| Contents |
| Advantages and Weaknesses • The Maeghar in DC • Maeghar Characters |
| Maeghar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pseudonyms | Butterflies |
| Sect | Anarchs, Ashirra, Camarilla, Cradle of Civilization, Drowned Legacies, Jati, Laibon, Quiet Nations, Sabbat, Shining Kingdoms, Teteoh |
| Disciplines | Mytherceria, plus sire's disciplines |
| Bloodlines | None |
| Rarity | Legendary |
The Maeghar are a curious group; not truly a clan but not truly unrelated either, they are those rare vampires who have a trace of fairy blood in their veins, the results of an Embrace of a kinain or similarly fae-related human. They are few in number and usually have no knowledge of one another, scattered widely across the world, and they are often mistaken for either odd members of their sire's clan or even Caitiff when it becomes clear that the Embrace didn't go quite as expected. While all members of the Kiasyd bloodline are Maeghar, they are a specialized subgroup; most Maeghar are unaffiliated with them and indeed may or may not know that they even exist.
All Maeghar, regardless of other features, have some fae blood; usually this means that they were kinain, the grandchildren of actual fairies, but occasional throwbacks to fae blood further back in a family line have been known as well. Because of this, they have an odd aura about them; others often find them either extremely fascinating and entertaining to spend time around, or upsetting and off-putting, often without any particular reason they can put their finger on.
The vast majority of Maeghar are unaware of what they are; most were probably unaware of their fae blood in the first place, and those that did know about it are unlikely to have any idea how it interacts with becoming one of the undead. They usually tend to consider themselves normal members of their sire's clan or bloodline, perhaps with a few quirks. In the very rare case that two Maeghar meet, they are unlikely to recognize each others' nature but are often instinctively drawn to one another, recognizing a kindred soul and often forming close bonds on instinct.
Because of their fairy blood, Maeghar exhibit a number of odd physical traits, each one marking them as subtly different from other vampires even when they're on their best behavior. These are most often recognizable fairy traits from folklore, including extra eyelids or fingers, strange skin colors or patterns, extremely skeletal or strangely-jointed bodies, very large or very small size, or even a vestigial tail or wings. Since most Maeghar are unaware of where these things come from and experience them as embarrassing mutations, they usually go to great lengths to disguise or camouflage them when among their peers. Maeghar are also often compelled to participate in odd rituals and behaviors for no apparent reason, such as collecting teeth or singing nursery rhymes to themselves, which are similar side effects of their fae blood attempting to assert itself.
Maeghar do not Embrace true; that is, they cannot make more Maeghar by Embracing them. Anyone Embraced by a Maeghar simply becomes a member of that vampire's parent clan (unless, of course, they already had fae blood). Similarly, it is impossible to "engineer" a Maeghar any other way; they are created only by the Embrace of an already fae-blooded mortal. Most vampires, being unaware that Maeghar exist and likely to consider them freaks if they did, are unlikely to search for such mortals and usually baffled and upset when they Embrace one and discover the side effects.
Advantages and Weaknesses
Advantages
The main advantage that Maeghar have over other vampires is their automatic link to the Mytherceria Discipline; each and every one of them is created with it already within them, activating at random or in times of great stress even if they never know it is there. (In fact, most Maeghar don't know that Mytherceria exists, and simply think that they have occasional premonitions or obsessions that are hard to shake.) This essentially allows a Maeghar a few extra survival tools, including the ability to sense danger slightly ahead of time and an instinctive understanding of fairy- and magic-related powers, that make them seem preternaturally lucky as they instinctively avoid dangers others had no idea even existed.
Maeghar also occasionally retain the fae taste in their blood, making them delicious to drink from and more addictive even for vampires with rarified palates. This is something of a double-edged sword; on the one hand, it makes it much easier to bloodbond their fellows, who may have difficulty resisting the lure of their delicious vitae, but on the other hand it also makes them attractive targets for kidnapping and extraction.
Disadvantages
In addition to the struggles of their odd fairy-inspired physicality and behavior, Maeghar also suffer from metal allergies; the most common is the traditional fairy aversion to iron, but some Maeghar are affected by other metals known to harass the fae, such as silver or gold. This is the most likely way for them to be identified by those who have knowledge of fairies (although even so, it's rare that anyone ever does).
Maeghar also suffer from an inability to feed directly from human beings; because their fairy blood revolts against the severe Banality of such an act, they uniformly become ill and usually vomit all blood gained if they even try. Most have to resort to decanting blood from humans into dishes or glasses to drink indirectly, leading to strange feeding habits and confusing limitations in times of crisis. Maeghar can feed directly from a ghoul or vampire without becoming ill, and many of them maintain a ghoul or two expressly to feed from in a sort of cycle of diminishing returns.
The Maeghar in DC
It's not surprising that there are a few Maeghar in DC, given its size and vampire population, but as usual it is unlikely that anyone is aware of their true natures, including themselves. (But then again, there is a large Changeling population behind the scenes in DC, and more than a few of them have a passing interest in what the local vampires are up to...)
Maeghar Characters
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| Colin Thomas | Maeve Glaistig |