Ashton

Ashton Demour | Male | Vampire

(Last name is pronounced "Deh-meeyour")

[Created pre-2011]

Currently around 253 years old, but physically is 25-26 years old. Information about how vampirism works in his universe (basically my version/take on it) is written below under ‘vampire lore.’

Ashton is calculating and generally doesn't care much about other people besides himself. It's difficult to get to know him due to the snarky front he puts up, and he's not keen on talking much unless he has to because he believes it's a waste of energy. He's a very confident individual and revels in his supernatural nature, but he has a darkness inside him that festers and is difficult to hide. 

History

Ashton was originally born in 1765 in a town close to Paris, France. He was a pretty average kid as far as humans went, not really having any trouble until he got into higher levels of education. His parents had always been a bit tough on him when he was younger, but as his performance began to slip and his emotional state wore thin, tension started to build. 

Luckily, although he barely made it through his last few years of finishing school, Ashton moved away from his somewhat fractured home to Paris. A few years passed, and Ashton hadn't spoken to his family (his parents nor his younger brother) since he'd left. Their relationship had been very strained, and he was much more comfortable on his own. As he was preparing to enter medical school, however, he received a visit from his brother who was acting very strange. 

They went for drinks later that night, and as they were crossing the street to return home, his brother attacked him. He awoke to a piercing feeling in his veins and his throat, and had no time to fully gain his composure before his brother attacked him again. Though he tried to fight him off without hurting him, Ashton was eventually forced to kill his brother to save his own life, and the incident haunted him for years. He soon came to realize what his brother had become before he had attacked him, and subsequently what his brother had turned him into: a vampire.

In order to drown out the guilt of what he'd done to his brother, Ashton became a different person entirely and decided to revel in his newfound supernatural identity. He eventually moved to America after the French Revolution ended in 1799. Once there his accent began to fade slowly though he still retains some traces of it today.

Vampire Lore

The only way for someone to become a vampire is by blood to blood contact with them. This is because a vampire's blood contains the 'toxin' that essentially turns them into the creature they are. Once the toxin is in a person's system, it almost rewrites their physiology. Since the toxin takes over the blood, this is the reason vampires so desperately need to feed on human blood, which contains no toxins in it. It is also what makes the vampire immortal, as the toxins prevent chromosomes of the human genome from dividing as they replicate, halting aging and enabling the vampire to heal much faster and more efficiently. If they go too long without consuming human blood to balance the toxins in their system, a vampire will begin to feel an intense burning sensation that will cause the skin to slowly start peeling, eventually exposing muscle (and in rare cases even bone) and causing the "temporary" shut down of vital organs. They will continue to deteriorate until their body becomes a withered husk and unable to function. Once this condition has progressed too far, they will be immobile until the point that human blood replenishes the balance and they are able to heal their bodies, which resumes normal body functions. Animal blood can potentially be a substitute for human blood but as it is not an exact match, the body will often reject it and so much is needed to make up the difference that it is usually impractical to resort to animals as a blood source.

The younger a vampire is, the less resistance they have to the sunlight. If a newbie vampire is exposed in the sunlight too long, they could burn and become ash. The older you become, the more resistance you build, until eventually the sun is just a minor annoyance but can cause you no harm. Wooden stakes, therefore, are the primary weapon to kill vampires. If you stab a vampire through the heart with a wooden stake, they will perish instantly, turning into ash.