Vampirism

Sanguis majora, Sanguis ultimatum, and Sanguis corporalas are all various forms of vampirism. Sanguis Ultimatum is the most serious of the three, resulting almost certainly in death. Vampirism was creacted by Sanguire, god of vampires, as a way to kill those he hated and take control of those he wanted to.

Sanguis Majora
Sanguis majora Is an affliction spread when a level three or greater vampire touches an unaffected human. The human begins to progress through the stages until they are a full fledged vampire. It is believed that Sanguire did not want levels 1-3 to occur, and that they are merely a by-product of the transformation.

Level 1- infected
When one is infected, it takes 3 days to begin to see symptoms. In stage 1, the changes are mostly just physical: the eyes become more red, the hair darkens, and the skin becomes more pale. When someone is a level 1 vampire, they are typically accepted by society and can seek a cure. About 1 week after infection, the eyes become completely red and typical cures become useless.

Level 2
A level 2 vampire has fully red eyes and well developed canines, and is widely considered to be a complete vampire. A level 2 vampire maintains a body temperature of 78 degrees, much colder than a normal human. If a level 2 vampire is in direct sunlight they often feel themselves burning, however no permanent damage is done. Vampires at this stage are slightly stronger than the average human, but not tremendously. They do not digest normal food correctly at this stage, so they must drink blood(although any mammal&apos;s blood will do). Level 2 vampires have complete control over their minds, and sometimes manage to fit into society. The infected subject will proceed into a level 3 vampire after 5 days without human blood.

Level 3
Level 3 vampires have completely black hair, completely red eyes, and completely white skin. They usually have a body temperature of 73 degrees, but it can vary by up to 5 degrees. They experience major pain in the sun, and will pass out after mere minutes in the sun, and then die if they continue to stay in the sun. Level 3 vampires usually have some vision abilities in pitch black, and they can sense human blood from far away. They are extremely strong, and have extremely sharp canines. At this stage, the vampire becomes excessively violent and is known to have an extreme craving for human blood. A level 3 vampire can revert to a level 2 vampire by drinking an ounce of blood for each day since it has last drank. Drinking blood also keeps the vampires young, and so some choose to become vampires for eternal life.

Level 4- Transformation
If a vampire goes 10 days without human blood, it becomes progressively more tired and sleepy until it has gone 17 days(exactly 17 days, without fail) without blood. It sleeps for 2 days, and the body transforms. The upper canines grow to 2 inches long, the skin turns purple, the ears lengthen, and the skin begins to swell. Towards the end of the transformation, the skin falls again but with many wrinkles. The body temperature is kept at 108 degrees during this process. If it gets too hot or cold in the surrounding area, the vampire may die or become seriously injured.

Level 4 (Full Vampires)
Once a vampire completes the transformation, it is a fully fledged vampire. The vampire no longer needs to suck blood, and is instead purely a servant of Sanguire. Full Vampires are much stronger than humans, with most of them being able to lift up to 300 pounds without training, and some lifting up to 500 pounds. Level 4 vampires can also use some powerful spells unusable by humans, including aura drain and deincarnate. They are not recognizably human, and contain no memories from their life as humans. While they cannot normally talk, Sanguire often talks through them himself. Because they lose their memories, most level 2 or 3 vampires try to drink blood regularly to avoid becoming full vampires and losing their lives.

Sanguis Corporalas
Sanguis Corporalas is a disease spread by bats. Its symptoms include hair loss, reddenning of eyes, and paling of skin, however drinking blood has no effect on Sanguis Corporalas. The disease usually also causes a lack of energy, insomnia, nightmares, and an extreme aptitude to burning in the sun. While it is an inconvenience, it is not fatal and is rarely mistaken for Sanguis Majora. People inflicted with it can usually lead relatively normal lives. It is believed that Sanguire sends bats to inflict Sanguis Corporalas upon those who have wronged him.

Sanguis Ultimatum
Sanguis Ultimatum is a deadly disease that comes from Sanguire himself. Anyone who Sanguire deems unworthy to live is affected with it, however it is believed that it takes great effort for Sanguire to inflict it on a human and thus he uses the disease sparingly. The symptoms are similar to Sanguis Corporalas at first(Reddening of eyes, paling of skin, nightmares) but later it becomes more serious, with symptoms like coughing up blood and hallucinating. After about 10 days of having the disease, the &apos;vampire&apos; will begin to bleed through the nose and cough up masses of blood until they die. Sanguis Ultimatum has only been seen 28 times in the past 100 years, and is believed to have hapenned less than 4000 times since the dry era.

Vampire Tribes
Many tribes in the western Nirius Mountains make their leaders vampires in an ancient rite where the former leader sucks and then backwashes several ounces of blood into the new leader&apos;s body. The new leader is then infected with Sanguis Majora, and, in some cases, the new leader kills the old leader. The leader then regularly feeds on the blood of people in the tribe who regularly take cures for vampirism, or on the blood of people outside the tribe.

Other tribes consist completely of vampires, although they should technically be called clans. These tribes are most commonly found in the Western Nirius mountains and the Irinos Coast.

Level 2/3 Vampire Clans
Clans of level 2 or 3 vampires are often formed when a group of friends or colleagues decides they want eternal life, but can also be a refuge for accidental vampires. Some clans consist of only a couple people, but there are clans of all sizes. It is rumored that a Clan of approximately 50 vampires lives in the western Jallir Forest.

Full vampire clans
Full vampires also can be known to live in clans, but it unknown what purpose it serves or what the social hierarchy is like, as it is very hard to study full vampires.