the original vampires can be dated back to ancient egypt, to the sun goddess Sekhmet, and her followers. sekhmet is also known as the goddess of war. Sekhmet's role as the goddess of war fits well with her desire for human blood. During a time of war, having a bloodthirsty deity on your side sounds like the way to go. Getting her to stop after each war ended proved a completely different matter, and Ra was tired of waiting for her blood lust to satisfy. as did the other egyptian gods and goddesses, so they came up with an idea of how to punish her. they cursed her to need blood to live, hoping this would lead to her to no longer desire blood. but it backfired, it lead to them giving into the blood lust and this created the first vampire.
part of sekhmet's curse was that she wasn't allowed out during the day, and as a sun goddess this drove her mad, so she started turning her followers into the same creature she was cursed into being. but with them being mortal, and she was immortal, the cursed blood made them immortal.
Vampires must drink human blood to stay healthy and maintain their strength and vitality; preferably blood straight from the source (referred to as 'live' blood). Though it is possible for vampires to alternatively sustain themselves on the bagged, preserved blood found in hospitals, it is not as effective, and can leave them almost as weak as humans compared to live-drinking vampires. Though vampires can drink animals' blood, it provides much less sustenance, and as such is only a weak deterrant to avoid killing humans when vampires' hunger gets out of control. Likewise, vampires can drink each-other's blood, but it will eventually leave them more hungry. Vampires are capable of consuming human food and drinks, but they do not get any sustenance from it, and it is actually almost tasteless to them.
An absence of blood in a vampire's system will cause them to become severely weakened and barely able to move, and they will also grow heavily and agonizingly starved-feeling. Blood starvation can also cause vampires to suffer hallucinations. It was shown with Suren that eighty years without blood can leave a vampire in an extremely desiccated, mummy-like state, barely able to move at all. Although vampires get stronger from feeding on blood, consuming too much, while increasing their healing and durability further, can cause them to exhibit symptoms of intoxication such as decreased reaction time and less sense of self-control.
Vampires are undead creatures, whose bodies are kept animated and supernaturally-preserved by the curse that causes vampirism. Due to their undead state, vampires possess few bodily functions, and no vital signs such as a heartbeat (although Aidan once mentioned that an electric shock could have a brief defibrillation-effect on a vampire's heart), and their bodies remain frozen at the physical age they were when the vampire in question was turned, no matter how far beyond that age the vampire has lived since being turned. While vampires' bodies do not age, they can still experience some other certain natural developing processes such as hair growth. However, any other type of change, such as blemishes developed by infections and non-genetic causes, or any signs at all of aging or wear, remain unable to manifest. Vampires also lose sense-based defects such as incorrective-eyesight that they had as humans, and are immune to non-supernatural forms of disease.
vampires are super strong, super fast, and have super senses. they are also able to heal faster than a human.
Though vampires normally appear indistinguishable from humans, they can switch from their human face over to their vampiric true face; their eyes turn pure-black, and some of their front upper-teeth sharpen and extend to form fangs with which they can directly feed or kill. There can be several specific variations between different vampires' fangs. Vampires seem to most commonly have just two canine fangs and sharpened lateral incisors, but they can alternatively have four lateral incisor and canine fangs, or just two lateral incisor fangs. Vampires' fangs can also vary in thinness and length from needle-like to more canine-like. If a vampire's fangs are removed, they do not grow back, rendering them unable to drink live.
Vampires can extend their fangs and switch over to their black eyes either at will, when they're in a state of agitation (such as feeling hungry, losing emotional control or fighting), or when they're expressing malice and malevolence and are about to attack. It has been suggested that vampires' use of their vampiric face probably acts as some form of adrenaline rush and enhances their capability to lethal efficiency.
in order to be turned into a vampire, one has to drink a vampire's blood, and have their blood drank by the vampire before dying with the vampire's blood in the system.
After the turning process is carried out on a living, dying or recently-dead human body, the person remains clinically dead for a length of time (seemingly a matter of hours or even a day's length), before awakening as a new vampire. From that point onward, the person's body will be kept physically frozen at the age they were when they were turned, and any injuries or any form of damage they suffered, including vampire bites, will be gone without a trace. Upon awakening, the new vampire has an immediate feeling of hunger and cramp from their new need for blood, which they usually give in to the moment their new vampiric senses and instincts are aroused by human blood for the first time.
When a person is turned into a vampire, a lasting supernatural parent-child bond forms between them and the vampire that turned them. It is usual for a new vampire's maker to look after and care for their vampire progeny and guide them on being a vampire.
the only way to kill a vampire is by decapitating them. and the older they are the harder it is to kill them.
Vampires can endure significant physical trauma without the damage being fatal. They are resilient to damage and punishment that would be severe if not fatal to a human, and can make a full recovery from it just a matter of hours or days, although they can still feel the pain and suffering that the damage causes.
Vampires can heal quite quickly, but not instantly. How long a vampire takes to heal and how much pain they are able to take depends upon the severity of the injuries they have sustained, and also upon how strong the vampire is. Ultimately, so long as their heart isn't pierced with wood, their fangs are not damaged and they aren't decapitated, a vampire is able to fully recover and self repair any form of physical damage (including injuries that would be utterly fatal to humans, such as stabbing, impalement, flaying even gunshots to the head) within a matter of hours. If a vampires suffer severe enough physical damage they will be temporarily crippled by it, however the healing process is best accelerated and aided by drinking more blood than usual.
Vampires feel pain despite their inhuman endurance and healing factor, and thus can be temporarily greatly crippled by severe enough physical damage and even tortured. Vampires' vulnerability to pain and physical damage is higher the more weakened they are. It would seem that a vampire's weakness to pain decreases with age.
male vampires are able to procreate with female humans, creating a species called dhampirs - half vampire and half human - who surpass their mothers and can hold their own to their fathers.
Enhanced Vitality - Vampires possess stamina, strength, vitality and physical capabilities well beyond any human in their physical prime. This allows them to physically exert themselves, even in a superhuman capacity for hours without showing signs of fatigue. Vampires can run, fight and exert themselves for longer than any human and in a greater physical capacity, though they can still feel fatigued and even be knocked out. However their vitality, like their other abilities is tied to their consumption of blood; vampires who drink live blood can exercise superhuman levels of agility and stamina, whereas those who drink bagged blood will be weaker and have less energy.
Enhanced Strength - Vampires possess tremendously enhanced strength, being noticeably physically stronger than average adult humans. They can exert much greater force than the average person. An average vampire, regardless of their size or shape, are shown to be stronger than heavily built, greatly massed humans. Vampires have shown to easily physically overpower humans, and even younger or weakened vampires of all shapes and builds, exerting a staggering and incapacitating force; this has allowed a vampire to throw another vampire of the same age flying several feet through the air. A vampire's strength increases with age, as a several hundred year old vampire was able to decapitate his maker using chains, a feat repeated by an ancient vampire with just a swift slice of her hand. Their strength has been described as inhuman, and being on par with that of a preditorial animal.
Accelerated Speed - Vampires are much faster than humans and werewolves (in human form and possibly even wolf form); vampires can give sudden bursts of amazing speeds, about that of the fastest land vehicle or more, to the point where they can appear to be distorted blurs of motion and can get from one spot to another within just a second or two. This has allowed Aiden, directly after feeding freshly from humans, to cover the entire city of Boston, from Bishops building to the rooms where Josh was turning inside, all in a matter of 10 seconds or less. This immense speed also has an equally immense impact force against anyone or anything that a vampire hits while moving at this speed. It appears that vampires' super-speed is triggered by extreme emotional fear and motivation, analogous to hysterical strength in humans. It would also seem that this speed usually works when a vampire is at full strength from feeding on live blood and recently.
Enhanced Senses - Vampires possess extremely heightened senses of sight, smell and hearing much greater than humans and non-purebred werewolves. Vampires can smell evidence of death, and can sense when someone who doesn't want to be seen is nearby (Some Thing to Watch over Me). They are able to hear the heartbeats of anyone nearby, especially when thirsting for blood, and can tell when someone is on their period, or pregnant purely from their smell. Vampires can smell humans from as far off as a mile away and assess their physical condition from their scent.
Enhanced Recovery - Vampires are able to recover from any form of physical damage at a much quicker rate than most other creatures and certainly any mortal creatures; depending upon their blood diet and the severity of the damage. A vampire was able to completely recover from being attack and impaled within a matter of hours after drinking a sufficient amount of bagged blood. After completely feeding from two live victims, a vampire was able to regenerate all of the skin on their body in less than a day after it had been peeled off. Despite their tremendous regenerative abilities, there are certain injuries that vampires cannot recover from, like decapitation or staking, and they cannot regenerate damaged or destroyed fangs.
Mind Compulsion - Compulsion or compelling is a vampire's ability to influence, manipulate and even modify a person's mind, will and memories with simple eye contact and verbal compelling. While it is an ability that comes naturally with vampirism, for some it is difficult to use. Compelling can also, if a vampire is poorly-skilled at using it, go wrong, causing its effect to wear off faster, or even drive the subjected human to suicide.
Compulsion does not seem to work on werewolves, ghosts and other vampires.
Enhanced Resilience - Vampires possess far more endurance and stamina than humans, making them more resilient to fatigue and trauma. They are essentially invulnerable to most conventional causes of fatality, and are extremely resilient to fatigue and pain. Vampires can endure trauma such as high velocity impacts, damage to vital organs, gunshots, even impalement and eventually recover. There are however certain exceptions and restrictions to a vampire's resilience, with injuries such as a stake to the heart, decapitation resulting in instant death. A vampire that feeds on humans can quickly recover from impacts such as those created from falling from great heights, and can easily get back on their feet unfazed or partially fazed. Vampires weakened from feeding on bagged blood respond to physical stress and trauma in a more human manner.
Clairvoyance - As supernatural creatures, vampires are constantly aware of ghosts, able to see and hear them in the same way werewolves and other ghosts can. They are also able to sense werewolves, who give off a distinct, dog-like stench that can only be detected by vampires and other werewolves. To vampires, a werewolf's smell is highly repulsive. Old and powerful vampires such as Mother can apparently also sense other vampires, even when they are out of sight.
Immortality - Vampires are an undead supernatural species with and endless lifespan. Vampires do not physically age from the moment they are turned, and will maintain this physical age regardless of how much time has passed. Due to their advanced rate of recovery, they also do not develop any long lasting or permanent injuries, the only notable physical change that may occur is hair growth. Vampires are immune to conventional earthly disease and are capable of living forever, provided they are not killed through unconventional methods such as staking or decapitation.
Telepathy: Vampires possess the ability to see thoughts and read minds, as well as communicate. This gift can extend for thousands of miles.
Weather Control - The supernatural ability to influence meteorological energy patterns, such as creating rain, wind, hail, lightning, snow, sleet, fog, and temperature changes.
Elemental Manipulation - The supernatural ability to control and manipulate the elements of air, earth, fire, water, lightning, etc.
Animal Control - The supernatural ability to control the behavior of any kind of of wild or domestic animals. However, a vampire can typically only control one species at a time
Shapeshifting - The supernatural ability to alter and change the physical form of one's self.
Illusion Casting - The supernatural ability to be capable of disrupting the reality of one or more beings at once. This power is limited, due to the short time span of an illusion, but it can be used to neutralize the enemy without harming the victims.
Vampires cannot be killed by most conventional means that humans can; however they still experience pain, and can be crippled for days, or moments, depending on the trauma. Trauma that would hospitalise or kill humans may only temporarily hinder vampires, and there are a few specific natural substances which temporarily paralyse, weaken and cripple them. There are certain methods that can be used to destroy them. When a vampire dies, their body withers and burns away to ash, along with anything they were wearing.
Decapitation - Cutting a vampire's head off will kill them instantly or near instantly.
Sunlight - While sunlight is not lethal to them like in traditional folklore, vampires strongly dislike direct sunlight, which seems to cause them pain and discomfort, though they can hide it overtime, and they tend to prefer to go out covered up in daylight.
Invitation Deprivation - Houses owned by humans or werewolves cannot be entered by vampires without the owner's permission, unless the vampire itself either lives there or was turned there. Entering uninvited for more than a few seconds will cause the vampire to burn, and can fatally melt the vampire away if they don't get back out quickly. Interestingly, if the ownership of the house officially changes while a vampire is still inside it, the invitation is nullified, and the vampire will perish unless he or she escapes immediately.
Blood Withdrawal - When vampires don't feed after a day or two, they begin to become sick and rabid; losing self-control over their bloodlust around humans, and even experiencing hallucinations. They will act aggressive and will slightly feel panicked and desperate for blood.
Blood Intoxication - When vampires feed on too much blood they will begin to become intoxicated. In this mental state, vampires can be overpowered easier by werewolves that are a day away from transforming, and are at greater risk of losing self-control and attacking humans.
