The Hawthorns and the Select of Lythari

A group of hunters established by the Continuum in the Third Age, the Hawthorns are Druids who dedicate themselves to the eradication of undead, and especially vampires. 

At the start of the Fourth Age a dissenting group of Hierophants broke off from the Continuum and established the Aeternium. It sought to create a group of vampire killers from elves who were taught how to shapeshift. The Select of Lythari was born, but their gift of shapechanging went terribly wrong when some of the Select had an adverse reaction to consuming vampire blood. They went feral and became known as therianthropes... able to reproduce and create more of their kind, but also able to attack and infect others with therianthropy.

Therianthropes have been reported who are werewolves, weretigers, wereswine, werespiders, weresharks, wererays, wereravens, wererats, werepanthers, werelions, wereleopards, werejaguars, werejackals, werehyenas, werefox, werecrocodiles, wereboars, werebears, werebats, werebadgers, and others.

The Three Orders of the Nosfernir

The Nosfernir are also called the Children of the Long Night. They are mortals by birth, but immortals by curse. All of them are descendant victims from Vanpir, the first of their kind. 

All who follow Vanpir's example and embrace the life of a vampire are called First Order Nosfernir. They are generally motivated to escape death or get revenge, but end up shunned by all who knew them, and must flee those who revile and fear them.

Second Order Nosfernir are those like his victim Camara. She was the author of the Facade -- a plan to live among civilized people and only selectively cull those who would not be missed for feeding. She would embrace those who she wanted to add to the Facade for their talents or wealth. All clan vampires are of this order.

Third Order Nosfernir are like savages. They neither care who they hurt, nor the attention they draw to themselves. They view the blood of all mortals as their birthright and seek to obtain it wherever and whenever they can. These are all descendants of the Malenir and Vanpir himself. They are sometimes called Vampyres.

Vanpir and the Children of the Long Night.

Long ago when Erenth was young, all the people lived undying at the girdle of the world. And Mortas became the first of those who tasted death, having been slain by a jealous kinsman. Then the sons of Mortas laid hold of his killer and punished him by taking his hands, eyes and tongue in recompense for his crime. Then banished, the slayer found refuge in the service of Baere and he was protected by her from further vengeance.

But one of the sons of Mortas was not consoled and Vanpir was his name. He desired further vengeance and nursed that desire all the length of his life. Many long years Vanpir lived and his passion poisoned him. So that though his body faded, his hatred lived on. Vanpir delighted in the hardship of the children and grandchildren of his father’s killer and he fed his hatred upon their every misfortune. He hated also Baere who forbade him his vengeance and he sought to unmake all that she held proper.

But the day came when the body of Vanpir could not go on. For those who are not mortal will live until their spirits consume their bodies, as surely as a flame consumes its candle. In that hour he made common cause with the Malenir, a being of darkness who also hated Baere. The Malenir offered to restore his body, if he would replenish it with the life blood of others still living. So the Malenir brought a victim to him and Vanpir consumed her. Thus, Vanpir lived on and his body was restored.

So the Malenir brought mortal victims to him, those who had been forbidden immortality by the pronouncement of Baere. And Vanpir consumed their life blood and drained their life from them. Thus, Vanpir lived on and his body was restored to its strength. Born of foul desire and cursed to live in solitude. His days thereafter were spent in the agony of that desire for it rose in him as a hunger which only the blood of mortals could sate. Then Vanpir was shunned by all who knew him and the light of day burned at him. He became a creature of darkness and fled from the lands of all people, reviled and feared. He lived alone on the blood of beasts, refusing even to eat when the hunger consumed him, unless and until he lingered at the point of death. 

Then the Malenir was angry for it was deprived of the sacrilege it sought. It came to Vanpir in the form of a companion and consoled him as he slept near death. It took from Vanpir the curse and gift he had been given and using it, bore vile kindred. These live in the open and make their victims where they can, for by this method they seek to celebrate the evil their master wrought and to make it plain before all.