How exactly Sun Singers came to be is lost to history. They existed for millennia upon Domus and while they can live for eons, their minds eventually wither away. There are no Sun Singers that can remember the exact origin.
Many stories agree that they were originally Wild Kith, either leafy plants or crystals, who sought a stronger connection with the sun above so drew upon Domus’ to transform themselves. Other stories claim that the first singers were formed from the sun itself or even clawed their way out of the heart of the planet. It is also agreed that the original Sun Singers likely looked very different, taking generations to refine and perfect themselves into the forms they have now. These days, the process is a mixture of magic and alchemy that must be done entirely intentionally and consensually. It is also an incredibly closely guarded secret and considered the most sacred knowledge. A Sun Singer must earn the right to know it and sharing it to non-Sun Singers is grounds for execution not only of the traitor but every person they told. All Dawn Vampires are bound with an oath to never share this knowledge with those who are not kin. The method of transforming into a Dawn Vampire is not purely physical as it also purges the body of anything a person considers wrong with them, allowing them to become an idealised version of themself. On Earth, this has been known to allow for rapid gender affirmation processes.
[Note: For the moment, Dawn Vampire players will not be told of the nature of the ritual. This may change in time. However, for the moment, if a Dawn Vampire wishes to perform the ritual then it will take place during downtime. Furthermore, if a Dawn Vampire wishes to share the process with non-Dawn Vampires then they will need to speak to the organisers first.]
The biology of Dawn Vampires is a fascinating one. While they have skin and flesh like any other creature, their blood is a metallic gold travelling through thick rope like veins and arteries while their internal organs (except for the heart) are made up of a strange and delicate yet malleable crystal that refracts light better than any material on Earth. It has been found that Dawn Vampire blood glows beneath direct sunlight. The blood that they eat pools in a small secondary spleen close to the heart and seems to act as a maintaining and healing substance from every day wear and tear. Any Dawn Vampire that experiences great injury, loss of golden blood, or starvation requires far more blood than normal to heal. For some reason, the blood must come from a sapient creature. Something about the conscious mind of the creature comes into play. The creature also cannot be another Dawn Vampire as their golden blood is inedible to them, the same with the black blood of Dusk Vampires. On Domus, it was common practice for non-Sun Singers to live in their cities in comfort donating their blood to sustain the Sun Singers around them. On Earth, Dawn Vampires tend to make deals with people taking blood as payment for services.
While Dawn Vampires can eat normal food, often for pleasure or to remind them of before they were turned, they get no sustenance from it. The food is quickly burned away becoming a fine ash that can be exhaled. Some Dawn Vampires that insist on eating a lot of food regularly develop health issues from ash clouding their crystal inner workings. This rarely affects many as most Dawn Vampires find regular food disgusting.
All Dawn Vampires have an innate connection to leylines but this is something that can be increased with use and practice or that can diminish from the lack of it. Many Dawn Vampires describe it as having an extra part of their brain that they can use to tap into some great network that encompasses everything. Dawn Vampires report that the leylines of Earth are noticeably different to those of Domus though they work the same way. The feel of them is different as well as the exact way to manipulate them. Many an ancient Sun Singer has felt reduced to a novice having to relearn what was once easier than breathing.
On Domus, many Sun Singers built cities around predictable leyline paths that were made of metals and crystals that reflected or refracted sunlight. Others tracked leyline nexuses across the world. They could draw on leylines to sing new suns into existence. These small stars were entirely different to the things in our reality, radiant sources of light and life that only burned if you were fool enough to touch it with none of the gravitational disasters one would expect from creating a new star. The original sun of Domus was often called the Mother Sun or the Ancestor Sun. The act of singing a new sun into being was done through an intensely complex act of leyline resonance and manipulation through crystals and sound. Sun Singers are considered children until they have participated in the process. This obviously creates some issues with Dawn Vampires created on Earth who are entirely unable to perform this coming of age ritual.
The main problem that Dawn Vampires currently face is that of slow and drawn out starvation. The sunlight of Earth just does not sustain them the way that it did on Domus, it is theorised that this is due to the amount of pollutants in the air and while there has been no wild scale in the past two decades, the magical fallout from the war has left the air hazier than it was. Whether it is this or the lack of inherent magic in Earth’s sun or something else, all Dawn Vampires find that they must consume more blood than was needed on Domus.
Dawn Vampires are creatures of precision and of light and energy.
Ex-Dawn Vampires
Individuals who were once Dawn Vampires often find it easiest to adjust to being a lycan. Many find joy in the new freedoms of a malleable form, especially those granted wings. The process can be especially painful as the crystal of their internals is transformed into flesh and blood. Learning (or re-learning) to eat and chew solid food can take a bit of time. The loss of their connection to the sun and the energy around them is saddening but can be made up for with plunging into learning divination.
Dawn Vampires who are transformed into Dusk Vampires go through tremendous and horrific grief. Losing their connection to the sun and being forced to hide away from it entirely often leaves ex-Dawn Vampires shells of their former selves. Few would ever choose this option and on Domus it was considered the most brutal of all punishments.