Vampire Lore

When I first read about the vampires of the Marvel world, I found similarities between it and the ones that are from the World of Darkness franchise(Vampire: The Masquerade). to not waste your time googling it, I've compiled some information from the wiki to be the basic lore of this fanfic's vampires.

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[Basic Information]

Vampires (Homines nocturnae) are magically reanimated human corpses which are inhabited by the spirits of the deceased person and who closely resemble the living human they were before their transformation. Vampires feed and survive on the blood of the living, typically on that of humans, and they can also transform other humans into more of their kind by infecting them with their enzyme.

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[Classification]

Sect:

-Kreiger Sect: Western European type warriors, one of the strongest sects.

-Claw Sect: Middle Eastern type warriors, rivals of the Krieger.

-Mystikos Sect: American Vampires who embraced the modern world. They are Businessmen, with skill at technology.

-Anchorite Sect: American rural outcasts who prefer to hide from humanity and live in peace, similar to the lifestyle of the Amish.

-Purebloods: Born as Vampires.

-Nosferati: Eastern European, their need for powerful blood sometimes drives them to attack other Vampires.

-Moksha Sect: Seers who gain their powers by feeding as little as possible.

-Siren Sect: All beautiful female Vampires with powers of seduction.

-Adze: African Vampires who are able to survive the usually instantaneous methods of Vampire destruction for ten minutes.

-Ancient: Italian Vampires with superior superhuman speed and healing factor compared to that of other Vampires.

-Yiki Onna: Japanese Vampires with the power to turn into ice storms rather than fog as most Vampires can.

-Jumlin: Native American Vampires.

Sub-Species:

-Huskie: Vampires who are brought back brain dead and are basically human husks. They only follow their base instinct and feed on small animals. They will not rest until they have completed a task from their human life.

-Charniputra: Gargoyle like Vampires that reside in the Himalayas

-Tryks: A powerful, parasitic race that prefers the blood of other Vampires.

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[Powers]

A vampire is a human being who has died but has been resurrected by specific supernatural means and possesses a variety of supernatural abilities and specific limitations, most notably to frequently ingest fresh blood in order to maintain their own existence. Vampires have often been referred to as "undead" throughout the centuries since, even when active, they were not truly alive in the same sense as ordinary human beings. Technically, they can be classified as actually being dead.

Sustenance: Vampires require the fresh blood of living beings, preferably the blood of humans, in order to sustain their physical existence and, usually, obtained it by biting their victims and draining their blood. The bite of a vampire transferred a very mysterious enzyme found only within the saliva of a vampire into the bloodstream of the victim. If the vampire drank enough blood to cause the death of the victim, this enzyme would trigger an unusual metabolic change within the victim's body, beginning with the production of an unusual green liquid referred to as ichor into the bloodstream. After roughly three days, there would be enough of this liquid in the victim's body that it would begin to course through the victims veins in the same way their blood once did. The victim then returned as a vampire and was capable of all the basic capabilities of ordinary humans, with the exception of being able to have children, plus a number of superhuman abilities. However, if the victim retained sufficient blood to survive the vampire's attack, he or she would begin to show signs of anemia because of the presence of the enzyme in his or her bloodstream. The victim would not die under such circumstances. Until a newly created vampire's body metabolized the enzyme, a process that might take as long as several months in some cases, he or she would be extremely weak and highly susceptible to hypnotic suggestions, verbally or through long range mental contact, by the vampire responsible for the attack. There was also a distinct possibility of the newly-turned vampire developing a perverse sexual attraction for the vampire responsible for the transformation. A new vampire is not created unless the attacking vampire wishes to do so, or loses control and injects too much enzyme. The attacking vampire can free its victim from becoming a vampire before the final transformation.

Summoning and Shape-Shifting: Vampires could summon and control certain creatures such as bats, wolves, and rats. Vampires could also transform themselves into bats, and in the case of some vampires, wolves, while retaining their human intelligence in these forms. Some vampires could even become human-sized bats. Vampires could also transform themselves into mist at will, while still retaining their normal consciousnesses in that form.

Mind Control: A vampire can control the will of those it bites, even before the victim fully transforms into a vampire, although those with great willpower can defy control. A vampire can make most human beings into its temporary slave if he or she could catch their gaze for a sufficient amount of time, usually only a matter of seconds. The exact length of time needed to mesmerize the victim depends on the strength of will of the vampire and that of his or her victim.

Health: Vampires were rendered immune to the ravages of disease and of aging. However, if deprived of blood for a lengthy period of time, a vampire would begin to show distinct signs of aging, such as his or her hair turning gray. Upon ingesting fresh blood, the vampire would revert to the age in which he or she had been at the time of death. In most cases, vampires were able to heal themselves from minor injuries within a very brief period of time. Some vampires could heal from severe burns or broken bones within the span of a few hours, where as most other vampires might require several days to heal the exact same injury. Vampires were not able to regenerate missing organs or severed portions of their anatomy, with the exception of hair. Apart from periodic inconveniences, injuries like these would not critically impair a vampire's effectiveness. Because the ichor was similar in function to blood, poisons and other toxic substances that were circulated in its bloodstream would adversely affect a vampire, although no dosage was large enough to cause death.

Will Power: The overall extent of a vampire's abilities depended upon the strength of the vampire's will. Exceptional vampires with powerful wills were capable of summoning and controlling thunderstorms, even though the mystical concentration required to do so left them extremely weak for a certain period of time. The vampire's willpower could also determine the extent to which he or she could master their craving for blood and retain the same personality they had in life. However, most people that became vampires quickly found themselves unable to resist the all consuming craving for blood. They quickly degenerated into cruel and animalistic hunters of ordinary human beings, even if these new vampires had been kind and sensitive people in their mortal lives.

Strength Level: Most vampires possessed superhuman physical strength anywhere from 10 to 20 times greater than they possessed in their mortal lives. The vast majority of known and recorded vampires were capable of lifting from 1,000 lbs to 4,000 lbs.

#Fanfiction Specific

Blood Magic: Vampires cannot use magic, and in fact weak towards it, but, Vampires could learn to control blood, though they cannot use it naturally and must either learn it by themselves through experience, or simply be taught by other vampires.

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[Weakness]

Vampires have many limitations imposed upon their supernatural abilities, and even upon their very existence. Below are a listing of weaknesses common to supernatural vampires. Popular fiction depicting vampires often causes others to be skeptical of their reality. Once convinced of their existence, however, the same media provides an education on basic anti-vampire tools, such as religious symbols, sunlight, wooden stakes, and holy water, although those using them may not fully understand details of the tools' requirements.

Blood Consumption: Vampires are regularly required to consume a few pints (litres) of blood every other night. Failing to do so would cause the vampire to weaken and after an extended period without blood seemingly perish. A vampire's ability to metabolize blood and their frequency of feeding usually varies however depending on a number of factors: Length of time between feedings, damage or injury to the body, resurrection from a near death state, and excessive use of their supernatural abilities and strength.

Native Soil: Typically, vampires cannot travel more than 100 miles (160 km) from their land of birth, unless their bring at least one pound (500 g) of their native soil wherever they choose to sleep during the day. For example, Dracula would typically have coffins with dirt from his native Transylvania shipped to his various hideouts all over Europe and the United States so that he would have a place to rest unharmed from the sun. However, in many instances vampires (including Dracula) have been depicted being able to travel to far off places and sleep in locations that do not have their native lands earth on hand. What happens to a vampire who does not do this remains unknown, but given the instances that a vampire has slept without being around soil from their native land suggests that this is not a lethal weakness.

Sunlight: A vampire's greatest weakness is sunlight, due to their altered metabolism, vampires were unable to withstand direct sunlight. Sunlight, somehow caused the ichor to congeal within the vampire's veins and the skin to rapidly decay. Direct exposure to sunlight caused the vampire to dehydrate completely and turn to powder, or even explode in certain cases. Artificial sunlight can also hurt vampires, although not as effectively. Some vampires have been able to reform their bodies following being turned to powder from the sun, while others have been completely obliterated from contact with the sun. The conditions in which a vampire can come back from the dead may be particular to one who is rightfully the lord of all vampires.

Religious Symbols: Vampires also had an aversion to any religious symbol (such as a crucifix/cross (including objects assembled into a cross, like wood branches), Star of David, or holy water) wielded or placed by anyone who believes in the religious significance of the symbol. A cross held by a Jew or non-believer had no effect, but a believing Christian holding two sticks perpendicular to each other could hurt a vampire. The symbol sears the vampire's flesh if touched with it. However, the deity must be one that was believed in at the time of the vampire's original death. If a worshipper of a god is turned into Vampire he will burst into flames when touched by the god in question. Further, there may be an element of belief by proxy or a vampires own belief that a symbol may harm them, as there have been instances where a crucifix has been used by someone who is not holding the item. Lastly, a religious symbol can lose its power over a vampire if the vampire is capable of making the believer's faith falter. In such situations, the strength of the religious symbol's ability to repel a vampire would weaken.

Invitations Only: Vampires have a mystical aversion to entering any human dwelling place to which they were not verbally invited. A human bitten by a vampire but not fully transformed can invite a vampire. This appears to only be the case with personal dwellings, as vampires have been seen entering public buildings without the need of being invited inside. Vampires have been shown to burst into flames if they enter a private residence without being invited first.

Impaling the Heart with Wood: Another weakness of vampires is to impale them through the heart with wood, which will cause them to eventually decompose into a skeleton. Originally, it was thought that a wooden stake would be the only means of doing so; however, advancement in vampire hunting techniques have indicated that any wooden object that can break through a vampire's chest and pierce the heart is sufficient in killing a vampire.[citation needed] The vampire Nocturne survived a stake stabbing through the heart and stated such stabbing did not slay a vampire but merely served to trap him into his coffin, stating it was a common misconception spread by movies. For example, Blade learned that wooden daggers would prove to be just as effective, while Frank Drake and Rachel van Helsing have used wooden bullets. However, very powerful vampires, such as Dracula, can reanimate if the stake (or other object) is removed, so long as the body isn't destroyed.

Silver: Silver is highly harmful for vampires, to the point even Dracula himself can be crippled if impaled through the heart with a silver wheelchair spoke. Silver weapons can kill vampires in a similar fashion to wooden ones, though very powerful vampires such as Dracula are resistant enough so they cannot be killed by such.

Garlic: The scent of garlic can sap the strength of a vampire. It has been used as a rope to bind vampires, sapping their strength sufficiently to prevent them from breaking the bonds. Garlic is not lethal to vampires, but it can make them more vulnerable to other means of attack.

Magic: Magic wielders such as Doctor Strange and Topaz have been able to harm vampires with magic, and some spells have the effect to kill a vampire. The most lethal spell is the Montesi Formula is a spell from the Book of Darkhold which can destroy all vampires. Doctor Strange invoked the spell which destroyed all vampires on Earth (save Hannibal King, who he and his allies were able to restore to human life), but when the spell was broken all the vampires that were destroyed were restored to life.

Radioactive Blood: Radioactive blood has proved harmful to Vampires that consume it. Also, individuals with it that have been bitten have reverted back to normal once the radiation kills the enzymes responsible for their transformation. On Earth-12041, in the case of gamma radiation, the individual returns to normal when the blood cells super heat, burning the Vampire cells like micro suns. A sanitized sample of Hulk's blood was used to cure the Black Widow when she was on the early states of the transformation. Every cell of a Majesdanian can absorb solar radiation. If a vampire drinks the blood of a fully-powered Majesdanian, this is the equivalent of consuming liquid sunlight, turning the vampire to ash. It is unknown what would happen if a Majesdanian were to be fed upon after completely draining their solar reserves at night.

Other Limitations: Vampires cast no reflections, and their images cannot not be captured on film.