Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Idea: Vampires possessed by their blood

You could possibly call these vampires "tragic" if you were so inclined. It is the blood itself which controls a vampire, which may be either cooperative with the force flowing through its xir veins or be engaged in a futile struggle to retain control. The blood has no physical control over its host but it is able to insert sensations into its host's mind, whether it does so in order to speak to its companion or as an assault on xir mental stability. A person may try to resist but the blood is well-equipped to wear down xir resolve. Even without resorting to finer techniques of psychological manipulation the blood can simply "shout" relentlessly in its host's mind until, for the sake of being able to sleep or have even a single minute of rest, xe will follow through with what the blood wants him to do. Suicide might be considered but the blood can make its host suffer agonizing pain. While that might not be enough to dissuade some people simply on a mental basis the pain can become intense enough to make it impossible to move.

Many older vampires have lost their sense of self to one extent or another. They have become so compliant to the demands of the blood in them that as it speaks, they act, and their will slowly ebbs away.

To some extent this curious relationship arises because, magically speaking, memories are contained in the blood. They're still located in the brain, yes, but there is a sort of sympathetic relationship relationship between blood and memories. As masters of bloodwork the main power of a vampire lies not in xir shapeshifting or incredibly strength or telepathy or anything else of this sort. Indeed, a vampire may not even possess these powers (do with them as you wish). No, a vampire's main asset is xir natural power over memories. Draining blood from someone can drain their memories, too. Simply drinking their blood allows their memories to be read.

Transferring their own blood to another person has the effect of infecting them with vampirism because of this power. Their blood is, essentially, alive and a thinking entity in its own right, and it infects the blood of the victim with these selfsame attributes. A very small amount is enough to affect the victim's memories but not enough to truly start the process of blood-conversion. Larger amounts are required, commensurate with the strength of the victim's willpower and even sense of self (many vampires will engage in psychological torture before beginning blood-conversion). Because of the large amount of blood required to spawn a single vampire, let alone multiple vampires, spawning vampires hunt much, much more frequently than other vampires. They don't need to eat or replenish their energy in any other manner (in a way they're perpetual motion machines) but the blood in them is constantly decaying, as it were. The blood must be replenished on a regular basis, and giving up large amounts to create more vampires only makes the need more pressing.

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