APPEARANCE

HAIR: Red, short 
EYES: Orange, eye corners pointing slightly low, somewhat hazy but friendly 
EYELASHES: Reddish hue, average length 
NOSE: Small, round and pointy  
LIPS: Average sized with heavy lower lip, color ranges from purple to red 
MOLES: None visible 
BODY TYPE: Ectomorph, long limbs
CONSTITUTION: Calm, reserved, proud 
OTHER: Aligned hip & shoulders, little to no body hair, easily burnt skin

Daniel’s appearance has been largely influenced by the hormonal imbalance during his puberty, a result from his then undiagnosed illness. The most visible results are his aligned hips and shoulders, as well as a lack of noticeable body or facial hair beyond eyelashes, eyebrows and hair. His skin is also noticeably soft and not prone to breaking out, but it’s also dry and burns very easily. Despite these qualities he’s more on the side of androgynous than overtly feminine, especially with his generally more masculine way of dressing and carrying himself.

Daniel is often seen wearing the same clothes his Taros counterpart was seen wearing; a white tunic with a red vest, white tights and a pair of brown, thigh high boots. His wardrobe is large though and he has different outfits for different social situations, ranging from his black travelling cape to a white, frilly shirt with a matching white cravat, blue breeches and a blue sash on his waist.

Due to his frequent fatigue, Daniel usually moves in a relatively slow manner, skillfully masking it as grace. He has a good flexibility and general fitness, but his illness has made it hard for him to really develop much muscle mass, making him weak in raw strength only. His voice is soft and calm, slightly monotonous at times but generally pleasant to listen to.

SKILLS & ABILITIES

• Like most vampires, he has a chronic migraine triggered very easily by bright lights, strong smells and loud noises. Already overly sensitive to external stimuli due to his illness, he’s particularly prone to violent migraine attacks and at worst can sleep days away due to the pain and exhaustion they cause. 

• His teeth expand when he drinks blood and gets excited or agitated. Vampire teeth also produce poison with somnolent abilities, making the victim instantly feel weaker and eventually falling asleep. Usually the memories of the bite and some events prior to it disappear from the victim’s mind, making it easier for vampires to keep their identities hidden.  

• As a born (“old blood”) vampire, Daniel is able to turn humans into vampires. However, the procedure has a high mortality risk, and turned vampires (“new blood”) often suffer from various, unforeseen problems such as defective teeth and uncontrollable thirst. He has only turned Rowan, and doesn’t plan on doing so to anyone else ever again.

• Although he is technically immortal as blood keeps him youthful and alive, he can be killed through all normal means that would kill a human as well.

• Can fly with a cape specifically made and used by vampires. However, it tends to give him motion sickness, and so he rarely uses it. 

• Proficient with light swords, in particular rapiers.  He can protect his own life when a push comes to shove, but Daniel is hardly a fighter and his fighting style is more suited for demonstrations and events rather than life-or-death situations.   

• A skilled conversationalist, Daniel has a lot of charisma and a way with words despite his occasional social awkwardness. Even if not naturally attuned to others, he is observant and learns fast by imitating others and learning what people expect from him. 

• Considered wise beyond his years, Daniel has a vast knowledge of things like history, vampire politics and human behavior and cultures. He is very fixated on studying and becoming better vampire lord. He also excels in strategy and war tactics, although wishes to never put them in actual use - he absolutely detests the idea of a war of any kind.
  
  
• Although his magical affinities are fire and dark, Daniel (much like most vampires) don’t have a working magical core of their own. 

TRIVIA

• It’s hard to calm him down when he is actually anxious or scared, mainly a result from his not-so-great skills in dealing with his own emotions.
  
  
• Although he’s the vampire lord and technically governs over vampires, he’s more like a representative akin to a mayor than a ruler comparative to a king. 

• Usually seen wearing heeled boots as an attempt to look taller. He isn’t insecure about his height though - he just likes to look taller than Rowan.  

• Despite being in pain on rainy days, Daniel actual loves the sound of it and often sits on his windowsill to gaze outside.

• Most of the time he drinks Rowan’s blood, even when the man becomes a vampire himself. Although it’s considered pitiful to rely on another vampire’s blood, Daniel understands he has no other choice and instead tries to focus on being grateful rather than ashamed. 

• An avid reader since childhood, Daniel used to read a fantasy book series to Rowan as a way to calm his panic attacks down. Although they have completed the series by now and Rowan has a better control of his nerves, they still love to read together. Daniel delights in reading out loud whenever he has the strength for it.
  
  
• Daniel was originally created in January 2014 and is one of the oldest still consistently used characters I own. He was originally the crown prince of Nietas in my Taros setting, but unfortunately died at 18 due to his illness. Although his story in his original setting is long and spans for decades, nowadays I consider his vampire version his main canon. 

PERSONALITY

Summary: Charismatic, logical and dutiful, Daniel makes a dedicated and diplomatic lord to govern over the other vampires of his jurisdiction. However, his introversion and high sense of duty make him prone to working alone and overburdening himself, kind heart often wanting to take more than his chronically ill body can realistically handle.

Introvert by nature, Daniel prefers small groups of friends over large ones and requires a lot of alone time to charge from socialization - especially when his chronic illness flares up. He has a strong thirst for knowledge strives for constant personal growth, always challenging himself and trying to learn more about the world around him. Born to a family of vampire nobles, however, Daniel has been raised to frequently involve himself with other vampires and assuming a leadership position. Daniel indeed has the disposition of a leader and is a charismatic speaker, but sometimes struggles understanding people’s body language, expressions and subtle signals in communication to indicate how they really feel. Though generally good at detecting things sarcasm, deceit and suspicious activity, it’s not unusual for Daniel to take things literally especially when jokes are concerned. Thankfully he’s skilled at talking himself out of awkward situations, and his partner Rowan sometimes helps him interpret situations better through small cues.

Despite his occasional trouble with people, Daniel has a big and tender heart, and the wellbeing of others is often more important to him than his own health. He genuinely wants nothing but good for people, and thanks to his good verbal skills Daniel does well as a diplomat, a skill regarded as crucial for one who governs over other vampires of the land. Unfortunately he’s fast to shoulder the problems and worries of others on his shoulders, and because he takes his duties so seriously, Daniel can be very harsh on himself and set his expectations unreasonably high. He’s likewise more proud and stubborn than he may appear, and sometimes it takes another person to really talk some sense into Daniel and make him realize he’s going past his limits.

With people he’s is usually polite and kind but ultimately aloof, making it easy to chat up with him but difficult to really get past the pleasantries and common courtesy. Added by the fact he mostly spends his free time with his partner Rowan and friend Anna, it’s no surprise many find Daniel’s personal life somewhat of a mystery, even if his reputation is very positive. When with those he knows, however, Daniel appears much more relaxed and shows his more easygoing side: he likes to gently tease those he likes, and he loves talking about things that interest him or he knows would interest the person listening. He’s a caring, generous and dedicated friend willing to do just about anything to help his loved ones. He’s also observant especially towards those he already knows and has a very reassuring nature to him.

Dealing with his illness isn’t always easy, and with Daniel’s skills at handling his own feelings leaving a lot to be desired, he can appear cranky and avoidant during his worst pain days. He’s not intentionally mean and doesn’t want people to worry, but when things get rough he often snaps back at them or disappears in order to be left alone. With age he’s gotten slightly better at dealing with his pain and the feelings his condition makes surface, and Rowan is always there as a shoulder to lean on when things start getting overwhelming. Daniel loves his partner with all his heart, and the contrasting natures of the two actually help them improve on their personal flaws.

HISTORY

Summary: As the heir of the Dianes family, his parents would start preparing him for his future responsibilities as a leader from a young age. With a love for studying and interest in human-vampire relationships, Daniel took an interest in humans and would spend a lot time with them growing up to learn more about them. As a child he also met Rowan, who would become the Dianes family servant after losing his family to a disease. The two would become best friends despite their positions as a master and servant, and even the momentary rift in their early adolescence couldn't stop them from eventually falling in love. Rowan was a great support for Daniel as he would mature as a vampire, but also when his health would take a turn for the worse. When Rowan was 21 they would make the difficult decision to turn him into a vampire and succeeded, now living a decently domestc life as a couple - for now.

Daniel was born as the first son to the Dianes family, an old line of vampire nobles governing over the ever-switching territories of his birth country. Due to this position, Daniel was prepared to follow his parents' footsteps and become a territory lord; a governor over the vampires within their jurisdiction and the diplomat between their kin and other species - mainly humans.

He was homeschooled from an early age, greatly enjoying the process of learning and as such improving fast. Despite his introverted tendencies, Daniel was a normal, active child, delighting in horse riding, sword fighting and climbing on trees. He was noted to be mature for his age, but did participate in practical pranks every so often, usually at the expense of the few servants they had or his older relatives. Daniel also played a lot with Anna, a fellow vampire from a northern country who would visit the mansion every summer.

The burden of a noble was a heavy one, however, and as Daniel grew older he was forced to take his position much more seriously. As an attempt to understand humans better and to pursue a diplomatic relationship with them when older, Daniel would wander around the nearby town and talk to people. Having grown up surrounded mostly by adults, however, Daniel was slow to warm up to his human peers and took his time to approach them. Even after being invited to a friend group the difficulty to make close friends with the humans remained: Daniel felt there was an unfortunate gap between the human children and him, who would one day hunt them for their blood.

Through this group of children Daniel eventually learned about a boy called Rowan, who was from a poor family and whose parents had died of plague when the boy was very young. Being trained by his uncle who used to be a knight, Rowan would spend long days practicing like a squire despite not being one nor having the natural talent often required for the job. The lonely battle of a boy with no talent but much determination moved Daniel, and he started following Rowan around, standing in the sidelines and blending in the shadows to observe the boy further - and to understand why he had become so fascinated with this runt of a squire.

Unfortunately the same plague that robbed Rowan of his parents would also take his uncle from him, and poor Rowan would lose all his will to live, wishing to freeze to death on his family's grave. By the evening of the humble funeral, Daniel would finally approach Rowan for the first time and make a proposition to him: if he were to leave everything behind and come with him, he would get a position as a servant in the Dianes family.

Rowan initially declined such an ominous offer, but right before Daniel left Rowan dashed after him, realizing he really had nothing to lose if he was already willing to die. Daniel was beyond relieved to see Rowan had changed his mind about dying.

Rowan then became a servant to the Dianes family, somehow completely oblivious to their vampiric nature. Rowan got adjusted to his strange situation extremely fast, and very soon started forming a strong bond with Daniel. The two hit off well and become an inseparable pair, one rarely seen without the other, and their relationship of a master and a servant quickly developed into a genuine friendship between the two. Daniel was also a great emotional support for Rowan, who struggled with low self esteem and suffered from panic attacks and night terrors on a regular basis.

Adolescence

The beginning of an adolescence was a slow one for Daniel: whereas Rowan grew and developed fast and visibly, Daniel remained small and scrawny. This created a momentary rift between the boys as Daniel felt insecure and jealous of Rowan, avoiding him and spending majority of his time buried up in books and studies. Daniel felt frustrated and scared by the fact Rowan was leaving him behind; entering manhood much, much faster than Daniel himself did.

Things didn't go unnoticed by Rowan, however, who was soon able to understand what was making his friend so miserable, and so he never really took Daniel's sour mood to heart - after all, he was able to understand the feeling of inferiority was something new to Daniel, who all his life had been raised as the special child; the celebrated heir to the prestigious family. Instead of ignoring the issue, however, Rowan constantly reassured Daniel and supported him the best he could, and eventually Daniel was about to let go of his fear and inferiority towards his best friend.

Not soon after he too would start to develop, although with underwhelming and somewhat strange results: while he grew in height, his body would retain much of the androgyny he had as a child, and many of his features would be distinctively feminine. While confused and a little disappointed, he found no choice but to accept things as they were and move on, at the time unaware his slowly developing illness was the cause of his hormonal imbalance. Rowan, in turn, continued maturing fast, his build becoming stronger and his muscles more visible, and around this time Daniel would start to develop romantic feelings for his friend.

Full-fledged vampire

His light sensitivity grew stronger and his taste buds weaker, and by the time he was sixteen, Daniel had become a full-fledged vampire. Rowan, however, remained unaware of this up until Daniel himself revealed the truth to him. Rowan - upon insisting on daniel drinking his blood - was the first person he sank his teeth into, and soon after this Daniel lost his ability to taste anything but blood.

It was also during this time Daniel was revealed he was chronically ill, and he was able to piece together the little things that had bothered him: the slow puberty, the subtle physical development, and the way his body responded violently to weather changes. Little changes in his routine or surroundings would make his body weak, and he could easily sleep days away in deep slumber when under unexplainable fatigue.

Although relieved that the strange things could be explained, Daniel became afraid of his condition and dying as a result of it. He would spend a lot of time alone, often crying in secret and mulling over his fear of death without being able to get past his fears. Sometimes he'd disappear for hours at the time, often leaving it up for Rowan to find his friend curled up under a bed, hiding behind the library shelves or crying quietly in the woods.

Dealing with his condition wasn't easy for Daniel, who grew gradually more and more aware of how much of a burden his body was not only to him, but also to other people. However, talking about it with Rowan and getting reassured by him helped him to come in terms with it after a while, and to understand he wasn’t the burden he thought he was. Previously so used to comforting Rowan during his panic attacks, Daniel was able to open himself up to him even more through their switching positions of comforting and being comforted.

Rowan's gentleness and kindness towards him felt almost burning as his feelings towards him grew stronger; his fear of knowing that as a human Rowan would eventually leave the family or grow old and die terrifying Daniel beyond belief. Finally, when Rowan and Daniel were 16 and 17 respectively, Daniel ended up confessing to him after learning Rowan had no intentions of leaving the family’s servitude. The romantic feeling was mutual, but the two kept their newly found relationship secret from everyone but Anna for almost a year afterwards.

Currently

Life continued on, and when Rowan turned 21 they made the difficult decision of turning Rowan into a vampire. It was a procedure of an extremely high risk and Daniel was terrified of all the things that could go wrong, but in the end Rowan's turning was a success. With this, their bond only strengthened as Daniel now taught Rowan the ways of his kind.

Currently he is living a peaceful life with Rowan in the Dianes family mansion, but the peace may not be as lasting as they hope it is...

ILLNESS

Daniel suffers from a rare condition the vampires simply refer to as an oversensitivity or a seasonal weakness. There is no known cure for the illness, and although in Daniel’s case it’s not lethal, it does affect his life considerably and sets him various limitations.

• The slowly developing condition put so much burden on his body that his puberty was delayed and hormonal balance disturbed, making him somewhat scrawny and giving him some more female-typical features, such as slightly wider hips, smoother skin and rounder (as well as softer) facial features.

• Daniel can’t drink blood in large amounts, and as such he requires small portions of blood several times a week. However, because vampires aren’t naturally meant to feed the way Daniel does, it often causes his nausea and dizziness. 

• He suffers from chronic fatigue, although the intensity ranges from barely noticeable to making him completely bedridden. Weather changes - especially when drastical or fast -  are particularly painful for him to deal with, and they make his entire body feel heavy and cause a burning sensation to his skin and joints - almost like a fever.
  
  
• As his body is overly sensitive to external stimuli, the natural migraine tendencies of vampires generally make his attacks stronger, and thus especially bright light is a trigger he avoids as well as he just can.

• He can ease up the symptoms with various herbs and remedies, but they can't cure it - they only make the pain more tolerable so that he can function in his daily life the best he can. He usually gets his medicine from a witch called Colin.