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History

Origins[]

Dagon was the progenitor of the Vampire race, Homines nocturnae. He terrorized humankind from the first moments of its history, spreading his cursed blood all over the world. According to legend, he was born around the 5th or 4th millennium BCE in the "cradle of civilization" of ancient Sumer, Mesopotamia. He was worshipped by the Babylonians as "Dagon", and as the centuries passed, he eventually became known as "Dracula". Dracula later became disgusted with the world and retreated to a tomb in Iraq to sleep through the coming ages.

From the 16th century onwards, the myths regarding Dracula filtered through Western culture, leading Bram Stoker to write the famous novel bearing his name in 1897. In the 20th century, the mythical version of Dracula entered popular culture in the form of various motion pictures and comic books.

Modern Era[]

Searching for help in their fight with the vampire hunter Blade, Danica Talos and Asher Talos found Drake's 4,000-year-old tomb in the Syrian Desert, and awakened him. After consuming dozens of humans in order to regain his strength and powers, Drake was informed by Danica on the situation of the vampire kind and on Blade, and, disgusted by their weakness, accepted to hunt down and kill the Daywalker.

Drake, immune to the effects of sunlight, exited from Talos's base and saw all the changes the world had gone through in the millennia he was asleep. Mocked and accidentally humiliated by two shop owners, who tried to sell him a Dracula-shaped vibrator, Drake killed them both, and then headed for Edgar Vance's office. Once there, Drake killed the familiar and waited for Blade's arrival with the shape of the psychiatrist. Blade arrived along with Abigail Whistler and Hannibal King. After discovering Vance's corpse, the trio attacked Drake, but he easily incapacitated King. While Abigail took care of Hannibal, Blade followed Drake who was escaping on the rooftops. Drake told Blade he felt affinity with him, since they're both "honorable warriors", and challenged him to a regular duel. After making a distraction with a baby he held hostage, Drake fled.

Some days later, when Blade and Abigail were out on hunt, Drake arrived at the Nightstalkers base with the shape of Abraham Whistler. In here, he killed all the Nightstalkers, with the sole exceptions of Hannibal King, who was taken to Danica for an interrogation, and Zoe, Sommerfield's little daughter, who Drake wanted to convert to a vampire. When Blade arrived at Talos' place, Drake was awaiting him. The two engaged in a sword fight, during which they proved to be equal. Enjoying the fight, Drake assumed his real shape, a towering demon whose powers were far superior to Blade's. Just a moment before he finished Blade, Abigail tried to kill Drake with an arrow charged with the Daystar Virus, a biological weapon created to kill all vampires once mixed with Drake's blood. Drake's reflexes were too sharp, and he grabed the arrow in mid air, roaring at the girl and leaving it falling on the ground. Blade understood the opportunity, grabed the arrow and stabed Drake's flank with it, releasing the Daystar which killed all nearby vampires. Before death, Drake praised his enemy for his skills and honor, telling him that, as long as Blade was alive, there was future for the vampire race. He then granted Blade a "parting gift".

When FBI agents Ray Cumberland and Wilson Hale arrived, they found Blade's corpse and took him to the morgue. They soon found out that the body was in reality Drake's, who transformed so that Blade had the time to escape, thus making a final praise to his enemy.[1]

Attributes

Powers

Drake shared common superhuman abilities with the the rest of the Vampire race, but, being the progenitor, is more powerful. He was born perfect and had no need to evolve.

  • Vampirism: Vampirism is the physiological act of becoming and/or turning another human being into a vampire. Despite its roots in European folklore, vampirism exists in nature, and there are many such creatures who are actually born as vampires. Pathologically, vampirism is likened to a virus, carried in the saliva of predators. The vampire enzyme is carried through a victim's bloodstream and within seventy-two hours, mutates the subject's physiology, creating new parasitic organs. It has been described as "cancer with a purpose". Not all of a vampire's chosen victims become vampires, however. Some serve as human agents that perform tasks for their vampire sponsor, often during daylight hours when a vampire's mobility is restricted. Referred to as familiars, these human agents are devoutly loyal to their vampire masters in the hopes of one day being turned into a vampire themselves. Like cattle, familiars are branded with a special glyph representing the house seal of the vampire breed they are associated with.[citation needed]
  • Immortality: Like all vampires, Dracula is biologically immortal, immune to all diseases and aging. Dracula is the oldest vampire recorded, having lived over 6 millennia.[citation needed]
  • Superhuman Strength: Most vampires possess superhuman physical strength anywhere from 10 to 20 times greater than a human, Dracula is even more powerful. The vast majority of known and recorded vampires are capable of lifting from 1,000 lbs to 4,000 lbs. Dracula is much stronger. Dracula's enhanced strength also enables him to perform other superhuman feats such as leaping great distances. Supplementing his strength, Dracula is naturally heartier than normal humans and Vampire's and can withstand severe physical exertion with no ill effects.[citation needed]
  • Superhuman Speed: Dracula can run and move at speeds that are beyond the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete. [citation needed][citation needed]
  • Superhuman Stamina: Dracula's enhanced musculature produces less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of a normal human. He can physically exert himself at peak capacity for several hours before the build up of fatigue toxins in his blood begins to impair him.[citation needed][citation needed]
  • Superhuman Reflexes: A vampire's reflexes, agility and reaction time are many times greater than a normal human being. At maximum optimal capacity, a vampire can move more quickly than the human eye can perceive. He was able to grab a fast-moving arrow before it could hit him.[citation needed]
  • Superhuman Acute Senses: Dracula's senses of sight and smell are enhanced to levels well beyond that of normal humans. Dracula' is able to detect objects with perfect clarity at much greater distances than a normal human. He retains this clarity, even in near-total darkness. He is also able to see into the infra-red end of the electromagnetic spectrum, allowing him to see individuals at night by their body heat. His sense of smell is similarly enhanced, able to detect the scent of blood in the air from miles away.[citation needed]
  • Regenerative Healing Factor: Dracula possesses an accelerated healing factor that enables him to rapidly regenerate damaged bodily tissues much faster and more extensively than a normal human. Injuries such as gunshots, slashes, and severe burns, within hours or minutes, depending upon their severity. [citation needed]
  • Fangs & Claws: Dracula possesses elongated canines and mandibles that he uses to pierce the flesh of other beings for the purpose of consuming their blood. Dracula can also, however, use his fangs as weapons in very close combat situations. He also possesses a single retractable claw at the tip of each fingers. The claws are very sharp, capable of rending human flesh and bone with ease.[citation needed]
  • Shape-Shifting: Dracula can alter his form and take on the appearance of a different person. He is able to alter his height, the colors of his eyes, hair, and skin, and even change the appearance of his clothing. His true form is that of a towering demon-like being red skin and spikes on his body. He is able to maintain his transformed state indefinitely and even maintain it for a period of time after death.[citation needed]
  • Immunity to Sunlight: Unlike his modern-day vampire progeny, Dracula is not harmed by sunlight. It is unknown if he is also resistant to EDTA, garlic, and silver.[citation needed]
  • Hibernation: Dracula is able to go into a state of hibernation where he goes into a deep sleep and doesn't require blood for nourishment as long as he remained asleep. Dracula can remain in hibernation for thousands of years.[citation needed]

Weaknesses

  • Hematophagia: Vampires require the consumption of human blood for nourishment and to maintain their existence. The required dosage of blood per vampire depends upon their overall strength and vitality, though most vampires need to feed at least once per evening. Older, more powerful vampires will sometimes require more blood than lesser vampires in order to maintain their health. The most common form of extraction is by biting a human victim upon the neck, usually on the jugular vein where the blood is freshest. Some vampires keep supplies of stored blood at secret locations called "blood banks". This practice is more common amongst turned vampires and rarely employed by natural vampires, who prefer to feed on live prey. Failure to consume human blood at regular intervals may produce a variety of effects. Vampires may suffer a loss of vitality and cohesion and they will find it more difficult to maintain a human mien. If enough time has passed without nourishment, a vampire may enter a "blood frenzy" wherein they will act on primal instinct and take what they need from the closest available source, regardless of the consequences.
  • Daystar: Daystar is the only known weapon that is known to kill Dracula. Abigail Whistler shot an arrow containing a small-but-lethal dose of daystar in the arrowhead, however, Dracula caught it, dropped it and then Blade managed to grab it and stab him in with it, killing him.[1]

Paraphernalia

Equipment

  • Body armor.

Weapons

  • Custom sword.

Notes

  • The role of Drake was primarily played by actor Dominic Purcell. However, as he is a shapeshifter, Drake is portrayed in a few scenes by either Wesley Snipes (when imitating Blade), Kris Kristofferson (when imitating Abraham Whistler), or John Michael Higgins (when imitating Dr. Vance).

See Also

Links and References

References

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