Vampire

There are two distinct types of vampires: humans with vampire properties known as **halfbreeds** or **halfbred vampires** and the separate species known as **pureblooded vampires.**

## Biology

### Halfbreed Vampires

Halfbreed vampires fall into the stereotypical category of vampires typically seen in other works of fiction. They are essentially humans with supernatural properties. Halfbreed vampires can be visually distinguished from normal humans by their pale skin (which can often be pure white) and by their bioluminescent irises, which, in addition to being the standard colours (blue, hazel, brown (which glow a dark red colour), green), their eyes can often be of less normal colours such as bright red, purple, orange or other very bright colours.

Some of the vampiric properties include:

* Immunity to any and all disease as a result of a highly powerful and evolved immune system. Vampires are also immune to cancer, autoimmune diseases and toxins (poisons). As vampirism in humans is considered to be a condition, some may consider vampirism to be a disease itself, especially since vampirism is spread both sexually (only the offspring will be vampires) and through bites. Vampires are also immune to radiation poisoning, such as that encountered in nuclear waste, power plants and weapons. Some individuals may also benefit from the effects of radioactivity, their power and strength being augmented as a result. Despite this, their pale skin is less resistant to the sun's ultraviolet rays and they burn easily.
* All vampires can see clearly in the dark, even in pitch black dark. In addition to excellent night vision, their eyesight is much better than normal humans, as is their hearing.
* The consumption of blood is uniquely beneficial to vampires, much like vampire bats. Vampires often describe the bloods of different animals having different "flavours", and as such human blood is often a favourite. Their diet is not restricted to blood, as a vampire cannot survive strictly on drinking the blood of other animals and humans. Like regular humans, halfbreed vampires are omnivorous creatures.
* Vampires are immortal, through infinitely regenerating telomerase and other advanced biological functions. In theory, a vampire can live forever.
* Vampires heal from injuries much more quickly and are even capable of healing spinal cord and serious brain injuries.
* Vampires are nocturnal creatures. This is an evolutionary trait because hunting and drinking blood was often easier done at night.
* Vampires have four fangs (two top, two bottom) used for piercing skin and drinking blood. These fangs can extend and retract from/into the skull. In addition, they also function similar to how fangs in venomous snakes work. They are capable of spraying different fluids with different functions: a fluid to stop the blood from clotting, a fluid to cause a numbing effect (this can be applied directly to the skin, making it very useful in treating injuries), a fluid to cause a human bite victim to turn into a halfbreed vampire and a highly toxic venom which can kill.
* All vampires have an ability which is referred to as **"Blood Sight"**; the ability allows a vampire to see the heartbeat of a living creature within a certain radius, even through layered, solid objects. This causes the iris to glow much more brightly.
* The common stereotype that the sun is dangerous is partly true. The sun is not necessarily dangerous; however, due to a vampire's pale skin they are more susceptible to the sun's ultraviolet radiation and are more prone to sunburns than regular humans.
* Because vampires have increased muscle density, they are significantly stronger than normal humans. They are also capable of running much faster and longer than normal physically fit humans.
* (Mass Effect universe) Element Zero is an important factor in vampirism. As a result, halfbreed vampires have a natural biotic ability that doesn't require bio-amp implants (see biotics) to take advantage of; however, the use of bio-amp implants can significantly augment a vampire's biotic capability.
* (PowerGuyG4 universe) Vampires have a natural ability to control kinetic energy. This grants them basic telekinesis as well as other abilities (such as being able to destroy a building with sheer kinetic energy).
* Regular halfbreed vampires, like all other types, are capable of basic telekinesis. Regular halfbreeds are capable of manipulating objects weighing roughly 18kg (40lbs) and less from a distance of up to around 10 metres (32 feet). In addition to basic telekinesis abilities, all vampires are also able to read minds, though regular halfbreeds can only read minds up to around 5 metres (16 feet) away.
* Their telekinetic abilities can be combined with their physical strength to lift even larger objects than their physical strength alone.

People commonly believed that vampires can turn into bats, due to the fact that they share their bloodthirstiness with vampire bats; however, this is not possible. Also unlike common stereotypes, vampires aren't allergic to garlic, religious artifacts have no effect and they do have reflections in mirrors.

Vampirism has a significant effect on reproduction. As vampirism is considered to be a dominant trait, the offspring will always be halfbreed vampires regardless of which parent was a vampire. Though vampirism is technically spread sexually, it is only spread to the offspring and is not spread to another sexual partner. Halfbreed vampires appear in one of two ways: being born a halfbreed vampire (neither parent may be a pureblooded vampire *or* a Child of the Cold Depths) or being turned by another halfbreed or pureblood vampire through a venomous bite.

It is also important to consider aging as vampires are immortal creatures. A child who was born a vampire will develop and mature as usual, but once their body has reached peak maturity at around 21 years of age, the aging process essentially stops. This is why halfbreed vampires who are hundreds of years old maintain their young appearance. Like regular humans, the brain is finished developing at around 25 years of age, and like the body, once matured the aging process stops. It is also worth noting that vampires do not get brain diseases like dementia or Alzheimer's.

### Children of the Cold Depths

Children of the Cold Depths are halfbreed vampires; however, there are two things that set them apart from regular halfbreed vampires. Children of the Cold Depths will have the DNA of a pureblooded vampire, as one of their parents was a pureblooded vampire or a Child of the Cold Depths. The title is in reference to having been born of a cold grave (as historically, vampires were considered to be undead even though they actually aren't) and is reserved for halfbreed vampires who have a human parent and a pureblood parent.

The naming schematic is dictated by the child's gender - Son of the Cold Depths for males, Daughter of the Cold Depths for females or simply Child of the Cold Depths if a gender-neutral term is preferred. It should be stressed that in order for a halfbreed vampire to be considered a Child of the Cold Depths, one of their parents must have been a pureblooded vampire, either born of or sired by a pureblooded vampire (or have one or two parents who are also Children of the Cold Depths). All offspring of a Child of the Cold Depths, regardless of biological sex, will also be Children of the Cold Depths as they inherited the pureblood DNA from their parent.

Mathias von Delacroix is a notable example of a Son of the Cold Depths, having been born of a human mother with a pureblooded father. The biological sex of the pureblood parent and the human parent also matters in how the offspring will turn out. Oftentimes, when the father is the pureblooded vampire, the offspring will be more powerful than if the mother was the pureblooded vampire. Regardless, as vampirism is a dominant trait, how powerful the pureblood vampire's family bloodline is plays a very important role in how strong the offspring will be.

The second major difference that sets Children of the Cold Depths apart from regular halfbreed vampires is their augmented power over regular halfbreeds. Thanks to the pureblood DNA that they inherited from one of their parents, some of their augmented abilities include:

* The ability to heal much more quickly than regular halfbreed vampires. Children of the Cold Depths are also much more difficult to kill as they can easily heal from injuries that would normally be fatal to a normal human or even a normal halfbreed.
* Children of the Cold Depths are significantly stronger than normal halfbreed vampires, who themselves are significantly stronger than normal humans. For example, Mathias von Delacroix can rip apart another human or other creature with no effort.
* (Mass Effect universe) Their natural biotics are far stronger than those in normal halfbreeds.
* (PowerGuyG4 universe) Their ability to control kinetic energy is far greater than that of normal halfbreeds.
* Their Blood Sight has an increased radius than normal halfbreeds (they can spot the heartbeats of living creatures from further away).
* A Child of the Cold Depth's telekinesis abilities are dramatically more powerful than that of a regular halfbreed. They can manipulate objects 150kg (330lbs) and less from a distance up to roughly 100 metres (328 feet) away. They are also able to read minds as far away as 30 metres (100 feet). In addition to this, Children of the Cold Depths are also able to communicate telepathically as far away as 30 metres (100 feet), their voice appearing in the minds of others. Individuals without prior experience of having been communicated with telepathically will often mistake this for schizophrenia. Children of the Cold Depths are also able to temporarily take control of a non-vampire being's mind (A vampire's brain is resistant to being breached in this manner and cannot be read even by mind reading technology; however, vampires can still communicate telepathically with each other).
* Children of the Cold Depths, in addition to pureblooded vampires, are capable of teleporting short distances which can make them incredibly dangerous.
* Their telekinetic abilities can be combined with their physical strength to lift even larger objects than their physical strength alone.

Another interesting facet is that Children of the Cold Depths are often much taller and more muscular than regular humans or halfbreed vampires. This is because of the pureblood DNA that they have. Mathias von Delacroix; for example, is 190cm (6'3") tall, which is considered to be relatively tall by human standards, but somewhat short by the standards of Children of the Cold Depths. On average males tend to be over 200cm (6'7") tall and females over 198cm (6'6") tall.

Despite the fact that Children of the Cold Depths have augmented strength and power because of their pureblooded parent, they won't be even stronger still if their human parent was a halfbreed vampire or even a Child of the Cold Depths. Their power and strength seems to rely solely on their pureblood parent.

### Pureblood Vampires

Pureblooded vampires are an entirely separate species from humans. They are a part of the same genus *homo* and are so closely related that interbreeding is possible (spawning Children of the Cold Depths). Despite the fact that they are so closely related to humans, their physical outward appearance is vastly different from humans. Because pureblooded vampires and humans are so genetically similar yet their appearances are so different, it is often thought that pureblooded vampires were spawned as an offshoot race by an alien race, though there is no evidence to prove this.

The biggest reason vampires were considered to be demons by many religions is because of their appearance. In fact, many religions use pureblooded vampires as the basis for their depictions of demons. Pureblood vampires are massive creatures, on average standing at least 240cm (8') tall, extremely well-built muscles with red skin of various shades (though completely white and black exceptions can occur) and large wings with talons at the tips of the fingers, capable of flying. The skulls of these creatures also bear little resemblance to humans. The cranial capacity is proportionately the same as humans (if not a bit larger) but their faces are distinct in that they have elongated muzzles, full of razor-sharp teeth. They also have horns on their heads, which bear cultural significance.

The diet of a pureblood also varies significantly from humans. While humans are primarily omnivorous and benefit from the consumption of both plant and animal matter, pureblooded vampires are primarily carnivorous creatures and the range of foods they can eat is much narrower than what humans or halfbreed vampires can eat. Similar to dogs, chocolate can be toxic to them and many plant foods provide them no benefit if they don't cause cramping or nausea.

In fact, besides DNA and genetic makeup, the only four ways pureblood vampires resemble humans is through their humanoid, bipedal form, their viviparous nature, their internal organ layout and their muscle layout. They have opposable thumbs and four fingers on their hands, each with razor-sharp claws. Their feet also look like human feet, with sharp talons on each toe. Pureblooded vampires also have thick tails, which are usually around 120cm (4') to 150cm (5') long. The muscles in their tales are incredibly strong and primitive pureblooded vampires often used their tails as bone-shattering weapons.

As mentioned above, it is possible for normal humans and halfbreed vampires to interbreed with pureblooded vampires. Regardless of which parent was the pureblood and which one was the human, the offspring will always be a Child of the Cold Depths. The offspring's power and strength are dictated by whether the mother or the father had been the pureblooded vampire and interestingly enough, the offspring will always be stronger and more powerful if the father had been the pureblood vampire than if the mother had been. The strength and power of the pureblood's bloodline also play a prominent role in the offspring's strength and power; if the pureblood's bloodline was strong, the Child/Children of the Cold Depths will also be strong. Regardless, Children of the Cold Depths are always stronger and more powerful than their regular halfbreed counterparts.

Interbreeding between humans and pureblood vampires can be quite dangerous. While a pureblood female impregnated by a human male will not carry an increased risk of complications, a human female impregnated by a pureblood male will carry a significant risk for complications. These complications are rarely passed down to the child, but it is not uncommon for the human mother to die or endure significant injury during childbirth. Interestingly enough, if the human mother had been a halfbreed, the risk of complications does not increase. It is for these two reasons that make Children of the Cold Depths sired by a pureblood extremely rare, much rarer than Children of the Cold Depths born of a pureblood who themselves are extremely rare in comparison to normal halfbreeds.

Some differences between halfbreed vampires and pureblooded vampires include:

* The eyes of a pureblooded vampire glow differently: rather than the iris, the entire eye besides the pupil glows.
* Their strength is taken to the extreme and pureblood vampires have no trouble picking up and throwing large vehicles and other similarly heavy objects.
* They heal at an even faster rate than Children of the Cold Depths and are far more difficult to kill.
* (Mass Effect universe) Their biotic ability is unmatched and with bio-amp implants, a powerful pureblood vampire can be extraordinarily dangerous and disconcerting.
* (PowerGuyG4 universe) Their ability to manipulate kinetic energy is unsurpassed, making pureblood vampires extraordinarily dangerous and disconcerting.
* Pureblood vampires have the most powerful Blood Sight of any vampires. They have an extremely far radius in which they can detect the heartbeat of other living beings.
* Pureblood vampires have the most powerful minds of all vampires. Their telekinetic powers are very strong, being able to manipulate objects in excess of 300kg (660lbs) from a distance of up to 150 metres (492 feet). They can also read, communicate with and take control of non-vampire minds from a distance of up to 50 metres (165 feet) (A pureblood vampire can still communicate telepathically with other vampires).
* Their telekinetic abilities can be combined with their physical strength to lift even larger objects than their physical strength alone.

### Population Statistics

Vampires have historically been rare creatures and continue to be rare in modern times. Assuming a city of 10,000,000, the following estimations can be made:

* Around 500,000 are regular halfbreeds (5% of the city's population).
* There are roughly 90,000 pureblooded vampires (0.9% of the city's population).
* Around 5,000 vampires are Children of the Cold Depths (0.05% of the city's population).
* Of the 5,000 Children of the Cold Depths, only 250 of them (5%) have a pureblood father and a human/halfbreed mother. The other 4,750 Children of the Cold Depths have a pureblood mother and human/halfbreed father. Remember that a Child of the Cold Depths with a pureblood father will always be stronger and more powerful than a Child of the Cold Depths with a pureblood mother.

In total, a city of 10,000,000 could have a vampire population of around 590,000.

## History

Modern humans first began to appear around 200,000 years ago. Modern pureblood vampires are also thought to have started appearing around this time as well, and it is thought that pureblood vampires are an offshoot of early modern humans. Because such a vastly different appearance yet similar genetic makeup to humans had evolved so quickly, many believe that one or more alien species had meddled with the development of humans, pureblood vampires or both; however, there is still no evidence to support this idea and scientists are as of yet unsure of why this is.

Much like the earliest humans, modern pureblood vampires first started appearing in Africa and dispersed around the Earth's continents at a similar rate to humans. Despite humanity's and pureblooded vampires' close evolution, they often developed completely separate civilizations. Humans have historically feared pureblood vampires, a result of a pureblood's often terrifying features. Because of this, humans and pureblood vampires rarely dealt with each other, though halfbreed vampires are thought to have first appeared around when civilizations started becoming more complex. For a few thousand years, halfbreeds only appeared as a result of venomous bites from pureblooded vampires, and then from other halfbreed vampires. Children of the Cold Depths are thought to have first appeared around 12,000-13,000 years ago, which is 1,000-2,000 years before human organized religion started to become prevalent.

Organized religion proved to be detrimental to the well-being of all vampires. Initially, for the first few thousand years, vampires got along with human organized religion as they often kept separate from humans. However, the small vampire civilizations started to grow more dramatically and this alarmed many humans and as such religious texts began to command that vampires be hunted and killed. These commands found their way into and became most prevalent in Abrahamic religions (like Judaism, Christianity and Islam). Vampire civilizations in the Middle East were largely eliminated. Christianity became prevalent in the 4th century when it was embraced by the Romans. Seeing this and what had happened, vampires started keeping their civilizations hidden, moving underground or into remote, hard to reach areas.

Vampire civilization remained largely unharmed in Europe until the 11th century when the religious began to fear vampires again upon the discovery of several pureblood civilizations, and they began to hunt down and kill vampires, often in horrific and brutal ways. This, coupled with the relatively low spread rate of vampirism and vampire birth rate, vampires, both halfbreed and pureblood were kept rare. This is also the time when the likeness of pureblood vampires was first used to depict demons.

While the religious hunted vampires in most of Europe, the Vikings saw the value in vapirism and dozens of halfbreed and pureblood vampires sailed to North America with them in the 11th century and as time passed, hundreds and even thousands more would leave for North America to escape religious persecution in Europe. Over time, as European influence and eventually religious influence would spread to North America, vampire hunts were conducted in new settlements, much like the Salem Witch Trials.

In more modern times beginning somewhere between 2005 and 2010 with the rise of education on the subject of vampirism, halfbreed vampires have begun to come out of hiding as popular culture became not only more accepting of vampires and vampire culture, but also began to romanticize it. By 2145 when Earth's developed nations were almost entirely secular, halfbreed vampires feel much more comfortable out in the public eye, though pureblood vampires prefer to remain in hiding.

In more recent years since humanity's entry into the Milky Way community, vampires have been subjected to biological and genetic experiments, mostly conducted by non-human scientists. There are a few notable examples of asari scientists studying vampiric genetic material with the eventual goal of reaping the benefits of being a vampire.

## Culture

Having always been seen as sort of an anomaly due to their unique properties and their usual rarity by humans, vampires have always valued close familial and community ties which were strengthened when religious humans began to hunt vampires. In contrast to the way vampires were usually viewed by humans, they were rather peaceful. Because they were made frequent targets of torture and slaughter, they learned early on to empathize with other people. Because familial ties are very valuable to vampires, children will often hold their parents in high regard and are often very affectionate towards their parents.

For a long time, pureblood vampire culture was very ritualistic. For example, there were strict rituals surrounding childbirth and deaths and even meals were considered a special occasion though interestingly birthdays were not celebrated nearly as much as other occasions, likely because vampires were aware of their immortality (or at least long lifespans) for thousands of years.

Many cultures around Earth have or had "coming of age" rituals and pureblood vampires are no exception. A common tradition was to send adolescents out to catch their first animal and bring it back to the community, where they would be made to kill the animal and prepare it for the whole tribe to eat. Another ritual regarded tribe and community leaders. Many early pureblood tribes featured a form of democracy, where a new leader (usually female) would be chosen by popular vote every few years. Leaders could also be removed from power if the group deems the leader. Often this impeachment is peaceful, but sometimes bloody. Rituals regarding a new leader first coming into power were very strict and elaborate and involved begging the gods for their blessings and offerings of wealth and celebrations and fanciful feasts.

Ancient pureblood vampire culture also had gender roles though they were different from what humans typically had. Females were often seen as leaders, teachers and spiritual guides and were often looked up to by all members of the community. The most socially important members of the community were usually females. Males were more seen as capable workers and warriors and were tasked with providing food and protection for the rest of the community. Fathers usually took care of their sons and mothers usually took care of their daughters so they would likely follow in their paths; however, an individual was not restricted to their gender roles. It was socially acceptable for a male to take on a leader role and for a female to take on a hunter role.

Death was historically surrounded by months of ongoing rituals. As it was rare for an individual to die in these pureblooded and halfbreed communities, it was treated as a very serious event. The death of an individual was not seen as random chance; rather a curse from the gods as punishment. The older members of the clan would admonish younger ones as one of the ways they'd attempt to appease their gods. Clans would also gather wealth and food as offerings to the gods and engage in chants of sorrow to ease the passing of the deceased individual.

Sexual reproduction was also surrounded by rather specific, elaborate rituals and requirements. Because vampiric society developed separately from human society, vampires were never considered to be sexually repressed at all and topics regarding sex and sexuality were never considered taboo, even in modern times, though as time progressed the levels of sexual repression and modesty increased with other cultural influences. For example, pureblood vampires historically only wore special clothing for ceremonial purposes or to keep warm in colder climates but in modern times they almost always wear loincloths at the very least, even though they keep away from human civilization.

When it came to actual reproduction, the female's ovulation cycles were closely monitored. When the female was ovulating, she was considered "enchanted" by the gods. Coupling was not decided by love or romance, though purebloods always possessed the capacity. Instead, reproductive coupling was decided by which of the males was considered to be the strongest and most intelligent; the most successful male hunters were often seen as the greatest choices to sire children as it was common belief that one's actions in life would entail success of the children. Almost every individual was required to reproduce in order to keep the community strong and growing. Pureblood society was rather discriminatory in this regard. Any vampire considered weak or weak-willed was not allowed to reproduce and in some cases, they were ostracized or even forced to leave the clan.

Also ostracized and looked down upon were human/pureblood relationships. Because pureblood vampires preferred to stay away from human society and even began to fear humans, pureblooded vampires have typically disapproved of human/pureblood relationships. In fact, Children of the Cold depths have been exceptionally rare until the 20th century when some pureblood vampires pursued these relationships regardless of their clan's beliefs. In the early to mid 20th century, instances of pureblood families abandoning Children of the Cold Depths were not uncommon and as such these children were cared for by their human parents or other family members. Only in the late 20th century to early 21st century did pureblood families become more accepting of their Children of the Cold Depths counterparts.

Also unlike humanity, same-sex relations were not scrutinized or looked down upon; however, they were seen as undesirable due to the fact that nearly every individual was required to eventually reproduce. Eventually, surrogacy options for male same-sex couples and sperm donors for female same-sex couples were introduced and the mild stigma soon disappeared as these couples could now also reproduce as well.

Modern halfbreed and pureblood vampires do not hold to their ancient rituals and religions, though some aspects still remain. Close familial and community bonds are still valued above all else and while the levels of sexual repression have increased and pureblood vampires now avoid all unnecessary complete nudity, they are still very open and topics about sex and sexuality are not considered taboo. Death is no longer emphasized nearly as much as it historically was due to modern vampires' secular, skeptical mindset; however, the loss of an individual is mourned much more than normal humans. Much of their cultural traditions are in line with modern, Westernized human society.

### Religion

Historically, vampires worshipped their own pantheon of gods and goddesses, having deities attached to nearly every aspect of nature that they would pray to and try to appease. Vampires became some of the earliest secular groups upon being forced to question their own belief systems when being hunted by religious humans, and as science and education became more prevalent in society, they began to drop their religions and become secular when they realized that they did not need them anymore.

Globally, the religions of pureblood vampires had been similar to ancient Egyptian, ancient Greek, ancient Roman and Native North American religions. They commonly revered the moon and the god or goddess associated with it and believed in gods and goddesses associated with life, death, love and evil as well as the wind, trees and small life. Similar to Greek mythology, they also believed in a place of the dead, ruled over by a prince, rather than a god or goddess.