Vampires of the Iliac Bay Content . Chapter I . There are over one hundred distinct kinds of vampire in Tamriel . The Iliac Bay region alone has nine variations with unique powers and abilities . I have this information not only because I have been researching this blight of the world for the last ten years of my life , but because for the seven years before that , I was one of the creatures . Vampirism is a disease , like Brain rot or Cholera , but far , far more insidious . One can become a vampire through certain magical items or by the curse of a powerful wizard , but the most common cause is the bite or scratch of a vampire . There are no symptoms of vampirism except this - - if the victim sleeps after the attack but before he becomes a vampire , his sleep will be plagued with nightmares . During this two to four day period , when the disease has been spread but the victim is still mortal , most any temple healer can remove the curse of vampirism . There will be no further warning . I do not remember dying . I had been a scout for an order of knights which shall go nameless for this . A daughter of a local nobleman had been kidnapped by a mysterious character , and my captain had located his hideout . Deep in the dank underground chambers , I searched until I found the girl . Or what remained of her , a corpse the color of snow , drained of every drop of blood . I knew what the mystery man was right then , but he found me before I found the exit out . He took a good sized hunk out of my fighting arm before I managed to outrun him . I figured I was lucky to be alive . Some luck . My trip back to the knightly order was a five day journey . I decided to get some rest early to get my arm in better shape in case I found any more trouble . I can ' t remember the dreams I had that night - - only that I was doing something horrible and I couldn ' t stop myself . I woke up screaming . The next night , at an inn a little closer to my destination , my sleep was deep and dreamless . On the third night , I died . Of course , I didn ' t know that I died . I had gone to sleep in a nice warm feathered bed and I woke on a cold wet stone mortuary slab . Dazed , I opened the door to the masoleum I was in , which I think must have been locked . I was in a cemetery not far from a town I knew , so I wandered in . It was late at night , so there were precious few souls in the streets . I paused to read a public notice and noticed the date . The date was two weeks later than I thought it must have been . As I puzzled over that , I saw a girl , a wench at my favorite tavern in that town , wandering toward me . I hailed her . She ignored me . I called her by her name , and she turned to me , smiling , but with an expression that told me she did not know who I was . I had visited her tavern on my way over to the mystery man ' s hideout , but she didn ' t know me ! I told her my name . She angrily told me that it was a very poor joke , that I looked nothing like the brave knight who used to visit the town , and that if I didn ' t know he was dead . My emotions were a tangled skein . I could tell she was not joking , that I looked nothing like myself . I was touched by her sorrow at my death , and horrified by the idea dawning on me of what I had become . Suddenly , an overriding instinct overcame all my thoughts - - hunger . Without even thinking about what I was doing , I reached out and tore her throat open . I drained her until she looked like the corpse in the mystery man ' s dungeon . The rest of my story is told in Chapter Two . Chapter II . I told in the first chapter of my story how I became a vampire and of my first kill . While it might ( and , indeed , should ) horrify the reader that my first victim was a friend of the mortal I used to be , it is my understanding that they are not uncommon first kills . I left the snow white corpse in the alley and ran to the only place I felt perversely safe , the . For the first couple days of my undeath , I starved myself while I considered my fate . I relearned what I was capable of doing , and found that I was stronger , faster , tougher , and more agile than before . I had powers that as a knight I had only seen powerful mages wield . Later , I discovered additional abilities , such as a total immunity to disease . Helpful when descending on a plague - stricken city like a jackal . I also found my weaknesses . I could no longer stand the light of the sun - - exposure to it for longer than a few seconds burned me terribly . It also pained me to enter temples and other places of worship . The worst effect , of course , had to be my blood lust . If I did not kill a warm blooded creature once a night and drink its blood , my hunger would gnaw at me , and any wounds I suffered would not heal no matter how much I rested . Is this the moment for me to admit that there was a time I loved being a bloodsucking creature of the night ? It is not impossible to live only at night , merely occasionally inconvenient . And I wouldn ' t have to kill humans every night , merely warm - blooded creatures . Orcs have a delicious , rich brothy blood ; rats are a little sweet for the only meal of the night ; Werewolves are a real treat , almost decadent the tincture between human and beast . A real gourmet ' s delight . About a month after I died , I was having the best time of my life . One night , I received a letter from someone who said he was " family . " Curious , I went to visit him at his tavern , and was told about the tribe of vampires to which I belonged - - the Montalion . In return for me performing certain duties for the " family , " the man at the inn would train me in my vampiric abilities and skills . Though I never got very much detail , I surmised that the two main differences between the different vampire clans is geography and powers . Montalion alone have the gift for teleportation , but the other eight have powers of their own . My mentor ( that is the title he used ) would congratulate me after each mission I performed , and came to trust me more and more . If asked , he would tell me about the Montalion ' s newest alliances , who they were manipulating , who they were stalking . It was then I started to become frightened at last . They , and all of their rival clans , were draining the blood of Tamriel itself . I panicked . I had to find a cure . But nowhere could I find any book or rumor suggesting that vampirism is anything but permanent . So I resolved to kill myself , but I wanted to bring the Montalion down with me . I joined guilds they opposed , and failed any mission given to me spectacularly . I thought my mentor would turn against me , but he only became quieter , less forthcoming with information , never violent . He was not concerned . He had probably seen vampires like me before . Here ' s why he never attacked me : immortals can afford to be eternally patient . At last , he refused to give me any further missions . He wouldn ' t even talk with me , but he never left his tavern . I could come and go , and he ' d watch but never talk . That ' s when I got another letter . There are several of us , you see , former vampires who know what to look for . We ' re patient too : we learned it in our unlife . We watch and listen , and anonymously contact the vampires we know wish to end the curse . Ending the curse is possible , but only just . It is very dangerous , but when you are cursed , the only real danger is no escape .