DEARG-DUE

Lore

Dearg-Due belongs to the class of Irish vampiric revenants, the re-animated dead who walk in physical bodies without the standard signs of decay. Her name stems from the Gaelic dearg, meaning "red" or "bloody," and due, which is linked to "thirst" or "sucker." Ancient bards also knew these beings as Deamhain Fhola, or blood demons. These entities are exceedingly ancient, predating the arrival of Christianity in Ireland and representing a primal, elemental hunger.

In appearance, Dearg-Due is a young woman whose skin is whiter than snow, a traditional Celtic marker of the Otherworld. Her ruby-red lips stand out starkly against her pallor, earning her the nickname "the Red Lady." She possesses long golden hair and eyes that cast a faint, hypnotic glow, capable of draining a victim's willpower. As long as she feeds regularly, her body remains flexible and beautiful, showing none of the rot typically associated with the walking dead.

Her origin is rooted in the legends of Waterford. A noble family's beautiful daughter was traded by her father to a cruel, aging chieftain for land and gold. The tyrant husband kept her locked away and abused her until, unable to go on, she declared a hunger strike and died, vowing revenge with her final breath. She was buried under a tree now known as Strongbow's Tree, but one year later, her hatred brought her back. She rose to kill both her father and her husband, sealing her fate as an eternal blood-drinker.

Since her resurrection, her haunts have been old graveyards and church ruins. She is most active on the quarterly Celtic festivals, Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane, and Lammas, as well as the anniversary of her death. Her hunting radius rarely stretches more than a few miles from her grave, as she must return to the protection of her burial earth before the sun rises. To stop her, tradition dictates that her grave must be piled high with heavy stones to prevent her from physically emerging to hunt again.