| This page was taken from an original post by Kimmie on September 4, 2005. |
Consider this the vampire info drop.
The most important thing to keep in mind throughout the vampireplot is that vampires, in tale and fiction, have a wide range of attributes depending upon the legend and countries of origin. Hopefully, in this post, I will define and set a foundation as to how vampires will exist and be referred to in Levycanon.
What are vampires?
Vampires are, in short, mythical creatures that live on the ingestion of human and/or animal blood. __They are not wizards__. While they do have heightened senses and bodily functions, they are not magical and do not possess the ability to perform magic. They simply exist in order to feed, and while they are considered human-like, they are also not human. They are only creatures that appear to be human.
They also cannot turn into bats, bugs, birds, and/or dogs. The idea of shape-shifting vampires is found only in fiction and does not reflect the "truth".
They also cannot physically age. Vampires resemble humans more than any other creature, but they are still very identifiable as vampires by their fanged teeth, sallow skin, long fingers, unreasonably sharp fingernails, and deformed faces. Otherwise, they remain the same as they were the day they were "born" (or transformed) into vampires. Another thing to note is that after transformation, a vampire's hair either turns powder-white or jet-black, depending on a number of factors that have nothing to to with anything whatsoever. They are also very decadent, formal, strong, and dress all in black. They're kick-ass ninjas with really sharp teeth!
How are vampires created?
Humans, witches, and wizards can all be transformed into vampires. It takes a vampire three nights in a row of feeding to completely kill a human/wizard/witch. In most cases, a vampire feeds on a candidate (as I'll call them here) for only one night and then moves onto someone else the next because the candidate, wisened after such a near-death experience, takes all the necessary precautions to ensure that it Never Happens Again and the vampire is forced to find a new candidate. In the rare occasion that the candidate is either too stupid, ignorant, and/or interested to ensure that s/he is not fed on three nights in a row, on the third night, s/he will die the moment the vampire finishes drinking all of the candidate's blood. At that very moment the vampire can do one of two things: s/he can leave an empty corpse behind or s/he can turn the corpse into a vampire.
In order to do this, the vampire essentially slits his/her wrist (OMG, SO EMO, I KNOW, but it's the best accessible artery) and allows a healthy amount of blood to drop into the corpse's open mouth. More or less instantly, the corpse reanimates as a vampire. Thus, a new vampire is born, so to speak. Every time you slit your wrist a vampire gets its fangs. The original vampire then brings the baby vampire back to the family unit, where it is taught the Ways Of Being A Vampire by the head vampire and receives a new name (past names are regarded as "human" and thus ignored by the vampires) after its first successful feeding.
A brief history of Vampires.
Vampires have been around since the dawn of time, blah blah blah blah. Insert boring things here about thousands of years of fear and oppression followed by a natural dislike for vampires by all humans, witches, wizards, and the occasional snooty chupacabra. Can't stand the competition, you know.
Vampire families.
At the present date (February 1978), vampires are spread all over the world, mostly living in small "family" units with a female leader at its head. Unlike with most creatures, it is the female (so to speak, as vampires are incapable of sexual reproduction or even sexual pleasure; they are sensual, yes, but not sexual, so females are defined only by what gender they happened to be previous to becoming vampires) that is considered the stronger of the two genders. Females in most cases (save a unit in South Africa that other vampires Just Don't Like to Talk About) rise to the leadership position within the vampire family units. A usual family unit has anywhere from four to sixteen members, though there are certainly lone vampires and a few groups of nearly forty.
Vampire feeding habits.
Most vampires feed only on animals. Usually it's livestock -- sheep, cows, horses, pigs, cats, dogs -- but it can be any animal of the vampire's choosing. There's a vampire unit in America, for instance, that feeds only on snakes. Another in China favors panda bears. Human feeding, because of its danger and difficulty, is reserved by these vampires solely for the purpose of creating more vampires. (Animals, unlike humans, can be drained of their blood in one night rather than three.)
There is another type of vampire, however, that feeds solely on human blood. Consider these the hardcore vampires. While rare, these vampires are also extremely powerful, as human blood is the most energizing of all the blood found on Earth. And witch/wizard blood, which is even harder to procure than human blood, is the rarest and most desired blood by the hardcore vampires. They're willing to go to extra risk and, when done correctly, are usually well-rewarded.
Vampire weaknesses.
Garlic, obviously, is one of the main and most-effective ways to protect against vampires. The obvious means of killing a vampire is exposure to direct sunlight, the old wooden stake through the heart, and decapitation. While they can go for days without feedings, they like to feed as often as possible. The longer they go without feeding, the more gaunt and dead they look, but with fresh blood pulsating through their bodies, they appear much more lively. Water, while unable to kill them, can harm them and strip them of their strength; they avoid it at all costs.
Vampires in the United Kingdom.
Thanks to the Ministry of Magic and several well-trained vampire hunters, the vampire population of he United Kingdom is rather decimated at this (Feb. '78) point in time. The few that remain are strictly controlled and regulated by the Ministry and they are allowed to feed only on "approved" animals. Usually, it's gross things like rats or other things that happen to be overpopulating an area. The officials try to keep the vampires satiated with products like the blood-flavoured lollipops, but the vampires see these as mere jokes. Besides, they do not generate the money (they don't have jobs, obviously) necessary to purchase said items. And while they are "allowed" in areas like Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley, and the Ministry, they are rarely seen there, as the way they are treated would keep even the most strong-willed of vampires from wanting to come out and join the "living."
British vampires are, by far, the most diluted, oppressed, and mild-mannered of all the vampires. They are, so to speak, the Diet Coke of vampires.
Vampires in Romania.
Romanian vampires, on the other hand, are not just the Coke of vampires--they're the 1896 Chardonnay and Coke of the vampires. They're hardcore, dangerous, powerful, and, of course, they feed solely on humans. And, obviously, they're constantly looking for the blood of those with magical ability. Since the mid-1300s, the Romanian vampires have lived in a castle stronghold in Transylvania, which is an area in west Romania well-known for its vampire population. These vampires are considered to be the very best in the world. In fact, many vampires travel to Romania for the sole purpose of joining this group. When the United Kingdom purged itself of vampires in the days of old, many fled to Romania and either joined the group there or were killed by the group there.
The Romanian vampires like to think of themselves as "highly selective." In fact, they do not even call themselves "vampires," as that word didn't exist until the mid-1700s. They are simply the Strigoi, a Romanian word that has been used to refer to vampires for centuries.
Members of the Strigoi.
The two most important members (to the plot) are as follows:
Atanasia, a 1100-year-old vampire, is the (female) head of the Strigoi. She is regarded as the infallible leader and her word is law within the group. She is, as Romanian vampires always have been, very selective of who is let into the group and even then she is very suspicious of the members until they have truly proven themselves (a process which can take years).
Iulian is the youngest/newest of the Strigoi. A British wizard by birth, Iulian only joined the group in the late 1940s, just a few years after a disgruntled vampire had turned him to prove that he could. The vampire was subsequently killed by the British Ministry of Magic and Iulian, unhappy with the way the Ministry treated him and the other vampires, fled to Romania, where he heard the vampires were given their own freedom. It is thirty years later, and Atanasia still has not fully accepted him.
Lesser members
Other vampires that have names and defined personalities at this moment are:
Females
Bianca, a white-blonde vampire that was turned in the late 1700s. Though she, like the others, is unmistakably a vampire, her physical features and shape are the most attractive. She uses this to her advantage, seducing her victims (all male) and then sucking their blood the moment they try to kiss her. This obviously impresses Atanasia, who finds simple joy in creativity of capturing victims. However, Bianca's attractiveness also makes her not well-liked among the group.
Cecilia, is a quiet vampire that has been in existance since the year 1000. The first night she was bit, her family, ignorant of the ways to guard against such attacks, believed that blinding her would keep subsequent attacks from happening. Obviously, that didn't work, and now she is blind, but finds her victims by scent and touch.
Ligia feeds only on children, calling them away through their parents in the night via song. She was a gypsy singer before being transformed.
Dorina broods and is generally moody. She feeds on those that travel alone in the night.
Mara and Marcela work in tandem with weapons. Usually blunt objects, but they also branch out into knives, though they must be careful not to be decapitated.
Males
Anatolie feeds on entire families in one go. He is originally from Mongolia. -GODDAMN ANATOLIE MONGOLIAN-.
Bela talks his victims into being bitten with dizzying logic.
Vali feeds only once a month, using the rest of his time to procure victims for Atanasia to feed upon.
A few last things.
- Vampires suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. They count, simply, everything they see. The number of trees they walk by; the number of people they kill. They do keep amazingly accurate records of who they feed on and how many victims they succeed in killing.
- They also like to "loot" from the homes/bodies of their victims. How else do you think they dress so well?
- There is a Romanian vampire hunter. His name is Lucian, and he sucks. Really. He hasn't killed a single vampire yet.
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