Invented Original Characters: Leech Vampires

Growing up my dream job was to be a comic book artist/writer. But with very little artistic talent that dream died pretty quickly. Now I do my best to bring my characters to life using apps like factory of heroes, swordmaker, armormaker, you doodle and photo cutout. They don't always turn out looking very good but I get more excited about the concepts and stories behind the characters than how well I can make the character look good. Sometimes my characters are from cultures I am not a part of because I think it fits their story or other aspects about them. I am not a cultural expert but at the very least I hope no one is upset by me using aspects of cultures I'm not a part of and find interesting. That said below is my idea for leech themed vampires.

An ancient vampire sect, the leech vampires of China are one of the most well resourced vampire sects in the world. Far before bat vampires existed and possibly before this group modelled themselves after leeches they used their precognitive magic to see into the future. In this vision they saw themselves being weakened by salt and jade so they preemptively infiltrated positions of power among Chinese royalty to acquire jade and limit the public's access to salt. Decades later many are now less prominent but still quite powerful members of the Chinese government. The leech vampires have a long history feuding with Japan's moth vampires. This feud died down for about 200 years when bat vampires emerged from Europe and when "the curse of two" cast by a powerful sorcerer made leech vampires weak to jade and salt like their premonition had warned them. Being weak to salt particularly slowed conflict between the leeches and moths as it made the seawater around Japan dangerous for the leeches. However when leech vampire hunting monks and moth vampire hunting samurai teamed up they reignited the feud between leeches and moths by alternating between attacking one and pinning the attack on the other. Efforts to travel by sea to fight moth vampires once again is what has led to the two major leech vampires types.

Most leech vampires have 2 hearts and some degree of precognition making them hard to kill in general but it is important for leech hunters to also know about the two typical categories of leech vampires. The most common type of leech vampires are considered "natural" in that they are weaker in the daytime and weak to cold like most invertebrate themed vampires. And since the "curse of two" they are weak to salt and jade as well. Most of these leech vampires have at least some degree of shape-shifting ability meaning they are pretty durable in combat, can stretch their limbs to varying extents while fighting and pose as good looking regular humans most of the time. That is until they reveal their horrible leech mouths before feeding on someone.

"Sea leeches" are fewer and generally considered to be more committed to expanding the leech vampires' empire. The first "Sea leeches" underwent science experiments that all but removed their weakness to salt so they could swim or sail to Japan to wage war on moth vampires without being vulnerable. This cost them their ability to shape-shift meaning they cannot hide their hideous appearances. In some contexts being weak to cold, daylight and jade but not salt makes them more dangerous to most humans as they can't be hurt by salt like "natural" leeches.

Some of the most powerful leech vampires are technically most like "natural" leeches as they have extensive shapeshifting abilities. To the point where they can stretch to extreme sizes or slide under doorways. However like sea leeches they may be hardly affected by salt or other typical leech weaknesses.