Vampires (Verus)

A verus, or true vampire, is an animate that is an obligate cannibalistic hemophage as a result of evolutionary adaptation. True vampires are born with the condition, and are super predators that feed exclusively on their associated species.
== Biology ==
The difference between regular organisms and vampires are subtle, because vampires that do not feed tend to take on unusual features for members of their species, and as such tend to never last long enough to diverge greatly from the baseline lifeform they are issued from, and also because natural selection promoted aggressive mimicry in vampire species. However, while virtually identical to their equivalents in terms of morphology, vampires are radically divergent from their counterparts. One of the reasons why it's so difficult to identify these creatures is that since they are at the very apex of the food pyramid, they are quite rare even at peak numbers.
Example: Vampiric gnomes are born from other vampiric gnomes who have the same genetic disposition.
== Distinction from prevaricate vampires ==
Most forms of vampirism aren't hereditary, these are known as false or prevaricate vampires. True or Verus vampires are species whose obligation to feed on blood does not come from an outside source (Infection, parasitism, demonic influence, curses etc.), but is a natural characteristic of the species.
==Reproduction==
Verus vampires reproduce sexually, but very infrequently. In some cases, the genes responsible for vampirism are spread amongst the population, simply dormant in most people. In certain cases these genes do express spontaneously require a bite to activate. Vampires can “sense” who has these genes. This ensures reproduction is voluntary when feeding. These genetically predispositioned vampires are rare, and their difference with infectious and verus vampires is hotly debated, even amongst themselves.
===Dhampyr===
A dhampyr is a child born of a vampire and a human. These children live normal lives, but become vampires after death, with the process repeating itself over generations. Their vampire parent sometimes decide to bite them to turn them into verus vampires.
==Blood diet==
The reason verus vampires do not resort to prey other than their baseline organism and evolved such adaptations to accommodate cannibalized blood into their diet is because they require a protein responsible for the maintenance of their central nervous system. Verus vampires possess a genetic defect that resulted in the inability to synthesize the protein. Since this protein occurs only in other members of the same species, preying on them is an essential component of their diet. Given that the they only need the protein from their prey, a blood diet alone is needed, although they have to drink a large amount of blood (usually two victims per night). This is a deliberate conservation strategy; drinking the blood leaves a victim that can recover over time and serve as a future food source, while eating the flesh would inevitably lead to less prey and a harder access to it.
== Ash reanimation ==
While their dietary obligations mean verus vampires populations have a harder time feeding, their undead have the unique ability to turn to ashes when killed, and be reanimated by a drop of blood from their prey species. The ashes must be complete in order for the vampire to return (they tend to agglomerate naturally), as such, blowing them to the winds is a surefire way to eliminate an undead vampire.
Category:Vampires
Category:Vampirism
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