Vampires (Twilight)

Vampires are a pseudo-species of crystallised immortal beings who feed on blood to survive. They are one of the few truly immortal species in existence, as they are biologically, not alive.

## **History**

The first vampire was created when a dormant strain of the fluid-based retrovirus now known as ‘vampire venom’ first came into contact with a human being, causing a (then inactive) species specific component of the genetic code to activate. This happened around 1500 BC. The first vampire, Ephraim, observed his power and sought to share it with others, cursing them with what he called ‘The Endless Thirst’.

Because they had virtually no self control, Ephraim and his army of followers massacred and killed as they went. When Ephraim realised what they were doing, he bade his creations halt, but they tore him apart without mercy. Without organisation, the hordes eventually fell apart and dispersed, retreating to various parts of the world. One of Ephraim’s original ‘sons’, a powerfully gifted vampire named Aro, had log before settled in Italy, and when he learned what had been done to his master, he went out with his coven (the tentative alliance now known as the Volturi), and slaughtered any followers that he could find.

Most of these events went mostly unnoticed in the human world, on the grounds of the vampire hordes not knowing how vulnerable they were, and thus keeping to smaller towns and villages. After Aro’s great slaughter, he decided that the supernatural world needed laws and regulations, to avoid this from ever happening again, and formed the Volturi as an official coven.

## **Physiology**

### **Nutrition**

Vampires subsist on blood as their only food source, with human blood being by far the most appealing and the most common in an everyday environment. Since drinking blood is the only way for a vampire to receive nutrients, failure to do so will weaken a vampire both physically and mentally. The longer a vampire abstains from blood, the more likely it is that they will lose all sense of rationality and higher brain function, giving in to their thirst and becoming, in effect, a ravenous beast.

Occasionally, there will be a vampire that (usually on moral grounds) tries to avoid human blood as much as possible, only drinking animal blood. Consistent drinking of animal blood will have diminishing returns, though, so any ‘vegetarian’ vampire will have to, at least occasionally, feed on human blood. Prolonged drinking of just animal blood, without human blood, will eventually lead to the progressive weakening of vampires, until they approach human level. For this reason, human blood is essential for vampires to survive on.

### **Physical Appearance**

During the change, a vampire’s physical appearance (muscle mass, proportions, physical good looks, etc.) is enhanced and perfected, their eye colour changes, and they no longer need to breathe, though they usually still do so out of habit and to maintain their sense of smell — the first warning of an impending threat or the smell of potential prey.

Vampires are extraordinarily beautiful, having been described as angelic or even god-like. This is one of the several features meant to attract their prey — more specifically, to attract, fascinate, and (if necessary) seduce, unsuspecting humans. How physically appealing they are as a vampire depends on how desirable they were as humans. If an already attractive human were to be transformed, their physical beauty would be beyond breathtaking. If they were of average feature, they would be less attractive, but still stunningly beautiful. If however they were not particularly pleasing to the eye, they would look so-so, though this is rare, as vampires normally select exceptional humans to turn. A vampire’s cells become hard and refractive after the change, causing them to sparkle in the sun like diamond.

A vampire's skin is described as marble (because of its texture and feel, as well as its appearance). Regardless of origin, a vampire will become exceptionally pale for their ethnicity. They owe their unnaturally pale complexion to their lack of blood flow and the leeching of pigment from the skin by the venom, also affecting any moles, freckles, scars, tattoos, etc.

Their skin's granite-like texture and impenetrability, as well as their lack of a blink reflex lends them a resemblance to statues. Vampires cry only very rarely, in moments of extreme sadness or emotion, and usually do not produce tears, though this can be done on command if needed. If a vampire stays immobile for several thousand years, they will start showing the appearance of fragility or petrification, though their physical capabilities will remain unchanged.

Vampires cannot age or grow (things such as fingernails, toenails, and hair are not affected by this, however these only grow very slowly). Should an arm, leg, nose, or other such appendage be removed, it can be reattached, albeit painfully. Venom is noted to be the only thing that scars a vampire. Other than this, they show no signs of mental illnesses or defects other than any they may have had when human.

The venom, and venom based liquids replace all of the natural chemical processes and functions in the body. It wets and pools in the mouth instead of saliva. It coats the eyes, protecting them from damage and lubricating them. A similar venom based liquid lubricates between the vampires cells allowing their hard stone bodies to move. If a vampire were to abstain from blood for a year or longer (and manage to resist the ravenous impulse to feed) no new venom would be produced, causing the vampire to slowly petrify into an unmoving statue.

### **Eye Colour**

After the change, a vampire's eye colour changes to red, the colour of blood, even though blood has very little to do with it. The eyes change colour due to the effect of Rayleigh scattering, caused by their unusual cell structure and the amount of bromine in their system. When a vampire feels bloodlust or sexual lust, the influx of adrenaline into their system causes a rapid dilation of the pupils, giving their eyes the appearance of having turned black.

Additionally, when vampires need to feed, the venom shuts down specific bodily systems until they are resupplied with energy. The system for the replenishment of the coloured oils in the cones is the first system to shut down and the last one to be reactivated. The eyes of a vampire who only drinks animal blood will change to a mild yellow colour. This is due to more alkalis in animal blood reacting to the bromine in a vampire's system.

### **Teeth**

The bite of a vampire can sever the limbs of their opponents, as vampires are known for having extremely sharp and strong teeth. A vampire's teeth appear no different from regular human teeth, however, a vampire's teeth are venomous, unbreakable, and razor sharp at the edges. They are also incredibly strong, able to bite through almost any solid substance, including vampire skin.

## **Abilities**

A vampire's physical and mental abilities far exceed those of a human being. These traits vary between different vampires depending on what they were more capable of as humans.

### **Speed**

One of a vampire’s greatest assets is their speed. They are able to run substantially faster than the human eye can follow, becoming an all but invisible blur at top speed, with only a few things being able to keep up with them. They can lay down and sit up within the same fraction of a second, almost without having to even think about going through the motions.

### **Strength**

A vampire is said to be thousands of times stronger than any human, able to lift objects several hundreds of times their own weight. They can crush granite boulders, subdue any prey, throw cars, crush metal, and uproot trees with their bare hands. Diet does not have a massive impact on strength, since it always depends on the individual vampire, although human blood does make a vampire fractionally stronger than animal blood. Strength, of course, is not always physical. If a vampire possessed great mental strength and willpower as a human, he will find it easier to control his wild, animalistic instincts.

### **Senses**

#### Sight

A vampire's vision is incomparable. As a vampire, colours are so much more vibrant that humans are considered blind or mud-eyed in comparison. Their sense of sight exceeds that of most living things: They can see objects in microscopic detail, and can ‘telescope’ their vision to zoom in on far away objects. Vampires also have much better depth perception than humans. Vampires find glasses and contact lenses uncomfortable or irritating because they see the smallest imperfections such as very small scratches and optical aberrations imperceptible to humans.

#### Smell

When vampires hunt, they use their sense of smell to find and track prey. Vampires can smell objects several miles away in a breeze, and can learn to differentiate between similar scents.

#### Hearing

Vampires can hear the most muted sounds, to the point of fluttering wings and heartbeats of small birds flying through the forest and the scurrying noises of animals that were beneath the ground. They can hear sounds coming from several miles away, and even with their eyes closed, they can be sure that there are multiple people in a room thanks to their varied breathing patterns. They can hear the sound of a heartbeat, a pulse thudding in a vein, and words spoken too quietly or too fast for humans to detect.

#### Touch

Despite being indestructible and hard-skinned, vampires can feel everything they touch. They can feel the slightest changes of temperature around them, though they are not bothered by it. They can feel the heat radiating from a human several meters away. When their skins meet sunlight, they can also feel its warmth. Physical pain is implied when their bodies are being ripped apart by something with similar supernatural strength.

#### Taste

Vampires have an enhanced sense of taste allowing them to taste flavours with much more depth and precision. They can taste the differences of particles in their atmosphere, helping them hunt when smell is unreliable. They can also detect minute flavour differences, such as residual drugs or alcohol in the blood.

### **Indestructibility**

Another impressive feature about vampires is their virtual indestructibility. During the transformation process, a vampire's cells become extremely durable, rendering their bodies near impenetrable. Their bodies are so hard that they are unable to be harmed by human weapons. Vampire and werewolf teeth are noted to be one of the few things strong enough to cut through their skin. Because of this indestructibility, it is virtually impossible for vampires to kill themselves.

### **Regenerative Healing**

Vampires are capable of regenerating from various injuries; even wounds that would be fatal to humans. If a limb is torn off they can reattach it and the break will heal. If a vampire is torn to pieces and the pieces are not burned, the vampire can reconstruct themselves as if no damage occurred, with no sign of harm.

### **Flexibility**

A vampire is unnaturally flexible. They are more agile than humans and also have far better proprioception, which allows them to rapidly respond to changes in their position. They can swing, flip, bend and twist themselves without failure due to their enhanced sense of balance. Part of this enhancement is based on the enhanced activity of their brains, which allows them to think and move much faster than humans.

### **Perfect Recall**

A vampire can instantly remember and recall everything that they have ever experienced, encountered or learned since their transformation, something they can perform for all their existence.

### Venom

When a vampire catches their prey, they bite them and inject venom into their bloodstream while feeding. This serves as a way to immobilise their prey while also initiating the conversion from human to vampire, allowing the predator to feed without resistance. While the venom is transformative to humans, it is deadly to animals and shape-shifters. Children of the Moon, however, are completely immune to its effects.

## **Lifestyles**

Though there are a range of vampire lifestyles, the most common is nomadic. The majority of vampires move frequently, never settling permanently in one place. This pattern is partly an attempt to hide from the notice of humans and avoid the suspicions of the Volturi. Staying in one place requires a great deal of subterfuge if the coven wants to avoid suspicion and keep the Volturi from becoming involved, and most vampires don't care for the hassle. Vampires usually travel alone or in pairs for similar reasons.

## **Psychology**

When a human becomes a vampire, all of their natural behaviours, needs and characteristics are frozen forever, though they are also amplified. For instance, if a human with a loving character becomes a vampire, his or her passion is magnified, allowing him or her to love others even more intensely or if the human was ambitious and cunning, those characteristics become magnified as a vampire, thus making them a ruthless killer. The only aspect that is at liberty to change is the vampire's outlook on the world.

Aside from their original personalities, they also have ferocious instincts and a need to consume blood. The moment they give in to their thirst, their higher brain functions shut down and their animalistic instincts take over. Vampires are feral, predatory creatures, and far more savage and beast-like than their human appearance suggests. They growl, hiss, snarl, and bare their teeth as signs of aggression when provoked. However they have an extreme sense of self-preservation; when they are confronted with danger that proves too overwhelming for their capabilities, they will immediately evade the area, unless there is something holding them back.

Vampires are mostly territorial and nomadic, but there are a few occasions for them to bond with someone else, human or vampire. The first bonding force is romance: If a vampire falls in love, that feeling never fades away and that love is bound for eternity. As a general rule, only the bond between mates is strong enough to survive the competitive drive for blood. If a vampire was romantically bound to someone before he turned, that love will remain as a permanent aspect in his characteristics after the transformation. It is also possible for a vampire to fall in love after he was turned, and that love will be just as permanent as any other.

Another prevalent trait is a vengeful nature. Related again to their unchanging state, vampires are not forgiving; they do not move past an insult or injury. The most common example of vampire vengeance is the aftermath of the loss of a mate. When a vampire loses his mate, he never recovers from the pain. He cannot rest until the party responsible is eradicated. Centuries can pass without lessening the ferocity of his need for vengeance. However, it is possible to suppress that desire if they compel themselves to focus.

The second bonding force, and one that is able to keep a large coven stable, is ambition. Vampires are competitive by nature, and some vampires have been able to evolve this competitive disposition into a greater cause capable of uniting many individuals into a secure whole. The pursuit of power is that bonding cause for vampires. The Romanians were the first to do this successfully for a significant length of time.

The third, and rarest, bonding force is the vampire conscience. Very few vampires are born with or develop a value for human life. The consumption of human blood is such a known aspect of vampire life that few ever question it; the driving thirst for human blood seems irresistible. However, those who do learn to value human life in spite of this reality are able to subsist on animal blood. Vampires who live this way are sometimes referred to as "vegetarians". Animal blood is unappealing to vampires, and thus a difficult diet to maintain. Those who make the sacrifice, though, experience related benefits. In the absence of human blood, the competitive drive disappears. Vampires are able to form bonds of love in addition to the bond between mates. The weak coven alliance is replaced by a strong, family-style union.

## **Transformation**

Vampire venom has the unique property of being selectively transformative. It only changes humans, while acting as a fatal poison to animals and other supernatural species. Once a human is bitten, the venom from glands inside the vampire's mouth is injected into the bloodstream and will travel throughout the body to change every bodily cell.

Depending on how much venom is in the bloodstream and how close the venom enters to the heart, the transformation could last anywhere from two to five days. During this time, the human will endure indescribable pain. The venom will make its way throughout the body, until it reaches the heart, where it will spread quicker and quicker until every blood vessel in the body is saturated with venom. When this has occurred, the heart stops beating and the venom begins to spread to bodily cells, where it will multiply and saturate them before beginning the change. The venom spreads too fast that any of its weaknesses would be useful.

## **Weaknesses**

Vampires have few weaknesses, and those that they do have often do not affect them strongly.

### **Sunlight**

A vampire’s cells, post change, become hard and refractive, making them sparkle in the sun, but the retrovirus that composes the majority of the venom is photosensitive, and after enough exposure (usually about two day’s worth of direct UV) the venom lubricating a vampire’s body will have dried out enough to turn them into a statue. This state of freezing lasts until they are supplied with enough blood to produce enough venom to move again.

### **Garlic**

Garlic and its oils are, in large enough quantities, toxic to the venom that is so essential to the vampiric biology. For this reason, vampires have evolved to react strongly to the scent and taste of the allium, though this visceral reaction is more of a reflex, and can be controlled, suppressed and even eliminated entirely.

### **Dismemberment**

Dismemberment is an effective tool to use against vampires in combination with other, fatal weaknesses. Dismemberment on its own will only succeed in slowing or immobilising a vampire until they are put back together, and can only be done through the strength of other vampires. However, in a similar vein to dismemberment, vampires also die if they are completely vaporised, such as in a nuclear blast.

### **Fire**

Fire is one of the few things that is, on its own, potentially fatal to vampires.A vampire’s  venom is highly flammable and combustible, meaning that if a vampire caught fire, they would have to put in out extremely quickly before the greater quantities of venom in their bloodstreams caught alight. The high combustibility of vampire venom has led to another reflex, one to avoid open flames as far as possible.

## **Newborns**

Newborn or newborn vampire is the term for a vampire that was created less than a year ago. On average, a newborn's physical strength greatly surpasses that of an older vampire. It is commonly believed that this is because they are fuelled by the leftover human blood still in their system but this is not the reason. The truth is a newborn vampire's strength is due to the amount of leftover fibrinogen in their cells. They actually have more fibrin in their system as the venom breaks down unneeded protein chains, enabling even faster cellular growth. As time passes, the fibrin will be consumed, and the newborn's physical capabilities and thirst will slowly diminish until it reaches that of a normal vampire.

### **Physiology**

Newborns appear much like normal vampires with the exception of their eyes. A newborn's eyes are an incredibly bright crimson, in sharp contrast to older vampires’ darker red (or gold) eyes. Newborns are also incredibly powerful in the physical sense, being much stronger and faster than a regular vampire, which allows them to easily crush an older vampire. As they become older their strength begins to wane, and after the first year, their strength will be reduced to that of an average vampire.

### **Psychology**

Newborns are often bloodthirsty, violent and uncontrollable. They have very little self control, and anger easily. They are also likely to kill one another to compete for blood. When they catch the scent of blood, their hunting instincts will take over and cloud their ability to focus, even the thought of the word "blood" is enough to make their thirst unbearable. The thirst is so maddening in the first year that most newborns are more animalistic and wild than their older counterparts. However, as time passes, their thirst will slowly diminish and become easier to manage. Their secondary human emotions and desires will mostly be dormant for a while, and resurface slowly over time.

It is impossible to predict how long a newborn or an average vampire will remain vicious and bloodthirsty before their secondary desires and personality resurfaces, since every person is different. Certain vampires may have to wait for at least a few years after their first year ends.

## **Immortal children**

Immortal children are human children who have been turned into vampires at a very early age. Creating immortal children has long been outlawed by the Volturi due to their inability to remain concealed from the human world. There is no absolute age limit set as to what constituted an immortal child; it was a subjective definition, based on the child's ability to behave himself in a way consistent with vampire law.

### **Physiology**

Like all vampires, immortal children are frozen at the mental and physical age at which they were transformed. Post-transformation, these small children continued to exhibit childish behaviours, including impulsive acts, tantrums, irresponsible activities, and a general lack of circumspection. It is said that an immortal child's tantrum can kill people, since restraint is basically impossible for someone so young.

Another aspect was their appeal; they were both beautiful and endearing that any human or vampire would automatically love them. Carlisle described them as adorable little children with smiles and dimples that would destroy a village in one of their tantrums.

## **Deviations from vampire folklore**

Vampires in the Twilight universe are far harder to destroy than their mythical counterparts, as they are not harmed by holy water, garlic (in small amounts), stakes, crosses, or human weapons.

Rather than being outright supernatural, they are depicted as more of an evolutionary pseudo-species.

Their bodies and skin are made of a material that is nigh-impenetrable to humans.

They are much stronger than most other vampires in fiction.

They must survive a vampire's bite to transform.

They sparkle in the sunlight.

They are reflected by mirrors and show up in photographs.

They have no need for coffins; they do not sleep.

They can’t shape shift.

They do not have fangs as all of their teeth are unbreakable, and incredibly sharp.