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Carpathians are a race of people in the fictional universe of the Dark Series, a group of books by Christine Feehan. Carpathians survive by drinking the blood of humans, but unlike vampires, they do not kill their human prey. Carpathians use their telepathic abilities to “call” humans to them in order to feed, and then use those same abilities to erase the humans’ memory of the incident. All vampires were once Carpathians. A Carpathian male "turns" into a vampire when he kills while feeding, loses his lifemate, or fails to find his lifemate.

Carpathians mate for life. This is because males and females are different in nature; while the females are filled with compassion and light, the males are filled with an inner darkness, capable of great violence. After 200 years, a male Carpathian loses the ability to feel emotions, sexual desire and see in color. As a result, the darkness slowly spreads and consumes their souls. At this time, the only thing they feel is the thrill when they are about to make a kill. The only way they are returned to them is when a male finds his lifemate, the "light" to his darkness, the other half of his soul. Once lifemates find one another, the male recites the bonding words. Once this is done, it cannot be undone. They must touch minds and share their bodies often.

At the beginning of Dark Prince, Carpathians are on the edge of extinction. There have been few children born to them in the past few centuries, those that have been born are all male and often die in the first year. It has been more than 500 years since a female has been born. Without females, the males are left with a stark choice, "greet the dawn" (i.e. commit suicide) or become vampire, the undead, the monsters of human legend.

Appearance

Carpathians are extremely attractive and alluring, and most are tall, dark-haired and dark-eyed. Most Carpathians are rather lean, but some, like Gregori and his brother Darius, are noted to be rather broad and muscular, which is uncommon. The Golden Twins are Blond-haired and have Gold eyes.

A female Carpathian is tall and slender, voluptuous and seductive, though innocent of it. They usually have beautiful pale skin, and long black hair. The natural born ones, anyway. A human made into a Carpathian will remain looking the way they are, but more alluring.

Abilities

Longevity

Carpathians live many times longer than humans. The maximum lifespan is unknown, but several have lived to the age of 2000 years. In addition to living longer than humans, Carpathians age much more slowly. In their childhood, they age roughly at the same rate as humans. Once they reach physical adulthood, their aging process slows dramatically, and they maintain their physical peaks for centuries.

Telepathy

All Carpathians have the gift of telepathy, the ability to speak “mind to mind” to one another. This telepathic ability can cover vast distances, even across oceans. Once two Carpathians have exchanged blood, they can communicate with one another without anyone else hearing them. Lifemates use this ability to strengthen their bond with one another. They use this ability to call humans to them in order to feed. Vampires often plant compulsions, compelling humans to commit awful acts, including murder. In addition, they have the gift to communicate with animals.

Shapeshifting

All Carpathians have the ability to shapeshift into various animals. They most often use the forms of wolves, owls, bats, and leopards. They can also take to form of mist or fog. They often use these forms to protect their sensitive eyes if they have to rise before the sun completely sets or they need to enter and leave a dwelling undetected.


Other Races Include Jaguar Mage and Werewolf. For more information read # Dark Possession (August 2007)and
# Dark Curse (September 200 cool