Daitya
The Daitya are a heretical bloodline, whose founder traveled from Egypt to India in pursuit of ancient mystical knowledge and for the hunt of the Children of Osiris who were rumored to have fled into the Himalayas. The bloodline was nearly exterminated during the reign of the Ashirra, who saw them not only as heathens, but as demon-worshippers. Only a grudging alliance with the Trimira during the Victorian Age saved their dwindling numbers from extinction.
Certain broods and temples among the Daitya specialize in different skills, like a "yoga of illusion" that they call Raktamaya, which includes Chimerstry, Conjuration (Sadyojatavidya), Obfuscation, Transmutation (Rasayana), thaumaturgic rituals (tantras), hypnotism, and even prestidigitation. The Daitya revere Shiva, and claim leadership of all vampires who worship Shiva. They adopted Shiva the Destroyer, Rudra the god of storms and hunters, and the serpent demon of drought - called Vritra - as the local analogs of Set. Eventually the cult of Shiva completely absorbed the cult of Rudra, and Vritra simply dropped out of Setite practice. The Daitya see their caste duty as a strange inverse of mortal Brahminism. As demons, they must fight the gods and strive to overthrow the moral order of the world. As Brahmins, however, they must strive to keep their fellow vampires within their own particular caste duties as murderers, tricksters, desecrators of sacred rites and all the other abhorrent roles assigned to demons. Other vampires defy that claim. Nevertheless, their intrinsic rank as Brahmins grants all Daitya considerable authority among India’s undead. Daitya perceive the current world as fundamentally flawed, so they seek to reboot it; the most fanatic among the Daitya claim that the means of doing so is to push the world over the brink into a nadir of purest evil, so that Shiva fully awakens to destroy the current world with his third eye, thereby setting the stage for the next cycle of existence.
They defy the Elders of Egypt and demand treatment as a full-fledged and independent Clan. The Naktanchara lineage of the bloodline is rejected since they converted to Buddhism and began defying the caste system of Indian kindred.
Daitya Vampires
