Vampirism

An excerpt from "Sanguine Vampiris: An Exploration - By Nicholas Cuthbert: Archbishop of the Most Holy Church of the Mirror of Pseales"
Summary of Chapters:
On Source: Vostok is the source of all vampirism, or rather the Abyss made Vostok the source of all vampirism. Whether that was through creating Vostok with the disease or hand picking him to be the first host doesn’t really make much difference to all those affected by the disease.
On Infection: Sanguine Nocturnus is a disease that is contracted by absorbing a bodily fluid of another infected. It moves through the body like a normal disease and can be cured through strong, but conventional, countermeasures such as potions and trained clerics. After three days spent untreated it advances to Sanguine Vampiris, otherwise known simply as vampirism. Symptoms include weakness of fire and red eyes.
On Mutation: The disease is heavily prone to mutation when being spread. Any vampire that bites another being forces the disease that enters the body to adapt and change over the three day gestation period. The less alike the vampire and victim are, the more it mutates. More mutated versions will create more monstrous vampires, until eventually the most mutated stains will either be unable to spread or simply kill their victims.
On Reproduction: Vampires are also able to spread their influence by reproducing in a conventional way, however they can dilute their level of vampirism by copulating with lower levels of vampires or non vampiric beings. The mutation of their disease, while heavily lessened, is still present even through conventional reproduction between two vampires of equal status.
On Types: The levels of vampires are lower, ones that are predominantly monstrous in appearance and action, with only a base desire to serve higher leveled vampires and to sow chaos, and are actively harmed by sunlight; moderate, ones that are human with heightened senses and abilities, and are uncomfortable in sunlight but can stay for fair periods of time with hoods or other sun guards; and higher, ones that are vastly powerful with many abilities unique to their strain, they also are not harmed by sunlight unless they stay out bare skinned for long periods. There are only 12 known higher vampires in existence, 10 them leading their own clans, with the last two following the Vostok clan. All of these are direct descendants of Vostok. There are far more middle vampires and countless lesser vampires and vampiric creatures.
On Death: Simply exposing a vampire to lethal trauma will not fully dispose of it. A single piece of brain matter can eventually reform into the same vampire. To dispose of a vampire fully, the body must be burned or the head must be chopped off and the mouth stuffed with garlic for at least three unbroken days. For some as of yet unexplained reason the garlic will keep the recovery effect in remission long enough for the vampire to fully experience death. Lastly, if a vampire's remains are sanctified after death, all those that were cursed to a life of a vampire by that being will be cured (along with all that have been turned by those vampires themselves and so on). This effect will not, however, extend to the vampire that infected the sanctified one, nor those vampires born from normal reproduction along the same disease line. So theoretically, killing and purifying the remains of all 12 high vampires would purge the world of this curse for all time.
On Behavior: Because of the nature of the mutation, despite vampires being immune to aging, vampires can never breed more of a higher or equal grade to themselves; and so as they are slowly killed off they will eventually be reduced to nothing but moderate vampires, then lesser, then eventually nothing at all. Vampirism’s natural defense is to instill a strong will to survive that forces one to amass power and defenses in an effort to stay alive and through doing so keep vampirism alive.
On Blood: A vampire must feed on blood to survive. Sapient race’s blood is far more nutritious than other blood. While a vampire can carefully drain a person’s blood in a way to keep them alive, not infect them, and also give them the necessary resources survive; they can survive on a single humanoid for the extent of the its natural life. To contrast that, a vampire would need to eat an entire cow’s worth of blood to survive a single day. A monster’s blood is useless with no nutritional value, but having a monster vampirized to defend its biter is a useful concept for a vampire. This, theoretically means that a vampire can tell if someone is a changeling or not based on their blood taste. Lastly, vampire blood is toxic. A trade in blood between vampires of even similar levels will lead to excruciating pain for both parties. And blood trade between two of different levels will find the higher level vampire’s blood tainted and weakened to somewhere in between their original state and the lower level vampires state. The lower leveled vampire will experience extreme pain and, in some cases, death if the level difference is significant. Luckily for vampires however, the taste of vampire blood is so strong that they, in most cases, will spit it out before any adverse effects are felt even in dilutions up to a 1/100 blood to other liquid ratio.

Transmission & Vectors

The first stage of Vampirism, Sanguine Nocturnus can develop soon after any exchange of bodily fluids with a vampire (someone suffering from the late stage of Sanguine Nocturnus, Sanguine Vampiris). This can be through saliva entering your body from a vampire bite, or through things such as a vampire scratching someone with material on their claws.
A vampire's child will also always carry the disease regardless of the gender of the vampiric parent. All transmission results in a vampire of less pure blood than the most pure transmitter, though reproduction of two similarly pure vampires will produce a minimally diluted offspring. A vampire of higher purity than another can even raise the purity level of the lower one through the same method as the disease is normally contracted.

Causes

Vampirism was created by one of the old Loredasan gods attempts to create an immortal warrior race to assist in the coming war against the war Balimor. Vostok the First was the original vampire who then went on to infect countless more, his strength giving him the belief that he should be his only master.

Symptoms

Red-tinged eyes; aversion to silver, fire, and sunlight

Treatment

While the disease is still in its Nocturnus stage, it can be treated like any other strong disease. A fairly competent healer, holy blessings, or a well made potion can cure it. Once it progresses to its Vampiris stage, it can only be cured by breaking the curse by killing the source of the victims own vamparism (and anyone turned by a vampire who has been cured will also be cured in turn)

Prognosis

Left untreated for 90 consecutive hours (three days), the victim will be plagued with increasingly disturbing, grotesque dreams before finally they progress to the Sanguine Nocturnus stage. Contracting the disease from a vampire of especially low blood purity can even kill the victim in some cases upon transition to Sanguine Vampiris.

Sequela

The Sanguine Vampiris stage (full fledged vampirism) is marked with a weakness to silver, fire, and sunlight and red eyes, decreasing in severity with higher stages of vampirism while general magical aptitude along with physical strength and reflexes increase. All vampires have a hunger for non-vampiric blood with a signifigantly higher level of satisfaction from the blood of sapient races. A vampire can not truly die unless their body is burned, corrupted, or sanctified (as holy magic created them with the intention of them being immortal). Otherwise their bodies would regenerate at a rate based on the severity of the injury.

Hosts & Carriers

Vampires of all races. Iman was formerly referred to as Markov the second vampire. Oliver Reynold, the king of Haven and the leader that Iman advises is also famously a vampire

Prevention

The only sure-fire method of prevention is to avoid all dangerous contact with vampires

Epidemiology

Vampires are grouped by overall levels of blood purity. Higher Vampires are very rare, only 12 were ever have known to have existed (with two now deceased). A higher vampire can only be created by Vostok the First, or by dangerously replacing all of your blood with that of another higher vampire. These vampires are extremely powerful and all centuries old with magical aptitude rarely even seen by most mortals. The surviving ones have countless followers of their own 8 individual clans (with Vostok's clan also including his mistress, the higher vampire Voldaren, Iman having relinquished his clan).
Middle Vampires are born of the infection from a higher vampire or other fairly pure middle vampires. They are what most of the public thinks of when they picture a vampire. Strong, magically adept, cunning, and often hiding their faces from sunlight. They make up the rank and file of the vampire clans, and many maintain their wits enough to contain their bloodlust and live normal lives (some openly in Haven and others carefully hiding their conditions).
Lower Vampires are not much more than feral beasts. Mutated so far by the vampirism of other lower vampires or an especially impure middle vampire, their transition to Sanguine Vampiris is extremely painful and physically wrecking. Their limbs, claws (or nails), and teeth are greatly extended and much of their hair will fall out in the process. They lose most mental faculties beyond basic self preservation, though they will naturally look to vampires of higher purity for guidance. This also makes them the general fighting stock of vampire clans.

Type

Viral

Origin

Divine