Vampires

IV

A **vampire** is a magical creature that lives by feeding on the blood of others, regardless of whether they are undead (another vampire) or a living person/being such as a human or other magical/mythical creature.

## Physiology

### Diet

Their diet is based strictly on blood, and while human blood is preferred, they can survive by ingesting the blood of other vampires. They cannot be killed unless certain methods are used.

### Appearance

A vampire, having once been human still retains their human looks. However, they all have common features, such as sharp, pointed, retractable fangs that replace their human canines, a piercing gaze, and pale skin that is cold to the touch. Their set of fangs descend at will (usually when about to feed, when threatened or attacking). Vampires also have incredibly sharp fingernails which are almost claw-like. These claw-like fingernails can be made to extend at will and are one of the vampire's natural weapons.

Vampires are enhanced beyond that of normal humans. Everything about a vampire is designed to be enticing to others. In other words, a vampire is more beautiful and attractive in order to attract their prey to them. This also means that they have adapted other means of luring in their prey such as a natural sweet smelling, alluring body scent that smells similar to perfume or cologne. This scent varies from vampire to vampire.

## Psychological Characteristics

Most vampires are friendly, desiring to live their lives as normal as possible without having to fear for their lives. They are very social creatures, desiring to have friends, attend special events and parties just like any human.

While most vampires are like any other human in terms of personality, it should be noted that like all other creatures they are extremely individualistic. Meaning, vampires are not to be thought of as fitting a specific stereotype regardless of good encounters. All vampires have a personality of their own and should be thought of as an individual. Any encounters with a new vampire should be treated as a dangerous encounter as you never know which vampire is "good" and which is out for your head.

* Type of Hierarchy
* Creation
* Slavery
* Aging
* Reproduction

Vampires organize themselves into clans and nests. A clan of vampires can contain as many as twenty or thirty vampires, while a nest typically contains only eight to ten vampires.

Even organized into clans and nests, all vampires are part of a monarchy. They are typically ruled by a patriarch. Vampires haven't had a matriarch since the 1200s.

Vampirism is said to be spread through the ingestion of vampire blood or by its direct introduction to the human bloodstream. While this theory isn't completely wrong, there is a much more important process that must be completed in order for another creature to become a vampire.

The creation of a vampire is a sacred process that takes place during the ritualistic drinking and exchanging of bloods between the pre-existing vampire, and the being that wishes to become a vampire. This ritual, more often than not, is a sacred act to bond or 'marry' a vampire to their chosen mate or their 'One'.

A vampire who is turning another being into a vampire will drink the other being's blood until they are near death, leaving just enough blood for the other party to continue breathing just long enough for them to ingest the vampire's own blood. The completion of this process alone does not guarantee that the other party will become a vampire, as the process once the blood sharing ceremony is complete is an agonizing and dangerous process. If the one who is being turned isn't strong enough to endure the agonizing pain, the process will not work and the one trying to become a vampire will die during the process.

However, if the transformation is a success, they will wake up after a drawn out period of sleep where the newborn's body must recover from the damaging transformation. This period of sleep can vary from a few hours to a few days.

Once the newborn awakens, they will likely be confused and disoriented. This is because the newborn isn't adjusted to the overwhelmingly sharp senses and other changes their bodies have went through while asleep. Blood lust usually sets in after, and drives the newly turned vampire to seek a source of blood. While this doesn't always mean that a newborn will kill on their first hunt, it does mean that their creator should be present just in case of a problem.

Vampires throughout the ages have been enslaving others to do their bidding and that has not changed. Since the beginning, vampires have been enslaving those who were weaker than themselves. In the past, they could have anywhere from twenty to fifty slaves to serve them in anything from feeding to sex. They would use them as they pleased and toss them aside.

Branding them with their family crest didn't stop them from being sold. Often, a slave would be branded with a family crest and then sold to another family to be branded with their crest. A human who was bound was Broken, unable to ever pick themselves up and live normally again. A vampire who was enslaved depended on age of enslavement and treatment.

Upon the fall of the old king and the rise of the new king, along with the Magic Council coming into order, the old slavery laws were taken down and new laws were put into place in order to prevent a revolt. The laws had to be carefully constructed or cause another war. See Vampire Laws for more information.

Vampires that have been turned or those that are born take only a year to mature. However, after reaching their natural maturation, they will not age anymore.

Once they have matured to the human age of one year, their bodies have fully developed to be the perfect predator. Abilities among vampires should begin to surface within the first three to six months of their life/transition. However, there are some rare cases that a vampire will not develop vampiric powers other than the natural heightened senses and abilities all vampires have.

Vampires mate for life, only choosing one partner for their entire lives.

It is a myth in that all vampires are sterile and cannot reproduce. Vampires can mate and reproduce with one another the same as any other mating couple. The only differences in their reproductive cycle is the fact that a vampire pregnancy generally takes only half the time that a human pregnancy does. A general full term pregnancy for a vampire is only three months.
## Types of Vampire

* Daywalker
* Nightwalker
* Shadow-walker

## Rare Birth Vampires

There are occasions that a vampire's birth is a gift. The vampires born with special or unique qualities are often considered to be rarities and are considered to be sacred among all vampires, no matter the type. Below, you will find a list explaining the different types of Rare Birth vampires:

* Pureblood- Purebloods generally are born from keeping their family lineage as clean and pure as possible. Purebloods attempt to keep any and all human blood out of their family, often to the extremes of researching other families endlessly before allowing their families to be united through marriage or treaty/agreement. They will also go so far as to even refuse to allow their family members to be with their "One" until they at least provide the family with one heir from them both male and female of pure blood in order to keep the lineage pure.

* Death Pulse- A Death Pulse vampire is a vampire with a heart beat, a living pulse. These vampires must breathe, take in food, and drink other fluids aside from blood in order to survive. Death Pulse vampires have a natural body heat, they can blend in seamlessly with humans, as they seem almost identical to them.

## Subspecies of Vampires

* Vampwolves
* Dhampir

## Clans

In the world of vampires, its common place and knowledge that there are many clans or families that have existed for thousands of years. The clans are distinguished from one another by physical traits, special powers and abilities, special spells, and clan tattoos and symbols. Among these clans, there are the large and powerful clans, and then there are the small and the weak. However, there are also some clans that have either went into hiding or have died out since the war between the vampires, werewolves and humans.

Each clan or family can be identified by their own specific clan tattoos and symbols and are divided not only by family, rank and class, but also by being a Daywalker or a Nightwalker.

### Surviving Daywalker Clans

* **Ryu (Dragon)**- The Ryu clan is a very old, and powerful clan that has existed since the medieval times. Well established and a large and growing clan, the Ryu are famous for their abilities that allow them to take the shape of a dragon or have dragon-like features.They're also able to mimic dragon abilities and some are even able to mimic the ancient magic of the true dragons. Their family crest is a tribal dragon which is often flown on flags and banners around their homes, but it also common practice to get the family crest tattooed in a large areas of the body so that it can be seen in times of battle.

* **Ookami (Wolf)**- A relatively younger clan when compared to the Ryu, the Ookami is a clan that is large and well known. The Ookami are famous for their abilities that allow them to take the shape of a wolf or have wolf-like features.They're also able to mimic wolf abilities. Their family crest is a tribal wolf which is often flown on flags and banners around their homes, but it also common practice to get the family crest tattooed on the body in places that it can be seen in times of battle.

### Endangered/Rare Daywalker Clans

* **Inu (Dog)**- The Inu clan is a very old, and powerful clan that has existed almost as long as the Ryu clan. The Inu were notorious for their viciousness and blood-lust. Trained from an early age to be hunters, many of the Inu clan were cruel and would go to extreme lengths to ensure that their children were just as blood-thirsty as their elders. Many of the younger generation were beaten and abused mentally, emotionally, and physically until they were savage, mindless beasts who only knew how to hunt and consume those in their path. However, like many of the clans of the past, the Inu clan has nearly died out and is a very rare clan. There are only a few surviving members of the clan left. Despite their small size now, the Inu are still famous for their abilities that allow them to take the shape of a dog or have dog-like features and personality traits. They're also able to mimic dog abilities. Their family crest is a tribal paw print which is often flown on flags and banners around their homes, but it also common practice to get the family crest tattooed on the body in places that it can be seen in times of battle.

* **Neko (Cat)**- The Neko clan is just as old, if not older than the Inu clan and are just as powerful in their own, mysterious ways. Unlike the Inu clan, the Neko clan aren't ones who enjoy fighting and killing. Instead, they're a clan known for their desire to be tricksters. Similar to a fox clan member in nature, they're playful and often act coy. Due to an unknown factor in their genes, Neko vampires are rarely born or created. The clan members who had once thrived in the years long past we either hunted and killed by vampire hunters or simply grew ill and died on their own (which is rare for a vampire of any clan). This, however, does not mean that there are not a rare few remaining. They're hard to find, but are said to still exist. The Neko are still known for their ability to transform their bodies into the shape of a cat of any size. This means that their bodies, similar to the Inu clan, can enlarge to become massive sized cats who are able to go toe to toe with the giant dogs and possibly even dragons. They're also able to mimic cat abilities. Their family crest is a tribal cat's head which is often flown on flags and banners around their homes, but it also common practice to get the family crest tattooed on the body in places that it can be seen in times of battle.

#### Surviving Night Walker Clans

The names of the surviving nightwalker clans are currently unknown. Most nightwalkers are loners, and as such it becomes extremely difficult to tell if they're members of a clan or working as an individual.

## Pairing

Vampires, unlike other races will never settle for just anyone in marriage. There is no such thing as a pre-arranged marriage or dating in a normal sense. Vampires in search of their life long partner (known to vampires as their "One") will often hook up for meaningless affairs and one night stands, but they will always move on to the next partner when they are done.

#### What is the "One"?

The One, for a vampire, is their true love and chosen, no matter their species or gender. Many vampires seek out their "One" for their entire lives, and travel all over the world in search of them. Often, once found, vampires will turn their "One" should they be anything other than a vampire. This bond is felt by both beings and is a bond that none can explain. This bond can also not be explained by any natural means.

Also, it is said that once they find their "one" and that "one" dies, the vampire left behind is left to travel the rest of their lives alone, constantly missing their partner because none will ever replace them. Very few will ever find another who feels like the "One" to them.

#### Exceptions

Occasionally, and on rare cases, there are times when a vampire will be born when they have not one, but two (very rarely more) who are their true partner. They can not explain it, and they are not doing it on purpose. No matter how hard they try, they are drawn to both people equally, and it is painful to be pulled away from either one. To choose between them is like asking them to die without either one. The two partners of the vampire, however, will not ask it of them either because they too can feel the powerful connection and forces that drawn them to one another.

In these rare cases, most partners can accept that there is more than one in the relationship and can accept each other even if they do not at first. They will eventually come to feel a bond between each other for the sake of their shared partner and eventually come to care deeply for each other, even if only for the sake of their partner.

## Vulnerabilities

As with other supernatural creatures, vampires have weaknesses that hunters can exploit to defeat them. Below, you can find a list of all of these weaknesses:

### Harming and Banishing

* **Silver**- Though Silver is known to be a method of killing and harming werewolves, many do not know that vampires have an allergy to silver as well. This allergy is said to exist because of a vampire's genetic makeup and how closely related they are to the werewolf. While it isn't lethal upon contact, it can become deadly should a vampire not seek treatment for the wound within a day. After a day, the silver in a vampire's blood stream will begin to wreak havoc on their system and causes their blood to become infected and toxic to them, causing them to die a slow and agonizing death.

* **Sunlight -**While sunlight can't hurt Daywalkers, it can harm Nightwalkers; rather than being lethal to Nightwalkers, it only causes pain to them. For this reason, Nightwalkers are primarily nocturnal, and will not go out while the sun is still on the horizon.
* **Scent-blocking**- Tossing a mixture of strong smelling scents such as saffron, skunk cabbage, and trillium into a fire or dusting one's clothes with the ashes of this mixture will cover a human's scent or will keep vampires at bay due to their sensitive sense of smell. This will even cover another vampire's scent. However younger vampires with their stronger senses, may be able to overcome this.

### Killing

#### Weapons, Rituals and Substances

* **Beheading** - Beheading is the most commonly used method to kill vampires.
* **Silver**- Though Silver is known to be a method of killing and harming werewolves, many do not know that vampires have an allergy to silver as well. This allergy is said to exist because of a vampire's genetic makeup and how closely related they are to the werewolf. While it isn't lethal upon contact, it can become deadly should a vampire not seek treatment for the wound within a day. After a day, the silver in a vampire's blood stream will begin to wreak havoc on their system and causes their blood to become infected and toxic to them, causing them to die a slow and agonizing death.

#### Beings

* **Gods**- Gods can kill a vampire effortlessly.
* **Angels-** Angels can kill a vampire without much difficulty.
* **Reapers**- Reapers can kill vampires by reaping their souls, killing them without any effort at all.

## Those Destined

There are times when a human child is born to loving human parents who have, somewhere in their past, a vampire in their lineage. This could be as a great, great, great grandfather or some such connection, but so remote that it has no great bearing on them. There have been cases of some humans having no vampiric lineage at all. The child, however, begins to show signs of being different than their parents.

As a small child, about the age of three, a human child whose hair will be anything from dark brown to black and sometimes even a deep auburn or even red or blond will fade out to snow white. This child will also begin to show signs of a decreasing lack of want or need of food- lack of hunger.

They will begin to become naturally more agile, stronger and will become more aesthetically pleasing. As well as showing signs of developing a gift that is supernatural in nature. If that is the case, this means that this child was predestined for something more. Destined to become a vampire.

Due to no fault of the child or the parents, this child was born to become a vampire and bring about some great change to the vampire community. Good or bad has yet to be seen, but they have a purpose among the vampires.

## Powers and Abilities

* **Fangs** - Vampires possess a set of retractable fangs that grows in place of their human canines. Their teeth are superhumanly strong and can rip open a human's neck and leave huge bite marks on the corpse of the victim it has fed on.
* **Claw Retraction-** The claws of a vampire are known for their sharpness. A vampire's claws are similar to razor blades, able to shred through flesh and some metals. Vampires can project and retract their claws, allowing them to appear to be nothing more than normal fingernails.
* **Blood Consumption**- Vampires absorb (usually by ingesting) the blood of others for sustenance and regenerative purposes.
* **Blood Empowermen**t- Most, if not all, vampires become stronger, faster, more durable, etc. when they come into contact with or are near blood, possibly unlocking abilities related to their affinity to blood and it enhances their existing powers.

* **Supernatural Beauty-** Vampires are supremely beautiful and use it to affect others. They are perfectly aware how to increase their appeal by apparel, action or choice of words, but even these are simply details to enhance their natural appeal. Vampires also emit pheromones that attract their prey and make them smell appealing to any who smell their scent. A vampire could make a complete stranger treat them like their closest friend in only a few minutes and be perfectly willing to help them in any way they need.
* **Supernatural Survivability**- Vampires are able to survive massive and even horrific injuries or damage at almost any level of danger or circumstances.
* **Unnatural Presence**- A vampire's mere presence in an area or proximity to an individual can result in bizarre changes to the surrounding people such as paranoia and hostility. The feeling of being in the presence of something grand or powerful like a vampire often send other creatures into a panic which could be an explanation for their sudden bizarre behavior.
* **Enhanced Agility**- Vampires possess amazing agility. They can climb up walls and jump off buildings without hurting themselves. Vampires also have greater reflexes than humans.
* **Enhanced Combat**- Vampires are unbelievably skilled in most known forms of fighting. They can be exceptionally proficient in the fighting traditions of a variety of cultures and become advanced with their own individual methods of close quarter combat, including martial arts (from all over the world), boxing, and wrestling. They can also become superhumanly skilled in their use of weaponry.
* **Enhanced Durability**- A vampire's durability (ability to endure/resist damage) is extremely high, allowing them to take numerous blows of internal or external assaults before succumbing to the effects.
* **Enhanced Endurance**- Vampires can operate on a low power setting, allowing them to operate for an extended amount of time. They can hold their breath for longer periods of time and remain calm through stressful or painful situations, tolerate extreme hunger, unbearable thirst, and strong urges to sleep.
* **Enhanced Senses**- Vampires have extremely keen senses that are superior to those of humans. They can see in the dark, hear a human's heart beat, and possess enhanced sense of smell. A vampire can track a human's blood over long distances. Hunters often warn that,
* **Enhanced** **Speed**- A vampire's speed is greater than humans. Some vampires have been recorded to reach the speed of sound, others have been recorded to have broken the sound barrier. However, this power is not without any ill effects, as it can strain the body, although some users may be resistant or even immune to the effects of high speed travel, including friction, g-force, inertia, etc.
* **Enhanced Strength**- Vampires possess strength that is greater than humans. Young vampires experience a formidable increase in physical strength; able to lift heavy objects and overpower grown humans. Older vampires, however, older vampires do not have the same strength as a young or newborn vampire.
* **Regenerative Healing Facto**r- As long as a vampire has enough blood, they can rapidly regenerate. Vampires can recreate lost or damaged tissues, organs and limbs. The rate and amount of healing varies widely (see Levels of Regeneration), some can regrow missing limbs, others must put the limb back in place for rapid regeneration. They are generally in very good physical shape as their bodies are constantly reverting to a healthy state.
* **Stealth**- Vampires are known for sneaking up on their victims- even experienced vampire hunters- without making a sound.
* **Vampirization-** Vampires can transform other beings into vampires. Usually, these other beings are humans, but other beings can also become vampires as well. However, this process isn't similar to the vampirization in folklore. In the world of *Midnight Reflections,* it requires a ritualistic ceremony of removing all of the blood in the candidate and replacing it with the vampire's blood. This ceremony is considered to be sacred in vampire culture.

## Vampires in Lore

According to most lore, vampires subsist by feeding on the life essence (generally in the form of blood) of living

creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person. Although vampiric entities have been recorded in many cultures, the term "vampire" was not popularized until the early 18th century, after an influx of vampire superstition into Western Europe from areas where vampire legends were frequent, such as the Balkans and Eastern Europe. This increased level of vampire superstition in Europe led to mass hysteria and in some cases resulted in corpses actually being staked and people being accused of vampirism. Local variants of vampires were also known by different names, such as vrykolakas in Greece and strigoi in Romania.

The vampires on *Midnight Reflections* do not resemble original vampire folklore much at all. In fact, the only thing they share in common with original vampire lore is that they are unable to be repelled by a cross and that Daywalkers and Shadow-walkers can't be killed by sunlight.

Original vampire folklore states that vampires are not supernaturally beautiful, and can't be killed by a wooden stake to the heart, but could only be destroyed by beheading or by burning them to death. It also has vampires being repelled by garlic, iron, and can not cross a line of seeds, salt, and running water. Vampires appeared differently in folklore than just ordinary people with retractable fangs. Folklore vampires have ruddy or dark skin, bloated body, blood seeping through the mouth, long nails and grown hair, red glowing eyes, supernaturally strong teeth, and a smell of decay. According to folklore, Vampires traditionally slept in their graves and hunt at night, they would first feed on the blood of their whole family and once it had killed them all, the vampire would then start to feed on other people in its community, thus spreading its curse to others, turning them into vampires as well. Folklore vampires were said to possess the power of shapeshifting into many different shapes, including animals and even mist, could spread diseases (which killed the victim and turned them into a vampire), great strength and agility (but only strong enough to overpower victims), and were said to be sexually insatiable.