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Vampires
Height: Varies, within regular limits of the race the Vampire was born as. Static after Turning.
Lifespan: 300-400 years.
Hair: Varies, within regular limits of the race the Vampire was born as. Length static after Turning, though can be dyed.
Eye color: Varies, within regular limits of the race the Vampire was born as. Static after Turning.
Skin color: Varies, within regular limits of the race the Vampire was born as. Static after Turning.
Vampires were once human, but changed due to being Turned by a vampire. It is unknown who the first Vampires were. The appearance of a vampire is similar to the appearance they had when they were Turned. They need to feed directly from the source (ie from a living human) and do so from elongating their canines into needle like points that can 'bite' into a vein.
Vampires need human blood. They can eat or drink like regular humans but food does not sustain them. Blood does. Feeding is an extremely pleasurable experience both for the vampire and the human they feed upon. It is said to be similar to the feeling one gets during sex and more often than not feeding and sex go hand in hand.
A vampire needs about one pint of blood every week to sustain themselves, more if they are currently healing. The amount needed is not enough to kill a person but it is enough to leave them feeling drained and needing rest. A regular human blood donor can usually offer a pint per two weeks (similar to blood donations), so as a result vampires usually collect a group of 'donor' humans to provide them with blood, usually in exchange for sex or shelter or both. Animal blood may work in an emergency, though the transfer is so inefficient that it requires a pint per day rather than a pint per week.
It is interesting to note that one's blood type plays a large role in how nourishing the blood is to a vampire host. The reason being that the blood types A, B and AB have certain unique combinations of natural chemicals in the blood. If a vampire has blood type A+ for example he or she will benefit more from donors that are blood type A+ since their bodies would need to expend less energy converting the blood into something compatible with its host body. For this reason, donors with blood type O- (universally compatible) are considered a luxury and always in high demand, any such individual found quickly finding their way into the hands of the nobility, or even the Court itself.
A vampire can drink from another vampire. It is a highly efficient form of life transfer, though at the cost of the donor's life energy. For this, the process is usually reserved for nursing incapacitated vampires back to health: Usually, these 'Vampire Medics' are of the blood type O- as mentioned above. Feeding from another vampire is highly pleasurable to both parties
Vampires can make other vampires. The embrace as it is called involves drinking someone's blood until they are about to lose consciousness and then feeding them the vampire's own blood. The result is that that person becomes a vampire upon awakening. The process is not directly regulated, but given that every vampire is by Vampire law to be held accountable for the actions of the vampires sired by them, it is often the sire who hands their rebellious pupils over to the ICSA in order to receive a mild judgment for themselves.
Vampires allow a human to drink from them. To humans, this blood is a high-potency endorphin with no side effects, though they can still get addicted to the rush. Such feeding can accelerate healing in humans and forms a temporary psychic bond between vampire and human, like the bond between vamire and sire. After three feedings the bond is permanent and the human's life span is greatly increased. Such humans are known as ghouls.
The vampire that created another vampire is called a sire. There is a strong link between sire and Child. They may communicate telepathically at any distance and can know when each other is in danger. It is also possible for a sire and their ghoul or lesser vampire to transfer life energy to each other in times of need. This has do be done via blood to blood contact.
Vampires are generally stronger and quicker than humans. They also don't age as humans do. However, direct sunlight is deadly to a vampire. A steak through the heart won't kill a vampire, but piercing the heart will disable them. Removal of the head or burning is the only sure fire way to kill a vampire.
:: Common Misconceptions::
- Garlic: Vampires are not weak to garlic, it's just that their enhanced senses make it hard to seduce someone when you can smell their breath from across the room. So in that aspect, it does indeed work as a repellent.
- Stakes: Vampires are not specifically weak to getting staked in the heart or decapitation, but the resulting blood loss will still kill them. Similarly, burning a vampire will still kill them due to the fluid loss, but the same would hold true for literally every other race. Though a Vampire, should they be able to survive, would eventually regain their former appearance after months and months of being bedridden.
- Crosses: While vampires were, according to mythology, weak to crosses, this is due to them being depicted as demons and, as such, being weak to signs of the cross and exorcisms... But more commonly due to said cross traditionally being made red-hot to properly purify the victim.
- Attractiveness: Vampires are not innately beautiful, despite rumors. They just have a century or two more experience applying makeup than most.
- Fangs: Vampires do have fangs but they only appear at the point of feeding. Furthermore, they are not huge but needle like. Being bit by a vampire is like having an injection.
::Strengths::
- Enhanced senses: A vampire has an enhanced sense of sight, hearing and smell compared to a normal human.
- Regeneration*: A vampire can, given enough time, heal any wound up to and including regrowing limbs, without scarring, to the state they were in the moment they were Turned. The rate they heal at is equal to that of a Human.
- Unchanging: A vampire does not need to eat, drink and sleep, nor do they age. The only nutrition they need is from the blood they drink. Eating and drinking is not required, nor does it give them sustenance, but they can still taste it.
* It is important to note here the difference between Regeneration (Vampires) and Fast Healing (Shifters). Vampires' bodies naturally return to the state they were in at the moment they had been Turned, without the creation of new cells normally associated with healing so there is no scarring, even to the point of regrowing limbs given enough time. Shifters heal from injuries faster and can survive serious injuries better due to their bodies being able to push out platelets at a high rate, though the wound is as likely to scar as it would for a Human, and a lost limb remains a lost limb. On the other hand, they are up and running faster. In comparison, if a wound would take a Human a month to heal from, it would take a Shifter a week, and for a Vampire it would depend almost entirely on their blood intake (but generally 3-5 weeks).
::Weaknesses::
- Sunlight: All Vampires suffer from Photosensitivity. This is not because of some mystical factor, but because the sunlight alters skin cells (a process better known as 'tanning'), which is then resisted by the vampire body. Symptoms are fast onset rashes, blisters and feelings of nausea and malaise.
- Infertility: Due to a Vampire's inability to divide cells, they are incapable of developing sperm cells or ova necessary for procreation.
- Blood loss: A Vampire that does not feed will start to weaken before dying of blood loss. Their body will start aging (not growing) and shrivel, drinking blood after this has started will slowly revert the process. After 20 days of not having drank blood, a Vampire will go into shock, requiring help to be fed. After one month without blood, they will die. Obviously, bleeding accelerates the process. For comparison, follow the ATLS Chart on Blood loss, taking each day as 1% cumulative blood loss.
::Relations::
Vampires vs. Shifters: There is no racial rivalry between Vampires and Shifters. This is based on Vampires, being sensitive to light and vulnerable to blood loss, generally tending to favor white-collar jobs as entrepreneurs and independent contractors, often having their Childs work for them in order to keep a closer eye on them while they get accustomed to their new bodies, whereas the pack mentality and preference to work with their hands has Shifters naturally gravitate towards blue-collar jobs such as construction. No real rivalry there, but occasionally it gets to be Yankees vs. Red Sox.
There is no such thing as a Vampire Shifter or a Ghoul shifter. Although a vampire can sustain themselves on shifter blood, a shifter cannot be turned by a vampire nor can they become a ghoul after feeding 3 times.
Vampires vs. Sakyubasu: Vampires and Sakybasu can feed of each other, but not simultaneously. One must act as feeder and the other as donor. Interestingly, as a donor a Sakybasu can be made a ghoul and can be embraced.
It is possible for a Sakyubasu to also be a Vampire. The result is that the hybrid needs both blood and kai energy from orgasm to feed. This means a Sakybasu vampire must drink her donor's blood at the point at which they orgasm.