Harlan Vampires FAQ

Vampire FAQ

Brief Overview of Anethdraeg Vampires

Vampire – no-one knows what a vampire technically is, but most agree that vampirism is a genetic energy deficiency and that those who are ‘turned’ are born with latent genes. if one is a vampire, he knows soon enough if he needs blood to be healthy; if he is fine without blood, then he isn’t a vampire. awakened vampires have a specific energy signature visible in their auric field.

Types

• sanguinarian drinks blood and psy energy to fill the need
• psychic/psy drinks psychic/psionic energy to fill the need

Three Stages to ‘becoming’

• ‘awaken’ – become aware of latent vampirism. to fully ‘awaken’, a blood exchange must take place causing the latent genes to ‘release’ causing the person to ‘change’
• to ‘turn’ – the blood exchange between a vampire and a latent vampire
• the ‘change’ – what happens to the mind and body during the ‘awakening’ involving painful emotional and physical changes

Definitions

• blood – a source of energy, inherent to what a vampire is. can be addictive
• feeding – needing and finding an energy source, either blood or psy/psi
• to ‘drink’ – to ingest blood or psy/psi energy
• to ‘hunger’ or ‘thirst’ – the desire to feed. an intense thirst similar to "addiction" with strong physical reactions

Family Jewelry

a member of the Devon family is responsible for the handcrafting of this jewelry. the skill is passed down from parent to child.

• rings – “adept test” – sterling band of Celtic knotwork given to suspected latent – ‘unawakened’ – vampires
• dragons – Family crest / House symbol – pewter dragons on leather cords given to awakened vampires who are adopted into the Family

Vampiric Traits and Abilities/

Traits and Abilities Most Common in the Anethdraeg Family

occult skills those with magical ability find their skills heightened and more accurate and may acquire new/more abilities than prior to awakening. those without sometimes find they have acquired a few of these skills and can grow quite strong with use and practice

heightened sense keen sense of smell, acute hearing, clear sight (even in the dark – some see further into the infrared and ultraviolet spectrums than others), and fine sense of taste and sometimes touch

elongated lifespan not immortal, vampires age slowly, particularly around/after age 40+. a vampire knows, to a point, when he is going to die, and has the ability, to a degree, to control his own death.

rapid healing self-explanatory, although not "supernaturally fast" like in movies

general "good health" not as prone to sickness or disease as
non-vampires

grace & agility (mental & physical dexterity) move and act with more charm and beauty and are more physically dexterous. vampires have increased ‘problem-solving’ skills, but this depends strongly on the person’s skills before his ‘awakening’. vampires have a unique perspective in connecting things together, as in rapid free-association

telepathy ability to hear other’s thoughts even over a (given) distance; has no "off-switch", but control, to a degree, can be learned; can block others from probing into his mind, or into certain things in his mind

"control over" a vampire feeding from an ‘unawakened’ vampire or a "donor" gives him a degree of control over that person. in a short time, astral bonds form between the vampire and his donor.

mesmerize/fascinate a certain energetic "sparkle" in the eye. ability to "daze" another vampire or a "normal" person if they look too deeply into the vampire’s eyes, or if the vampire "pushes" that energy at the other

• heightened perception culmination of all the above which comes with the ability to intuitively discern (certain) things. vampires are able to sense other vampires over a (given) distance.
• heightened willpower source of "power" that "causes" all of the above to occur

Conclave/

Conclave monthly meeting for Family members. has three parts � business meeting, "court", social time
(teens also have a Conclave, but it’s not as structured or strict)

court second half of meeting wherein Family members are encouraged to speak individually with their Elder/s for help resolving personal issues

House group of people with common beliefs who share a common bond. members of the same House are considered Family

eldership passed down through direct family bloodline. if no direct heir, the Family votes in a replacement. indirect heirs are possible, but voted on by the Family. eldership passed via blood and energy exchange in private with a word/symbol ritual with/for the adult members of the Family

Elder head of the Family. guides the Family with the support of a panel of hand-picked advisors. passed via blood and energy exchange in private with a word/symbol ritual with/for the adult members of the Family.

Primus a "retired" Elder. Guides new Elder.

Common Law of Anethdraeg

• adoption – the newly turned vampire must be adopted into the Family to be considered a member of the community. adoptee is assigned a mentor who guides him through the change.
• discretion – the respect a vampire has for himself and his Family. a vampire tells only those wise enough to understand and respect what he is.
• feeding – the vampire feeds only from an informed, consenting non-vampire-donor. the Elder is the exception to this law. the Elder feeds from other vampires as something in vampiric blood sustains him (whereas vampiric blood does nothing for a “regular” vampire).
• respect – the vampire nurtures and supports all others in his Family. anyone bringing dishonor upon himself or the Family is generally expelled from the community.
• Elder – the eldership is passed down through a direct familial bloodline. indirect heirs are acceptable, but only allowable when related by blood; election of an indirect heir must be voted upon by the entire Family (minus the heir). the word of the Elder is final.

• Notes:

  Vampirism was carried in the genes, same as one’s eye color or hair color. The theory maintains that vampires had an energy deficiency within their blood, so they drank blood and energy to help fill this need, feeding from non-vampiric ‘donors’ who carried no traces of the deficit.

  The transition of becoming aware of the dormant genes was called ‘awakening’. In typical situations, the awakening vampire and his awakened mentor shared a minute quantity of blood. This exchange of energy ‘turned’ the new vampire. What happened next to the body and mind during this awakening period involved painful physiological and psychological changes.

  Feeding – drinking blood and energy – somewhat eased the new vampire through this long, painful ‘change’. Each vampire acquired a donor, a trusting soul who via his love and will supplied blood and energy, sometimes via sexual fluids, depending upon the individual vampire’s personal preferences and needs. Those vampires who found themselves temporarily without a donor were able to rely for a short time on a special-made ‘blood wine’ and energy. Going without blood or energy wouldn’t ever kill a vampire but brought about problems that might kill him or drive him to suicide.

  The body of a vampire who remained unawakened – or a vampire who failed to feed or otherwise take proper care of himself – responded by manifesting psychological and physiological illnesses, difficulties untraceable to any one, specific source by even the best of medical specialists. This vampire (awakened or otherwise) found himself empty without knowing or understanding due to his ‘illness’ how to fill that growing void. The body and mind rebelled, then after a time, shutting down vital functions seemingly at random, filled hollows with cancer, depression, or other maladies. The vampire sometimes turned to self-harm or even suicide.