Vampirism

Vampirism, also called by the out-dated term Sanguine Hunger, is an affliction thought to have sprung forth from the Great Hunger. Those infected by vampirism are called Vampires.
The mechanism by which vampirism turns its victims into vampires is poorly understood, but it is generally assumed that it hijacks the regular biological processes used to create energy and life force. This enables vampires to exert far greater control over their bodies, explaining their incredible strength, their immortality, ageless youth, transformations, and other such abilities. This does however come with significant drawbacks, as this hijacking breaks the process used to extract energy from food and generate life force. The only source of sustenance is to drink relatively fresh blood. Though blood from any living being will do, blood from the victim's own species is most effective and most nourishing. 
Further, it destabilises their bodies to such an extent that harsh light, such as from the sun or spells with extreme radiance, are damaging to the vampire. Old stories of vampires turning to dust in the sun are greatly exaggerated, and vampires can survive in directs sunlight for several hours at a time. However, this greatly weakens the vampire and stokes their hunger. Further, the skin of a vampire will appear to be slightly burned after extended exposer and can take a few days to fully heal. Most vampires use sun hats and long dressings to protect against the harshest of the sun's rays.
To facilitate this, vampires have grown extended and sharpened fangs, used to pierce and hold the skin of their victims while they drink. Though somewhat unlikely, a simple bite can transmit vampirism. As such, non-feral vampires will usually draw the blood by some other method, usually by knife or even syringe. Though several vampires have been recorded as stating that drawing blood through a bite directly is somehow more satisfying and pleasurable to the vampire.
Generally victims of vampirism, as many other diseases of the Sanguine Hunger, are allowed to live like normal people. They are expected to acquire animal blood from butchers or other blood from willing donors and always to drink that blood second hand, never to bit anyone or anything else. Vampires following these rules are often called civilized vampires, allowed to be a full member of society. If a vampire breaks any of these rules or has shown themselves to be incapable of managing their affliction or keep their hunger under control, they are generally imprisoned and executed to stop them from harming anyone else or spreading the affliction.
Vampires who reject these rules and manage to either stay hidden or escape are referred to as feral vampires. These, depending on their age, access to blood and mental fortitude can range from seemingly normal, able to pass in daily life as a civilized vampire to deranged monsters who have lost their mind and humanity.
=== Spread ===
The most common transmission vector for vampirism is via bite. When a vampire bites a living being, there is a small chance for them to also contract the affliction. This sometimes also works and the recently deceased, and many stories recount grieving vampires brining back their dead loved ones. Often against their own will.
Also, common is for uninfected individuals to drink the fresh blood of a vampire. This is usually done by the rich or dying in a desperate attempt to prolong their life and youth, though such frivolous acts are generally looked down upon and such willing victims will generally receive little sympathy from society. More sinister are cases like the Rumatar Rot, where the ruler of the Human city of Rumatar, part of the Human Realms laced the cities wells with vampire blood in an attempt to create a city full of powerful vampires. While most citizens get infected, the city quickly fell into anarchy as outrage over the incident spread and its citizens were unable to meet the demand for blood. The city's population withered and rotted, unable to leave as other human cities had imposed a blockade around the city, to stop the spread of the affection.
Sometimes, rarely, people unknowingly infected by the Great Hunger can spontaneously develop vampirism, making its eradication nigh impossible.
=== Development ===
Once a victim is infected, they might not notice any symptoms for several weeks or even months. Slowly, however, their canines will extend and sharpen, and regular food will slowly cease to actually be nourishing. This is usually the time when victims will realise that they are infected and seek help.
Then, roughly six to twelve months after initial infection, the first phase is completed. The victim, by this stage, has become undead, and spells and plants that act as a deterrent against the undead will generally also work against vampires. In truth, however, few view them as undead. They still require food, though in the form of blood, sleep, and it has been confirmed several times that their soul remains within their bodies even after this transformation. At this stage, the vampire will not have many special abilities. Most notably, they are immortal, have fangs and are significantly stronger than they used to be.
The next stages are not guaranteed to take shape in all vampires, and even if they do, they can take years, decades and centuries to fully develop. They might acquire advanced abilities such as flight, transformation, shadow walk, hypnosis or even cloning. Though relatively random, it has been noted that more frequent consumption of blood taken directly via biting a victim leads to a faster and more varied development of such abilities. As such, older and particularly feral vampires tend to possess over a greater arsenal of abilities compared to the average victim of vampirism.
Category:Sanguine Hunger
Category:Diseases