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Break the Dawn Mods (btdmods) wrote,
@ 2007-12-08 13:59:00

Vampire Information

V A M P I R E S
I. History
II. Appearance
III. Speed
IV. Strength
V. Physiology
VI. Current Vampires

HISTORY
Not much is known about how the vampires came about. But three big families are known in the vampire world.

The Volturi are a trio of vampires that live in Italy and are considered royalty in their word. Marcus, Caius and Aro are their names and they have a squadron of guards that protect and uphold the secret world of the vampires. These guards are also called the Volturi after their masters but are not truly considered the Volturi. The trio are the leaders of the Volturi.

They are very civilized and live an educated lifestyle. Carlisle found them while on his own search for the truth behind his nature. The Italian vampires tried to cure Carlisle of "his aversion to his natural food source," but they failed. Their likeness was depicted in several painting by Solimena. Their guards are the ones that destroy any vampires that threaten to reveal their secrets to the world.

Carlisle Cullen was the son of an Anglican pastor, born in the 1640s in London, England at a time of religious chaos. Carlisle's father and other pastors led hunts for witches, werewolves, and vampires, saying that they were trying to rid the world of evil, but many times, these groups would end up killing innocent people. As his father aged, Carlisle was put in charge of the raids after these mythical creatures. He was not as ecstatic about as killing as his father was, but he was smart enough to find a real coven of vampires living in the sewers of London. Carlisle led a hunt after these vampires, and in the chaos that ensued, he was bitten and left bleeding in the street by a vampire. Knowing that he would not be welcomed back home, Carlisle hid himself in a potato cellar for his transformation, and emerged three days later a vampire.

Carlisle was repelled and horrified by what he had become, and tried various ways of killing himself, including starvation, drowning, and jumping off of cliffs. Eventually Carlisle was so thirsty for blood that while he was hiding out in a cave in a forest he attacked and fed on a herd of passing deer. He found that he could live off of animal blood and he considered this much more humane than drinking the blood of a human, therefore killing the human. Carlisle found new life in this fact and over two centuries was able to perfect his ability to resist human blood. During these two centuries, Carlisle also studied books at night, using his knowledge at daytime and was known as a "nighttime patron of the arts". As a result of his hard studying, Carlisle was able to become a brilliant medical doctor.

Carlisle was studying in Italy when he met a coven of ancient vampires called the Volturi that included three vampires named Aro, Marcus, and Caius. They were much more educated and refined vampires than those living in the sewers of London, but still drank human blood and failed to convince Carlisle to do the same. Carlisle then lived in Chicago during a Spanish influenza epidemic. During this epidemic in a hospital where he worked, Carlisle encountered a dying mother named Elizabeth Masen. She was with her dying son, Edward. This woman begged Carlisle to do anything within his power to save Edward before dying. Out of loneliness, he changed Edward and Edward became his companion. Later on in 1921 after Carlisle had changed Edward, Carlisle moved to Wisconsin where he treated Esme because of a failed suicide attempt. Carlisle felt compelled to save her life and "changed" her, consequently falling in love with her, and marrying her later on.

Carlisle then changed Rosalie Hale, a young woman who was almost killed by her drunken fiance and his friends, then left in the street to die. Then, while hunting, Rosalie found a young man named Emmett who was mauled by a bear, and she carried him over 100 miles to Carlisle. Carlisle then changed Emmett, who later on became Rosalie's mate. After Carlisle changed Emmett, Alice and Jasper joined his coven. Alice and Jasper were mates as well.

Much later, Carlisle and his family moved to Forks, Washington where they made a treaty with the Quileute Indian tribe that the Quileute tribe would leave the Cullens alone if the Cullens would not bite or kill any human, or go on their land. The Cullens agreed to the treaty, and lived in relative peace.

The Denali coven lives in Alaska and are friends of the Cullens. Tanya, Kate, and Irina had an interesting path that led them to "vegetarianism:" they are the originals behind the myths of the succubus. Their fondness for human men eventually led them to feel remorse for their victims, and they slowly trained themselves to resist human blood. A succubus is a demonic seductress who preys on human men, drawing energy from the men to sustain her existence. In the case of a female vampire who is a succubus, she would normally draw blood from the man she has seduced. The Denali coven has broken from this tradition and the sisters live on animal blood just like the Cullens. Carmen and Eleazar, mates from Spain, joined their coven later.

APPEARANCE
All of the Cullen family in Twilight are described as breathtakingly beautiful; in fact, this and their aloofness in the cafeteria of the school is the first thing that draws Bella’s attention towards them. "Their faces, so different, so similar, were all devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful."

Although Bella is immediately drawn to Edward, we have frequent repetition of just how attractive all of the vampires are. Carlisle is described as looking "more like a model than a doctor," Rosalie is so gorgeous that she is "the perfect blonde girl" and is "beyond belief." Emmett and Jasper are "intimidating and flawless," Alice is "striking," and Edward is described as "dazzling" and "too beautiful to be real." Esme, whilst not as prominent in the novel as the others, still "had the same pale, beautiful features as the rest of them." We discover that their perfect "marble" features are merely part of their arsenal of weapons to make them enticing to their prey.

Ironically, many of the words Bella chooses to describe the vampires are an inversion of the stereotypical beliefs about the creatures. Edward is frequently described as an "angel" or mention is made of "his angel’s face." His eyes are "golden" at times and the constant reinforcement of the positive imagery and implications supports the fact that the Cullens are, indeed, an altogether different version of vampire to that covered by legend.

It is worth noting that in Meyer’s world the transformation from human to vampire intensifies everything, including looks. "The change into a vampire makes an average person stunning and a beautiful person absolutely beyond breath-taking. The reason Rosalie is such a beautiful vampire is because she was the most beautiful girl in Rochester, New York when she was human." Therefore, as Meyer herself concludes, all of the Cullens were physically attractive to start with, and their transition to vampire state merely enhances what was already there in much the same way that Carlisle believed that a person’s greatest gift was taken with them [such as Esme’s capacity for love] and made stronger.

Their movements are described as fluent and fluid, very graceful. Alice’s movements in particular are equated with being like "dancing’, and are set in stark contrast to Bella’s own clumsiness. The uncivilised vampires are described somewhat differently, their walk being "catlike" and "on the edge of shifting into a crouch." The wild vampire woman, Victoria, is described as having a posture that is "distinctly feline." From their description alone, they are seen as far more animalistic, wild and uncontrolled than the "urbane" Cullens, although they are capable of cursory civility.

James is the only vampire in the book who isn’t described as attractive; in fact he is "nondescript." Meyer explains this as James: "was quite unattractive as a human. This is rare, because even vampires are drawn by beauty. They tend to, when looking for companionship, choose exceptional humans."

Edward’s eyes are a very prominent feature in the book; in fact, it is one of the first things that Bella ever notices about him. His eyes change colour very frequently, depending on how thirsty he is, or when he last fed. Bella initially notices that: "His eyes were black, coal black." When Edward’s eyes are so dark, his thirst for blood is at the fore. When they are his lighter "golden" or "topaz" colour, that reflects that his thirst is sated and he has been hunting recently.

The shared colour of the Cullens eyes is not co-incidental. It is a hallmark of the "vegetarian" vampire who does not feast on human blood, instead taking in animal blood. We can see the clear contrast between their eyes and those of James, Laurent and Victoria which are "a deep burgundy colour that was disturbing and sinister." This redness of the eyes indicates that these vampires feast on human blood. Meyer writes that, "If a Cullen were to drink human blood, his/her eyes would turn burgundy.

It takes about two weeks without blood for vampire eyes to go entirely black. If that Cullen then returned to an animal diet, his/her eyes would return to dark gold. Brand-newly created vampires are recognizable by their eyes, which are a vivid, bright red due to the massive amount of human blood [the blood that was already in the human at the time he/she was changed] that lingers in the tissues. That red fades slowly over the course of a year."

SPEED
When vampires are changed from humans, they acquire certain superhuman abilities; speed is one of these. Edward is capable of moving so quickly that no one spots him at all. The incident where Bella was about to be crushed by the truck is one such example of Edward moving in this way: "All I know is that you weren’t anywhere near me. Tyler didn’t see you either."

It isn’t until later that we see the true nature of this speed, where the distance covered in several hours of hiking is retracted in a matter of moments, with Edward carrying Bella on his back. The speed with which he races is shown to be entirely effortless, and is pure exhilarating enjoyment: "He streaked through the dark, thick underbrush of the forest, like a ghost. There was no sound, no evidence that his feet touched the earth. His breathing never changed, never indicated any effort. But the trees flew by at deadly speeds, always missing us by inches." This speed is terrifying to Bella, but merely "second nature" to Edward.

We see the speed of all the Cullens again during the baseball game. Emmett is described as "a blur around the bases" and Edward can move so quickly that he is able to intercept a ball that has been hit "like a meteor." Esme tells us that Edward is the fastest at running, and the baseball game certainly bears this out. Obviously, Edward becomes slower when he is carrying Bella. He is acutely aware that he cannot outrun the visiting vampires with her.

It is not just physical movement that can be exceptionally fast. Speech too can be faster than the human ear can make out. "Edward was growling something too fast for me to understand, but sounded like a string of profanities."

His love of speed is also picked up in his driving. As Bella puts it: "He drives like a maniac. It was terrifying." He enjoys the speed of the car, and grumbles that 80 is "driving slow." He has fast reflexes and Bella notes that it all seemed "effortless" to him.

STRENGTH
The ability to use superhuman strength is one of the characteristics that set vampires apart. Edward’s physical strength is seen in stark contrast to the fragility of human Bella: "You are so soft, so fragile. I have to mind my actions every moment that we’re together so that I don’t hurt you. I could kill you quite easily, Bella, simply by accident...I could reach out, meaning to touch your face, and crush your skull by mistake."

His strength leads to one of the tensions in his relationship with Bella, namely that he can never let down his guard for fear he will either accidentally hurt her, or let his vampiric nature seize the blood he so desires. He can certainly move her effortlessly, as we see when he carries her to the school nurse, "as easily as if I weighed ten pounds instead of a hundred and ten." Edward’s strength can be most clearly seen in the incident where he saves Bella from Tyler’s truck. Not only is he not injured himself but he even forces the metal out of the way by the pressure he exerts on it. "I had seen the" very distinct dent that fit the contours of Edward’s shoulders…as if he had braced himself against the car with enough force to damage the metal frame."

Yet, Edward’s "iron strength" is nothing compared with what it would have been after Carlisle first changed him. Meyer states that: "New vampires are also immensely strong for their first year of life, also a product of the excess of blood left in the body." This would imply that a vampire’s strength dips before a feed, and their energy/strength levels are refueled by hunting. When asked about this, Stephenie Meyer explained that hunting makes a "minimal difference" to the physical strength levels of a vampire, as even a thirsty vampire is capable of great feats of physical strength. Stephenie Meyer is clear that vampire strength is very much dependent on the individual. Emmett was colossally strong as a human, and even more so as a vampire, but each individual vampire has their own personal range. However, it’s important to remember that, "skill is going to count more than strength," so an experienced vampire could still outwit a newborn one in a fight.

A vampire’s diet does not have a massive impact on the levels of strength. "Human blood does make them stronger than animal blood, but only fractionally. Big game [bears, wildcats, predators] makes them stronger than the "weaker" blood of herd animals." Ultimately, physical strength is always going to come down to the individual vampire, rather than secondary factors like their diet. Strength, of course, isn’t always physical. It is impossible for a vampire to die through physical starvation, but what the lack of blood intake does alter is a vampire’s mental state. After Carlisle realised that he had become a vampire, he tried to destroy himself. "He grew very hungry and very weak. He strayed as far as he could from the human populace, recognising that his willpower was weakening too."

Vampires are less capable of acting with rational thought, and therefore more likely to act through their natural animal instincts when they are thirsty. This explains why Bella is in so much danger when Edward hasn’t been hunting. Edward does show an inner strength in resisting the lure of Bella’s blood. Edward admits that at times he wondered if he was "strong enough" to resist his natural urges. Finally, his inner strength comes to the fore as he admits "I couldn’t live with myself if I ever hurt you."

PHYSIOLOGY
As a person is changed into a vampire, their physical appearance is enhanced, their eye colour changes, their hearing and eyesight becomes more acute, their heart ceases to beat, they no longer need to breathe. These heightened senses are invaluable to a vampire, both Edward and James, for example, rely on Bella’s scent to track her.

No further physical changes occur once someone has been transformed: "When someone becomes a vampire, it’s as if they are frozen exactly as they are in that moment." Therefore, a vampire cannot get pregnant because this would involve a change in physical state, but if a pregnant woman were changed to become a vampire, then she would remain at that exact stage in pregnancy for all eternity.

Natural changes in the human body would not occur any longer. A woman would "no longer have any kind of ovulation cycle," a man would no longer need to shave as hair would no longer continue to grow. Once cut, hair will never grow back, and we are given the example of Alice, whose hair is so short because "it was growing back from being shaved in the asylum." Alice will never be able to have the long flowing locks of Rosalie.

The most stereotypical weapon that a vampire has is their teeth. Meyer’s vampires are somewhat different to the vampires of legend in this regard as her "vampires do not have fangs." Instead, their teeth are razor-sharp, and combined with their strength, it makes it very simple for them to rip their way through flesh to drink blood. The "human neck is like butter," she explains. "This isn’t the neat-and-tidy, two-small-holes-in-the-neck kind of vampire attack that you see in other vampire mythologies." This leads us onto the fact that the vampires are venomous. Edward does pull away from Bella when he kisses her: "he’s just worried about her safety. Yes, the venom does pose a danger to her. It’s not like acid...it has to be in the bloodstream to cause any problems, it won’t hurt her skin. However, say she had a sore in her mouth, or that she’d bitten her tongue". Even if that wasn’t the case, Edward’s teeth are sharp as razors. She could cut her lips or tongue on them easily." Venom is the thing that causes someone to turn into a vampire.

Other things, such as fingernails, also cease to grow, but it is worth noting that a vampire’s body is like granite, so broken fingernails are unlikely! There are certainly some perks to this lack of change: Alice, Rosalie and Esme would never have to shave their legs, and none of them would have to worry about putting on weight! The human need for rest and sleep disappears in a vampire. As Edward explains, "I can’t sleep" and "most human fluids are absent...no sweat, no tears," and no blood of their own.

However, the venom they possess acts like a form of "saliva...the venom makes their mouths wet, at least." Circulation ceasing and lack of heartbeat are amongst the most obvious changes when someone becomes a "cold one." The blood that is in them when they are changed, is slowly consumed within the first year. Stephenie Meyer suggests thinking of this like using up "the fat stores in your body" and from then onwards, the only blood that floods the old circulatory system of a vampire is the blood they have consumed. "It lightens their eyes and flushes their skin slightly." The skin itself becomes far more refractive than a human's skin ever can be. It literally sparkles "like thousands of tiny diamonds were embedded in the surface." It is described as "shocking" and also accounts for the days off school when the weather is sunny. Stephenie Meyer explains: "They sparkle because they have turned to substance that is somewhat like diamond. Their bodies have hardened, frozen into a kind of living stone. Each little cell in their skin has become a separate facet that reflects the light. These facets have a prism-like quality�they throw rainbows as they glitter."

The body also becomes hard like granite or marble. A vampire is unlikely to be hurt or cut, simply because very little is strong enough to penetrate their flesh. We see how things that would kill a human put Edward in no physical danger at all: "The van should have smashed my legs, but you were holding it up." Assuming something is capable of cutting through a vampire’s flesh, there would only be blood if he/she had freshly drunk blood [and drunk a lot]. Otherwise there would only be a bit of venom."

Vampires can be killed, but humans and human tools are too weak to do it. The only sure fire way is for another vampire "to tear him to shreds, and then burn the pieces." As far as James is concerned, "Emmett and Jasper took care of him," so this destruction is obviously possible.

CURRENT VAMPIRES
Alec, Aro, Caius, Carmen, Mary Alice Brandon Cullen, Carlisle Cullen, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen, Emmett McCarty Cullen, Esme Anne Platt Evenson Cullen, Demetri, Eleazar, Felix, Jasper Whitlock Hale, Rosalie Lillian Hale, Heidi, Irina, Jane, Katrina, Marcus, and Tanya.

Sources: Twilight Lexicon and Wikipedia.