larva / parasite: once it gets the host to take a life, the Red metamorphoses into a full-Vamp, and "eats" its host.
After that full-Turn to Vamp, they aren't human any more. Their natural form isn't human (q.v. the Ramp-corpses Butters got from the fire at Bianca's), they summon a "flesh mask" to cover their real self, etc.
The Whamp "Hunger" demon is more symbiote, the host never stops being (biologically) Human, and their basic ecology is psychic/mental/emotional, not physical.
A Ramp can infect a human, feed another human to the half-Ramp, and get a new Ramp... all in the space of a single night; the magic is much more physical, more overt, and involves the "death" of the human host.
Bad Alias:
@Yuillegan: I've always assumed that Lord Raith isn't the first White King. I have no evidence or argument for this. Just something I've always assumed.
kbrizzle:
My WAG is that the vampire courts are a series of attempts to contravene the natural order of things in the DV. As Yuillegan points out, all the vampire courts abrogate free will & life in general. I think it’s also a little telling that all the courts refer to humans as chattel - it seems likely that the courts were created in an attempt to subjugate humanity & bend the free will available to mortals to nefarious ends.
I would guess that someone like the Outsider-allied if not flat out Nfected Drakul is behind these attempts - why else would Vlad try to create a new type of vampire in an attempt to please his dad?
If you look at the 3 courts we’ve been presented with (since we know almost nothing about the Jade court), they create an interesting if troubling pattern.
White Court vamps are closest to humans - they can even pass for human in front of a wizard without a lot of experience/ using Sight. They can procreate like humans but unable to create more of their kind quickly; don’t have obvious weaknesses etc but don’t have the commensurate strength to with it. They can also through fate/ luck/ free will choose to not become one & remain mortal. It is interesting that we don’t see any sorcerous Whamps in the series, I wonder if they are capable of wielding magic beyond what is natural to their kind. They also use the emotional spectrum to manipulate human.
Red Court vamps are further removed from humanity. They no longer have a human form; being half-turned is a thing, if irreversible; they are able to wield magic & use the same spectrum of un-life power that the Blamps use. They use their venom as a way to physically addict humans to manipulate them.
Black Court vamps are further removed still - while the other 2 types are still technically alive, I don’t think Blamps are in the same sense. They are the most powerful - able to wield black magic & physically stronger than the other 2 types. There is no half-turned Blamp - the process goes the whole way. They are also the newest vampires. They flat out use heavy handed mind control to manipulate humans.
It seems to me that whoever is behind these attempts continuously trades humanity for more power. I wouldn’t be surprised if Whamps are the oldest kind of vampires, given that the Etruscans pre-date the Romans. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Whamps pre-date even them - after all, wizards pre-date the White Council which uses Latin as it’s Court language. I also doubt that Lord Raith is the first White King - no one else refers to him as the progenitor of their court, like they do the Red King. We have some speculation within the series that the Red King is ~4000 years old & the Blamps are ~600 years old.
Bad Alias:
Wamps can use magic. Thomas uses a tracking spell in his short story. Jim has stated that Wamp that had strong magical talents couldn't be White Council level, but would be able to do some really weird things with their Hunger.
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