Post by Skye Spyder on Jul 3, 2015 20:38:29 GMT -5
In 2002 vampires around the world revealed themselves, via television, as non-mythical beings after the developement of a synthetic blood product [the most popular of which is ‘TrueBlood’] that provides adequate sustenance for vampires and therefore does not require them to feed on human blood.
The worldwide reaction to the vampire’s coming out [which is called the ‘Great Revelation’] is mixed. The policy in Muslim countries is death and torture for vampires. Nations like Bosnia, Argentina, and most African countries refuse to acknowledge their existence. Others such as France, Italy, and German acknowledge them but do not give them the same rights as human citizens. The United States, Canada, U.K., Mexico, Japan, Switzerland, and the Scandinavian countries are more tolerant but are not always permitted certain rights. [Like being able to marry.]
Rather than acknowledging the legend that vampires are deceased humans that have risen from the dead to prey on the living, the vampires insist they are simply the victims of a medical condition that makes them allergic to sunlight and affects their dietary needs.
Vampires are pale and cold, possess unfathomable strength as well as speed, and have keen senses of hearing, smell and vision. This makes it easy for them to protect themselves. They have the ability to remain completely still, expressionless and silent. Vampires can control the minds of humans by ‘Glamouring’ them. [‘Glamour’ is a form of hypnosis done by staring into the human's eyes and speaking in a soothing, trance-inducing voice.] Vampires can induce complete or partial amnesia in a glamored human, and can compel them to do anything the vampire desires. A few vampires can even fly; individuals may have other powers and abilities.
Vampires' fangs come out when they are hungry, see blood, are sexually aroused, or when they need to fight. All vampires are compelled to obey their individual maker. Harris's vampires do not age once changed. They can survive and recover from most forms of physical injury, but they will die if staked, exposed to sunlight, burnt by fire, completely drained of their blood (if not treated promptly), or decapitated. Silver is highly toxic to them. Unlike the vampire mythology of other universes, crucifixes have no effect on vampires in Harris's universe, garlic only produces allergic reactions on them, they can be photographed, and most (except the "very old ones")are able to enter places of worship or step on "holy ground". They cannot enter a home unless invited, and if an invitation is withdrawn, they are physically unable to remain on the premises. Since vampires can glamour humans to be invited to enter their home, humans must avoid eye contact and order the vampire off the premises when an unfriendly one tries to gain entry.
The cult following of humans fascinated by vampires [called Fangbangers] includes volunteers willing to be bitten to provide fresh blood nourishment to vampires. If a vampire and a human share blood (each drinking from the other), it will form a blood bond, linking the pair's psyches. Vampire blood without exchange is sought after by humans as a drug that can enhance strength, heal wounds, and increase attractiveness, among other effects. Due to the shortage of willing vampire donors, human "drainers" attack vampires and drain their entire blood supply, either staking the vamps or leaving victims to die in the sun. The blood is then sold as a drug in vials on the underground market. It can be highly addictive, but may cause psychotic or murderous rampages by human users upon the first use, and it is highly unpredictable who will be affected in this manner. A vampire's blood given to a dead body in combination with magic words raises the ghost of the body's former inhabitant.
Though many vampires in this universe try to live among humans, they remain very secretive about their organization and government. The vampires divided the continental United States into four divisions (clans), each represented by a symbol: the Whale, the Feather, the Thunder Bolt and the Eye. A division consists of multiple kingdoms, each controlled by a single lead vampire known as the King or Queen. A kingdom is then divided into areas (formerly known as fiefdoms), each controlled by a sheriff who owes allegiance to the monarch.
Humans are portrayed as having different reactions to vampires; There are "Fangbangers", who are vampire groupies—those who enjoy having sex with vampires and being bitten, perhaps consume vampire blood, or just like the excitement of being around vampires. Furthermore, demand for vampire blood has been growing on the black market, as the blood is very powerful and addictive. "Drainers" are the humans who attack vampires in order to drain their blood, though it is a hazardous job. Drainers travel in teams, singling out vampires through a variety of methods and then carefully planning their ambush. They bind vampires with silver chains and drain the blood into vials. The strength of the blood depends on the age of the blood (the time since it has been removed from its owner), the age of the vampire from whom the blood has been removed, and the individual chemistry of the drug user. In this universe, the effects of vampire blood in humans are a feeling of power, increased strength, acute vision and hearing, increased sexual desire, and enhanced physical appearance.The results are notoriously unpredictable and vary per person, lasting from weeks to months. Some people go mad—even homicidal—when the blood hits their systems. Vampires hate drainers and the users of the drained blood. A vial of blood can cost from $200 to $400 depending on the age of the vampire and the preference of the seller. Some humans have not accepted vampires as creatures of God, and organizations such as the Fellowship of the Sun are against vampires and their existence.
Weres and shapeshifters can assume either human or animal forms, and are collectively referred to as the "two-natured". A variety of different types of weres and shapeshifters exist in including werewolves, werepanthers, weretigers, werefoxes, etc. Being bitten by a were can also transform a person unwillingly at full moons into a man/beast form closer to that of classic legend but a person must be bitten several times to accumulate growth. Shapeshifting conditions manifest in puberty.
Shapeshifters can assume the form of any animal, but most often change to the same animal every time, usually a creature that they have a special affinity for and they call themselves by that animal, e.g., weredog or werebat.
Weres are only able to shift into one animal (werewolves, werepanthers, weretigers, werelynxes, werebats). Within the two-natured community, the capitalized term "Were" is reserved only for those who can change into wolves. The Weres consider themselves superior to all others, but they all cooperate with each other. Most of the two-natured beings organize themselves into packs; each pack is led by a packmaster.
Although vampires announced their existence to the world, the two-natured beings maintained their secrecy to observe the vampires' results.
Fairies are portrayed in the series as beautiful, with pointed ears and glossy, thin skin. Physically, fairies are super-humanly strong and durable. They are tough, ferocious, and incredibly long-lived, but not immortal. The Shreveport werewolf packmaster says, "They love to flirt with disaster, they love to role-play." In this universe, fairies are extremely attractive to humans as well as to vampires. Vampires have a hard time resisting fairies because of their smell and taste; fairy blood is intoxicating to vampires. This makes face to face interactions between them all but impossible. However some individuals, such as Sookie's great-grandfather Niall Brigant, are able to "suppress their essence", effectively masking their scent and making such contact safer.
In the Southern Vampire Series, fairies can be killed with either lemons, limes or iron. When a fairy dies a corpse is not left, just a sparkling powder (or fairy dust); the body just fades away and the spirit of the fairy goes to the next oldest family member to tell them of their death. The fae call their afterlife "The Summerlands".
Those who have fairy blood in them but are not full-blooded fairies are immune to the effects of iron, lemons and limes, while maintaining some of the attractive qualities of fairies. It is possible that, as a genetic quirk, those with fairy blood can inherit abilities such as immunity against mind spells from vampires and maenads, the power of attraction and seduction, the ability to cast spells, and magically transport themselves though there are unknown limitations.
It is also known that fairies can conjure objects, demonstrated by Claudine in Fairy Dust, when she summoned a contract, and in Dead to the World, when she changed her outfit magically. A fairy, Preston, also displayed the abilities to shapeshift and to seduce even Sookie, who is usually telepathically resistant to such abilities.
In this series a witch practices magic rituals, drawing from a power that most people never tap into possessing magical power that can be focused for many various effects through the use of rituals and spells. A Wiccan, on the other hand, practices a pagan religion that follows the ways of the Mother. Practitioners can be both Wiccan and a witch, or more one or the other.
Britlingens: Extremely powerful and skilled beings from another dimension who act as mercenaries, considered to rival vampires in strength. Summoning Britlingens requires an exorbitant amount of money but once summoned they are very difficult to kill.
Maenads: Historically, a maenad is a female follower of the Greek god Dionysus. In the series universe, a maenad's blood is corrosive to vampires. They also have their own sort of control on any creature through madness (only in the book) and demand tribute when wanted. They are divinely powerful, immortal and chaotic neutrals. When they rave they go on rampages and sometimes tear humans and animals to shreds. They can be cannibalistic at times. Maenads are considered rare "ancient creatures" of the supernatural community.
Fae Creatures: As noted above, the world of fairy in this universe includes "fairies, nymphs, water sprites, angels, elves, demons, pixies, goblins, and brownies", with fairies being the majority and base race.
Demons: Beings that have very sharp teeth and are tricky to kill. They can manipulate fire (referred to in Dead and Gone), they can run faster than any human or animal (referred to in Dead and Gone), and can have a very powerful touch (referred to in Dead as a Doornail). When they die, the earth does not take the body in nor does it decompose, so it has to be burned (referred to in Definitely Dead). They also possess the power of telepathy (referred to in Dead Reckoning) and they can also shapeshift (referred to in Deadlocked) .
Elves: Very little is known about these creatures. It is expressed in the short story "Two Blondes" that they have very sharp teeth and that their blood is poisonous to vampires. If elf blood is ingested, it will greatly weaken and disorient a vampire for a short period of time. In "Two Blondes", Sookie shoots Rudy, a half-elf, in the face and chest but he is not mortally wounded. This implies that they are very durable supernaturals and may potentially be more dangerous than others that have been previously introduced.
Goblins: Little yet strong creatures that have a burning touch to the skin (referred to in Club Dead).
Devils: Beings that can corrupt human souls and even buy them. Devils only make deals at crossroads, they are very tricky and have no empathy. The contract must be signed with the blood of the person that sells his soul to the devil (not to be confused with "the devil", who rarely appears "above ground"). In return the devil will grant that person their dearest wish. They look very human except for their very sharp teeth and dark red eyes. They are able to possess humans and other supes (referred to in Dead Ever After), they can also appear out of thin air. They may have other powers which have not been revealed so far. Devils and demons tend to cross paths once in a while but it has not been made clear if these two species are related to each other.
The worldwide reaction to the vampire’s coming out [which is called the ‘Great Revelation’] is mixed. The policy in Muslim countries is death and torture for vampires. Nations like Bosnia, Argentina, and most African countries refuse to acknowledge their existence. Others such as France, Italy, and German acknowledge them but do not give them the same rights as human citizens. The United States, Canada, U.K., Mexico, Japan, Switzerland, and the Scandinavian countries are more tolerant but are not always permitted certain rights. [Like being able to marry.]
Rather than acknowledging the legend that vampires are deceased humans that have risen from the dead to prey on the living, the vampires insist they are simply the victims of a medical condition that makes them allergic to sunlight and affects their dietary needs.
Vampires are pale and cold, possess unfathomable strength as well as speed, and have keen senses of hearing, smell and vision. This makes it easy for them to protect themselves. They have the ability to remain completely still, expressionless and silent. Vampires can control the minds of humans by ‘Glamouring’ them. [‘Glamour’ is a form of hypnosis done by staring into the human's eyes and speaking in a soothing, trance-inducing voice.] Vampires can induce complete or partial amnesia in a glamored human, and can compel them to do anything the vampire desires. A few vampires can even fly; individuals may have other powers and abilities.
Vampires' fangs come out when they are hungry, see blood, are sexually aroused, or when they need to fight. All vampires are compelled to obey their individual maker. Harris's vampires do not age once changed. They can survive and recover from most forms of physical injury, but they will die if staked, exposed to sunlight, burnt by fire, completely drained of their blood (if not treated promptly), or decapitated. Silver is highly toxic to them. Unlike the vampire mythology of other universes, crucifixes have no effect on vampires in Harris's universe, garlic only produces allergic reactions on them, they can be photographed, and most (except the "very old ones")are able to enter places of worship or step on "holy ground". They cannot enter a home unless invited, and if an invitation is withdrawn, they are physically unable to remain on the premises. Since vampires can glamour humans to be invited to enter their home, humans must avoid eye contact and order the vampire off the premises when an unfriendly one tries to gain entry.
The cult following of humans fascinated by vampires [called Fangbangers] includes volunteers willing to be bitten to provide fresh blood nourishment to vampires. If a vampire and a human share blood (each drinking from the other), it will form a blood bond, linking the pair's psyches. Vampire blood without exchange is sought after by humans as a drug that can enhance strength, heal wounds, and increase attractiveness, among other effects. Due to the shortage of willing vampire donors, human "drainers" attack vampires and drain their entire blood supply, either staking the vamps or leaving victims to die in the sun. The blood is then sold as a drug in vials on the underground market. It can be highly addictive, but may cause psychotic or murderous rampages by human users upon the first use, and it is highly unpredictable who will be affected in this manner. A vampire's blood given to a dead body in combination with magic words raises the ghost of the body's former inhabitant.
Though many vampires in this universe try to live among humans, they remain very secretive about their organization and government. The vampires divided the continental United States into four divisions (clans), each represented by a symbol: the Whale, the Feather, the Thunder Bolt and the Eye. A division consists of multiple kingdoms, each controlled by a single lead vampire known as the King or Queen. A kingdom is then divided into areas (formerly known as fiefdoms), each controlled by a sheriff who owes allegiance to the monarch.
Humans are portrayed as having different reactions to vampires; There are "Fangbangers", who are vampire groupies—those who enjoy having sex with vampires and being bitten, perhaps consume vampire blood, or just like the excitement of being around vampires. Furthermore, demand for vampire blood has been growing on the black market, as the blood is very powerful and addictive. "Drainers" are the humans who attack vampires in order to drain their blood, though it is a hazardous job. Drainers travel in teams, singling out vampires through a variety of methods and then carefully planning their ambush. They bind vampires with silver chains and drain the blood into vials. The strength of the blood depends on the age of the blood (the time since it has been removed from its owner), the age of the vampire from whom the blood has been removed, and the individual chemistry of the drug user. In this universe, the effects of vampire blood in humans are a feeling of power, increased strength, acute vision and hearing, increased sexual desire, and enhanced physical appearance.The results are notoriously unpredictable and vary per person, lasting from weeks to months. Some people go mad—even homicidal—when the blood hits their systems. Vampires hate drainers and the users of the drained blood. A vial of blood can cost from $200 to $400 depending on the age of the vampire and the preference of the seller. Some humans have not accepted vampires as creatures of God, and organizations such as the Fellowship of the Sun are against vampires and their existence.
Weres and shapeshifters can assume either human or animal forms, and are collectively referred to as the "two-natured". A variety of different types of weres and shapeshifters exist in including werewolves, werepanthers, weretigers, werefoxes, etc. Being bitten by a were can also transform a person unwillingly at full moons into a man/beast form closer to that of classic legend but a person must be bitten several times to accumulate growth. Shapeshifting conditions manifest in puberty.
Shapeshifters can assume the form of any animal, but most often change to the same animal every time, usually a creature that they have a special affinity for and they call themselves by that animal, e.g., weredog or werebat.
Weres are only able to shift into one animal (werewolves, werepanthers, weretigers, werelynxes, werebats). Within the two-natured community, the capitalized term "Were" is reserved only for those who can change into wolves. The Weres consider themselves superior to all others, but they all cooperate with each other. Most of the two-natured beings organize themselves into packs; each pack is led by a packmaster.
Although vampires announced their existence to the world, the two-natured beings maintained their secrecy to observe the vampires' results.
Fairies are portrayed in the series as beautiful, with pointed ears and glossy, thin skin. Physically, fairies are super-humanly strong and durable. They are tough, ferocious, and incredibly long-lived, but not immortal. The Shreveport werewolf packmaster says, "They love to flirt with disaster, they love to role-play." In this universe, fairies are extremely attractive to humans as well as to vampires. Vampires have a hard time resisting fairies because of their smell and taste; fairy blood is intoxicating to vampires. This makes face to face interactions between them all but impossible. However some individuals, such as Sookie's great-grandfather Niall Brigant, are able to "suppress their essence", effectively masking their scent and making such contact safer.
In the Southern Vampire Series, fairies can be killed with either lemons, limes or iron. When a fairy dies a corpse is not left, just a sparkling powder (or fairy dust); the body just fades away and the spirit of the fairy goes to the next oldest family member to tell them of their death. The fae call their afterlife "The Summerlands".
Those who have fairy blood in them but are not full-blooded fairies are immune to the effects of iron, lemons and limes, while maintaining some of the attractive qualities of fairies. It is possible that, as a genetic quirk, those with fairy blood can inherit abilities such as immunity against mind spells from vampires and maenads, the power of attraction and seduction, the ability to cast spells, and magically transport themselves though there are unknown limitations.
It is also known that fairies can conjure objects, demonstrated by Claudine in Fairy Dust, when she summoned a contract, and in Dead to the World, when she changed her outfit magically. A fairy, Preston, also displayed the abilities to shapeshift and to seduce even Sookie, who is usually telepathically resistant to such abilities.
In this series a witch practices magic rituals, drawing from a power that most people never tap into possessing magical power that can be focused for many various effects through the use of rituals and spells. A Wiccan, on the other hand, practices a pagan religion that follows the ways of the Mother. Practitioners can be both Wiccan and a witch, or more one or the other.
Britlingens: Extremely powerful and skilled beings from another dimension who act as mercenaries, considered to rival vampires in strength. Summoning Britlingens requires an exorbitant amount of money but once summoned they are very difficult to kill.
Maenads: Historically, a maenad is a female follower of the Greek god Dionysus. In the series universe, a maenad's blood is corrosive to vampires. They also have their own sort of control on any creature through madness (only in the book) and demand tribute when wanted. They are divinely powerful, immortal and chaotic neutrals. When they rave they go on rampages and sometimes tear humans and animals to shreds. They can be cannibalistic at times. Maenads are considered rare "ancient creatures" of the supernatural community.
Fae Creatures: As noted above, the world of fairy in this universe includes "fairies, nymphs, water sprites, angels, elves, demons, pixies, goblins, and brownies", with fairies being the majority and base race.
Demons: Beings that have very sharp teeth and are tricky to kill. They can manipulate fire (referred to in Dead and Gone), they can run faster than any human or animal (referred to in Dead and Gone), and can have a very powerful touch (referred to in Dead as a Doornail). When they die, the earth does not take the body in nor does it decompose, so it has to be burned (referred to in Definitely Dead). They also possess the power of telepathy (referred to in Dead Reckoning) and they can also shapeshift (referred to in Deadlocked) .
Elves: Very little is known about these creatures. It is expressed in the short story "Two Blondes" that they have very sharp teeth and that their blood is poisonous to vampires. If elf blood is ingested, it will greatly weaken and disorient a vampire for a short period of time. In "Two Blondes", Sookie shoots Rudy, a half-elf, in the face and chest but he is not mortally wounded. This implies that they are very durable supernaturals and may potentially be more dangerous than others that have been previously introduced.
Goblins: Little yet strong creatures that have a burning touch to the skin (referred to in Club Dead).
Devils: Beings that can corrupt human souls and even buy them. Devils only make deals at crossroads, they are very tricky and have no empathy. The contract must be signed with the blood of the person that sells his soul to the devil (not to be confused with "the devil", who rarely appears "above ground"). In return the devil will grant that person their dearest wish. They look very human except for their very sharp teeth and dark red eyes. They are able to possess humans and other supes (referred to in Dead Ever After), they can also appear out of thin air. They may have other powers which have not been revealed so far. Devils and demons tend to cross paths once in a while but it has not been made clear if these two species are related to each other.