New Vampire

Two years after the “Vampire Disclosure” worldwide the Application Program started in many countries, including mine. There is no top age limit, but you must have at least 16 to subject your application, 14 with written permission of your family. The sooner the better, actually. The actual transformation of a human into vampire happens, by vampiric tradition, after 20 years, ideally.

Allegedly.

No one should be turned into a vampire without whish to be a vampire. Now that they are part of society, openly, vampire community needs to adhere to legal compromises. I stress that “in theory”, because the law also allow vampires for all practical purposes to kill humans. Without any human authority look close to the situation or ask questions.

Hard for me to imagine any limitation of vampire powers, under those circumstances. Besides, if ever comes to happen, a war between vampires and humans, humans would lose.

Would be ratter a massacre than a war, actually.

So, like the vast majority of people reaching 16 that year when the Application test was made for the first time, I included myself in the list to take the exam. It consists in some documentation, medical exams; blood test included, goes without saying; and a written exam testing a variety of subjects. I didn’t got any result, but that was the norm.

We would learn latter why. There are few openings in vampire society every year, and almost all are opportunities are taken by humans born inside Vampire Families. The Application is more a formality, to make give the rest of humanity some false hope of get the immortality package. I was convinced that I didn’t qualify.

Until I reach 18, when the letters begun.

Turns out I was one of the rare cases of humans born outside Vampire Families with some sort of potential. In cases like mine, the agreement between Noble Families was that I would have the chance to choose. Which vampire family I would join.

Oh, by this point, choose to stay human was no longer an available option. That much was explained to me by my aunt, who is a lawyer.

Vampires cannot keep their human family ties or friends for the first years. Not to say we have to pretend this people don’t exist, but newly created vampires are just too dangerous. Not in control of ourselves. So, we cannot stay in the same room with any human who is important to us, without supervision. We may kill any human in the room with us, and to kill those people would be needless pain and trauma.

We must live in the family house. After some time, centuries, a vampire earns personal autonomy, sometimes. That is earned, gradually.

Fortunately for me, the reason I was chosen to be a vampire was a rare blood-seed. In some remote past it used to be found in one in each 50 vampires, but nowadays is practically extinct. All vampires how have it now, except for me, are over 5.000 years old. This particular seed, named Ghost Seed, allows vampires who develop it a way to walk during the day, under day light.

Know Naruto, the anime? Those shadow clones. Is something like that, more or less. Basically, the vampire go to sleep during the day, his body stays protected, safely. And a image of him materializes. Is like a human body, broadly speaking. Except it is a projection, and just disappears if destroyed. The vampire does not suffer anything. However, the Ghost Body is for all practical purposes as solid and strong as a normal human.

I am far from being able to do that! Will need to practice and “grow the seed” for many centuries before I have the chance to actually make a solid materialization.

What I can do, for now, is visit people I know when they are either dreaming or half awaken. In as daydream state. I cannot affect anything physical, but we can talk. And that is actually part of the exercise I need to do in order to develop this specific vampiric power.

One of the people who agreed to help was Katia, a friend. Former girlfriend, actually.

She took the opportunity, because she wanted to know more about vampires. Fair enough, I suppose everybody share that desire nowadays.

There is a lot of things in the news, of course. Much is public, but what is public in matters like that is by default 99% bullshit. I don’t suppose that case falls too outside the norm.

“Will you answer my questions?”

I wanted to be honest with her. “I will not give you any information that would cause me trouble, violate any secrets just for the sake of satisfy your curiosity. You understand that! Other that, I promise to do my best”.

So, yes, vampires are real. No scheme to **** people to give up their personal rights and accept more vigilance from govern. Like Covid and the Clime Change Imminent Catastrophe supposedly caused by humanity. Besides, if anything, the vampires had a little bit of the opposite effect. At least the existence of vampires, and their hunting rights **** governs around the world to drop almost all gun-control regulatory measures.

A 9mm pistol does not do much against a vampire, but at very least we all understand the human being hunted should have the chance to try. And, against most vampires a pistol is a decent enough instrument to slow down the predator. Possibly buy enough time for the human being hunted to escape. Better than nothing, it certainly is.

Yes, vampires do live potentially forever. No limit.

All vampires after a few thousand years became subjected to what we call “long sleep”. Without any decision, they start feeling lethargic and have a few hours or nights to find a way to sleep. The long sleep can last anything from few years to a couple of centuries. Vampires who are millions of years old may in rare cases sleep for over a thousand years in their long sleep. However, that is rare. Other than that, time only makes vampires stronger.

The older vampire is a few million years old, something around 7 million years. If I got things correctly. That is not something vampires speak about directly, and is sort of impolite to insist in questions. Is something you will get to know eventually, when you are ready for it.

However, vampirism is about as old as language. Once humans start speaking, vampires show up. Or vice-versa.

There are countless vampiric powers, too many to fit in a book, apparently. However, each vampire only has the potential for a few dozen or less, and most only develop up to half a dozen. No need for more, really, and is usually better to invest energy in improve one power to its **** limit. Instead of invest in versatility.

All vampires are far stronger, faster, and harder to kill than humans. Also, we all have to drink human blood, and sometimes we have to hunt humans who will not give that blood willingly. That is a fundamental fact of vampiric condition. This much is true, like the journalists say, is that 1%. Sometimes vampires do lose control and kill the human prey, cannot be avoided.

That is a small percentage of the blood we consume. We may drink from voluntary donners, from blood-bags, and from animals. Most vampires mix all those options.

Most vampires can eat and drink like humans too. With variated levels of enjoyment. Some vampires cannot do that at all, and feel sick if they try. Most vampires do not get any sustenance from human food. However, some vampires have the special power that allows them to replace the need for blood almost entirely, by eating normal food. Those vampires only need to drink blood during the hunt.

We do show up in mirrors and pictures normally. Some vampiric powers may allow a vampire to avoid that completely. What usually happens is that the image of the vampire is there, only the perception of those who look at it is unable to register it. In any case, not all vampires have that power, is kind of rare.

Oh, yes! About the vampire blood.

I am smashing together many different conversations here. Leaving out personal subjects and cheap chat. Some minor gossip.

When we talked Katia was either during a daydream section, at hours we had previously defined for the exercise, or sleeping and dreaming.

She looked and talked like herself in both occasions, mostly. However, she would not remember our talks during dreams. And she was a bit different in those occasions. I didn’t notice right away, but was as if I was talking with some deeper layer of her, or different layers, instead of her usual persona. That Katia and I kept those conversations in secret from the awaken Katia, by her suggestion actually, not mine.

I could neither read her mind not actually enter her dreams. Not with my level of development of the seed. However, specially during the sleeping times, I was able to see some translucent images popping in and out existence around us. My instructor explained that those image where manifestations of her dreaming process, and that part of her mind was engaged in those dreams wile other part was talking with me.

“Is a tool for subtle spying and mind-manipulation at distance, that power. You are far from being able to use it that way, though. Still, since you friend never got any mind-shield training you can try this: ask her during the dream any question you don’t think she would answer you honestly. Make the question directly, in casual tone but assuming she has the obligation to answer, implicitly. Later, repeat the same question to her during a daydream exercise”.

I tried to ask why she accepted to help me with the exercise. Knowing it could lead to some violation of her privacy, by accident. I didn’t had to say so, but I was considering that she was always very concerned about her privacy and private space.

Besides, even considering we are still friends, our time as a couple didn’t ended entirely without conflict. And large part of that conflict was because she considered me “too possessive” and “jealous”. She needed “more space”. So, why sign up for something like that, with me of all people?

Her most honest side said she didn’t really wanted to help me in this exercise. She only said yes because is barely impossible to get trustworthy sources about the vampiric world.

Specifically, she wanted to know about the vampiric blood. Because, according to rumour it can cure any disease, even cancer, and she has a high probability of developing a cancer later in life. Due to family history.

Yeah, I knew that medical history of her family. From both sides.

He awaken mind gave me the line about wanting to try a new experience, help. All that. Still, without mention the dream conversation, I found a way to help conversation to reach the point she was more interested to know about. Only fair, since I was de fact abusing her trust with those nocturnal visits.

Vampire blood has some minor healing properties. A drop will heal any open wound instantaneously, if it is small and superficial enough. Drink a little of vampire blood helps heal internal injuries, to some extent. Nothing more than that.

What she was looking for is a vampiric power. Very common vampiric power, actually, about four in each five have the potential for it. I don’t know any statistic about how many who have the potential bother to develop it. In any case, is not the hardest power to develop.

When a vampire that has this power uses it, on purpose, yes. Drink that vampire blood, intentionally spiced with that vampiric power, can grant some of the vampiric powers to the human, temporarily. Including the healing, that will cure all physical diseases, any sort of cancer included. The human usually gets some level of super-human strength as well. With no vampiric weaknesses. And, the aging slows down. If the vampire has the Blood-Thrall Seed developed enough is possible to entirely stop the aging of humans or any other animal.

However, to drink vampiric blood like that is highly addictive. More than that, it links the human to de vampire in a bond of slavery. The human change, and will no longer survive without vampire blood. Will not be able to drink the blood of any other vampire either, unless it gets the explicit permission of the master.

A vampire who has thralls always know where each thrall is. Can call them and they will travel to him, or die trying.

They may wish to refuse commands, fight or disobey. That is not possible to them, if the master don’t allow them that privilege.

A blood-thrall can be stolen. Some other vampire with the same blood seed can do that, but to do that his seed has to be stronger. And the blood-thrall has to be captured first, and kept in captivity. For some time his organism will refuse the new blood, but eventually, after a long period of ****, the original bond can be broken and replaced by this new one. Other than that the blood-thrall is subjected to life in slavery under his vampire master.

Steal blood-thralls is a sort of sport between enemy families of vampires. Intolerable offence to the honour of any vampire. Which is a reason why some prefer not to keep thralls.

They are useful, and pleasant, but also a vulnerability that enemies can explore.

I though she should know everything relevant about the situation.

By purely academic curiosity I asked at some point, my mentor, if I have the blood-thrall seed. Turns out I do have it. “Can be developed in five to ten years, if you are interested. Would slow down your work with the Ghost Seed a little bit, but nothing beyond what is reasonable. I am sure no old timer would mind. I can train you.”.

I am still on the fence about that offer, actually.