(Just so there is no confusion, this is how Vampires work in Xaevos:)
Vampires are undead creatures that feed off the blood of Magical creatures. (Anthros, such as normal characters) Being undead, they have no need for food or water, or even breathing. Some chose to eat and drink anyways, and most breath out of simple habit, and for talking.
They *are* affected by normal weapons and magic, although, much less so than normal furs. If a normal character gets shot in the lung by a handgun, they would almost instantly keel over, however, since vampires have no need for it, they could resist the pain for a few minutes to keep doing whatever they were doing. They still feel pain as normal furs. The heart and brain being destroyed, however, will kill them, as will blood loss from other wounds.
They also do not have any super powers, like flying or super speed or telepathy, simply because they are a vampire. If they do have these powers, it is because they have had a lot of time to train in magics.
They do age, however, the aging process is different from normals. A vampire that feeds well (once every month or two) will hover around 20 or 30 years old looking, but after a few months, they will age extremely fast, until they get around 60 or 70 a few months after that, and die of lack of blood and age.
Vampires only need to feed three or four times every year, if they are unwilling to feed due to emotions from their normal life, however, they can feed as often as they like. Most vampires feed once every three months, give or take a feeding, because most vampires wish to reject their need to kill, but can not overcome the urge to feed that begins after two months without feeding.
A vampire's bite is almost guaranteeing death, unless they stop in the early stages of feeding, which almost only happens if the vampire is using the bite in a fight with multiple people to incapacitate someone. Being bitten and surviving will plant the essence of the vampire inside you, and you will eventually go insane and/or die. Someone turning into a vampire after surviving a bite is very rare, as even basic healing magic can prevent that, however, if they are not healed by magic at ALL, they will very likely turn into a extremely weak vampire which must feed every night to survive. This normally happens on battlefields where healers are otherwise busy or dead.
Someone becoming a vampire after being sucked dry of blood is also very rare, and the chances are almost nill if the vampire whom bit them was feeding for the sake of feeding, and not in a crave for blood. However, the longer the vampire waits before biting, the more likely the bitten will turn into a vampire. If the vampire waited until they were near death from blood withdrawal, there is about a 15% chance the bitten will turn into a vampire, give or take a few percent on the individual's spirit's willpower. Bites also seem to convey things to each other, subconsciously. The instincts of the biting vampire seem to seep in with the instincts of the bitten, and the stronger memories of the bitten are conveyed to the biter.
Turning into a vampire is a very deadly ordeal, and if a vampire rejected going into a clan and saw this transformation for the first time without warning, they could be in danger. The dead body (people who survived the bite and turned would simply pass out) starts to stir, and it's eyes turn milky white. It then, without warning, jumps up and will stop at nearly nothing to feed, until they either feed on fresh blood, or die due to being destroyed or going for a few hours without blood. As soon as they taste their first bit of blood, they will regain sapience, and their irises and pupils shall come back. The iris of all vampires is colored blood red.
Eyes seem to hold a special place in vampire psychology. They seem to feed less on people with darker eyes, and become agitated when they see people with bright eyes. This might be due to the fact that people with more magical abilities tend to have brighter eyes, except in the case of Earth and Death mages, who normally have darker eyes, which also suggests that because Vampires are more calm when they see darker eyes, they either have a affinity for Earth and/or Death dwellers, or they simply didn't evolve with them. Another theory is that if Vampires started out in Cazenra, those with the magic of the Dead's blood wasn't as restorative as those of magics like Fire and Life, but this is currently only speculation.
Different species of furs also seems to slightly affect the way vampirism acts around them. Mustelieds, such as the otters of Sanuki and the weasels, ferrets and stoats of Feliran seem to be converted into vampires less than others, like reptiles, cats and canines. Rodents and felines seem to be affected by bloodlust a few days before others as well.
Vampires also seem to have the opposite of claustrophobia, as they enjoy small tight spaces like caves and crypts, and dislike open places. This, however, seems to be also dependent on the individual, as some vampires, though, slightly less than the others, exhibit the exact opposite behavior.
There are many different vampiric clans, though, they are extremely secretive. There are, however, a few that are told in old folk tales.
Clan Red Hand, said to have originally lived in Cazenra, but moved to a forest in Kar'Nah'Kah. It was also said to have been the biggest and greatest of all vampire clans, until they were all slain in a forest fire caused by a freak lightning storm. Some, (mostly Kar'Nah people) hold to the belief that it was a vampire hunting mage, who was the twin brother of the then-current king of Kar'Nah'Kah. They were said to have left a handprint in blood wherever they fed. There were, to the folk's credit, many unexplained red hand marks left on the sides of buildings, even the palace of the king of Kar'Nah'Kah, but the government assured the people that those marks were the work of some gang that wanted attention, and that they were brought to justice. Strangely, they made the announcement that they had been brought to justice weeks after the forest fire.
Clan Sylfehm, also said to have been made extinct, but through unexplained means. They took place in Exanos, and were, strangly enough, not very secretive. They were a collaboration of wealthy business men and women in the age where the cities first started flying. Not much is known about this myth, however, as most everyone wrote it off as a story told by the jealous poor people on the ground.
Clan Greenskin, a clan said to be comprised completely out of reptiles from Cazenra. They lived in Zyka, and when they moved in, there seemed to be a higher amount of murders. The police rejected all claims of vampirism, and assured the public that there were no bitemarks on the dead and they still had blood. This, having been a somewhat recent event, is now looked down at in modern Zyka as just racism to the reptiles, and that they have gotten over it. Aside from a few eccentrics, of course.
The Silvergold Moon Clan, Who took place in Sanuki. It is the most recent myth. It isn't taken seriously by most people today, and is simply used as a scary story to persuade children to keep to their curfews. It was said to be a group of otters that wore blue and white cloth coverings over their entire body, with only a slit for a eye and a removable bandanna for their mouth, which was said to have mutated worse than normal vampires, and ALL their teeth turned into fangs. They would descend at midnight and literally eat the entire body of whoever they found. But on the full moon, they would capture people and bring them to their lair and change them into a vampire.
Now, these clans, especially the last one, are most likely superstition and never existed. However, we can not rule them out at this time. We also should never definitively say that a entire clan is dead. Vampires are extremely creative and stealthy, and if they ever let themselves be found, it is too late. There are also likely dozens of other clans that haven't made it into the public eye.
It should also be noted that there are well known myths in every country EXCEPT Cazenra and Feliran. This is speculated (By vampire believers) to be because those of the land of life deny the existence of vampires, and that those of Cazenra believe it is something true that should not be passed around, for the rumor-spreader's own safety.
It has been theorized that, with a proper amount of magic and potions, a cure could be formed. However, it is much too costly to use, and not even guaranteed to work. Besides, even if it did, it wouldn't erase the knowledge and habits of the vampire. It's best to just kill them.
--Senior Vampire hunter of *CLASSIFIED*