吸血鬼 » VAMPIRES

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In Arashi's world, all manner of supernatural creatures exist, such as demons, angels, vampires, werewolves, etc. However, vampires are more of a mutation (or, depending on your point of view, an evolution) of human genetics than an altogether separate kind of creature. Vampires are immortal, gifted with super-strength, speed, and heightened senses, and, of course, they require blood to survive; they burn in direct sunlight, but can go out on overcast days provided they smother themselves in sunblock and are prepared for the risk of the sun breaking through the clouds at any time. Holy materials have no effect on them (that danger is limited to vampires born in Gehenna), but silver is deadly. Physical contact of silver on their skin has no effect, but if silver comes into contact with their "bloodstream", it first causes the natural healing ability to shut down, essentially making them mortal, and then acts as an extremely painful, extremely potent poison. To kill a vampire, removing the head or completely destroying the heart are the only permanent means.

» PHYSICAL
Physically, vampires tend to be beautiful, or at least supernaturally alluring; their eyes are often uncommonly vivid or bright, and if they've fed recently their skin will have a healthy, attractive tone. A vampire will even sustain a heartbeat for a brief while after a good feeding. A healthy vampire needs only about six pints of blood a week to stay healthy; two pints a day is ideal, but a single pint every two or three days is the absolute minimum needed to keep from going into a frenzy. There is no such thing as "glamour", or hypnotizing victims, beyond any vampire's personal ability to be charismatic. However, vampire fangs act like a viper's, secreting a potent venom when they bite down that acts as an extremely powerful pleasure stimulant and a swift healing agent. This evolutionary advantage has allowed vampires to feed from willing food sources over and over without killing them. The healing properties of vampire venom has at times been so dramatic that vampires are, on occasion, hunted for the sole purpose of harvesting their venom.

Vampire bodies tend to freeze at the age they were when they were turned. However, due to the vampire body's natural inclination to heal itself back to full potential, there are ways around this. Gorging on blood will, over time, cause the vampire body to heal with greater efficiency and effectiveness, gradually returning it to its physical peak. This allows vampires turned as children to age, and vampires turned later in life to return to their youth -- if, that is, they are capable (either physically, mentally, or through vampire law) of putting in the required amount of effort. Most vampires simply accept their state, because the amount of blood they would need to alter it would be difficult to acquire without a massacre.

Additionally, an interesting phenomenon is the actual birth of vampire children. This extremely rare occurrence is only possible if the vampire parent(s) has consumed a full 10 pints of blood at the time of sexual intercourse. If the mother is a vampire, she must consume this amount of blood every day for the duration of her pregnancy in order to keep her body working in a human capacity, making vampire gestation an extraordinarily difficult process to maintain. It is possible for vampires to procreate with humans, but the success rate is only marginally higher, and the offspring will only be born a vampire if the mother is one. Vampires hoping to have children through "natural" means must jump through a suitably exhausting amount of bureaucratic hoops, mostly in order to prove that they will be able to maintain the appropriate blood levels without drawing attention.

The turning process of a new vampire requires the sire vampire to be fully fed. The sire must bite the victim with the intent of draining their blood; halfway through the draining, the victim must begin feeding on the sire's blood, which has already adapted to the vampiric system. This becomes easier for the victim to do as the vampire venom begins to effect the transformation, essentially "healing" the victim's body to an adaptation of vampire qualities instead of human. The sire vampire must stop feeding as soon as they taste their own blood in the victim's system, at which point the victim's human body must be allowed to fully die. Every victim experiences this process differently, but it's never described as being especially pleasant. Typically a victim will take at least an hour to fully transform, at which point they reawaken as a newborn vampire. A newly turned vampire must feed immediately, or he or she will frenzy. Vampire sires and children are physically and mentally bonded to one another to such a degree that telepathic connections can be opened with practice, and one is always able to locate the other with little more than a "gut feeling". If a vampire is killed, the sire and/or child(ren) of that vampire will suffer it as well, as an excruciating pain that is sometimes unbearable.

» SOCIETY
The vampire society exists within human society, if not always in secret then certainly with as much discretion as they can manage, and within their own society they conform to a meritocracy used mostly for the purpose of keeping them all organized. Most normal vampires live in covens; within the covens, vampires who naturally develop stronger, faster, and generally more powerful are called Prime vampires. Prime vampires are inherently inclined to lead other vampires and are free to form their own covens, since multiple Primes in a single coven would inevitably lead to bloody confrontation unless the coven was suitably large enough to accommodate them. Generally speaking, however, most vampires are drawn to the Masters, so covens independent of the resident Master coven are fairly rare; it's more common that the Master coven will simply grow larger and larger to accommodate the new blood, such as it is.

Master vampires are born genetically superior to the rest of the race. Only Master vampires have special powers, but these powers are limited to one per Master; for example, one Master vampire is capable of astral projection, while another Master has the power of flight. The birth of a Master vampire is considered by the race as a whole to be a cosmic phenomenon, and it does not happen often; there has never been more than fifteen Master vampires at a time. They are occasionally mistaken for especially powerful Prime vampires at first, but the swift development of the additional skill allows their people to identify them and take the appropriate steps to bring them to control. Every Master vampire, once he or she has fully developed, claims a full country of the world that is important to them, establishes a coven there, and effectively becomes the lord of all vampires in that country. The Masters convene as a council to discuss important matters; additionally, vampires who commit egregious crimes against their own kind (such as by killing another vampire) are personally judged by the entire council. Currently there are only 12 Master vampires in existence; historically speaking, all Masters have been trained and brought to power by the vampire Sovereign.

All vampire law is descended from the will of the Sovereign, a legendary vampire said to be the original vampire, older than civilization and the origin of the species. Although there is a coven dedicated specifically to him and the dictation of his will, the Sovereign hasn't been seen or heard from in decades. However, there is no reason to believe he isn't still alive, unless one has some reason to mistrust the Master Council. His identity is a secret kept with borderline religious fanaticism, so it is entirely possible that he's being seen all the time, simply by people who don't know what they're looking for.

There are two kinds of vampires that live "outside" the class system, and these are known respectively as Independents and Wilds. Every society has its loners; Independent vampires are simply those who choose not to associate with any particular coven, and either establish themselves alone in an area of their choice, or instead move frequently from one location to another according to whim. All Independent vampires are required to register themselves with the resident Master vampire of any area they move into, whether they plan on staying or not; if they fail to do so, they are classified instead as a Wild. Wild vampires are, essentially, vampires that have gone insane. They are constantly on the move, staying off the radar of the vampire covens, except when they break cover to slaughter humans or turn a new vampire, which they do so often that the bond that normally exists between parent and child is drastically weakened. Wilds were either mad before they were turned, or some traumatic event after the turning process caused them to lose their minds; either way, they are hated by other vampires because of the threat they represent to vampire privacy, and if they are caught, they are usually executed by the Council.