Post by Siete on Jan 6, 2009 1:55:46 GMT -8
Blood Claim
The most important rule of vampires, and the only rule that is strictly upheld, is blood claim. If a mortal or any other non-vampire draws blood from a vampire, that vampire has claim over that person and all of their family members. No other vampire may touch that person or harm them in any way unless the injured vampire says so, and only that vampire can kill the person. Though no vampire will break this law, some vampires are too ashamed to admit that they were injured by a human, and will not make a blood claim. (ex: In Demon in my View, Fala didn't make blood claim against Jessica until after she was a vampire, thus making it a moot point.)
Humans and Vampires
Becoming a vampire isn't only way humans become part of the vampire world. Many live or work in New Mayhem, though they usually stay out of the bars at night. Some know of the vampires, and will seek them out to enjoy the luxurious feeling of having blood taken from them without killing. Another option is blood bonding. Through a process like vampirism, a human can be blood bonded to one or more vampires. The only difference is that when they are made, the vampire only takes a little bit of blood, and returns just a little bit to the human, unlike becoming a vampire, in which all the blood is drained. They do not become vampires, but they become immortal. However, they only live as long as the vampire they are blood bonded to. If that vampire is killed, they die.
Blood Taking
Without any influence, getting blood taken by a vampire is a horrific experience. The victim experiences their heart starving for oxygen, their lungs straining, their whole body dieing. To combat this and to make killing easier, vampires will use their minds to soothe the human, so the blood-taking becomes a seductive, luxurious experience. The human falls into a torpor, so they are easy prey. Because of this, some humans even search for vampires to have their blood taken, and will blood bond themselves to a vampire because of that. On the other hand, if the vampire wants to make it hurt, it will hurt. They can make the victim feel every drop of blood as it leaves their body.
Auras and Mind Reading
Many mortal psychics and those interested in witchcraft talk about an 'aura.' Their ideas are mostly valid, though they themselves are imitators and fakes when it comes to the art of reading auras. An aura is like an invisible electric field, connected to your mind, body, and soul. Vampires and witches are adept at reading these auras, meaning they can sense a person's emotions through them. An aura also shows how strong a being is, and how 'evil' they are. Most humans can't sense auras, but some vampires have auras that are so dark and strong, even humans feel uneasy around them. Vampires can dampen their aura, hiding it from view. Twisting one's aura is how some vampires can actually change shape, and moving their aura in a thought is how vampires can move from place to place as fast as a thought.
Another aspect of aura-reading is mind manipulation. Vampires and some strong witches can read the minds of mortals and those who don't have mental walls up around their thoughts. The stronger a being is, the more adept they are at reading minds and shielding their own. Strong vampires can influence the minds of mortals, doing things like making them sleep while they feed, or making them not see things that are going on. For example, a vampire could feed in the middle of the day in a crowd and, if strong enough, could influence the crowd so they don't see what's going on. A useful tool, and one vampires feel no shame in abusing.
Last, auras can be used to heal. Some witches, like the Smoke line, can transfer energy from one being to another (like a vampire to a human) to heal injuries the human might have. They can also use their own energies to heal. Vampires probably could do this if trained, but most are trained to kill, not heal.
