Vampires

Overview
Vampires are powerful immortals who were once human. They are creatures of hunger, fear, ambition, and pleasure. They live long lives and are generally communal creatures who typically live in large cities which are crowded with their food source -- Humans. Despite their strengths and powers, vampires are usually careful to avoid detection from humans knowing, that should their existence be discovered again, the sheer number of humans tied with their adaptability would eventually end their species.

The Vampires are governed by a set of Laws called The Creed. The Creed protects most vampires as long as they fall under a coven but even the unaffiliated are expected to follow the creed else risk punishment from a Coven.

Appearance
''“He stood there just watching me from the sidewalk. The light of the streetlamp shining down on him. He was tall, maybe 6 foot three inches. Maybe Four Inches. His long dark hair pulled back. His skin was the color of cream, it almost looked unnatural. And his eyes were a terrible blood red and looked right through my soul. I was almost paralyzed with fear and when I finally thought to run, I saw the worst part of him. He held out his hands and his fingernails turned to claws and he opened his mouth and I saw them -- I saw his fangs. Then I ran.”''

The Diary of Janet Shaw - The Tale of a Survivor.

Vampires are nearly as diverse as the humans they come from. If one was of African descent before The Change they will be of African descent after the change as well. Redheads remain redheaded and so on and so forth. The only real changes are subtle and easily dismissed.

They are more pale than they were, which is likely due to the fact they do not have blood coursing through them in the same way humans do.

Their eyes remain the same colour as they once were but in situations of incredible emotion, they change to a shade of blood red. This also occurs when they are in the middle of a Blood-lust.

A common misconception is that every Vampire being thin is nothing but rumour. They vary in size, muscle tone, height and weight.

Finally, the most common change in the appearance of a Vampire is the creation of their canines. They become sharp, pointed on both the top and bottom rows of teeth. This is in order to assist on opening the flesh of the prey they feed upon. However, they shrink to a degree when not in use; they are still far more pointed than a humans, however.

Strengths and Abilities
''“My Children, you have been bestowed upon a great gift. The plague cannot hurt you. Your days of famine and pestilence is over. You have gained the strength of the Gods. The speed of the wind. The endurance of a horse. The agility and reflexes of a cat and only the most terrible of wounds will ever cause you true harm.” ''

An Ancient Journal deemed a holy book, found off the coast of Sicily, circa 1758.

The Change causes incredible change in the turned, which endow them with heightened senses and greatly-increased physical abilities. Making them incredibly dangerous predators.

Vampires, first of all, become incredibly strong. The stronger they were as a human, the stronger the vampire usually becomes once they turn. Of course, tales of Vampires greatly exaggerated this strength. They are incapable of throwing cars, throwing boulders, etc. But they are certainly capable of breaking a human's bones with relative ease, tossing them into walls and the like.

They are faster; incredibly so. Able to outrun any human, no matter how well trained the human may be. However, a speeding car would still have no trouble out speeding them. Nevertheless, If a vehicle doesn't get up to speed on time, it is likely a vampire would be able to catch up to it.

Next comes reflexes. Upon the change, they become incredible. Of course, not enough to stop a bullet from hitting them at a short range -- but enough where if one were to attempt to engage them in close combat, they would struggle to catch them in surprise. With reflexes comes agility. As predators, they are especially agile. Able to dart through windows, small openings, and traverse rooftops with relative ease.

The endurance of a Vampire is legendary. Perhaps not as great as stories would tell, however. They are able to run, hunt, fight, and even love for long periods of time. Still, they can wear themselves out and the more they wear themselves out the more they have to rest and feed.

Vampires have great healing abilities. All minor and many major wounds can be healed with relative ease. Of course, the more they have to heal the more they have to feed to refuel themselves. Still, they are not immune to many things. Should they lose an arm, it will not regrow, no matter how long they rest. Should they lose their head, they will die. However, that requires complete dismemberment. They can survive a non destructive bullet to the head, though the healing process is extensive. The major wounds to a vampire that leads to near death results in something called The Deep Sleep. The Deep Sleep is a long rest after a great deal of injury. The worse the injury, the longer the sleep.

Just as predators have great senses, so does a Vampire. They can smell and track blood. They hear astonishingly well and they can see perfectly in low light areas. It is said if a vampire were to catch your scent, your only hope was to run until daylight or accept your fate.

The next two things are more common characteristics and strengths. Their fangs are very much part of a Vampire. They are used to bite into the flesh of their victim and drain their blood. They produce a certain narcotic like chemical that allows the victim to experience great bliss. A high like none they’ve ever had before, making it easier to feast upon them. Their fingernails can grow into claws at will, and are also coated with a certain toxin. A wound caused by a vampire claw can quickly fester and rot.

Weaknesses
''“They’re hard to kill. Don't get me wrong. But it’s not impossible. You can starve them, though, it takes a while. Or you can burn them. Every Vamp I’ve ever met hated fire. Tie them to a tree and let the sun come up -- it will take a while and it will be the most gruesome thing you’ve ever seen ...but it will do the trick. Find a priest to give you holy water and draw the blood sucker in it. Cut off their head -- that always works. Or there’s my favourite: get yourself a sword made of silver and chop at them and chop at them until they are in bits and pieces. They hate silver. Silver Swords. Silver Bullets. Hell, shove a silver spoon down their throat.”''

Doctor Mark’s guide to hunting

First and foremost, a Vampire must feed on the blood of another being and cannot feed on the blood of their own without corrupting their body. Food and drink gives them no substance, only blood does. Though, they can technically feed on any living creature. From cows to even rats but it is a disgusting taste to them and is not as nutritional. A mortal wound cannot be healed by the blood of a rat.

Fire is a dangerous thing to all living creatures. Doubly so to vampires. They burn easily and even a small flame can cause them great harm.

Sunlight is also the bane of a Vampires existence. However, contrary to popular belief, they do not burst into ash at the sudden appearance of the sun. At first, it's like a horrible sunburn and even regular cloth cannot protect from it (some harder materials such as leather helps protect but frankly, just slows the burn down). Then it begins to blister and next it begins to melt until the flesh literally falls off of their bones. It takes several hours but it is painful even after a few minutes and will eventually lead to their death.

Religious artifacts hold great power over Vampires. If someone truly has the faith in it, regardless of what faith, it will do damage. It will never repel like it does in the movies but it will burn and it will cut causing great damage.

Silver. Silver a great affliction to Vampires. To be shot with a silver bullet, is extremely painful and it will continue to cause damage until it is removed. To be cut or stabbed with something made of silver is also much worse than other weapons made with different metals or materials.

To summarize a Vampire is easier to kill than what legend says but it is still incredibly difficult and dangerous. To kill one, you either burn them, dismember them, tie them out in the daylight, or do enough damage to one so they could not possibly heal.

Anatomy and Physiology
''“I saw a fucking vamp at the diner eating a fucking cheeseburger. Can you fucking believe it? Just munching away like you or I would. It was fucking crazy. He was actually enjoying it, too!” -''

A text message from a dead hunters phone.

To the surprise of likely every knowledgeable human, a Vampire's anatomy is not much different than that of a humans. Their heart pumps blood, their lungs absorb air, and their stomach surprisingly digests. When killed, they are almost indistinguishable from a human to an untrained eye. To a trained eye, a hunter can find its canines or other little features. Though despite these humans like organs, they really serve no purpose. It may digest food, but it gains no nutrition from it. Their sex organs may work, but they can’t actually reproduce. Leftovers from a human life. They can still gain weight, though not nearly as easily as a human. They can strengthen their bodies, as well. A Vampire lifting weights to get stronger isn’t really unheard of. But they can seem to gain this muscle and not really lose it either. Their bodies degrade at a much slower rate.

One of the more stranger things is a vampire does not decay. A Vampire corpse, even at a thousand years old, will still look the same as it did the day they died. Even bugs seem to avoid their corpses.

Vampires, despite not needing nutrition, may still enjoy indulging in food or alcohol. In fact, they can still catch a bit of a buzz from a drink. They just have to drink a lot of it. In fact, many seem to mix blood and alcohol to amplify the effect. Some even may still enjoy heroin, or cocaine, and much like alcohol; it's not uncommon for them to lace it with blood.

Lastly, while vampires don’t reproduce, they still enjoy the sin of flesh.

Culture
''“I think the hardest part for some hunters is when they realize these 'monsters' are still human in a way. They still love. They still cry. They do have morals, at times. And they still feel fear. A life of hunting Vampires sounds pretty good until you realize a vampire might actually be staring you in the eye, crying and begging for mercy. Hell, some might even claim to not feed upon humans.”''

Doctor Mark’s guide to hunting

A Vampire’s culture and ideology may differ from coven to coven. As they come from different parts of the world and that directly affects how they act. Still, many similarities remain. They all are supposed to follow The Creed; an agreement that was made by the five major covens after their war with humanity in the Dark Ages.

For the most part, Vampires engage as humans do. They love. A Vampire is not incapable of love. Though, due to their long lives - till death do we part doesn’t do well with them. Nevertheless, many still hold true to the sanctity of marriage and true love occurs.

They still tend to follow fashion trends, younger vampires more so than older ones. They still rebel against their elders. They still consume media. They still love narcotics. They still eat the foods they enjoy. They experience fear. They experience heartbreak. Though, some frown on such displays of emotion.

At the end of the day, Vampires are incredibly similar to humans. Just a different thing that gains them nutrition and some other supernatural differences. The biggest difference between the two is simple:

'''Vampires are predators. Humans are prey.'''

Covens
''“Vampires are nearly as divided as humans. If not more so. Their Covens are their nations and to walk without a coven is a dangerous life. They war as humans do and they plot and scheme against each other. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of Covens across the globe -- but in New York City there sits only five.”''

An Excerpt from an independent Publication deemed satire.

There are five major covens of New York City. At one time, there were more, but as time progressed and wars endured, the Covens absorbed into one another and became larger and more powerful groups. The Five Covens are sovereign from each other but have enjoyed a relative peace for the last fifty years. Though they do compete and their have been skirmishes, there has been no true war. The leaders of each Coven meet occasionally at what is called the Commune in dire situations or otherwise important conversations.

''Note: Just because covens tend to fall under certain demographics, does not mean it's exclusive. An Asian person could be in the Silver Hand just as they could be in Burakkumun. It's just the general history.''

Silver Hand
The Silver Hand is the predominantly a Western European coven in New York City. They call Manhattan their home. An ancient coven with old traditions that date back to the medieval ages. They believe in wealth and prosperity and are typically higher class individuals. They have been, at times, judged as pompous and arrogant but with a history like theirs, it's hard to deny their privilege. Old Kings and once powerful Knights, they hold Manhattan with two things: a mighty sword and a merchant's mind.

Burakkumūn (ブラックムーン)
Roughly translated to The Black Moon, the Burakkumūn is the dominant Asian coven in New York. Though they once competed heavily with a Chinese coven. They, in the end, were victorious and absorbed them.

The Burakkumūn are not easy to get along with and they are draped heavily in old traditions from the Sengoku period. But they are powerful enemies. Proficient fighters and dangerous assassins. They hold claim to Queens.

Sokolov
The Coven of the Eastern Europeans. More crime family than coven, the Sokolov act widely similar to a bratva. While many of the vampire kind live lives of luxury. The sokolov are more attuned to lives of grime and labour. With fond memories of their Soviet lifestyles. They claim Brooklyn as their own, more significantly, Brighton Beach and hold a tight fist around its criminal underworld.

Red Lions
The Red Lions are a predominantly African American coven. They call the Bronx their home and have a relatively recent founding. They forged shortly after the end of slavery in the United States and the influx of African immigrants that brought the Vampires with them secretly. They took to The Change out of necessity and security.

Alsyf al'abyad (السيف الابيض)
The White Sword is the Arabic coven of New York city, who hold claim to Staten Island but desire Brooklyn due to its increasing Arabic population. They are a splinter of one of the first covens in the world and hold a proud history of warfare. From their time as Jihadists in the Crusades to Middle Eastern freedom fighters in the modern times. They desire true freedom from all else but are highly intertwined with their special brand of faith.

Types of Vampires
“There are many types of Vampires. From the powerful Elders, who are in an almost endless sleep to the poor Doves, Vampires that have been turned as a child.”

Unknown

Abijah
He is the first. The most powerful. The father of all Vampires and the eternally prisoned.

The Five
The first Five. The creators of the first five covens. Powerful vampires of godlike ability. Hidden across the globe in an eternal sleep.

Great Ones
The five of the five. Left in charge of the covens upon the departure of the five, they watched as they splintered and the world of Vampires disunited even further. The last of the great ones has not been seen in several centuries and it is believed they have all gone to rest.

Elder Vampires
Most Elder Vampires were alive or sired during the time of the first five covens. Mostly near the end of them but they existed. Elder Vampires were highly responsible for the split that occurred and many led their own splinter covens in their time. Elder Vampires are incredibly powerful. Strong beyond belief and have a mastery over magic that is almost scary in comparison to other vampires. However, they are forever deformed. They look almost ghoulish in appearance, with grey skin and more animal than man. They keep their intelligence, however. Most Elder Vampires are at rest. In order to survive at this point in life they must constantly feed. Should they be awoken, it takes a sacrifice of hundreds and hundreds more just to keep them going.

High Vampires
The leaders of the new covens. They are nowhere near the godlike strength the Elder Vampires have. Still, they are powerful in their own right. Strong with age and wise with experience. A regular Vampire can match with a High Vampire but it will typically be the fight of their life. This is not because of any major genetic changes. A High Vampire is more of a title than an actual sub-race. They are just experienced and typically skilled Vampires.

Vampire
The Standard Vampire. The backbone of most covens and typically largest in number. They are not extraordinary (well, in vampire terms) and are composed of all sorts of different types.

Fledglings
A Fledgling is a Vampire who has recently undergone The Change. They are not as strong as a regular Vampire just yet but are still very formidable in comparison to a human. They have a strong thirst and hunger and feel the need to constantly feed.

Dove
A Dove is a child who has been turned into a Vampire. They are forever trapped as a child. This is not a fate most of them enjoy. To turn a child, is considered a grievous offence to the creed so Doves are rare but not unheard of.

Ghoul
A Ghoul is a Vampire who has taken to feed upon its own kind. Most of their humanity has been lost and they are more mindless killing machines who are driven by hunger than anything else. More akin to a zombie than a vampire.

Fiend
A Fiend is a Human who is in servitude to a vampire. Typically, it is because they are addicted to the bliss of being fed upon gives. Some are in hopes of becoming vampires themselves.

First Generation
The First Five

The Generation of the Five. They were the first of the Vampires. Vampiric gods in their own right. They had long forgotten powers that could only be found in story books. Of course, none of the first can be found in present times.

The Second Generation
''The Generation after the First. Also known as Greater Elders.''

The Second Generation were the Great Elders. The Leaders of the Five original covens after the departure of the Five. They have not been seen in several centuries. They were the last of the Vampires to walk in daylight and their powers are double what they are now. 

The Third Generation
800-1300 AD. The majority of the Elders were sired in this period of time. Most at rest and rare to be seen. Soldiers and Generals of the Human vs Vampire war and watched first hand at the capability of humanity. Stark defenders of the creed. 

Fourth Generation
1300-1600 AD

Vampires of the Fourth Generation are older High Vampires or younger Elders. They have experienced the change from Faith to Science and many had a sublime hand in it. They have watched as humanity forgot the war and their kind faded back into legend.

Fifth Generation
1600-1900 AD Younger High Vampires and older regular Vampires. The Fifth Generation is the largest generation of Vampires to date and make up the bulk of the Vampires in the world at the time. In a way, they are the baby boomers of Vampire birth due to the high amount of Vampires sired in this period of time. 

Sixth Generation
1900-2000s

One of the younger generations but enough to be respected. Some are beginning to rise high in the ranks of their covens and are becoming respectable members of Vampire Society. Though, there are a few rebellious and revolutionary types.

Seventh Generation
2000’s

The Youngest of the Vampire Generation. At the bottom rung of Vampire society in most cases. They tend to be prideful, revolutionary, and rebellious and are generally looked down on.

Aging and Deep Sleep
Vampires, while immortal, are not impervious to age. They do age -- just at an incredibly slow rate and considerably different from humans. A Vampire begins the vampiric aging process the moment he’s sired, the real-life age does not go into account. For a long period of time, they are locked into the age they were sired. After a certain point, the bodies begin to wear.

   

It’s not a set in stone date, sometimes its 500 years and at times its 700. Sometimes even younger than that. Their Skin begins to gray and tighten, giving them a very sunken in look. Their claws are forever extended and their fangs can’t retract. They look the very picture of the old nosferatu. They are impossible to blend in. Not only this, their bodies are weary, they feel constantly tired and are slow to heal. So as a result, many decide to go into the Deep Sleep. A Sleep until they are awakened. But once one enters the deep sleep, it's difficult to leave it. They must be essentially drowned in blood to awaken and they must feed constantly to stay going. So when an Elder enters deep sleep, its only in grave circumstances that they are ever awoken. Though, many Vampires are attempting to discover a way to reverse this process and making living forever a valid thing. Though, like a lot of the elders say, at that point in their lives. They’ve done everything they’ve wanted to do.

History
The first of the Vampires was known as Abijah  A powerful warlord and philosopher that attempted to lead a conquest against the world. It is unknown how he became a vampire. A piece of history long sought after by the vampire kind. Abijah would go on to sire five others who would become known as the first. These Five along with Abijah, were able to walk in the daylight. Free from the weaknesses the vampires of today have.

   

There was Alaric. He traversed to Western Europe, led wars and conquered lands. Though he changed his name plenty and the history of a dozen great kings was the history of Alaric.

   

There was Vlad of Eastern Europe. Who would later be the most famous of the first and became known as Dracula or Drake, though his name remembered, his true story was not.

   

In Africa, there was Ewuare. Though his history is long and muddled, he would bring Vampirism to the Tribal lands of Africa. Invoking great wealth on some, and poverty on others.

   

In Asia, there was Jing Ji. She was a powerful advisor that led the old dynasties to greatness when they pleased her and orchestrated horrible tidings when they did not. She disappeared to japan where she carried on her legacy and expanded her roster.

   

Finally, there was Saladin. Or what he is most commonly known as to the rest of the world. He lived a both as a soldier and as a farmer. It was he, who fought against the Crusaders. Though,  that was much later in his long and eventful life.

   

The Five were the greatest allies and advisors to Abijah. They guided him in war and in peace. But they were envious of Abijah. They wanted his power and his wealth. And they wanted to give the gift of Vampirism to more. But he would not allow it.

   

In a fit of envy, four of the five began to conspire against Abijah. Saladin, as he is now known,  was the only one that stood loyal to Abijah. So a great war commenced. And in the end, the army of Abijah and Saladin was crushed.

   

Knowing they did not have the power to kill him, they separated Abijah from Saladin. And trapped him in a great tomb. They buried him deep and they let the desert swallow his prison. By the time Saladin realized of Abijah's fate. It was too late. Unable to battle the other four and his army discarded, Saladin left. Cursing the four for their betrayal and promising revenge.

   

It was not long until the four began to turn on each other. And went their own ways. Carving out their own piece of history and siring their own.

   

Abijah ,however, is trapped away. Screaming for his freedom and trying to dig his way to the surface. It is said that when Abijah is finally free. His anger will be so great. He will deliver an apocalypse upon this world. So even his old ally Saladin and his followers do not dare search for him.

   

For many centuries, Vampirism spread. It's dark magic flooding the world. Vampires used humans openly for their wars and as their cattle. As the Church began to grow, so did the anger against Vampires. But the Vampires did not waiver.

   

They influenced the Popes in the West. Alaric guiding them to war with the Middle East. The Crusades were caught and Alaric and Saladin fought once more using the lives of humans to do so.

   

This influence lasted for a long time. Knightly orders under false religious flags rose, the most prominent being the Order of Solomon's temple, more commonly known as The Knights Templar. Through them, the western European vampires continued to tighten their grip on the world. Using their finances and banking systems to help.

   

It was not until Friday, the thirteenth of October 1307. Did humanity have enough. The Templars were broken. And the war began. Vampires in the west quickly learned humans were more dangerous than they ever thought. This war spread to the east and then to Asia. It was only due to the wisdom of Saladin and Ewaure that their own kind were relatively safe. They kept their sired and their own history quiet that they vampires there were only deemed legend.

   

Finally, Alaric called the Five together. The first meeting of them since the betrayal of Abijah. Together they decided on the Creed that would govern Vampire society to this day. A simple set of rules that should never be broken. Then they went their separate ways,

   

Saladin vanished. Washed away by the sands of the Middle East or hidden under a new name -- it is unknown.

   

Alaric, entombed himself somewhere in Britain. Entering a deep sleep with wishes to never be disturbed.

   

Ewuare stepped into the Jungles of Africa to never be seen or heard from again. Claiming as he left that he had a new journey to take.

   

Vlad, fell in love, a love so powerful and so enticing that he refused to turn her. He let her grow old. He watched as she died. And then he wept. A madness absorbed him and in order to save the world from himself, he had himself locked in an Oubliette. And buried in the same fashion he buried Abijah. It is believed that with his own living burial, he hid the full story of Abijah with him.

   

Then there was Jing Ji. She had been wracked with guilt of Abijah in her later life. She began to try and find him.. to free him and suffer the punishment she deserved. But she couldn't remember where he was imprisoned. For centuries she continued on this quest. Until she could bear it no longer.

   

She set out to sea. She wrapped herself in the heaviest metals she could find. And she had herself thrown into the Ocean. Killing herself in the only way she knew how.

   

The five had left five of their own, now known as the Great Elders. But the covens they left behind splintered into two, then three, then five, then ten until the old coven were no more.

   

Many went to North America and claimed cities. At one point, a hundred covens waged war over New York until only the five that are there now remained.

   

Vampires of today do not share the almost god like powers the Five once held. The Greater Elders are in a likely eternal rest due to their failures.

   

Even the Elder Vampires of today are weak in comparison. No longer can they walk in the day like the Five could. No longer do they hold great magics.

The Vampires of today pale in Comparison to the vampires of the first Five Covens. Whether it is due to dilution. Abijah deciding so in his eternal prison. Or maybe even the rumors of Jing Ji muttering a deep magic before she sunk to her abyss -- is all up for debate. Of course, so is the possibility the stories many vampires hold dear are myth or not.