Grey-Pygmy

Grey-pygmies are a type of undead creature within the novel ''Dark Blaze. ''They are the result of a human with dwarfism being infected with strigoium. Some grey-pygmies may be the undead form of the Nordic Mythological dwarf creatures, seeing as the first of their kind and their king, Mótsognir, is the same creature from Nordic lore.

Background:
Darryl M. Finch-Ellis wanted a variant of vampire that would be different due to genetics. He settled on dwarfism, researching into the dark dwarves of Nordic lore. He found out that their king was Mótsognir, and so made him the first grey-pygmy.

Origins:
During his worldly travels as a freshly turned undead, Vlad III Drăculești came across Mótsognir and his underground domain in the Nordic lands. Vlad and Mótsognir came to an agreement that in return for advanced science, that Vlad would gift Mótsognir with strigoium.

Upon granting the dwarf king strigoium, Vlad returned with his new science to Wallachia. What Mótsognir did not now was that he was now sired by Vlad and a slave to his power. Vlad transformed the rest of Mótsognir's realm and brought them back with him to Wallachia to be his servants.

It is unknown if the grey-pygmies require the same bloodlust as the strigoii, as they are strigoic undead it is assumed, however, they may not require as much as their taller counterparts.

Characteristics:
Grey-pygmies are grey-skinned undead dwarves. They have a natural talent for harnessing magic and also have their own language which aids them in combat. They are natural diggers and can travel underground very quickly like powerful badgers.

Appearances:
Various grey-pygmies are encountered within the novel Dark Blaze, yet Mótsognir remained mentioned only.

Powers & Abilities:

 * Increased speed.
 * Increased strength.
 * Increased hearing.
 * Increased sense of smell.
 * Increased durability.
 * Immortal.
 * Proficiency for magic.

Weaknesses:

 * Holy water.
 * Fire.
 * Silver.
 * Regular weaponry.
 * Headshots.
 * Cast-iron.
 * Palo Santo.
 * Mountain Ash.
 * Chloroform.
 * Direct prolonged sunlight.
 * Lack of fresh blood.

Trivia:

 * The grey-pygmies were initially inspired by the dwergi from the 2004 film Van Helsing.
 * The dwergi in Van Helsing were also servants to Dracula (Vlad the Impaler).
 * Mótsognir is based on the real life dwarf king from Nordic Mythology.