Vampires

In the Naritaverse, the term **'vampire'** does not refer to a singular race or species. Instead, there are countless varieties of vampires around the world, as reflected in their diverse depictions in varying human mythologies. The one thing that unites all vampires is that **they can freely exercise control over their souls**.

There are approximately fifty thousand vampires currently living on Earth.

For a list of important vampires—turned, pureblood, or otherwise—please consult the vampires category. Other, less important named vampires may be found at the Organization and Clans pages.

## The Soul

As Gerhardt von Waldstein explains, one might say that a vampire's soul "uses telekinesis to animate his own corpse." He clarifies that "this is the ability to control the matter that composes one's body, on a molecular or even atomic level." This principle explains (for example) why some vampires can turn their bodies into a flock of bats, or turn into a patch of fog. With the former, there is one consciousness that controls several individual beings—which is possible because of telekinesis. With the latter, a vampire is able to move in fog form because it is their soul controlling the matter's movements.

A vampire's blood "is the catalyst that circulates the soul's energy through his body." This might explain why the heart is a weakness for many vampires; as Melhilm Herzog theorized, if one considers the soul a remote control, the heart might be a receiver for the signals sent from the soul. If a vampire's heart is not one of their weaknesses, then they must use different parts of their bodies as receivers instead.

If a vampire perceives the world through their soul, they automatically see past illusions. Vampires who perceive the world in this manner are often compensating for an absence of physical sight. Gerhardt, whose physical form lacks eyes, is thus only able to perceive Valdred Ivanhoe in his true form regardless of whatever illusion Valdred is masquerading himself as.

The act of drinking someone's blood is more than simple consumption; by drinking someone's blood, a vampire is sharing their very soul with them. The soul is also why vampires are unable to transfer power when bloodsharing as the souls of two vampires are on 'different wavelengths', their souls reject each other rather than cleave together. This is why vampires must drink the blood of Eaters if they wish to gain the power of other vampires: a human's blood acts like an adhesive to which a vampire's soul and powers stick.

## Formation

### Evolution

Vampires can 'evolve' or metamorphose from humans, animals, insects and plants—though one may also say that their *souls* evolved, rather than their bodies. Some animal and plant-based vampires can assume humanoid form, though some do not. There are cases of highly unique vampires who do not fall under any of the aforementioned species; for instance, Hawking is a black hole vampire, and RX777 is a robot vampire.

Plant-based vampires occur when a plant absorbs the blood and soul of one or many vampires. In the case of the alraune Selim Vergès, she was originally a flower who gained sentience after she was showered with the blood of an executed vampire.

Vampires have an incredibly high mutation rate. In some cases, there have been reports of mutations happening over a single generation due to individual will or to the effects of religion.

By selectively breeding, vampires can preserve and develop specific phenotypic traits across their bloodlines. Vampires belonging to the Sunford Clan line, for instance, owe their immunity to sunlight to this method. Melhilm has personally supervised generations of breeding between powerful, 'thoroughbred' vampires in his pursuit of the coelacanth, i.e. an all-powerful vampire with no weaknesses.

Contrary to some human myths, vampires typically do have heartbeats since the heart supplies nutrients to one's body. This does not apply to vampires who require other means of sustenance to live, such as plant-based vampires who depend on photosynthesis. However, most vampires do not need to breathe.

It has been theorized that vampires turn to ash upon death because their bodies were "originally formed of mutated substances of similar composition."

Vampires who have few weaknesses tend to have fewer abilities and lower reproductive capability. The same lowered reproductive capability is also found in vampires with many strengths and few weaknesses, since a vampire who cannot die has no reason to leave behind progeny.

### Turning

A vampire has three options when they bite a human: they can drink the human's blood, subjugate the human, or turn them. To turn a human, a vampire bites them and infuses the human with the vampire's *own soul*. It has been rumored that the Kumanobe Clan knows of a way to revert a turned vampire back into a human. A turned vampire stops aging once they have been turned, whereas a born vampire stops aging in their youth.

### Synthetic Vampires

Melhilm Herzog, in addition to manipulating a vampire's 'natural' development via selective bringing, has experimented with artificially developing 'vampires' in the broadest sense of the term—so broad as to potentially include the likes of the Giemsa Strain, so-called "white blood cell vampires" that "absorb humans' red blood cells and turn the host's body into something like a zombie." Although Melhilm has yet to ascertain whether the Giemsa Stain has a sense of self, the Stain's behavior is at minimum considered vampiresque.

## Social History

Humans have feared vampires since time immemorial, as seen in the common portrayal of vampires as predators and monsters in their mythologies. In modern times most humans do not believe in vampires and other supernatural beings, save for those who worship the occult or have had encounters with vampires in the past.

Though most vampires *do* tend to be more powerful than humans, the average vampire avoids them and fears detection. After all, the entirety of Earth's vampire population (fifty thousand or so) make up less than .001 percent of the human population. For every vampire, there are a hundred thousand humans who will likely be hostile to them. Many vampires thus choose to live on the outskirts of settlements, alone and away from prying eyes.

The most unusual and prominent example of humans coexisting with vampires is the island Growerth, which is home to an unusually large concentration of vampires and other supernatural beings.

The act of eating another vampire's flesh is on the same level as human cannibalism and considered a taboo by some, though it is unclear how widespread this opinion is. Drinking another vampire's blood is considered a sacred ritual of bloodmixing by the Clans, and Clan members will only share blood with other Clan members. Whether non-Clan vampires hold different beliefs, and what those beliefs might be, are yet to be made clear.

### Social Groups

There are three main groupings of vampires:

The first are vampires who either act alone, or in small groups. 'Small groups' can broadly range from bands to entire villages.

The second are 'families' who form Clans. These are usually pureblooded vampires, old-fashioned aristocrat types who tend to view humans as inferior creatures—prey, slaves, and worthy of disdain.

The third is The Organization, a large-scale 'social gathering' of twenty-thousand or so vampires of all types. It was formed centuries prior to the 2000s, and serves as an information exchange network and aims to protect vampires from human persecution.

## Abilities and Weaknesses

The amount of abilities and weaknesses one has, as well as how effectual or debilitating they are, ranges wildly from vampire to vampire (or bloodline to bloodline). This is why the depictions of vampires vary in different human mythologies; each depiction is true.

None of the most popularly known vampiric characteristics can be therefore presumed to apply to to all vampires, including the pervasive presumption that vampires need (human) blood to live; not only are there vampires in *Vamp!* who require an animal blood-based diet, there are vampires who lack any need for blood whatsoever. Hunger cycles vary as well: some vampires need blood often and regularly while others might only need it once per month.

**Note**: These lists only include the powers and abilities that have been mentioned in *Vamp!*. However, given the series' premise that all human mythological depictions are true, one should assume that any ability or weakness that vampires display in actual mythologies are valid traits a Vamp! vampire might have. For example, in some mythologies a vampire must be formally invited in before they can step over a threshold. This has not been mentioned specifically in the series, but it is almost certain it exists.

### Known Abilities

Many vampires in *Vamp!* have abilities traditionally associated with vampires in human myths, and more untraditional abilities. These include:

* **Telekinesis**
	+ As stated earlier, all vampires are fundamentally capable of telekinesis since their souls use telekinesis to control their bodies; the extent to which a vampire can exert telekinetic influence on independent subjects, however, ranges wildly. Romy Mars' ability to simultaneously control hundreds if not thousands of individual objects via telekinesis exemplifies the ability at a masterful level. Dorothy Nifas exhibits a more unusual example of telekinesis: she can use telekinesis to slow down the movements of molecules, which she uses to sap heat from her target.
* **Superhuman Strength, Regenerative Abilities, Longevity**
	+ These have been grouped together because they are so ubiquitous among vampirekind as to even be found in dhampyrs. Levels of strength and rates of regeneration vary from vampire to vampire.

* **Subjugation**
	+ Subjugation: when a vampire exerts control over a creature without turning them. Typically, a vampire subjugates a creature by biting them. Known outliers include Loa, who can subjugate someone with a mere scratch, Zygmunt Kiparis, who can subjugate others by airborne infection, and Garde Ritzberg, whose ability to subjugate their own cells and deceased bodies is particularly formidable.
* **Synchronization**
	+ Some vampires can exert influence on other objects by perceiving them as 'part' of their own body. When a vampire transforms into bats and their clothes and accessories transform in turn, that vampire has *synchronized* with their clothing.
	+ The more powerful a vampire is, the more objects they can synchronize with. Some vampires are capable of transforming their vehicles and other surrounding objects into bats. Relic is capable of synchronizing with the entire island of Growerth.
* **Transforming into one or more bats**
	+ Some vampires can separate specific parts of their body via bats—for example, the dhampyr Watt Stalf ejected his batified heart from his body as a proactive protective measure that would later save his life when an Eater attempted to kill him.
	+ Sometimes vampires' bat forms have idiosyncratic physical characteristics. For example, Melhilm's bats all have human eyes and Dorothy's bats are completely white.
	+ There are other cases of unique bat-related powers. Yellow Bridgestone can transform parts of his body into bats and use them as literal projectiles. He can also become a abnormally large, single bat. In bat form, Pamela D. Rosskleim can guttle other vampires—even when the vampire is in fog form—and nullify their powers. Pamela also chooses to fly as a bat flock in a perfect cubical formation.
* **Turning into Fog or Shadow**
	+ The nature of both abilities varies from vampire to vampire. Pirie Mistwalker is especially capable in fog form, for she can dissipate and rematerialize in an instant. In fog form, she can enter the lungs of a human and subjugate them by leaving tiny droplets of her own blood in their lungs; if she so chooses, she can rematerialize *while inside the other person's body*, killing them. In contrast, Theodosius M. Waldstein can only temporarily turn specific body parts into fog at any given time, rather than his whole body, and he does so with difficulty.
	+ *Vamp!*'s most exemplary example of shadow manipulation comes from Aiji Ishibashi, who can create bats, swords, and other manifestations out of shadows. His shadows possess *mass*; ergo, they affect three-dimensional objects and people. He can also use shadows to move from place to place.
* **Hypnotism**
	+ Some vampires, such as Relic, can hypnotize people with a single glance. Others will require more time and effort to effectively hypnotize their targets.
* **Telepathy**
	+ Some vampires can read and communicate with the minds of others. Mirald Mirror is one such vampire, though his telepathy is perpetual and unyielding. Not only can he read and respond to the thoughts of other beings, he can transmit information—such that he can compress hours worth of memories, knowledge, and feelings into the span of seconds—into their minds. This risks serious repercussions with respect to the recipient's wellbeing. When Mirald thirsts for blood he involuntarily acts as a 'loudspeaker', i.e. receiving and broadcasting the thoughts of passersby for all nearby to hear.
* **Controlling Familiars; communication with bats and mice**
* **Teleportation**
* **Pyrotechnics**
* **Duplication** (to make copies of oneself)
* **Turning parts of one's body into acid**
* **Transforming into snakes or mosquito swarms**
* **Nullification**
	+ Both Dimguil Sunford and Pamela can nullify the abilities of other vampires, which is why Dimguil is feared by so many people.

### Known **Weaknesses**

* **Bloodthirst**
	+ While some vampires cannot live without drinking blood, others can go without it completely. Some require human blood, others animal blood. Some might need blood on occasion while others need it regularly and often.
* **Sunlight**
	+ Around eighty percent of vampires are weak to sunlight, making it one of the most common and most variable vampiric weaknesses. At one extreme end, one finds the sunlight-immune Sunford vampires and other members of the twenty percent invulnerable; at the other end are vampires who incinerate at the slightest tough of the sun. The majority burn at idiosyncratic rates and intensities. Some vampires even have trouble moving indoors during the daytime and thus choose to sleep during the day.
* **Running Water**
	+ Vampires whose energy leaks out into water are unable to wade through running water, as they will not be able to reabsorb their energy like they can in still pools. Most vampires with this weakness avoid the likes of rivers or oceans, but some are so severely at risk that they cannot even take showers or wash their hands under a faucet. Those who can indirectly cross over water via an airplane or a boat may still be prone to acute seasickness, such as Key Dorrikey or Captain BBS.
* **Garlic**
	+ Some vampires cannot stand even a whiff of garlic, while others can but nonetheless cannot consume the garlic.
* **Religious authorities; crucifixes**
	+ Most vampires are, contrary to myth, not harmed by crucifixes. However, many *are* weak against those who wield them.
* **Silver & Salt**
	+ Both substances can prove harmful in their purified forms—though of course, not all vampires are weak to them. Liquid silver is not actually harmful since it is mercury, a completely different element.
* **The Heart**
	+ A vampire's heart is a common weak point, which is why vampire hunters typically try to stake the heart over other organs. Some vampires can separate their heart from their body in the form of a bat and hide it elsewhere if they feel that they are in danger.

## References

1. ↑ *Vamp!*, Chapter 2.
2. ↑ *Vamp! IV*, Chapter 3.