A Guide to Vampires 
A Guide to Vampires Back to Homepage --> 
This page will explain the nuances of vampire physiology, society, and religious beliefs. I will be writing it, and there are 100% going to be lapses in my memory/things I get wrong. Each of these topics will be divided into sections, explained, and backed up with FAQs. If you have any questions that aren't answered on this page, please contact me at @winged-trash on Tumblr or send us an ask at @bloody-heartss on Tumblr. Sprites and images were created by @rat-kingster on Tumblr.
Physiology (From most powerful to least powerful, respectively)
Denotes a physically powerful vampire with great mastery over their powers. Indicates a person with strong will, a possible coven leader.
Indicates a vampire with very strong powers.
Indicates a vampire who has middling strength and control over their powers.
Denotes a physically weak vampire with faint powers.
Unknown.
Common
Red hair indicates the FIRE ELEMENT. This entails powers like summoning fire and controlling fire. Color can vary from an red-orange to a red-pink.
Blue hair indicates the WATER ELEMENT. This includes powers like summoning water and controlling water. Color can vary from a blue-teal to a light blue.
Green hair indicates the EARTH ELEMENT. This entails powers like growing plants and controlling them. Color can vary from a yellow tint to a blue tint.
Rare
Yellow hair indicates the AIR ELEMENT. This entails powers like summoning wind and controlling its motion. Color can vary from a rich gold to a pale yellow.
Orange hair indicates the ELECTRIC ELEMENT. This includes powers like summoning arcs of powerful electricity and controlling its motion. Color rarely varies from true orange.
White hair indicates the ICE ELEMENT. This entails powers like summoning ice, snow, and frost, as well as controlling its intensity and motion. Color rarely varies from true white or light gray.
Purple hair indicates the PSYCHIC ELEMENT. This includes powers like mind control, influencing dreams, creating illusions, channeling spirits, telekinesis, and telepathy. Color can vary from a purple-maroon to a purple-blue. Colors rarely vary from true purple.
This applies to both vampire spawns and born vampires. Every vampire goes through a kind of "puberty" in which they unlock their elemental powers. Before puberty, a young vampire is able to walk in the sunlight. After puberty, they experience severe burns from sunlight.
When a vampire is born (or when a spawn completes their transformation) they first have a pair of fangs that are known as "baby teeth." These baby teeth are small, round canines that are only slightly pointed. Size varies from vampire to vampire.
After a vampire activates their elemental power and tastes human blood, their "baby teeth" fall out and are replaced by adult fangs. In most cases, several incisors and canines fall out and are replaced by fangs, which results in a mouth full of sharp teeth. Appearance/number of adult fangs varies from vampire to vampire.
Vampires experience a number of limitations, the severity of which are directly tied to our age and maturity.
All vampires experience the limitation of being unable to eat most human foods, especially if they have strong flavor. This is where the garlic thing comes from. Mature vampires can't allow sunlight to touch our skin, or we begin to burn. The burning is instantaneous, and if more than 50% of the vampire's skin is exposed to the sunlight for a period of time longer than 30 seconds, it's a death sentence. At the point of becoming a mature vampire, an individual also ceases to have the ability to be seen in mirrors or by cameras.
There is also some nuance in sun exposure. For example, sunlight that comes through windows or clouds is less harmful than pure sunlight. Sunlight from the midday sun is more potent than the sunset or sunrise. Moonlight has no effect. It's theorized that indirect sunlight is the key to staying safe in the daylight. Many vampires also wear full-body coverings and modest clothing, although that is significantly riskier. Elemental powers also play a part in sunlight tolerance. For example, Earth vampires and Fire vampires experience a certain level of sun tolerance. This tolerance varies from individual to individual; usually depends on the potency of the vampire's powers.
Anecdote Alert: I once knew a Fire vampire with extremely powerful abilities who could withstand full sunlight in a bikini on a hot California day for ten minutes. I haven't seen the like ever since.
No, race/ethnicity has no bearing on the hair color, element, or eye color of a vampire. Vampires come from all over the world, and can be born as any element, so long as their parents are that element, too.
Yes. Hair color is strictly synonymous with Element power.
Yes, a vampire can have any eye color, regardless of their element. A vampire's eye color is related more to their personal attributes, rather than their elemental power.
No. Mixed-element marriages, relationships, and children are strictly forbidden under vampire law. Any hybrid child would be inordinately dangerous and would most likely be hunted by the covens.
Society Vampire Law is a nebulous set of rules that change with time. It's sort of like the "pirate code" in pirate media? I'm not sure how to describe it. I'm not familiar with Vampire Law (i'm not a vampire lawyer) but I'll try to explain it:
I'm really not too familiar with Vampire Law. V has been well versed in the Law for the past century. I would direct further questions to her.
A majority of vampire society is made up of groups called "covens." These covens interact with one another and form larger groups which often fracture and schism, causing rivalries and friendships between covens as a whole. This vampiric social structure has been in effect for nearly all of recorded history.
Each coven has a "coven leader," or a vampire who is generally in charge of the group. This title changes meaning from coven to coven. Sometimes, a coven leader is a democratically-elected figure who can step down at any time. In other instances, a coven leader is a vampire who physically fought their way to the top, proving their strength by beating all the rest. In the past, many of the largest covens were one born-vampire and hundreds of their spawn, who had no choice but to be loyal to their maker.
There are several different kinds of covens, usually depending on what kind of vampire leads it. It varies from coven to coven, but each group is led by one vampire known as the "coven leader." A coven leader is tasked with the protection and well being of the entire coven, and is usually the most powerful vampire in the group. Covens can be different sizes -- anywhere from a handful of vampires to hundreds.
A spawn, or "bitten" as they are called colloquially, is a vampire who was once human, and was turned into a vampire via a bite. The transformation from human to vampire can take anywhere from a few months to several years to complete. There is no way to reverse the transformation. The transformation is very physically difficult, with many spawns dying from malnutrition or sickness during the process. The transformation can also take a toll mentally, as many spawns face difficulty with integrating into vampire society.
Because spawns are incredibly vulnerable individuals, they rely on their coven for comfort and support during their transformation. Covens who don't take proper care of their spawns are generally looked down upon by other covens. Once a spawn completes their transformation, they develop an elemental power and a signature eye color. They most often take the element of the vampire that turned them (for example, Kingster will probably become a psychic vampire like V) but will not have strong elemental powers or physical strength like a born-vampire.
In recent history, spawns have fallen out of favor due to their vulnerable transformation state and general weakness once transformation is complete. Many young spawns are created by accident, having no choice but to assimilate into their maker's coven. It's estimated that spawns only make up maybe 5% of vampire populations today.
No. Only small covens are mixed-element. Mixed-element covens often experience disagreements and fights between vampires of different elements, so many mixed-element covens have cliques or in-groups for each element. The coven represented in Bloody Heartss is illegal for its size. Mixed-element covens that are larger than five members are generally forbidden due to their ability to foster mixed-element romance, which is illegal under Vampire Law.
Unfortunately, yes. Vampire spawns are very weak during and after their transformation. For this reason, many human children who are bitten don't survive the experience and die. Adult spawns who aren't cared for by their coven may experience severe depression and suicidal tendencies -- so the suicide rate for spawns is also pretty high.
Yes, though not in so many words. If a coven gets big enough, several coven members could overpower their coven leader and elect a new one. This happens a lot with big covens that have a lot of powerful members. Small covens are popular for this reason. In a lot of cases, an extremely powerful vampire will create a large coven with weak spawns to prevent uprisings.
For all intents and purposes, no. The stories and allegories represented in Bloody Heartss would be disrupted by the addition of spawns. Every character in Bloody Heartss is a born-vampire.
Religion Believe it or not, vampires actually have a diverse pantheon of gods. Each coven usually worships different deities in different ways. Here are a few that my coven worships.
Bella Swan, Goddess of Spawns & Transformation
Carmilla, Goddess of Love & Passion
Lestat du Lioncourt, God of Madness, Wine, & Revelry
Carslile Cullen, God of Medicine
Dracula, God of Grudges and War
Ash, God of Trickery
Dean Winchester, God of Hunger & Bloodlust
Each of these gods were introduced by Ash, our newest coven member and V's spawn. The concept of adopting gods from icons of media is not new. Thanks to Ash for creating these images.
Humans find vampires off-putting. Apparently we fall into a sort of uncanny valley, where our faces, skin, and hair appear human, but not quite. This is enough for humans to find us strange in a way they can't explain. Even if a mature vampire were to wear contacts, a wig, or a mask over their mouth, they would still appear off in some way. Humans have also described us as having an ambient smell, like a dead body or old blood.
However, some humans aspire to have smooth skin, rubbery features, and eyes that shine in the darkness. Many humans will laud the beauty of having a body that never changes its size or shape, or having thick hair with a vibrant color. For this reason, there are some humans who are immune to this uncanny valley, as they are too dazzled by the beauty of a vampire to notice our oddness.