So, a wild thought came into my head: Who are the gods of the vampires? That is, if vampires have a culture, what are the ideals that they strive for? What heroes do they emulate? What are the vampiric virtues?
Part of the problem is that vampires don’t give birth. The vast majority of vampires were born into a different culture altogether. So, theoretically, a vampire might keep the same stories of his previous culture, and there would subsequently be no overarching vampiric culture. However, I think, if we were to imagine that vampires are real, and that they have some communion among themselves, and that individuals would live long past the death of their birth culture, then a new culture would arise.
Since vampires are parasites, it would make sense that their high god would be a parasite as well. Often, vampires are associated with vampire bats, but there is a wide variety of hematophages in the world. A giant leech might serve as a personification of their hunger. But I’m more interested in the demigods of vampires, the heroes (and the stories told of them) who embody the principles and virtues of vampires.
I suppose another question arises here, which, if answered, answers my main query: Who was the first vampire? I know of two good answers to this, Cain and Judas. Having Cain as the first vampire fits well with vampires being aristocrats, as Cain was the first to build a city. Having Judas works well with the avarice associated with vampires and with vampires being a sort of opposite of Christians.
Anyway, I blame the bleak and dark December days for bringing such things to my mind. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas despite treading through my ramblings.
Tale Told 