2Anatomia Vampirica

     Though their outward appearance remains much like that of the living, 
there are those among us who insist that the Embrace brings its subject into 
another species - 3Homo Sapiens Sanguineus, Homo Sapientissimus, and Homo 
3Vampiricus 0have all been advanced as names for this new race, following the
Swedish classification.

     Be that as it may, it seems beyond dispute that the body undergoes as much
of a change as the psyche.  As will become apparent, much of what follows is -
and can only be - conjecture, unsupported by dissection.

     The gross physical changes are a matter of common knowledge; so much so 
that they have been allowed to remain in popular fiction.  The canine teeth are
indeed long and pointed, the better to draw blood.  However, they are only 
fully extended at the time of the kill, being at other times withdrawn into 
their sockets by the contraction of of a flexible tissue at their base.  Both 
speech and secrecy would be most difficult otherwise.  Some lack the means to 
withdraw their teeth, but they are easily discovered and are a dying breed.

     The skin, as with the cinematic Vampire, is invatiably pale.  Partly, it
seems, this stems from their aversion to sunlight, but partly also it is due to
their arrested state of death.  7Darber noch sp„ter.

     The Hunger is a drive for food, of that there is no doubt. From this, and
from bitter experiences with the foods that many have enjoyed in their 
breathing days, it appearrs that the inward parts of the Vampire have lost 
their facility for digestion.  One seldom sees a stout Vampire, and nearly all 
remark on a new-found slenderness after the Embrace.  Being no longer required,
the organs presumably wither.

     The Vampire's body remains as it was at the time of death.  Hair and nails
continue to grow for a few days, sa they do on a fresh cadaver, but that is 
all.  If one wants their hair or nails to be shorter, they must cut them each 
evening after rising.  It is conjecture that the body of a Vampire is actually 
dead, and is only arrested from the natural process of decay by the power of 
the Embrace.  The skin becomes tighter over the bones, much as it does in the 
newly dead.  If the body is injured, it will reform itself to the same mold 
again and again.

     The body no longer makes and replenishes its own blood, and relies 
entirely on prey for fresh blood and nutrients which science has found blood to
carry.  Something in the Blood of the Sire, passed down at the Embrace, fans 
the spark of life and arrests decay, but regular infusions of fresh blood are 
needed lest decay begin again.  And when a Vampire is destroyed, that decay is 
fantastically swift, as though time were recalling the debt of decades or 
centuries.  Nothing remains but dust, which is why anatomy is impossible and 
so much must be guessed.

     The lungs of a Vampire no longer breathe - though many have learned to 
feign breathing while among the living - for the fresh blood of the prey 
provides the small amount of oxygen needed to sustain dead tissues in their 
stasis.  Only a young or foolish Vampire takes blood from the jugular vein, 
where it is near the end of its journey and full of impurities; the blood of 
the carotid artery is clean and wholesome, and much to be preferred.

     Just as the lungs no longer breathe, so the heart no longer beats. 
The blood of the prey must somehow suffuse through the body by a process of 
osmosis, rather than flowing along veins and arteries.  This can be seen in
the fact that when a Vampire weeps - which indeed they do, and more often than
a mortal might suppose - the tears themselves are of blood.  Cut a Vampire's
throat and you will find the vessels empty.  The closure and atrophy of those
bloodvessels nearest the skin is another reason for the paleness aspect which
marks the Vampire, although a rosy hue is noticable after feeding.

     The blood of the prey, coupled with the Blood of the Sire, does appear to
have some remarkable properties.  They are able to heal themselves of most
wounds with remarkable quickness.  Vampires still feel pain, and a reflex sends
blood to the afflicted area - just as in life blood will suffuse bruised tissue
and color it purple.  The one exception to this rule is the stake so beloved of
writers and film-makers.  This will induce a kind of paralysis or trance, 
although it will not kill in its own right.  

     One last question remains in 7re corporis 0- a somewhat prurient one,
which will be answered with as much delicacy as possible.  Through popular
entertainments, the Vampire has become established as a higly potent figure of 
romance - and betimes of more than romance.  While the act of love is 
physically possible for a Vampire of either gender, the associated impulses, 
drives and responses have died along with the flesh - which, incidentally, is 
cold to the touch rather than warm.  By effort of will a Vampire may go through
the motions, forcing blood to the relevant areas in the same way as healing a 
wound, but that is all.  The ecstacy of the Kiss replaces all such needs within
them.



                                7L E S T A T
                             3PRINCE OF DARKNESS