"Cold was the steel of my axe to grind"

'Dhampirs'

Dhampirs first and foremost are hybrids. They are the rarest occurring supernatural creature born from the unholy consummation between a witch and a vampire. In a true twist of irony, these creatures are cherished by their vampire father and protected by his coven despite their natural prey being vampires. Upon their deaths, a dhampir's latent sire bond is awakened. This bond acts as a biological tracking system pulling the dhampir and vampire father together. Upon their meeting, the father and child will undergo a sacred blood-sharing ritual, where the vampire first marks the child's forehead with the sigil of his coven in blood then the child will drink deeply from the vampire to the point of near desiccation. This blood exchange is done to purge the dhampir's body of its human weaknesses and invokes the strengths of the father into the child. 

It should be noted this ritual must be completed within a year's time or the dhampir truly dies. Additionally, as of 2023, there are only 5 recorded accounts of dhampirs from the supernatural community.

In the case of Parvati Wilma, she cannot be killed by any traditional means. While a dhampir is killed through dismemberment and burning, Parvati being one part original vampire can only be killed by a special black oak which grew from her birth site. As her mother gave birth in a field while Basak Palace was under invasion from enemy forces, the ground watered with her birth fluid and the mother's blood gave birth six centuries later on the day of her transition to a special black oak, which sprouted white vervain at its base. While white vervain can be used to weaken her, only this black oak tree can be used to kill her. It is why Esther was forced to lock her away than kill her indefinitely as she could not wait out the transitional period without Elijah sensing the sire bond or Dahila coming to find her.

Dhampir Characteristics 

There is no discernable way to identify a dhampir before they undergo transformation. They are born human and they die a human death. During their transitional period, a dhampir is most akin to a murderous child. They have no sense of humanity and are described to be rippers when feeding. They will slaughter anything and anyone who gets in the way of their food or sire.  This proclivity to mass murder acts as a beacon to draw the attention of the sire who has no doubt felt the pull.

Dhampirs being predatory to an apex predator means they carry a siren-like aura which lures in a vampire. This aura inhibits a false sense of security in the prey and allows them to become susceptible to suggestions. Dhampirs have been known to carry a venom which slows down a vampire's heightened healing. Additionally, it leaves the vampire with a pleasurable high which lasts for hours. The bite left behind would heal over the course of a few days and scar unless it is healed with dhampir blood.

Dhampirs cannot turn humans into vampires nor can their blood heal them. Interestingly enough they can heal other supernatural creatures. Moreso, when their blood is digested by witches they experience a short burst of access to higher powers and werewolves gain temporary access to their wolves. It is, for this reason, dhampirs no matter how rare they are have been hunted and used for their magical blood for centuries.

Lastly, dhampirs as described by run-ins with the Brotherhood of the Five, are slippery creatures. One could not simply take one down by hand as they have a habit of quickly slipping away if they wished not to fight. In a meeting with one of the first dhampirs in 1205, one hunter was able to kill the dhampir's coven and stake and burn the dhampir Ada. Only for her to return days later to end the life of the hunter by having him turned and kept prisoner as her personal blood bag. From that moment hunters took to dismemberment and burning the body parts separately in fear of the dhampir returning to enact vengeance. 

Fun Fact: Ada is a founding member of  "Daughter of the Scared Flame," she and Parvati never saw eye to eye but held mutual respect for each other. Ada admired her strength of character and Parvati admired her for her mastery of blacksmithing. Her favourite circular handle dual knives were a gift from Ada.

How to identify a dhampir.

There are a few signs which point to a dhampir. They have no shadows and are often accompanied by a magical familiar. Usually, this bond is formed during their human days and remains until their true death.

As most dhampirs die within their teenage years they have the inability to regulate their emotions and if not tempered are prone to destructive tantrums. This exposes their most identifiable traits, bright glowing red eyes, in Parvati's case, black eyes with spider veins and one set of sharpened double canines on top and a row of smaller sharp teeth on the bottom front.

All in all, dhampirs are deceivingly human. They carry almost none of the weaknesses of the vampire race but all of their strengths. Dhampirs like vampires grow stronger with age but with the added bonus of inheriting the strength of the age their fathers. As Parvati is a part original vampire she has the strength of one and all their accompanying strengths, i.e.their invulnerability to death by a simple wooden stake, and high tolerance to vervain.

Weaknesses

A dhampir can enter a home or room uninvited. The only way to prevent this is to hang an infusion of silver and white vervain over the threshold of the home. Tho this is a little-known fact as dhampirs over the centuries destroyed anyone or written accounts of their weaknesses.

There is only one known grimoire which contains spells to weaken and kill a dhampir as well as accounts of dhampir massacres and run-ins with hunters. It also includes ways in which their blood can be used as magical ingredients and their weaknesses and strengths. This book will eventually fall into the hands of the Salvatore School as Enzo retrieved it from Whitmore where he witnessed first-hand the torture and experimentation of two dhampirs at the hands of the doctors and witches. The book is centuries old and believed to be cursed as it has made its way through many covens for centuries. Many of these covens or owners have reached their end after coming into possession of this book, most from dhampirs after the grimoire.