Vampires Are Not Undead
Vampires
are living, breathing humans with the fundamental need to obtain
life-sustaining energy from an external source. They're not the
animated undead, possessed by demons, or anything of the sort.
Likewise....
Vampires Are Not Immortal
While
healthy Vampires can live longer than humans, and with much more
vitality and youth, they do someday die of old age, assuming they are
not killed prior to then. While I have heard not confirmed reports of
this, it is possible that a supremely healthy Vampire could live long
enough to be seemingly immortal but even with the aging process moving at a glacial pace there will some day come an end.
Vampires Feed On Energy
All
Vampires have the same need; energy from an external source. In most
cases, this energy comes from other people; in the form of emotional
energy, psionic energy, or blood. In all cases they are taking Anima,
just in different forms. You will often hear people refer to
themselves as being "psivamps" or "sanguine," distinguishing which
feeding method they use. It is also possible for a Vampire to feed off
of ambient energy in a crowded room, animals, elements, and the
weather. A very small number of Vampires feed off of elemental or
weather energy predominantly.
All Vampires Can Feed From All Sources, But With Unequal Gain
A
"blood Vampire," for example, can feed off of wind or fear or psi or
any other source of energy though. However these sources of energy are
metabolized much less efficiently. Let us convert energy into units
for the sake of simplicity and clarity. A blood Vampire will suck 10
units of energy from someone in the form of blood and 9 or all 10 will
be converted directly into energy in the Vampire. If that same Vampire
sucks 10 unites of energy from the rain or from fear only 1 will be
converted into energy in the Vampire. Therefore a person who says he
or she is a "psivamp" is really more of a Psi-dominant Vampire.
You Can Be "Turned," But It Will Take Time And Effort To Be A True Vampire
Vampirism
is somewhat more complex than simply having a greater need for energy
than your own body can sustain. Excess energy on a human is wasted
(which is why a Vampire can generally feed off of a person without
hurting them). A Vampire, however, can metabolize and use all of the
energy he or she contains, which opens up the potential for increased
strength, vitality, youth, and general health. While you can be made
to have the same deficiency as a Vampire, it will take a timely
transition in order to aquire a Vampire's ability to use energy so
fully.
Vampires Really Are Sensitive To The Sun
While
Vampires are gifted at metabolizing the energy from people, the energy
of the sun is "raw," for lack of a better term. Most Vampires find
themselves overwhelmed and almost choked by the sun's energy and find
it hard to metabolize as humans do. Lunar energy, however, is of a
nature which is easily metabolized by Vampires and, as far as energetic
needs are concerned, takes the place of Solar energy, which is why many
Vampires have a predisposition towards becoming nocturnal. It is not a
conscious choice, but rather the body's natural reaction; it sleeps
beneath the force which taxes it and is active beneath the force which
vitalizes it.
Vampires Are Not Evil By Nature
A
common misconception is that Vampires are evil or in some way morally
reprehensible. This is because people confused Vampires feeding on
humans with Vampires preying
on humans. The vast majority of Vampires who feed on humans do so with
people who knowingly consent to being fed upon. Of those who do not,
most of them feed off of surplus energies which are cast off such as
sexual energy or the ambient energy in a high-spirited place such as
the mall. It is only a small number of Vampires who knowingly feed off
of people against their knowledge or will, and even then they rarely do
so to a degree which harms the people in question. There is nothing
inherently evil to the nature of a Vampire any more than there is of a
Human.
Vampires Become Unhealthy When They Cannot Feed
When a Vampire cannot feed or cannot feed enough, many of the following symptoms may surface:
Severely increased sensitivity to light
Increased sensitivity to sound or specific sounds
Depression
Anxiety
Insatiable hunger or thirst
Insomnia
Sleeping for up to 12 hours and waking tired
Lack of mental acuity
Fatigue and aching
Very often the need to feed can be experienced as a hunger or thirst but inability to find any food or drink which is palatable.
Each Vampire Has His Or Her Own Feeding Needs
In
addition to each Vampire having an energy source which is best to feed
from, each Vampire also has his or her own amount and frequency of
feeding. Elemental Vampires rarely need a specified feeding and
instead tend to feed slowly and constantly. Psi Vampires usually need
to feed 2-4 times a week. Sanguine Vampires generally need to feed
2-12 times a year. These are, of course, generalizations and each
person will have their own needs and each situation that person enters
will have a subtle (or not-so-subtle) affect on that.
Vampires Really Do Have "Bloodlines"
While
the term "Bloodline" is somewhat inaccurate (there is rarely any blood
connection) and it's overused by films and books, the essence behind
the name does exist in actual Vampires. Most Vampire Bloodlines are
connections of turned Vampires; you are in the same Bloodline as the
Vampire who turned you and anyone you turn will then be part of that
Bloodline as well. There are, however, a small number of hereditary
Vampire Bloodlines in which the parents produce children with Vampirism
commonly enough that the Bloodline can survive. Bloodlines carry with
them innate energetic tendencies so Vampires of a specific Bloodline
often have a set of common energetic gifts and failings.
Vampires Really Do Have "Houses" and "Courts"
These are in fact so common that you can easily look them up on the internet. A Court is a small group of Vampires in an order analogous to a Werewolf Pack. A House is a much larger group and is analogous to a Werewolf Tribe. They have rules, traditions, and they very often have common beliefs. As with Werewolf Packs and Tribes, there are now many Courts and Houses which exist predominantly (or exclusively) on the internet.