Always and forever thinking about vampire biology especially since they relate to humans so closely and I am an anthropology nerd.
I personally think that Scott is one of the oldest vampires still around, maybe even the oldest. Maybe he was even the first, which would change a lot on how he talks about his sire. Still working out how exactly vampirism came to be, but I think it all originated from an illness, so some fun little ties with Owen if Scott is the first vampire.
Why wouldn't Scott be bragging about this, boasting about how he was the first and such? Because the older the vampire, the more vulnerabilities start showing up. Elder vampire are powerful and dangerous, yes, but once they get to a certain age, it becomes hard to feel anything. There's costs at being immortal, and when you've lived for so long surely it'd become hard to remember exactly what it's like to feel true, human emotions. If you can't feel anything, then do you even have a soul anymore? Every living things feels at least something on our planet. So if a vampire looses the ability to feel because of how old they are, they begin to actually fade. Turn into dust. Maybe that's even where the idea that if a vampire walks into the sun, they disappear.
There is a very popular headcanon that sires and fledglings have a sort of bond connecting them. I think it's a bit different for everyone, but to me, that means they can feel each other's emotions or push emotions to each other. Sires can block out their emotions better, but fledglings have a much harder time hiding things. This is so a sire does not accidentally stress a fledgling out but can also know immediately if their fledgling is in danger. Either way though, they feel the emotions of others, replacing any lost emotions. That's why Scott is turning just about everyone, why he torments his fledglings so much. It's easier to make someone afraid and angry for Scott, so he does that so he can survive. He had to watch his coven die around him because they were never willing to push hard enough.
This also doubles onto why it is such a big thing when Scott starts to realize he loves his new little family. For me because I love their cute little dynamic, Shelby is the one to really get Scott to feel on his own. He's not her sire so she can't push her feelings through, Scott just finds something to genuinely care about on his own.
Of course that now opens a few more questions. If Scott is about 1400 years old and he's near forever lost his ability to feel, then when does that start? Maybe it's always there and that's why there's a need to turn other vampires. Maybe that's why covens are also so important, you help each other feel. Then of course, what is considered to be an elder vampire? What's the life expectancy of a vampire? Because 200 years old seems incredibly old to us, but to an immortal? I am very much still working things out, but I got some ideas brewing. I need the elder vampire specifics for my precious child, Louis. He will never need to worry about not feeling because he just loves absolutely everything.
