American Vampire Confederation

The American Vampire Confederation, or AVC is the governing body of the  vampires within the continental United States of America. It is headed by the High Delegation.

## Territory

The American Vampire Confederation maintains control over most major settlements within the continental United States of America, with the exceptions of California, New England, and the Mississippi Delta Region. Closely tied with the American government, the Confederation's land is divided into territories mirroring those of the United States, each ruled by a state delegation, whose headquarters typically resides within the state capitol. States are further divided into small zones which surround cities and other major settlements, known as sectors. Each sector is headed by a sector delegation, who is responsible for running the city the sector is centered around.

## Organization

The AVC is led by the High Delegation, and each subsequent group of territory is controlled by another, smaller delegation. The policies set down by delegates are enforced by a Sheriff and their Deputies. Delegates also serve as a group of judges over those who have broken their laws.

### Delegates

The First Delegate of any city is its primary ruler, and is holder of domain within the entire city they live in. They are advised by a council of other delegates, together forming a delegation of a city. The First Delegate facilitates discussion, keeps meetings organized, has the power to veto motions set forth by the delegation, and when it comes to voting, has a vote count of five. Furthermore, they are the only ones able to call for executions and blood hunts. Together with the rest of their delegation, they judge criminals, set the rules and punishments within their domain, and can create any law that does not contradict those set by higher ranking delegations.

#### Sector and State Delegates

Sector delegates, who rule a single city and its surrounding area, are elected from among the sector's vampiric population. In order to run for an open seat, a prospective delegate must submit their resume to the current delegation for approval, and if it is granted, they may run for office. Upon being elected, a sector delegate will serve for fifteen years, before having to begin another campaign. Otherwise, they may also be ousted by a vote of four or higher from their colleagues.

State delegates are elected by the sector delegates from among their number, and serve for forty years before they need to begin a new election campaign. They may be ousted by a vote of five or higher by their colleagues.

#### The High Delegation

The High Delegation is the highest authority within the AVC, and the seven High Delegates who compose it are responsible for setting laws that the entire vampiric population within the AVC abides by. In addition to the local crimes within the District of Columbia, where their headquarters are located, the High Delegates on occasion may be have extremely prominent criminals from other regions set before them for judgement.

High Delegates are chosen by from among the various state delegations, with any state delegate being able to run for office if an empty seat is available. First, prospective High Delegates must submit their resumes to the current High Delegates for approval, and if it is received, they must work to accrue the most votes from their fellow state delegates, after which they will become members of the High Delegation. High Delegates serve for life, unless they either choose to step down, or are unanimously voted off by their fellows.

### Sheriffs

Sheriffs serve to enforce the laws set down by delegations, by whatever means necessary. They are appointed by their local delegation, and can be dismissed at any time. Their position comes with the authority to enforce local rules, and sheriffs are licensed to drag any vampire to the delegation for judgement with whatever force they deem necessary. Should the need arise, they are also typically the ones used by the delegation to execute lawbreakers.

Sheriffs are also endowed with the authority to deputize vampiric citizens, extending their own power into them. Deputies are allowed to employ force to make sure laws are followed, and will also be responsible for helping to capture, or if all else fails, eliminate, criminals. Sheriffs do not make deputies lightly, as the poor performance of a deputy reflects poorly upon them.

## Laws

### Murder

The killing of another law abiding vampire without good reason is a grave offence. Common punishment for murder is being staked and entombed within the earth for a number of years depending on who it was they killed. Generally speaking, the murder of an elder will result in a longer sentence, or in some cases, execution. However, on some occasions, if the murderer shows penitence for their crime, they may be allowed to be subjected to being blood bound to a responsible member of the community who will keep an eye on them.

As ever though, the punishments for crimes will depend entirely on the delegation, and any murder can be punished with the True Death.

### Violence

Given the brutal nature of vampire existence, no penalty exists for vampires assaulting each other. However, whoever is attacked is considered within their rights to retaliate with violence of their own, so long as it does not result in the death of the other vampire. The only exception to this rule is when in the presence of mortals, due to the fact that assault is a crime in American law and could result in unwanted attention from human authorities. Furthermore, utilizing vampiric powers or demonstrating ones nature could count as a breach of secrecy.

### Secrecy

The AVC abides by the Great Convention of 1486a, which demands that vampires do not reveal their existence to mortals in any way. Mortals who know of vampire's existence are required, as per the rules of the Convention, to be killed, mind wiped, made into famulii, or Embraced. Revealing vampire existence to mortals is known as a breach. The AVC defines five levels of breaches, which go thusly.

Level 1: The vampire has revealed the existence of the vampiric race to between one and five mortals, and the information has not spread to the extent that effort needs to be exerted by the vampire community to cover it up. The punishment is usually for the vampire to apprehend the mortals involved in the breach, and bring them before the delegation and a large number of community members. They will then need to publicly alter the memories of the mortal involved, or if they are not capable of doing so, execute them. However, they are able to request that another vampire perform the memory wipe on their behalf, though this will incur a debt to whoever assisted them. Subsequently, a common punishment that usually follows will have the perpetrator be staked and left in a supervised location for a few days to a week to contemplate their actions.

Level 2: The vampire's actions have led to the existence of vampires being revealed to an extant that requires community members to expend minor effort to cover it up. Such actions can include biting someone or demonstrating supernatural physical strength in public, enough to incur a minor police investigation. While some effort needs to be expended to cover up the breach, it is not a serious threat. The transgressor will be often be staked for one month, and will owe a legal debt of a to whichever member of the vampire community took the time to cover up their breach. Should the debtee require a service immediately, the one month staking may be postponed. On other occasions, the perpetrator may be subject to a one-sip blood bond to a responsible member of the vampire community.

Level 3: The vampire's actions have caused a rather difficult to cover up revelation of vampiric existence. Most likely, a Level 3 breach requires a considerable amount of bribes, hacking, and memory alteration to cover it up. Such incidents could include online footage of a vampire utilizing their powers or getting into a major police investigation. Furthermore, the strong possibility exists that the breach may have attracted the attention of vampire hunters. Level 3 breaches require several vampires to expend resources covering them up, and the perpetrator of the breach will owe favors to all those who assist in cleaning up their mess. Furthermore, they will also sometimes be subject to being staked for one year, or be forced into a blood bond with a responsible community member for a few weeks or months.

Level 4: The vampire has committed an act that is near impossible to cover up. Oftentimes, their actions have spread into mortal news (especially video recordings), and have spurred a massive response from their law enforcement. Level 4 breaches are almost guaranteed to have attracted the attention of vampire hunters. In order to cover up such breaches, almost the entire vampire community will have to put forth large amounts of resources. The punishment for such actions will involve the vampire being deemed to unstable to properly blend in with society at that current time, and they as such, they will most likely be staked permanently. There will be evaluations on their mental state every twenty five years, and if they are found to have reformed during that time, they will be released, then banished to another sector. Another alternative is an extremely long lasting blood bond to a responsible community member.

Level 5: The vampire has engaged in an action that vampires alone cannot quiet, requiring assistance from other supernatural beings such as mages to cover up. Such acts are very difficult to commit, and would usually constitute unleashing destructive carnage across an entire city, or brutally murdering someone on live television. Vampires who commit such a breach are dubbed to be too much of a danger to the entire race, and the only punishment for such an act is death.

Of course, the punishments for breaches vary completely depending on the local delegation. Some are more lenient, whilst others may engage in executions for even a Level 1 breach.