Young Writers Society

Regarding Vampires

Introduction

Vampires are interesting creatures. That sentence alone could fetch you a number of odd looks when uttered in the wrong company. Vampires are, after all, fictitious.

Actually, I just lied. Vampires do exist. They do stalk the night. They do drink the blood of humans. And no, I am not mad, though I have been called so innumerable times. My knowledge on the creatures is vast and here I shall share some of it with you. I don’t ask you to be grateful – though I shall not complain should you be so – I just ask you to listen to me.

Now days, very few people believe in vampires. Many that do are mad, so that sadly lowers the count even more. I am writing this in hope of spreading the word, even if I do not expect the results to be vast. Should I even convince a single person, I shall be content.

The Myth

The reason no one believes in vampires is because the vampires themselves spread the lies. That makes little sense, I agree, so I shall try and explain myself a little better.

It was the vampires who started the old folklore’s on exactly what a vampire was. At first they claimed that a vampire was a spirit of a deceased family member, come back from Beyond to take the lives of their relatives.

The true vampires would kill the family members, one by one. When there were only a handful left, they led a ‘vampire hunt’. They’d dig up a dead relative to the survivor.

The people of old had little knowledge of what happened to you when you died. The vampires would point perfectly normal reactions – for example, the corpse becoming bloated or still growing hair and nails.

A stake would be rammed through the corpse’s heart. Gas built up in the dead person’s lungs would be released in a sigh or groan. And so, would present ‘final proof’ that they had been vampires.

The true vampires would then leave the remaining relative alone. The ‘curse’ had been broken and the ‘vampire’ slain.

In later years, it was the vampires that crushed this superstition belief.

The vampires also led on other such cases. For example, they’d set rabid dogs on a human. This presented great sport, but in most cases the vampires let their prey escape. The human would have been infected with rabies from the dogs.

When the human started to breakdown, the vampires would claim that the human was a vampire. The human would be promptly killed.

Once again, it was vampires that abolished this idea.

Over time, their description of vampires became more and accurate. Before long, vampires stories were being written. And movies to go with them.

Those created by the vampires were the most accurate. However, many humans re-imagined the vampires for their own stories.

The vampires began to be able to hide behind the fiction of themselves.

There were of coarse many other cases, but I am only going to tell you of one more. A lot more recent.

In England, not to long ago, there was a series of programs to be aired. They dealt with the unexplained and myths, such as UFO, Atlantis and Vampires.

The first of these shows was about vampires. After it had finished, they had reached the conclusion that vampires did not exist. The people on of the show used the above examples (and some others) as to what our ancestors thought vampires were and how the ‘myth’ started. As such, vampires DID NOT exist… or so they claimed.

After that first episode the rest were cancelled and disappeared mysteriously from the face of the Earth…

It doesn’t take a genius, does it? The myths that the vampires built up were finally put to use. Their centuries long plan was finally concluded – all humans were convinced that vampires didn’t exist.

That this plan was used with such patient and woven with such skill may help you begin to realise the intelligence of these creatures.

The Infection

Vampires are unique amongst all creatures on Earth, in which they have two ways reproduce.

The first and most common way is identical to that of humans – two vampires make love and the female becomes pregnant. This is actually quite rare – not from lack of sex – but that the chances of fertilisation are just far lower.

Vampires born this way are called Istrylian (ist-rye-lee-an), which translates into ‘Natural Born’.

The second way is through being blooded. This is the most common way as well. Vampires who seek a lover or child usually use this method.

When drinking from a human, they do not completely drain the human of all their blood. Instead they have to leave roughly a quarter of their blood.

The human will transform into a vampire. The complete transformation takes between three and eight days.

These vampires are called Kuslian (kuz-lee-an), which translates into ‘Blood Born’.

Should a vampire make love to a human, then the result is interesting. The chances of fertilisation is even lower, however when a baby is born it is not human, but then again… not truly a vampire either.

Unlike in the movies and stories – there is no such thing as a ‘half-vampire’, even though that would be what you’d expect from this.

Instead, an Illyonstad (Ill-eon-stad) is born. In English, this reads as, ‘Tainted One’.

You would expect the blood of the vampire to be watered down, but this is not the case. Instead, the Illyonstand are even more powerful and dangerous than their vampire brothers. It is odd and denies all scientific thinking, yet that is the case.

They are called Tainted Ones because of their beliefs. Here, I shall quote a paragraph from one of their ‘holy’ texts, namely the ‘Desai’.

‘And so, Alstran reached down and touched the vampire Ristren and the human Elizabeth. He tainted both of them with His love, for reasons known only to Him.

When the vampire and human met, they fell in love immediately. Had neither of them been touched, then their love would have announced nothing. But Alstran had wished and so a child was born.

Such things are not meant to be – the baby should not exist. Ristren almost considered killing the child, but his heart prevented him.

This breach of reality gave the child reach into the pits of the Abyss, where the demons dwelt.

However, the demons did not harm the child. Their foolish attacks could not penetrate Alstran’s protection. In the end, they were forced to bow down to their vampire master and lend him his powers.

And so, Kaine, the first of the Illyonstad was born.’

That was said to have happened around five centuries past. I cannot say whether it tells the truth or not. Though, with all I’ve seen, I’m afraid to say it isn’t impossible. The Illyonstad do seem to possess the power of demons – at an early age they can rival the most powerful vampire lords in power.

However, there are very few of them. There is at the moment only six Illyonstad alive.

Their Beliefs

Above you read a passage from one the Vampire holy books. In total, there are three vampire scriptures, the entire set of which is called the Tansai (tan-sigh), meaning ‘Books of the Gods’. All three have an order and all three are in chronological order, much like the old and new testaments in the bible.

The first book, Unsai (un-sigh) – ‘The First of the Books’ – revolves around the creation of the vampire species and the vampire Gods (of which there is a total of sixteen). It involves their births (either as human or vampire) and their ascension into God-hood. Only one of the Gods – Mastraina – existed before the vampires were created.

Mastraina saw the humans and was horrified at their weakness. There were many much more powerful creatures living on Earth, yet the humans were the dominant species. The first of the vampire Gods created a new species from the humans – and the first vampire was created. Over the years, the infection spread and more vampires were created. The greatest few throughout time joined Mastraina as a God.

This shows that the vampires – or so they believe – existed for the sole purpose to wipe out the humans and to take their place as dominant specie.

The Unsai also teaches of the vampire afterlife (I personally find this amusing – life after life after life) of which there is only one. But the different level of the ‘Afterworld’ depends on how the vampires led their lives (very similar to the Heaven and Hell concept of Christianity). However, vampires from higher levels are free to visit the lower tiers (and return back) should they so wish. But they may not travel upwards.

In the Afterworld, though, it is still very much possible for a vampire to gain redemption for their sins and to travel upwards.

Or for a vampire to go bad and fall down.

I believe there are a total of ten different levels, the lowest of which is inhabited by the single worse vampire that has ever lived. I know not his – or perhaps even her – name, for it has been lost in time and fear.

The second book, Desai (dee-sigh) – ‘The Second of the Books’ – involves the teachings of the vampires, the stories of vampires and Illyonstand who lived both good and bad vampire lives and of various other things (for example – the demons of the Abyss). The Gods still play a large part in this book (as can be seen from the excerpt I gave earlier), but are no longer the central figure.

The teachings of the vampire are very different to those of the Christians. Here, I shall name a few of them.

- To never shrink from killing a human.

- To avoid drinking bad blood (from already dead creatures) and to feed on as little animals (with the exception of humans) as possible.

- To never break a promise (though they are still allowed to find loopholes)

- To respect their superiors (as long as respect is due)

- To keep their race secret from the humans (if the humans knew, they’d outnumbered the vampires enough to wipe them out)

Any vampire who does not follow the teachings as long as he or she is able, are executed by their fellows (either formally or informally, depending on the situation).

The third and final book is called the Tresai (treh-sigh) – ‘The Third of the Books’ as you’ve probably already guessed – is different from the first two books.

The last of the Tansai teaches the many different skills and abilities (of which there is well over a thousand now) the vampires can learn. This book is being constantly updated, as new skills are still being created and discovered.

The skills are split up into six different sections. The first section has the most basic skills, which are most commonly practised by new vampires. For example, two of the skills involve raising speed or strength for a short amount of time.

Each section has harder and harder skills, until the sixth section is reached. Only the greatest vampire lords and the Illyonstad can possible learn these diabolical skills. And even for them it takes a much time and effort and even sometimes pain.

There is also a small section dedicated to Kaine, the first and greatest of the Illyonstad. He was the only vampire or Illyonstad to ever learn every single technique available. Admittedly, there were fewer techniques in his days, but none the less, no one else has ever come close to learning as many as he.

Vampire Society

The vampire society is very different to that of the humans. Mostly, the vampires live in small numbers in human towns and cities, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still a few vampire only settlements. These range from hidden fortressesers, to villages to cities.

However, it’s not the vampire towns I wish to inform you of in this section.

The vampires are lorded over by a Vampire Prince. There are six Princes in total, with each one ruling different parts of the globe.

A Vampire Prince must be a vampire – no Illyonstad can ever be a Prince, simple because they are not pure vampire. However, this has never seemed to bother the Illyonstad who happily work for their Princes.

The Vampire Princes are exceptional fighters with powers to rival the Illyonstad. The only way to become a Vampire Prince, should you not be his son or daughter, is to kill him in a duel. It must be a duel – not poisoning or back stabbing – or else the murderer would not be legible for Princeship and would be executed. And the Princes closest relative would take his place.

A Vampire Prince is challenged to a duel roughly once a year or so (it is a vampire who is very confident of his fighting prowess who challenges a Prince to a duel) and most of them are won by him (or her, in the case of a Princess).

A single trusted Advisor, who helps him to make the decisions, often serves the Prince. It is though, still the Prince who makes the final decision. Advisors are incredibly intelligent and loyal to their Prince. It is not unusual for it to be a relative to play the part of Advisor.

Underneath the advisor you have the Lords. There is a Lord for each Vampire only settlement. It is usually the Lords who challenge the Prince to a duel for power. These Lords are also incredible fighters and it is a lucky vampire that survives an attack by one of them.

There will also be a Vampire General for each Prince. Just like the Advisor, it is usually a fiercely loyal relative to the Prince who plays the part of the General.

It is the General’s job to command the Prince’s fighting force and to pass on any information that he believes the Prince would find interesting or useful.

Should the Prince be lucky, he may even have an Illyonstad ready to serve him, either as a bodyguard or soldier. However, the Illyonstad rarely remain in one place and only meet their Prince in times of trouble or celebration.

There are, of coarse, numerous servants and signed up warriors as well. Outside of the royal house and the military, the vampires lead their normal, bloody lives.

Their Language

Few vampires can actually speak the vampire language, called ‘Kalish’ (Kah-lish). However, there are many common phrases that most vampires know (for example, ‘Illyonstad or ‘Tansai’) and used.

It is usually only the longest living for most important vampires that bother to even learn the language and even then its more for formal occasions then for actual conversation.

There is no basic structure the language, making it perhaps the hardest in the world to learn. Only someone with plenty of time and teaching could possibly hope to learn it.

The Physical Aspects of a Vampire

Vampires are much like the vampires in stories. At a glance, They look like humans, but with pale skin, almost certainly due to the lack of sunlight.

They have two retractable fangs in their mouth, that comes out when they are going to feed, much like the claws of a cat. Their teeth are usually very white strong.

Vampires are usually very graceful, and few are over weight. This is probably because of their violent and active lifestyles.

Vampires have to drink blood of humans. They can drink the blood of other animals, but only humans don’t taste revolting to them. I personally believe this is ironic.

A vampire has to feed once a month or so. They still have to eat and drink normal food though and just as regularly as humans.

Should a vampire not drink blood for a long period of time, they will begin to feel weak and dizzy. Much as if a normal human hadn’t drunk or ate anything for a while. A vampire could go up to two months with feeding on a human, but doing so would leave them feeling terrible.

That vampires have to drink blood is, in my eyes, a weakness. Not only do they have to nourish themselves the same as us humans, but they have to drink blood as well.

I find it a shame that it is we humans who have to suffer the consequences though.

The vampire bodies are tougher than that of a human’s. The can survive incredibly long falls and strikes. I have personally seen a vampire jump from the tenth or so story of a building simply to get its prey.

Their Strengths and ]Weaknesses

This is perhaps the most important section of this entire article. Just as the vampires hid themselves behind a curtain of fiction, they hid their strengths and weakness in the same place. Over time, they created stories of themselves of fake weaknesses and fake strengths.

Even amongst the humans who know of the vampires, few know of their true strengths and weaknesses. Are vampires really afraid of the holy cross? Can they honestly turn into bats?

However, I am one of the most educated on the subject and will reveal to you the barest truths.

First I shall start with strengths. You need to know exactly what a vampire can and can’t do.

Vampires can hypnotise people – well, kind of. Being able to hypnotise a person is a skill taught in the fifth section of the Tresai and is one of the hardest skills to be learnt in that section. Few vampires can actually do this.

Can vampires turn into bats? No, they can’t. True, they do share similarity with the vampire bats (even name wise), but they can’t turn into them. Humans are similar to monkeys, but we can’t turn into our hairy cousins.

For that matter – vampires can’t turn into anything else – not bats, dogs or mists. Being able to change into something else is physically impossible – even for vampires.

Vampires can unlock any lock… well; this one is nearly true. They can’t unlock any lock, but the very strongest can destroy just about any lock…

Vampires have better senses then humans: true. This one is completely true. Vampires are also stronger, faster and are, on average, more intelligent then humans.

Vampires can heal themselves exceptionally fast… true. A wound on a vampire will heal itself many times faster than with a human and the wound wouldn’t even leave behind a scar. It’s even possible for limbs to be grown back, but this takes far longer (usually a month or so).

Different parts on the vampire body heal at different speeds. For example, wounds to the head would heal faster than one to an arm, simply because the head it more important.

So, in this example, the head wound could completely heal in half an hour, whereas the wound to the arm could take two or three hours.

Vampires are immortal: sort of. You see, immortality means that you can not be killed. And although a vampire could live forever naturally, they can still be killed (as you will see below). No vampire has ever lived forever so far – they are usually killed. Either by a human vampire hunter, lack of drinking, or killed by another vampire.

I’d say most vampires live for up to one thousand years before being killed. Though many have lived a lot longer and many have lived a lot less.

Vampire get more powerful as they get older. Well, as vampires do not become elderly, I suppose the answer is yes. Over time they gain more skill and experience in the battlefield.

Secondly, I shall look at weaknesses. Keep these in mind should you ever be confronted by a vampire, they may just help to save your life.

Starting with the examples I gave above: vampires are not afraid of the cross. They are not afraid of any sort of religious item (including holy water). Vampires were not created by the Devil, nor are they anti-religious (as I’ve pointed out above).

It amuses vampires to see such ‘weapons’ branded against them by the desperate who should have really taken something a bit more dangerous.

Are vampires are killed by sunlight? Yes, this one is true. However, they do not catch on fire nor do they turn into dust as some films and books depict.

When a vampire is touched by sunlight, the vampire will feel intense pain where they are touched. Should they stay out in the sunlight for more than ten minutes or so, they will die from a heart attack as the pain overrides their bodies. Obviously, vampires with weaker hearts can not stay outside for as long.

Do vampires have to sleep in a coffin? This is not true at all. After all, what would the benefits of this be? I believe this is just a myth brought across from the old ‘vampires are corpses of family’ cover story of old.

A stake through the heart will kill a vampire. Yes, this is completely true. The reason a stake is used, instead of, say, a sword of bullet, is because the vampire healing ability is strongest within the heart. If the heart is cut, it will heal its self in three to five minutes and bring the vampire right back to life.

However, if a stake (or a similar think object) were shoved into the heart and then left there, the heart would be too damaged to heal itself.

Also, the stake should be left there, because if for some reason the heart isn’t hurt enough and could still re-heal, the large object still in it would prevent it from being fixed sufficiently.

Cutting off a vampire head will kill it. Yes, if you remove the brain from the heart, the vampire will die. No matter how good a vampire’s healing powers are, it couldn’t grow a new head or a new body.

Vampires don’t like garlic. Not true. Just like with humans, whether or not a vampire would eat garlic comes down to personal taste.

Vampires can’t cross running water or enter a home without permission. Neither of these is true and both of them are stupid ideas.

Conclusion

And that concludes this piece of work on vampires. I may well expand on this with a second volume, but for now this information will have to suffice.

I hope that I have convinced you of the danger you – and all of humanity – is in. Spread the word if you can. Make the danger know. Separate the facts from the fiction and prepare our race.

I can’t do this alone. I need you to help me. You and everyone else you can convince. Show them this paper. If I’m lucky, I’ll have convinced you, and you can convince others. Over time… we can raise awareness.

Our. People. Have. To. Know!