Requiem Chevalier Vampire - Races and Factions

Races and Factions

• Vampires: the vampires are the ruling class of Résurrection. They were the most cruel men and women during their lifetime. Examples of vampires Requiem comes to meet are: Baron Samedi (in later volumes and in "Claudia Chevalier Vampire", it is revealed that he is not the famous Baron Samedi from Voo-Doo folklore), Nero, Attila the Hun, Maximilien Robespierre (who is clearly depicted as if he were beheading a victim with his bare teeth, instead of just biting them), Aleister Crowley (named Black Sabbat) and Caligula. There are even more dangerous vampires, who are forced into an eternal coma by the others because of the danger they represent, such is the case of Adolf Hitler. Another reason why these vampires are kept in a comatose state is not because of their power or the danger they represent, but because of their value as a tactical weapon. In fact, amongst the most fierce enemies of vampires are lémures : beings who seek to kill their former tormentors, as it is the only way for them to leave the world of Resurrection. That is why Hitler was kept by Dracula: just so he could kill him himself and, thus, expel most of the lémures from Resurrection (as many of them were victims of the Nazis). Though Hitler is not named in the graphic novel, the context and the mustache-like trail of blood under his nose make it perfectly clear it is him.

• Ghouls: they were humans who could potentially have done as much harm as the vampires did on Earth, however ghouls were convinced they were acting for the greater good, while Vampires knew they were committing horrible crimes - and revelled in it. They became robbers and pirates on Résurrection and are in regular conflict with the vampires. Many of them are former nuns. They do not live in a particular state but in a flying city called Aerophagia. Some of them, however (such as Mère Terreur), were perfectly well aware that they were doing evil, yet used their position to manipulate their subordinates. Those "evil-aware" ghouls usually occupy higher leading positions in the ghouls fleet.

• Lémures are innocent victims who were the human victims that vampires, werewolves, centaurs and other evil-doers tortured or killed during their lifetime. The only way they have to flee Résurrection (without "re-dying") is to "expirate" (kill) the tormentor responsible for their presence on Résurrection. They are types of ghosts that haunt vampires and torment what remains of their soul. To fight the vampires they took control of other species present like werewolves and centaurs. Some lemures (especially their leaders, such as Rebecca and Sean) do not seem to have too strong a ghostly appearance.

• Werewolves are the dead members of the inquisition (and possibly other fanatical religious factions as well – though the satanists Lady Claudia Demona, Sir Mortis and Baron Samedi were resurrected as vampires, not werewolves). They look like human priests but they can become oversized werewolves. They are one of the very few species that can prove as strong as vampires do. Despite their huge powers they are mere scavengers and the lemures found a way to control them. Werewolves at first seem to only be able to transform via Rebecca's remote control, but it is revealed that at least the strongest werewolves can either transform at will or if they are being threatened. This is revealed when Sean asks other lémures if they would settle for a public whipping of Torquemada, instead of killing him immediately before their desperate attack against Dracula's Knights. Lémures refuse, as they say Torquemada would just transform into their most powerful werewolf (but they do accept to postpone his execution).

• The Archaeologists are the only faction on Résurrection officially allowed to control human technology (though Lémures and, later, Vampires, control Werewolves with a remote control). They were scientists who designed disastrous weapons during their lifetime. They look like mummies and need to wear some other creature's skin skin to leave their sarcophagus. In order to do so they often flay members of other races alive and wear their skins as clothes. Of course, blood is not wasted, as it is the currency in Resurrection.

• Zombies form the majority of Résurrection's population. They are common people who did little harm around them and form the lowest rank of societies. Vampires feed on them and archaeologist often wear their skins.

• Berserkers : Even vampires are ordered by Dracula to leave a battlefield in a hurry, if berserkers are deployed. As their name suggests, berserkers only live to destroy any living form they come across (though it is unknown if they are prone to fight each other). As Nero states, berserkers only abide to one rule : "Si ça a un pouls, DEFONCE-LUI LE CRANE !" ("If it has a pulse, CRUSH ITS SKULL !"). Berserkers look like giant samurai armours (even bigger than the incredibly over-sized werevolves) who wield two blades simultaneously. Despite their samurai appearance, they fight in a "perfectly unsophisticated" manner and the only way to end the armageddon they cause is to detonate their dynamite collars. Before they are deployed on a battlefield, berserkers are kept in coffins. Their past sins are unknown.

• Centaurs : Former rapists. They seem to be natural enemies of harpies and werewolves (unless the werewolves that attack them may very well be simple pawns of lémures who use them to take revenge on centaurs).

• Harpies : Former infanticides. They make their nest out of living trees and must constantly watch out for centaurs.

• Living trees : People who inflicted self-harm and self-mutilation or committed suicide. Now, harpies "mutilate" them by using their branches to make their nest.

• Living mountains : Doomed poets who are doomed to cry and lament for all of eternity.

• Demons and Dragons : Physical embodiment of negative emotions. Some demons are able of possession (as is seen in a parody of "The Exorcist", in volume 4 : "Le Bal Des Vampires"). Most demons are even capable of surviving the empalor (a feat only Torquemada has proven able to pullm so far) and must be beheaded. Some dragons (if not all) have a very valuable stone in their body (usually located in the skull). At least one dragon has very poor eyesight. Some dragons (such as the Golgoths) have explosive excrements.

• Kobolds : In "Requiem Chevalier Vampire", Igor seems to be the only representative of his race (whatever that is). Though almost all creatures of Resurrection are dead, only Igor has a very repulsive stench. In the spin-off, "Claudia Chevalier Vampire", other Kobolds make a very brief appearance, as well.

• Le Dictionnaire Du Diable : The Devil's Dictionary is a small pterodactyl/dragon hybrid that has knowledge of all the evil anyone has done in the universe. Other such birds are mentioned and said to help the police.

• Masters of the Infinite : Gods to which vampires pray. They appear to possess the ability to telepathically control the vampires, as Requiem initially observes that the Masters appear physically repugnant and immediately afterwards proclaims their infernal beauty.

• Mutants : They come from London's future and, since their appearance was already "monstruous", they were not transformed when entering Resurrection. Amongst many others, they include leopard-women and Anthrax (a mixture of all known diseases who looks like a skinless version of King Kong with metal bodyparts).

• Dystopians : A reptilian race apparently drawn from those who committed evil in the name of imperial colonization, they resemble the English during the Golden age. Their Queen Perfidia resembles Elizabeth I. The Dystopians stole Dracula’s shipment of Black Opium and ransomed it back to him. Dracula paid the ransom with gold he stole from the Dystopians when Attila sacked their capital city Donlon (an obvious clue that the Dystopians are based on the English, as Donlon is an anagram of London) based while the Dystopians were distracted by a jousting tournament between their knights and Dracula’s knights. At the end of chapter 7 Queen Perfidia declares war on Dracula. Of all of Resurrection's creatures, Dystopians seem to be the most hypocrite, as they are willing to show contempt for the Vampires because of their perversion and their drug abuse - yet they are more than happy to sell the drugs to them (and even suggest the buy slaves from them as well). In "Blood Bath", the Dystopians awaken their legendary King Ruhtra (Arthur spelled backward), who is a Lion-like Dragon. Other members of the Arthurian legends are also represented such as Nilrem (Merlin)as a dino-egg and Tolecnal (Lancelot) as a dim-witted dragon-knight.

• Angels or Seraphims, priests heads, relicaries : The purity and goodness they embody is "the equivalent of anti-materia on Resurrection" - but it is no match for Nero's desacralisation powers. They are kept in missiles and bombs.

• Desacralised saints : Nero inflicted to them "Every imaginable vice - and some unimaginable vices. Let's just say they've been neroed". The perversion and impurity they have been tainted (or maybe even impregnated) with can neutralise holy weapons with ease.