Sunlight; Direct contact with the sun burns their skin, and turns them to ash with enough exposure. It heals quickly when no longer exposed if they are properly fed on the blood of the living. Indirect contact is uncomfortable but not deadly, so a vampire may stand in the shade beneath a tree during the day and not die, though they cannot leave that spot of shade without an umbrella.

Fire; Very few vampires have an affinity for fire, though those that do are just as susceptible to its torture. Fire is one of the very things that can completely destroy the average vampire. It burns the body just like the sun though it reduces everything, including the bones, to ashes. Light exposure if easy to survive, burns take longer to heal but feeding speeds up with process, and severe burns may end in dead without blood.

Stakes; Few things can paralyze a vampire entirely without killing it; a stake to the heart does just that though the stronger the vampire the less likely it is to work. With weaker vampires it may simply be the beginning of death for the creature, younger ones, for those who are old, strong or pure, a simple stake to the heat will barely slow them down. On average the vampire remains paralyzed for one minute, if recently fed, two if not.

Dead Man’s Blood; the blood of the dead is never a pleasant drink for vampires. In fact it is poisonous if the deceased is dead for more than three days when the blood is taken from the body. It is stale at one, unpleasant at two and deadly at three. It crowds the vampires veins and causes hemorrhaging in the body to try and get it out of the system. Veins flare in irritation, fangs protrude and eventually they begin to vomit.

Werewolf Bites; the bite of a werewolf is the only sure-fire way to kill any vampire without ever having to do anything to them. It heals over quickly, normally, as if they weren't really hurt but it only takes twelve hours for it to show itself again in the flakes of skin at the site of the bite. The skin and muscles twitches as if there are worms beneath the skin and soon the vampire seems to catch a fever. They binge on blood, start to hallucinate and eventually they go rabid in which case they will drink themselves to death and die in a pool of blood among a possible thousand victims of their crazy.

Heightened Senses; All vampires have, to a certain degree, much stronger senses than the average human. Turned vampires have the weakest senses in comparison and pure bloods can hear often as far as a mile away without a problem. They`re sight allows them to pick out small details among many, scent can pick anything out easily in the air though tracking it is a matter of skill, not heritage. Their sense of touch is heightened as well, leaving the pleasureful touches all the more exciting and the painful even more painful.

Inhuman Strength; a vampire who feeds regularly on human blood is capable of much more those who do not, leaving them able to break through large cement walls or throw cars. Those who do not are significantly weaker than avid drinkers, but it is easier to control for them. It is learned to control this ability.

Inhuman Speed; pretty much teleporting to the human eyes, only vampires and Slayers are able to track their movements though only the former can react in time and intercept. This is easily controlled by any vampires and all are the same speed unless their Gifts say otherwise.

Compulsion; a form of hypnotism that only a vampire may do on a human, or a pure blood on another vampire; this is used by looking the intended victim in the eyes and catching them in a sense, giving complete control to the vampire in this case. They may demand anything of the victim, from forgetting their memories to killing themselves or each other, including actions that are completely out of the ordinary for the person. It wears off after the action is performed.

A vampire is dead, a living corpse, whose heart beats and skin is warm only because of the blood they drink. Vampires are sterile, unable to produce offspring or even conceive them as well. All vampires, regardless of their creation, have smooth, flawless skin, striking eyes, fair skin and silky hair. Their nails are strong and their bones are hard enough to withstand their own strength though another vampire can break them as well. They heal fast, so long as there isn't anything obstructing the wound from closing. When a human becomes a vampire, all old injuries are healed and scars go away, as well as any excess fat. Hair and nails grow exceptionally fast.

Essentially, becoming a vampire makes you smoking hot.

Vampires who became by binging on blood are the only ones able to reproduce – the chances are low but it’s possible – and rear offspring with a beating heart. They age until maturity though they stop at the age of 20, with little to no way to tell how old they really are. These vampires are unaffected by the normal effects of incest on childbirth and development, making it possible for the Pure Bloods to remain so and as such be who they are born to be.

Gifts are a single or a set of powers beyond their usual abilities that a vampire may posses. Not all vampires have them - very few cases have been recorded in Turned Vampires - but many of the Aristocrats have them and nearly every single Pure Blood has a set of two or three powers that make them stronger than all the rest. These Gifts come in all forms, anything from telepathy to shapeshifting to control of the elements.

The previous King became at a very young age after his father died with his elder brother, after they had been captured by a rival family of Pure Bloods - the Shiyumi - who want to take their place as the royal family and rulers of vampires. They're bodies were sent back as a warning, burned and in boxes and that was when Tarren came into power. He was the youngest of three sons, but with his surviving older brother away, tracking down their killers and training new, turned warriors to fight for them, he became king while his mother raised her final child. Tarren ruled alone for a very long time, while his mother raised his younger sister in secret, in a house far from where they knew he was and brought her to him when she was ready to become queen. He was reaching his four hundredth year when he met the girl. She was two hundred years his junior, but beautiful and willing to learn and rule. They revealed her to the public only when she was already married to him and very much in love - and very pregnant with their first child. There were no open threats, not with the aristocratic families so clearly endeared with the innocent woman who had become the Queen so suddenly, seemingly overnight.

Their first son was the only son the two had though there first three children were girls, all as sweet and beautiful as their mother. There forth came four hundred years after she had first come to be his Queen, the boy would be the King and the second last child the two would bare in this life time. They didn't try as hard for children anymore, she drank less blood when she did not need the bonuses it granted. He was raised away from society, where none would know of him while his sisters attended balls and soirees, courted by other Pure Blood young vampires. All of the other families had gathered when they thought that there was no male heir, looking to have their sons marry the daughters in hopes that they would come to power because of it and rule when the Juran died out.

Fortunately, this was not the case and after the family had ceased to see the public for several years, they appeared again with the son married to their youngest daughter. He had had his choice of girls and picked the smartest of the three, albeit the most humble in nature. And now, here we are, with them and their children.

The Asvirial family was founded by a pair of Pure Blood siblings that are now known as, Michael, and Noelle around a thousand years ago. At least, that’s the estimation. In truth, no one really knows how old the family is. The founders of the family are still alive, however, they have taken refuge underground to keep the eyes of the aristocrats as well as other Pure Bloods off of them.

It is said that this group of Pure Bloods hailed from egypt, having held claim to the throne of the Pharaoh for more than 2 centuries before they took their leave of it. The reason for which they left their rather content life is unknown, but it is speculated that a war broke out between their people. This war, if it truly did happen, was said to have wrought the land full of plagues, leaving it naught but a shell of what it used to be. It is unclear whether this was a civil war, or one between their empire and another’s, however, one thing is certain: When they left, they left silently. No one would see hide nor hair of them again for nearly 300 years.

By this point they had already had their first son, Solomon, another apparently on the way. At this time they were living in Asia as nobility, under the pretence of being a friend to the emperor of china at the time. At the same time that they reemerged to the Vampiric community, Asia’s wars with Genghis Khan were getting worse, and China had just begun the construction of the Great Wall. Michael was enlisted in the war effort. With his help as a general they were able to push Khan back, but it cost them a hefty price. Michael was thought to have been killed in the war. Shortly thereafter, Noelle, along with both her oldest--as well as her newly born son, Malic--disappeared.

Another 300 years passed before all four of them were spotted again on a boat to the New World. It wasn’t until Virginia was founded that they proclaimed their return to Vampire Society. Unlike most Pure Blood families, the Arvirial did not seek to become royal, or to take what power the Juran had. They sought only to live their lives as they pleased. They were strong, however, and this made them feared by others of their kind. Noelle was once quoted in saying that they went into hiding whenever they felt their lives were in danger from another Pure Blood family. She didn’t understand why they were so afraid of them. None of the family had ever said a cross word to anyone, and it was rare that they were even seen in public. So, why? Why did other families have problems with them?

It’s thought that the reason was entirely due to the fact that they didn’t try to become royalty. Some thought that they were pompous and conniving, while others who knew of their strength simply thought they were lying in wait.

A few years after they declared themselves to the public again, they had a daughter, Emelia. She was the light of their family’s world, and Solomon’s only love. When the time finally came for the two to be wed and take over their family, Emelia was kidnapped. A few months later, after tireless nights of searching, the Vampire’s corpse was found rotted at the bottom of ravine. To this day, no one knows who actually killed the girl, and Solomon disappeared shortly after her death. Michael and Noelle knew nothing about where Solomon had gone, or why he’d left, they could only imagine the pain he was going through. Even they were having trouble dealing with the loss of their daughter.

Around this point, their second son, Malic disappeared as well. It’s thought that he went to find his brother, but no one can really be sure. When he finally returned to America, he was the husband of a turned vampire with no brother in toe. His parents, while they accepted his decision, had had another three children in his absence. Two daughters, and a son. These would be the last children they would have before they disappeared for the final time, leaving Malic to rule their house in their stead.

Slayer; a person who is different than the rest of humanity, and chooses to hunt down and kill vampires.

Slayers, or Hunters, as they are commonly referred to, are the human descendants of a human who once attempted to become a vampire through drinking blood and somehow managed to survive and not become a vampire. The blood still tainted their system and their children carry that taint in their own blood though they are not and never can, become vampires. They have slightly better than average senses and reflexes, their eyes able to follow the movements of vampires when they're using their supersonic speed though there bodies do not heal as fast. They are stronger and can take more hits than a human, have a slight irritation to sunlight and often wear sunglasses outside.

Some are completely aware of their heritage and chose not to hunt vampires either, others are blissfully unaware though the majority of this rare breed hunts down what was almost their kill and kills it.

There are very few steps required in the slaying of a vampire, though there is an issue with the execution, since vampires are hard to predict and stronger.

Step one; Staking. The goal here is to ram a wooden stake through their heart and paralyses them long enough to kill them. Be careful, if you miss your chance you’re dead.

Step Two; Beheading. Once you've successfully paralyzed the vampire, it’s best to cut off its head right away and move it away from the body. If the head reattaches, it’ll kill you.

Step Three; Burning. Once you've successfully detained the vampire, it’s best to light the body on fire and burn it until there’s nothing but ashes left. An accident could always have brought the vampire back to life.

Step Four; Scatter the Ashes. Scattering the ashes makes sure that no blood dropped on the ash pile or in the jar, can cause the body to reform and live again.

Pure Bloods; the royals of the vampire society, they are stronger and more heavily gifted than any other type of vampire. You cannot become a royal vampire, you must be born it.

Aristocrats; these are vampires born as vampires, though they have at least a touch of human in their blood that no other vampire type can claim. They serve the royals unflinchingly, because they covet their favour and power.

Turned; vampires who were not born what they are, instead they had been created as such by another vampire for some purpose, or simply because the human begged. The created in number, they are generally weaker than the other types of vampires, though many go about their lives normally without interference from the Aristocrats or the Pure Bloods – unless they've broken the code.