Vampires

These vampires are not the reanimated dead; they suffer instead from a disease of the blood which greatly slows the aging process and gives them supernatural strength, speed, reflexes. . . and a taste for blood and flesh. Although any vampire will vehemently propagate the opposite idea, vampires are far from immortal. No one knows exactly how they die of natural causes, though it is thought to happen once a vampire reaches around 1,000 years of age. Many vampires will claim to be far older than this, and the community is so desperate to believe in their immortality that these individuals are often accepted rather than called out on their lies.

Fangs
Each vampire posessess a minimum of four fangs (extended top and bottom canines), and a maximum of twelve (the teeth on the outside and inside of each canine might extend as well, in this instance). These fangs do not fold nor retract in any way, though they never grow past the lips and as a result can be hidden quite well by them.

Complexion
It is entirely possible for a vampire to become slightly more pale after contracting vampirism, though it is not uncommon for their skin tone to remain the same. Older vampires may sometimes be more pale than younger ones.

Feeding at less than at least once a week, however, will cause some drastic physical changes in a vampire. They will lose their strength, they will begin to emit a sick and pungent odor, and their features will appear shrunken and/or sunken. These changes are, at first, so subtle that only another vampire would notice. However, it becomes much more obvious the longer one goes without feeding.

Body Processes
As these vampires were never dead, that means that their bodies function more or less like that of a human. Their hearts still beat, they still breathe, they must make use of the toilet. There are two vital differences, however. The first is that vampires can only consume blood (it does not necessarily have to be that of a human), bone, and raw flesh. Eating "human food" will cause them to become violently ill and will result in lots of vomiting. This is a known cause of death among their kind, though it seems to be a rare occurrence. Secondly, yet another side effect of their disease is that all vampires become completely sterile around 100 years of age.

Conception

 * It is extremely difficult for vampires to conceive, though some effort has been put into the idea for several centuries. Children born "the human way" of vampires are born vampires, as well, and for quite some time the thought went around that these would be "super vampires" of a sort- truly immortal, all-powerful, and able to save their weak parents from certain death. These "super vampires" are very rare, and although only marginally stronger from the majority of their kin, are regarded with great amounts of fear and suspicion. Most super vampires tend to keep the secret of their birth to themselves, as it's not really worth the trouble of bringing up. These super vampires are born as babies, and it takes them approximately 40 - 100 years to "grow up."

Aging
Over the course of their 1,000 year lifespans, a vampire may physically age anywhere between 10 and 20 years. Due to their decelerated aging, this is a very slow process that most seem to miss. Only another vampire is likely to remember what you looked like 200 years ago, and is therefore the only one who would bother pointing out the differences.

Contracting Vampirism
The only way to become a vampire is to consume the blood of a vampire. The disease begins its work almost immediately, with effects becoming apparent within 24 hours. The human will become very ill and feverish, and sometime soon after will fall unconscious. They will remain that way for several days, and if they are fortunate enough to have survived the fever, they will wake with a thirst for blood. Vampiric strength, senses, reflexes, etc., come at a later time. The victim will grow into them within a century; the exact amount of time it takes depends on how much blood the fledgling consumes, and the strength of their maker. For some, the transformation may be complete within just a few years. It is common to see either small improvements in the senses, or having one sense develop fully before the other.

Common Behavior & Culture
Although most of them were once human, vampires conduct themselves very differently from them. Their disease alters their brain chemistry over time, causing them to exhibit an odd variety of behaviors. Some things, like feeding and vocalizations, come naturally. Other things, like body language, are learned through exposure to others of their kind.

Feeding
Vampires typically feed at least once a week, most commonly on blood alone. There are some who choose to eat both the bones and flesh of their victims, though many vampires look down on this behavior. Vampires can also feed off of one another, an act which is considered to be extremely intimate and is, likewise, frowned upon.

Feeding, in all its forms, produces a kind of high in every vampire. They experience feelings of intense pleasure and euphoria. These sensations are so strong that they are sometimes enough to completely paralyze a vampire until the high passes, which could be anywhere from five minutes after feeding to three hours. The longer a vampire goes without feeding, the more "high" they get when they finally do. Some vampires will intentionally starve themselves for this reason, though this is thought to be extremely detrimental to the physical and mental health of a vampire.

Birds of a Feather
Vampires tend to attract other vampires. Where one goes, others are sure to follow. Although they do not always get along with one another, the majority of them would much rather deal with the devil they know rather than the one they don't. A more socialized vampire may not have any problems with members of the other races, though all vampires tend to have a slight aversion to banshees.

Views on Death
Ask any vampire at all, and they will tell you that they are immortal. No one else lives long enough to prove them wrong- but there is a silent and sinister knowledge common to all vampires that have reached a certain age, whispers, wonderings, that their immortality might be no more than myth. No one knows how a vampire dies of natural causes, and while no one seems to know anyone who has died of natural causes, most vampires have a friend-of-a-friend who has most definitely witnessed it. Rather than putting much thought into the matter, vampires as a whole prefer to ignore the inevitability of their deaths and happily promote the idea that they will live forever within the supernatural community.

Body Language & Vocalizations
Body language is very important to a vampire. Although they are not beyond scrapping with others, this is more of a last resort. They tend to try and outdo one another in displays of physical prowess instead. When angered, for example, a vampire may bare their teeth, widen their eyes, and spit- not like the spitting on the ground kind of spitting, but rather the sort of thing an enraged cat might do. Oftentimes, whoever has the biggest or the most teeth, and whoever makes the most noise, tends to walk away the victor of the quarrel. This type of behavior is seen as extremely disrespectful.

They do a fair amount of hissing and growling as well, to show discontent, uncertainty, or anger. There is a very fine line between what is offensive and what is not when it comes to these sounds; softer sounds, or short but louder vocalizaitons, of disquiet are generally excused whereas prolonged and loud hissing or growling is seen as a challenge.

To show respect to one another, vampires will often avert their gaze and refuse to look the respected figure in the eye. They will speak in quiet, gentle tones, and only when spoken to. To be too noisy or to raise one's voice without permission is disrespectful, and to stare down the respected figure is to challenge them. This sometimes results in what can only be described as extreme staring contests, in which the first to look away is the loser and is stripped of respect, rank, power, etc., or possibly even put to death.

Tilting one's head to the right and/or narrowing the eyes is also seen as a sign of respect among more equal individuals. A well-respected vampire will give a more lowly vampire permission to speak freely in their presence in this way. A tilt to the left is just as significant, and carries more meanings: it may be a show of disrespect, it may be meant to be patronizing, or it may be a sign that the other vampire is dismissed.

Fledglings & Makers
'Fledgling' is a word used to describe any young vampire, and also any vampires created by a maker. 'Makers,' the vampires offering their blood for consumption, assume responsibility for the mortal they are turning. It is their job, as seen by the community, to teach the fledgling the ways of being a vampire. Any make r that fails in doing this will often have their unruly children exterminated like vermin. Makers often see their relationship with their fledges as that of parent and child, and typically have extremely strong bonds with them. They may choose to remain together for life, or separate after the fledgling has learned what is necessary. It is said that a maker can always find their fledges on instinct alone, no matter the distance between them.

There is no way of knowing who 'made' whom just by looking at someone, though a vampire will rarely keep secret the name of their maker or the fact that they have children.

Senses
Vampires come to develop extremely sensitive ears and noses. Their hearing ranges between 40 to 60 HZ (opposed to 20 HZ in a human), and they can hear across greater distances than humans as well. Most vampires have around 200 million scent receptors (opposed to 5 million in a human), and can smell things that humans cannot- such as the stench of fear. These senses are akin to that of a canine. Vampires also develop night vision similar to that of a cat.

Strength & Reflexes
Depending on their size and lifestyle, vampires can lift anywhere between 400 to 1,000 pounds with ease. Proper feeding, years of training, and aging means that some can lift as much as 2,000 pounds. Vampires are as fast as the fastest humans, and have excellent reflexes. They do not gain an increase in endurance, and must train as humans do in order to have 'supernatural' endurance.

Regeneration
A healthy vampire will be able to regenerate damaged tissues very quickly. Small cuts and scrapes will be completely gone within a minute, and things like broken bones can be mended (if properly set) within 72 hours. Vampires have been known to regnerate lost digits or other small body parts (fingers, toes, nose, ears), and even so much as hands and feet.

Telepathy
Some vampires can project their thoughts at other vampires and communicate telepathically. Full conversations can be had in only a matter of seconds in this way. Some claim that these telepathic conversations are like watching the flashing, bioluminescent lights of deep-sea creatures: they happen that quickly, and entire ideas can be encapsuled in one flash of light. A vampire can communicate to any other vampire in this way, it is only a matter of whether or not the other will be able to respond. The other races cannot be communicated with telepathically, nor does this grant a vampire the ability to read minds.

Immune to Illness & Disease
After contracting vampirism, a vampire becomes immune to all other illnesses and diseases.

Weaknesses
Vampires are suspectible to many of the same types of injuries as humans. They can be cut, they do bleed, their bones can be broken, they can be asphyxiated, they can die of a gunshot wound, etc. Their regenerative abilities and immense strength makes killing them very difficult, though not at all impossible. Extreme heat or extreme cold is the only way to stop these regenerative abilities, and making use of fire or freezing water is a smart way to weaken and kill a vampire.

Sun
After enough exposure, the sun will give any vampire a headache and weaken them. However, younger vampires are more resistant. Super vampires are the most vulnerable in the sun, as they were never entirely immune to it as their once-human counterparts.

Curiosity
All vampires are curious, so much so that it borders on OCD. If they see something unusual and out of place, they will have to investigate and search for a reason as to why the situation is as it is. Some vampires have very specific curiosities, such as being drawn only to shiny objects. None the less, creating a curious situation is a great way to distract them.

Related

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 * Boss of Bosses
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 * Faes
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