Methuselah

Methuselah
Scientific Classification
Kingdom		Animalia
Phylum		Chordata
Class		Mammalia
Order		Primate
Family		Hominidae
Genus		Homo
Species		sapiens sanguinus
Aliases		Vampires, Vamps, Bloodsuckers, Leeches, Nightwalkers, Fangs
Physical Characteristics
Sentient		Yes
Body Type		Humanoid
Average Height		5'9" (male) 5'4" (female)
Average Weight		172 lbs (78 kg) (male) 137 lbs (62kg) (female)
Average Lifespan		Immortal
Eyes		Two Eyes
Hair		Blond, Red Brown or Black Hair
Skin		Pale white or brown
Special Adaptations		Arcgene cluster Hematophagia
Unusual Features		Retractable Fangs
Society
Origin		Humans exposed to the Methuselah Virus
Population		10 million
Capital		Enoch
Language		Enochian
Religion		Numerous
Government		Democratic Monarchy
Ruler		Empress Cassandra Troy
Status		Prosperous
Diet		Omnivore Blood

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The Methuselah (Homo sapiens sanguinus, Latin: "Blood Human") are an offshoot of humanity created by exposure to a unique virus, granting them super-human abilities, at the cost of needing to consume human blood to survive.

Detailed Assessment

The race of Methuselah (commonly referred to as Vampires) first appeared in the pre-cataclysmic era (prior to the sinking of Atlantis), circa 14,500 B.C., when the Human race emigrated from the First City, Enoch. The result of an environmental mutation in the Methuselah Virus, the first Methuselah were the children of the Angelus themselves. Calling themselves the Primogen, each of the children recieved a slightly different mutation, resulting in six of the seven different Bloodlines seen today- the Akikage, Chimerae, Ekimmu, Lundrati, Nosferatu and Sekhmet. The seventh Bloodline, the Kizoku is the result of necromantic manipulation of the Nosferatu Methuselah Virus by the sorcerer Zhou Feng. Although condemned at the time for his actions, the Kizoku have since been accepted into the Methuselah community.

Prior to the exposure of the Methuselah to the general populace by the actions of Sector Prime, the Methuselah were intricately involved in most aspects of modern human society and most have become adept at manipulating the capitalistic nature of society to cover up and finance their activities.

Infection and Creating New Methuselah

Methuselah require the fresh blood of living beings, preferably the blood of Humans, in order to sustain their physical existence and, usually, obtained it by biting their victims and draining their blood. If a victim is drained of nearly all their blood it is possible for the Methuselah to feed that blood back to the victim infected with the Methuselah Virus. If this occurred the victim will turn into Methuselah of the same Bloodline as the parent (often referred to as the Sire or Dominus).

Because the Methuselah Virus is not particularly infectious it is necessary to drain victim's blood, thereby removing the victim's autonomic response to the infection. The exception to this is the Chimerae version of the Methuselah Virus which does not require the victim to be drained. Because of this most victims bitten by a Chimerae begin to turn almost immediately.

The actual mutagenic process performed by the virus on the host usually takes two to seven days to complete and can be quite painful. This process restructures the host body's digestive, neurological and circulatory systems almost in their entirety, resulting in a drastically different physiology compared to before the infection.

Biology

The Methuselah Virus radically alters the host's physiology and metabolism, somewhat like cancer - but cancer with purpose, structure instead of chaos, creating entirely new parasitic organs inside of the body. Outwardly, the Methuselah look like regular humans and can visibly blend into society without being noticed by people. Methuselah do grow fangs to aid in feeding, but they are retractable.

The Methuselah cannot produce sufficient amounts of hemoglobin as the virus burns away what is produced, which is why vampires must feed on blood (preferably human). Methuselah do also require traditional food in order to survive, however they are capable of surviving on a lower calorie count than a Human due to their variable metabolism. The need for Human blood (or blood in general) is known as the "Thirst" and is considered to be a weakness as well as the primal urge that drives all Methuselah and permeates every aspect of their existence.

Government

Methuselah society on the local or regional level is broken up into dozens of 'Houses'. These Houses often include Methuselah of many different Bloodlines, however several Houses exist that are made up of a single Bloodline. The Houses themselves are then governed by the Sovereign Council; the international governing hierarchy of the Methuselah race.

Historically, the Methuselah have developed an international power cabal in order to protect themselves; they controlled about half of the global financial institutions and had influence over the police and many federal governments, bribing off human officials throughout the world to ignore and/or aid their activities. The Methuselah's leadership decided that a full-scale war with humans is undesirable, so they maintained a secret truce with human governments; human politicians will ignore the Methuselah, and in return, the Methuselah will keep their numbers relatively low and not break the laws of the Human society in which they live.

Most of the Methuselah believed maintaining the truce was in their best interests. Occasionally renegade Methuselah popped up who disregard the treaty. These renegades were dealt with either by the leaders of their House, the local magistrate, or if the transgressions were severe enough, the sanctioned agency OMEGA was brought in to deal with the renegades.

After the United Nations officially recognized OMEGA as a government-backed agency, a United States-backed intelligence agency by the name of Sector Prime took exception to this and began working behind the scenes to expose not only OMEGA, but all Methuselah to the world. Partnering with the Last Crusade, Sector Prime began building a false trail of carnage and destruction supposedly committed by OMEGA in the service of the Methuselah Council. This subterfuge culminated with an attack on OMEGA in broad daylight, broadcast across the world. OMEGA's Irish headquarters was destroyed in the attacks, along with a good portion of downtown London as Sector Prime pursued the leader of OMEGA, Jonas Hunter across the city.

Once the existence of the Methuselah was revealed to the world, the governmental structure of the Methuselah changed from a hidden kabal of influencers to an overt government based in the city-state of Enoch.

Methuselah Bloodlines

Akikage

Descended from the Methuselah Primogen Nizara the Akikage are a bloodline of Methuselah originating out of the Middle East. Specializing in Obfuscation techniques, Akikage are Methuselah who specialize in espionage, assassination and other deception-based lifestyles despite a distinct and rigid internal set of morals and discipline. It is believed that there are currently approximately 1 million Akikage on Earth.

Chimerae

Descended from the Methuselah Primogen Chamecatl the Chimerae are a bloodline of Methuselah originating out of South and Central America. The Chimerae are the perfect soldiers thanks to their enhanced strength and large numbers. Making up almost one third of the total Methuselah population (there are an estimated 3 million Chimerae on Earth) the Chimerae are a force to be reckoned with.

Ekimmu

Descended from the Methuselah Primogen Fenrir the Ekimmu are a bloodline of Methuselah originating out of Scandanavia and Northern Asia. The Ekimmu generally live outside of "civilized" areas, specializing in wilderness survival. The Ekimmu's innate ability to communication with mammalian animals on a rudimentary level often results in clans of Ekimmu living side by side with Therians. There are an estimated 1 million Ekimmu currently living on Earth.

Kizoku

The Kizoku are the only Methuselah Bloodline not descended from one of the six Methuselah Primogen, but instead are a product of mortal magic. Originally created when the necromancer Zhou Feng obtained a pure sample of the Vampire Virus, the Kizoku are Methuselah infused with necromantic abilities. Originally from the Far East, there are an estimated 50 thousand Kizoku currently living on Earth.

Lundrati

Descended from the Methuselah Primogen Alundra the Lundrati are a bloodline of Methuselah originating out of the island kingdom now referred to as Atlantis. The Lundrati are often considered the most formidable Methuselah largely because of their ability to absorb ambient types of energy and repurpose them. Lundrati are also the only bloodline which are able to feed on other Methuselah. Throughout history the Lundrati have been hunted by the other Methuselah Bloodlines and as a result they were nearly exterminated (at one point down to only two living members). There are currently only a few dozen Lundrati living on Earth.

Nosferatu

Descended from the Methuselah Primogen Dracul the Nosferatu are a bloodline of Methuselah originating out of Eastern Europe. The proto-typical vampire, Nosferatu have the innate ability to manipulate the minds of the weak-willed via telepathy, giving them the reputation for being both seducers and politicians. One of the more populous Methuselah Bloodlines, there are currently approximately 2-2.5 million Nosferatu living on Earth.

Sekhmet

Descended from the Methuselah Primogen Wadjet the Sekhmet are a bloodline of Methuselah originating out of Northern Africa. the Sekhmet are a somewhat insular group, largely due to the physical changes they undergo when becoming Methuselah. Often taking on reptilian traits such as slitted eyes, long hollow fangs, or scales, a Sekhmet's appearance hides an innate problem-solving ability that makes them some of the greatest tacticians of all time. There are an estimated 1 million Sekhmet currently living on Earth.

Vul

Although not a bloodline in the proper sense, the Vul were the caretakers of Median prior to its destruction at the hands of The Phage. The Vul consist of a myriad of ancients, all direct children or grandchildren of the Angelus. Within the walls of the city the Vul Brotherhood did not manifest any of the vampiric traits commonly associated with the Methuselah, however after the city's destruction and their exodus into the rest of the world many of these traits quickly began to manifest. Since the Vul have not procreated in millennia their population is very small, numbering only in the hundreds.

Variant Sub-Species

Ghouls

Although not actually a species in their own right (they cannot reproduce), Ghouls are the result of an improper attempt to turn an individual (often with blood not drained from the victim's body). Ghouls, sometimes referred to as "Zombies", retain minimal human intelligence and are incapable of healing themselves, often resulting in a decaying appearance.

Dhampyr

When a Methuselah and a human mate and produce offspring the resulting child is referred to as a Dhampyr. Although most Dhampyr never exhibit any vampiric traits, a few of them do undergo the transformation after puberty and begin to crave blood as the Methuselah Virus takes hold of their bodies. Although always burdened with the stigma of their parentage, Dhampyr are largely accepted into Methuselah society.

Powers

• Methuselah Physiology: Modern Methuselah are in fact humans who have been infected with the Vampire Virus. Contact with the virus restructures human physiology and results in Methuselah possessing several superhuman abilities.
  • Immortality: So long they continues to consume blood, a Methuselah will not age beyond the physical state he was in when he first became a Methuselah.
  • Invulnerability: A Methuselah is invulnerable to most forms of injury (certain exceptions apply). Bullets, blades and blunt objects do little to no damage to a his body.
  • Regeneration: In addition to being virtually indestructible, whatever damage a Methuselah does in fact suffer can be healed through the consumption of human blood.
  • Superhuman Strength: A Methuselah's base strength level is several times that of a normal human being and is considered superhuman.
  • Superhuman Stamina: So long as they continues to consume human blood, Methuselah can function tirelessly without rest or relaxation.
  • Vampirism: In addition to the various mental and physical benefits that Methuselah are heir to, they also possesses the ability to turn others into Methuselah as well. Each new Methuselah is traditionally subservient to the one who "turned" them, but some strong-willed Methuselah have been known to rebel against their masters.
  • Bloodline Specialty: Methuselah of each of the seven bloodlines inherit an innate ability unique to that bloodline.
    

Abilities

None known.

Strength level

Varies from Peak Human to Superhuman- Class 1

Weaknesses

Contrary to pop culture and the movies, Methuselah are not vulnerable to sunlight, garlic or religious symbols of any kind.

• Blood Consumption: All Methuselah are regularly required to consume a few pints of blood every few nights. Failing to do so would cause the Methuselah to weaken and after an extended period without blood seemingly perish. A Methuselah's ability to metabolize blood and their frequency of feeding usually varies however depending on a number of factors: Length of time between feedings, damage or injury to the body, resurrection from a near death state, and excessive use of their supernatural abilities and strength.