Vampires
Vampires on Ghea are a little different than the stereotypical vampire. They don't die in the sun, they just happen to be sensitive to it and just cant stay out for too long before they get sick. They are highly allergic to garlic, and a stake to the heart honestly won't do much besides injure their integrity. The only way a vampire could die is if they willingly give up their immortality, and then die a human death. Vampires are a force not to be reckoned with, and if you meet a hostile one, pray for your life.
Vampires are caused by the disease Febris Dextra. Humans who are turned into vampires go through the transformation process, while those born with it (as Febris Dextra can be passed down to children) just naturally have the qualities and abilities of vampires from birth. You can tell the difference between those born as a vampire and those turned, as naturally born vampires are born with slightly pointed ears.
There are different classifications of vampires, each more rare than the last.
The most common form of vampire is the classic vampire. They drink blood to get their energy, and have the abilities of classic vampires. They make up about 60% of all vampires.
The more rarer form of vampire is the psi vampire. They get their energy off of auras from other people. They have the ability to take as little or as much as they want. If they choose to take all the aura off a person, then their life force gets drained away, often leading to death. If the victim survives, it is a long recovery time to get back to their full strength. These vampires have more a spiritual connection with Ghea, so they can sometimes have the ability to cast simple spells. They make up about 30% of all vampires.
The rarest form of vampire is the shifter vampire. They have the ability to transform into 2-3 different animals, and the specific animals are not chosen, as they've had it with them since birth. They are able to stay in these animal forms for a long time, and have all the abilities of said animal when they take their form. They are the toughest form of vampires, and make up around 10% of all vampires.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Blood circulation in vampiric bodies are slowler, especially in the epidermal capillaries. Blood is naturally drawn away from the surface, causing pale skin.
Vampires naturally have sharper teeth, used to pierce the skin.
Human muscles are made of two mains types of fiber: fast twitch and slow twitch at a ratio of about 50:50. For vampires, 90% of their fibers are of the fast twitch variety, This, along with a significant increase in myoglobin and mitochondria, allows for a greater amount of activity without lactic acid build up, and elevated intercellular ATP not only means that vampires are fast and strong, they are nearly inexhaustible.
Dietary Needs and Habits
A side affect of the virus is the inability to synthesize PCDH-Y, a protein responsible for certain aspects of central nervous system development. Since this protein only occurs in hominids, human blood is an essential component of the vampire diet. Without it, they are unable to sustain their enhanced nervous systems.
Biological Cycle
Vampires have elevated levels of a peptide partially responsible for inducing hibernation in animals, so vampires are able to enter a kind of suspended animation for extended periods of time. They are often slower and more lethargic during the winter, although they are able to stay out longer due to night typically lasting longer.
Additional Information
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Vampires can be found anywhere, but are most often found in Odron and Ebius.
Average Intelligence
Vampires are omnisavants, with pattern recognition abilities and intelligence far beyond a normal human, and have a level of perception that borders on precognition. On the other hand, this leads vampires more prone to obsessive habits.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Vampire irises are hyper dilated. Increased reflectivity causes the eyes to shimmer even in faint light, similar to the tapetum lucidum found in many nocturnal animals. Vampires also posses quadrochromatic vision. While humans only have three types of cone in their eyes, vampires have four, the fourth being tuned to near infared. All of this gives vampires vastly superior night vision, along with the ability to more easily discern similar shades of color from each other, although at the cost of severe sensitivity to light.
Hypertrophic cerebal neurons and additional receptor cells dramatically increase hearing range and the same is true of smell.
Civilization and Culture
History
Vampires first started to appear after the disappearance of the gods. They were humans that were somehow infected with the disease Febris Dextra, which turned them basically into the undead and gave them the ability to turn other humans. Only humans are able to become vampires, due to a natural antibody in other species that prevent the disease from developing any symptoms. Some humans, however, do naturally develop the antibodies, so not every human is able to be properly infected.
Because of vampires' need for human blood, due to the inability to synthesize PCDH-Y, a protein responsible for certain aspects of central nervous system development, which is only found in humans, vampires were ostracized from society and outcasted. Due to being away from their food source, many of the original vampires died out; there are not many people who are descendants of the original vampires. Due to the way society perceived them, vampires were often painted as monsters and were feared. Most of the surving vampires around the world retreated to Fantasia, where not many humans were. Many of the humans in Fantasia ended up being wiped out by the vampires over time, which contributes to why there are a surplus of Hellians in modern day Fantasia.
As technology grew and blood donations became more common, organizations were set up to provide blood for vampires to feed on without harming humans. Due to this advancement, vampires slowly started to get integrated into society due to not being a threat to humans anymore. There is now a world wide market for the "blood industry," and the population of vampires is starting to slowly increase.
Scientific Name
Vampirium
Lifespan
Immortal
Average Height
5'9"-6'4"
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Those turned into a vampire during their lifetime often have slightly darker skin around where their heart and stomach are, due to those organs atrophying during the turning process. Those born as vampires, however, don't have these discolorations.
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