The Shadowhunters Codex Page 10

Page 10

 

  Exposure, the practice of binding vampires outside to be burned alive by the rising sun, was banned in the Third Accords of 1902 after the popularity of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula led to an enthusiasm for hunting and brutally killing innocent, Law-abiding vampires.

  WHAT ARE VAMPIRES LIKE?

  There is as much variation in vampires as there is in humans, of course, but generally speaking, vampires tend to be pale, sallow, and thin, as though weakened by malnourishment or some wasting disease. Contrary to this appearance, like werewolves they possess superhuman strength, grace, and speed. Also contrary to this semblance of death, their blood shimmers a bright red, much brighter than the blood of humans. Also like werewolves, vampires heal quickly from mundane injuries.

  Vampires more than other Downworlders seem to have one foot in Hell already and to not be entirely present in our world. This is believed to be the reason why vampires cast no reflections in mirrors and do not leave footprints or fingerprints as they move through the world. They cannot be tracked by normal tracking magic, either demonic or Nephilimic. (Powerful vampires, however, tend to travel with mundane subjugates who can be tracked. ) Vampires are comfortable in darkness; their eyes adjust to seeing in darkness and seeing in light almost instantly, much faster than the eyes of humans.

  The dirt of the grave in which a vampire was buried holds special properties for that vampire. She can tell, for instance, if that grave has been disturbed, or is being trod upon, or if dirt from that grave is removed from its site. Vampires have cleverly made use of this power to communicate simple messages over long distances—for instance, breaking a container of a vampire’s grave dirt could be used to alert and summon that vampire. Shoulda saved some of that dirt . . .

  The final vampire power worthy of mention here is perhaps the most dangerous: the encanto, or “fascination. ” Vampires can, with simple prolonged eye contact, convince mundanes and even Shadowhunters of almost anything, and can persuade them into almost any act. This is a skill that must be developed and practiced by vampires, and so it is typically the older and more powerful vampires that make use of it. If you live in an area particularly rife with vampire activity, you should consult your local Institute about prioritizing training to resist the encanto.

  My first album will be titled One Foot in Hell Already

  I hereby deem that title “Totally Stupid. ”

  You love that title! You cannot resist the encanto!

  VAMPIRES AND THE LAW

  Many new Shadowhunters are surprised to learn that it is not against the Law for a vampire to drink blood from a human, provided that the human remains alive. This is because of the healing properties of vampire saliva. When a vampire drinks from a victim, it increases the red blood cell count in that victim, making them stronger, healthier, and able to live longer. The effect is small, but it mitigates the weakening effect of losing blood, and so a bitten human usually remains unharmed.

  Nevertheless, the risk of accidentally killing a human by drinking from him too deeply, and the general sense of menace around having one’s blood drained, have led most “civilized” vampires to eschew drinking from living human victims (other than subjugates) in favor of pre-drawn blood or the blood of animals. By the Accords, vampires must abide by the same mundane laws against murder as any other Downworlders, but vampires are the only Downworlders who might commit murder for food, potentially for survival. It is notable, and admirable, that so many vampires have voluntarily committed themselves to the same respect for human life as the other signers of the Accords.

  Now Simon is angry too. He and Luke are both pacing around yelling at nobody about the Codex. Summary: “Only vampires murder for food? That is rich. ” It’s hard being the Monster Manual.

  VAMPIRE POLITICS

  Like werewolves, vampires consider themselves to be on some level brethren with all other vampires, no matter what clan they are affiliated with. A vampire who raised a hand against another, except in the rare circumstance of a clan war, would be considered anathema by the vampire community, and his life would be forfeit. The Nephilim generally stay out of these matters of internal justice, although we will sometimes intervene to arbitrate conflicts between clans to stave off full-out battle. When clan wars do occur, leadership changes, as it does with werewolves: Whoever kills the head of a vampire clan becomes its leader.

  Among Downworlders only faeries are more committed to notions of honor and etiquette than vampires. Vampires are often found making oaths and vows, which they take very seriously. These vows are usually written and signed in blood—not a surprise, given the vampire obsession with blood generally. These blood-oaths are binding: Vampires are compelled by the oaths’ contents and cannot violate them unless the bond is broken through further, and more onerous, ritual. A vampire who has thus sworn an oath to you under these circumstances can be trusted to follow at least the letter of the oath in the strictest detail. Conversely, you should be suspicious of a vampire who is willing to make a promise to you but will not swear to that promise in blood.

  I wish Simon would vow to return my Ghibli DVDs.

  I so vow! In blooooooood?

  Never mind!

  WEAKNESSES

  Obviously it would be the preference of all Nephilim to never be forced to bring harm to a vampire, but history teaches us that it is wise to know how to defend oneself against them, and what their strengths and weaknesses might entail. The Accords require that vampires turn away from their natures as hunters and predators, just as humans must choose to turn away from our own abilities to kill and harm.

  Vampires are extremely vulnerable to fire. While they are much stronger and more durable in many ways than mundanes and Nephilim, their bodies are weaker and less resistant to burning than humans’. They are likely, when exposed to fire, to burst into flames in the manner of paper, dry wood, or similarly flammable objects. As such, vampires not only can be harmed by fire but can often be kept at bay by a protective boundary of fire or a burning torch.

  Holy water, and other common blessed materials, such as angelically aligned swords, are harmful to vampires and will scorch and burn their flesh.

  More generally, holy symbols may be anathema to vampires if the symbols hold weight with the specific vampire addressed. A crucifix may repel a vampire who held Christian beliefs before he was Turned, but a vampire who was raised as a person in a Buddhist faith would not generally respond. In the early days of vampire hunting, when there was much less migration of peoples away from their home cultures, holy symbols were more dependable as vampire repellent, but in our modern age of religious pluralism and because of the ease with which people can move around the world, it has become unwise to depend on this method.

  Along similar lines, older guidebooks to the Shadow World suggest that a vampire trying to hide his demonic nature can be sussed out by his inability to speak the name of God. This is also no longer reliably true. Most vampires that as mortals did not ascribe to a religious faith do not develop an aversion to holy names as part of their Turning. In addition, older and more powerful vampires often regain the ability to speak holy names, although it’s not clear whether this is because the aversion fades over time or because as the vampires age, they descend more deeply into the demonic and become able to speak God’s name as a curse.

  As mentioned before, vampires cannot stand the direct light of the sun. Mythology tells us that this is a facet of their status as demonic, damned creatures, that they are cursed to not be able to look at the sun that gives life to Earth. Whatever the reason, sunlight burns the skin of vampires, as does (to a lesser extent) witchlight, being light of angelic origin. Artificial light, such as that of gaslight and electric light, may cause discomfort in vampires if it is strong enough, but they are normally able to remain undamaged unless already very weak. Also fluorescent light is avoided, as it’s unflattering.

  A ray of sunlight will cause burns on a vampire’s skin, but ful
l exposure to the sun—being exposed fully to unblocked sunshine—will cause them to burst into flame dramatically, and they will be consumed and put to rest quickly. For this reason vampires are normally careful to remain dormant and inactive during daylight hours. Unless he is a SUPERVAMPIRE, of course.

  * * *

  TREATING VAMPIRE BITES

  Important! Note!

  Why’s it gotta be like that, man?

  If a vampire bites and drinks blood from a victim, no supernatural treatment may be needed. Normal Shadowhunter wound-care protocols apply—the use of an iratze or other healing Marks, and treatment for blood loss and shock if the draining has been severe. Mundanes also can have their blood taken by vampires with no permanent ill effects, provided the wounds are cared for and not too much blood has been taken.

  The real danger lies in the case of a human who has consumed vampire blood. Even if not enough blood is consumed to cause the death and rebirth of the victim as a vampire, the smallest amount of vampire blood is enough to create in the victim an irresistible pull to vampires, which could cause that victim to become a subjugate, begging to be Turned.

  The proper treatment for the consumption of vampire blood is emetic: The victim must be made to drink holy water until all of the vampire blood is out of his system. The victim is likely to be very sick during this process—he will of course cough up everything in his system, not just the vampire blood, and the presence of the blood is likely to have made him fevered and hot to the touch. This process is, however, much better than the alternative.

  Even a small amount of vampire blood consumed may require the consumption of quite a lot of holy water. This is a case where it is better to be safe and consume too much holy water than too little. The victim can be assumed to be healthy and cured when the consumption of holy water no longer produces the emetic response.

  SUBJUGATES

  Powerful vampires will often decide that, rather than feeding haphazardly on whatever blood they can find, they would prefer a ready supply. They will then create a vampire subjugate: They will select a victim and keep him close by, drinking from him and also feeding him small amounts of vampire blood. This vampire blood will make the subjugate docile, obedient, and, in time, worshipful of his vampire master. The subjugate will cease eating food and will survive entirely on a mix of animal blood and vampire blood. He will not become a full vampire, but subjugates are kept in a suspended animation, their aging process drastically slowed (although they are not immortal and will eventually die).

  A subjugate who is turned into a vampire loses his obedient and worshipful nature and becomes a normal vampire, like any other.

  Most subjugates are young in appearance; vampires revere youth and beauty and tend to prefer their subjugates to possess both. (A practical consideration is also present. The younger the subjugate, the less chance that he will turn out to have diseased or otherwise problematic blood. )

  Subjugates are sometimes known as darklings. Although the term is archaic, it is still used in some formal vampire rituals today. Vampires love nothing so much as formal rituals.

  The culture of subjugates among vampires is that, first, they are no longer human but are something else, and therefore are not afforded the rights and respect granted to humans. Subjugation is in essence voluntary slavery; subjugates effectively consent to become the property of their vampire masters, renounce their human names, and so on. A subjugate would never introduce himself to another vampire or another subjugate, for instance; it would be his master’s choice whether to communicate his name, or indeed, whether the subjugate would possess an identifying name at all.

  The creation of new subjugates was made illegal in the Seventh Accords of 1962. Vampires who had subjugates created prior to the Accords were allowed to keep them. The Law also continues to allow vampires to transfer existing subjugates to other vampires. These two facts have made it almost impossible to convict vampires for creating subjugates. Vampires simply claim that their subjugates predate the Accords, and since the subjugates’ identities and lives are tracked by the vampires themselves, it is very hard to prove otherwise.

  FLEDGLINGS

  Note: did not read. Too soon.

  A human who has consumed enough vampire blood to be themselves transformed into a vampire does not, as some popular mundane stories would have it, abruptly turn from a living human in one moment to a vampire in the next. The human—who is known in vampire culture as a “fledgling”—must die, be buried, and, in being reborn, make his way out of his grave of his own power. (In the rare and sad case that a Shadowhunter is irreversibly turned into a vampire, this is the one circumstance in which her body may be buried rather than burned. )

  Like a ghost, a fledgling rising from his grave draws energy and strength from the living things nearby, drawing their heat and producing a distinctive cold spot around his grave. When he has risen, he will be nearly feral and starving for the blood that will, for eternity, sustain him. This is why fledglings are the most dangerous of vampires. Sometimes a vampire clan will turn a human to a vampire purposefully, and in those cases the transition usually goes smoothly. The clan can be present for the vampire’s rising, can make sure he is able to successfully rise, and can supply him with blood and take him to a safe place to recover. This is, however, not the way that most vampires are made; most are made by accident. In those cases the fledgling is buried by his friends and family, as any other mundane would be, and rises unexpectedly, in a mundane location, desperate for blood and barely knowing himself. These are the circumstances that lead to vampire attacks and the deaths of mundanes. While such an out-of-control fledgling must be stopped, it is not the policy of the Shadowhunters to consider these fledglings rogue vampires, and thus the fledglings should be turned over either to a local vampire clan or, preferably, to the Praetor Lupus, both of which are well-equipped to take care of the fledgling’s needs.

  WARLOCKS

  Perhaps no other Downworlders have a more complex relationship with Shadowhunters than do warlocks. The offspring of demons and mundanes, warlocks do not have the many unifying features of werewolves or vampires, or even of faeries. The only things that can be said to be true of all warlocks are that (1) they possess a so-called warlock mark on their body that identifies them as not merely human, (2) like most hybrid species they are sterile, and (3) they possess the ability to perform magic. It is this last feature that makes them at once the most powerful of Downworlders and the most closely tied to Shadowhunters. For the whole of our history we have worked in concert with warlocks, whether as partners or (more commonly) as hired specialists, to allow us to make use of some of the demonic magic that our own powers exclude us from.