|
Classicals, also known as Classics, are what most people visualize when they think of a Vampire. In movies and literature it is said that Classicals have been 'Brought Across', meaning brought across the threshold of death; or having been 'turned', meaning transformed from a living human into a not living Vampire. This is of course a fictional vampire, real Classical Vampires are NOT dead or undead.
Fictionalized versions of Classicals are the kind of Vampires you see portrayed on 'Forever Knight', and in Ann Rice novels. Dracula, in all of his incarnations, was supposed to be this type of Vampire, purely from Bram Stoker’s imagination.
We all know that Vlad Tepes was given the name of Drakul, which meant Dragon. Vlad's' father was known as The Dragon due to his leading association with an order called The Dragon. Vlad inherits the name, and an 'A' is added, meaning 'Son of', thus Dracula = Son of the Dragon. He may have been a bit mad, but he is still considered quite a hero in his home land.
Another meaning for the word Drakul is 'Devil'... given by the church at the time, for the inhumanity of the acts committed. As you all know, his name -- Vlad, the Impaler -- came about from his impaling both his own people that he felt to be traitors and the soldiers of opposing armies. He impaled them on large stakes. This line of impaled bodies stretched for miles from the battlefield leading into his town. The impaling was done, in an effort to appall and terrorize the attacking armies, despite the fact that they had Vlad vastly out-numbered. Not too surprisingly ... it worked. They felt he was insane. Horrified by the inhumanity, they simply retreated, with Vlad's army close behind in pursuit.
As to Vlad's drinking blood, I personally think he or his men started that story to frighten all who opposed him. However, it was the style of the times to partake of the blood or heart of he whom you had vanquished; providing you believed him to be brave and strong. It was a common practice. It was believed that Vlad made a pact with Satan on the death of his love. That is why Classicals are still believed, in some places, to be servants of the devil and to have come from hell.
The pale, gaunt appearance of Classicals, in film and press, is purely fiction brought forward from the beliefs of the day. If you were dead, you shriveled up and lost weight. If you had no blood and were dead or newly dead, you were pale; as in 'Pale as a Corpse', etc. It was once believed a Classical had to drink blood, not only for nourishment but to replenish his blood supply, which he did not have because he was believed to be dead.
A Classic, having fed well, is believed to look quite human; rosy cheeks, bright eyes, etc. But when the blood began to dissipate, the corpse-like appearance returned: sunken eyes, gaunt, drawn and with pale skin. The red or yellow blazing eyes comes from the church view that vampires are Minions of the Devil and are from hell. It was believed that Vampires, Classicals especially, could change to any animal, including: large cats, such as tigers, black leopards and black pumas, as well as dogs, wolves, bats or rats; not to mention fog and smoke. After all, they are Demons and can do anything, can't they? Of course not, but that was church view.
Real Classicals can only be infected by one who is already infected. The ones who claim to be undead (a fictional term) say they are killed by the draining of blood unto death and then revived into the undead state. This is purely fiction.
An newly infected Classical needs to feed immediately, i.e.: to ingest fresh, living blood to restore health, vigor etc. Young ones - newly infected ones, usually have a hard time dealing with the rush of new emotions, strength and mental capabilities. Most do desperately try to maintain at least some of their humanity and it is always a struggle.
The real medical evidence suggests that today’s Classicals are infected by the mixing of bodily fluids or blood with the Parent i.e., the Father or Mother who infected them. (Father or Mother does not mean the biological parent, rather it means the Vampire who spread the infection). This causes either a genetic imbalance, because of the mixing of affected DNA, or the effects of enzymes or viruses which slowly affect the changes noticed.
Sometime, long ago, a human was infected with the Inheritor retrovirus containing the mutagen. This human's ability to be infected was due to his or her possibly unique body chemistry, or maybe the specific Inheritor's retrovirus had mutated further. This human became the first Classical Vampire. Old writings even speculated that after this human was infected, he/she became ill, as the altered mutagen tried to adapt to the alien body chemistry. But, instead of dying, the first Classical was born.
The highly volatile nature of the new mutagen meant more blood was necessary. As the old retrovirus mutagen began reshaping, the human's own unique chemistry adapted the mutagen. Thus, a new breed was born. This may account for the difficulty in creating new Classicals. Perhaps it is only the rare individual with the correct body chemistry who can be infected.
As far as infecting children and babies ...
As for babies, I think it is not done for several reasons. One is practicality. An adolescent or baby Vampyre is a pointless creation. But mostly because it is impossible. It is believed that certain testosterone or estrogen levels are needed as a catalyst for the retrovirus to infect. Children, before the onset of puberty, lack the appropriate levels.
Classicals, like Inheritors, must ingest blood. It is a biological need, not a psychological one. The criticism here is that blood cannot be digested through the human stomach and broken down into proteins and other nourishments. This is indeed true and a medical fact. It is one of the chief reasons why the existence of vampires is disbelieved, as such. However, the point to remember here, is that blood is not broken down into its nutrients in the 'normal human stomach'. Those persons with what medicine calls today, 'The Physical Vampire Condition' do break down the substances. We are not speaking of Porphyria, the illness, here just yet.
The Physical Vampire Condition is the term for today's real Classicals, Inheritors, Nighttimers and Genetics. If these people do not ingest blood for real food ... nourishment ... they get progressively weaker, feel ill, experience aches and pains. Even though real Vampires can and do eat regular food as well, if they do not ingest blood, persons with the Physical Vampire Condition will die without blood transfusions. It is a VERY SERIOUS MATTER.
Attributes And Problems
Almost all true Vampires have the same or quite similar problems, including sensitivity, in varying degrees, to light, heat and sun; even indoor lighting and the lights in night clubs maybe bothersome. Some blister very badly, some deeply burn, some pass out, others suffer heat stroke. Most have Day-Glare Blindness, similar to humans who experience snow blindness or night blindness. Most CAN go out into the day, but really would rather not. All tend to feel ill and weak during the day and better and stronger as darkness descends. And I have known Vampires who have trouble driving at night due to the intensity of oncoming headlights.
In truth, real Vampires try to live as normal a lifestyle as they can. And most real Vampires keep away from humans and human affairs, as much as they are able.
FEEDING
Ahem ... now we get into touchy realms. Real feeding is mostly by bite, but not in the neck. With the nerves, muscles, arteries, and veins it is really dangerous if you do not know what you are doing. The reason for the fictional biting of the neck originated with the true belief that the carotid artery in the neck, where the pulse is normally taken (as opposed to the radial pulse, in the wrist) is the direct arterial link to the heart. It is not a vein, but an artery.
The main difference being, when an artery is severed, it will continue to spurt the blood out of the wound with each heartbeat and is very difficult to stop. A vein is smaller in nature, does not spurt with each heartbeat, but flows steadily and will in most cases, stop bleeding on it's own. If direct pressure is applied, or a tourniquet used, it will stop the bleeding fairly quickly. NOT so for an artery, which will pump the blood out of the body with every beat of the heart. This is a much more effective scene for a film, or a play, and easier to access if you want to kill someone quickly. (However, it would be neither advisable, nor practical, to attempt to apply a tourniquet around someone's neck!)
Some real Vampires, such as Classicals, and many Inheritors, feel protective toward human friends, mates and feeding sources -- known as 'Sources', 'Donors' or 'Victims'. Most Vampires do not kill their Sources, but do become very territorial about them. They feel possessive, as if they have pure and simple ownership. However, to be fair, many Inheritors do not feel ownership, but perhaps protective and territorial about their human friends and charges.
MOST real Vampires consider humans to be food, period. You do not play with, befriend, or have sex with, your food. My husband has said ... 'Having sex with your human Source is like a human having sex with a cow before eating a hamburger.' It is simply not done. However, I know of many who disagree. Today there are rarely real victims. But indeed there are a few. A victim is said to be anyone who is used as a food source without their consent.
Donors, or as we call them -- feeding partners -- come out of the woodwork if they know a Vampire or bloodist wants a donor. There is no reason to kill donors. There are alternate ways of feeding, such as, getting your blood from blood banks, by buying it, or stopping people waiting to go in and asking them if they will sell it to you instead. It is not against the law in this country to buy, sell, or ingest blood. But this way you risk AIDS and other nasty things if you are NOT an actual vampire.
Animal blood is easily gotten. Any butcher will sell you animal blood; Pig, cow, chicken, sheep, horse, etc. You have to take steps to sterilize it if you are not a true vampire, as you could become ill by contamination. But it is available.
If you eat meat, even very well done, you ingest animal blood. A sizzling steak, roast or hamburger -- the sizzle comes from body fat, body fluid, water, and animal blood. Plain and simple. Even if it is cooked to 'leather' the blood is in the cells of the flesh.
You eat it, no big deal ... get over it.
LONG LIFE
All Vampires live much longer than humans. Classicals, and Inheritors as well, have more physical strength. More efficient nutrient consumption probably leads to this factor. Almost all Vampires are psychic. Not to be confused with Psi~Vamps, i.e. Psychic Vampires. Night-timers and humans are also psychic. Being psychic helps, but it is not really fun. More on this in later lessons.
TEMPERAMENT
Vampires, (no matter how nice they appear to be) if they are REAL, are killers. Killers who choose not to kill. But they are very UNPREDICTABLE and extremely strong. Even if you love a Vampire or befriend one, or they befriend or love you, remember always that Vampires are not human. You must never forget with whom (or what) you're dealing.
EGOS
Some Vampire's egos are worse than actors' egos. It comes with the territory. Many, but not all, have an arrogant, elitist attitude. Again, it’s just part of their nature, even if they do not consider themselves to be an elitist or superior. Many are devoted and loyal friends and spouses. Many delight in their lifestyle, others hate it. As with humans ... to each his own.
THE NEW HUNGER
For the youngest and newly infected ones, they have a condition called 'New Blood' or 'New Bloods'. The surge of developing senses is overwhelming after being infected. The power and temptation to do something to take advantage -- JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN -- is very strong.
With sudden surges of strength and psychic ability, many young ones (newly infected vampires) go a little crazy until things level out in their brains and bodies. It is very easy to accidentally injure or even kill someone when one suddenly finds that they literally 'Don't know their own strength.' That is why a newly infected real Vampire is never left alone but constantly guided into the world he has just entered.
Classical Vampires all have the same problems and strengths, but Inheritors do not have these problems. Immortal and Eternal. There is really no such thing as immortal. All Vampires can die. Their lives, their existence (whatever you wish to call it) can end. If you drop a safe on a Vampire from a tall building he will probably die.
But Vampires do tend to survive bad injuries, regenerate and re-grow some organs and limbs, as well as teeth. It takes huge amounts of fresh, living blood to keep a severely injured Vampire alive -- in other words, lots of donors. This is true for all Vampires, Classicals and Inheritors alike.
And now I am going to let you all in on a private joke of sorts. Within the world of the Classical there is an in joke, probably begun by the Inheritors, anyway they began calling the Classicals 'Pales.'
Why?
The original mythological connection to the Undead myth. A vampire was either dead and just stayed that way or, Undead, given some unholy life by Lucifer. Of course, if you where dead, you where pale, hence the name. Today most Inheritors still refer to Classicals as 'Pales' and many Classicals have taken or adopted the title as their own.
It is the 'in' joke of most real Vamp communities. But we must remember, Classicals are not undead, but are living beings.
Another in joke, is the term used to distinguish extremely old Classical Vampires. Who are believed to have lived so long in time that they have gone insane.
The age of these vampires is unknown, but believed to be older than the oldest Inheritor. The term for this type of vampire is Gaunt. Again, a play on old films and books.
The ancient vampires, such as portrayed in the film Nosferatu, are very old and very ugly, unlike the Classicals portrayed in Dracula films by Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee who were more seductive and romantic figures.
The age of gaunts is not readily known, it is said they live exceptionally long, thousands of years. But there is no vampiric record, either by Inheritors or Classicals, of what age one might reach.
The extreme age, you might say, is likened to older humans who have Alzheimer's and were in past days thought of as being demented or insane. Gaunts are believed to be insane and exceptionally strong.
There are several vampire communities, in New York City, who believe there to be at least one Gaunt living deep beneath the subway tunnels of Manhattan. Whether or not this is Urban Legend, I do not know.
|
