Fundamentals of Turning

The Basics of Turning a Human into a Vampire

The Draining
The first step in the process of turning is draining a human of their blood. This involves the removal of approximately two liters (two quarts) of blood, which may either be consumed by the vampire or, in part, lost by other means. However, a vampire -must- bite the human to begin the process of turning. Vampires have additional enzymes in their saliva that are essential to process, and the pheromones they release when biting have the added benefit of calming the human.

The blood from the human may all be consumed by the vampire, as the vampire will be returning much of the drained blood.

If all of the blood from a human is drained, they will not be able to proceed to the next step, making turning impossible.

The Feeding
The next phase in turning a vampire is the feeding, in which the creator returns some of their own blood to the child. The blood must be as fresh as possible, meaning directly from the vein by way of either a cut or a vein to vein transfusion, due to the unique properties of vampire blood. However, if the vampire gives their blood via a cut, the child must commit to drinking quickly before said cut heals.

The blood must come from the same vampire that did the biting. This is because turning is a process that requires certain chemical reactions caused when a vampire's saliva combines with their blood to form a unique 'fingerprint' associated with that vampire. If a human is bitten and drained to the point of near death, and a different vampire came to their aid and gave them blood, the human would get the same benefits they would normally get from drinking vampire blood, but would not be turned.

From the first taste of vampire blood a human begins to turn, and approximately one pint of blood is needed to cement the change. A vampire can survive on this amount of blood, but will likely not survive long without additional sustenance of some kind. Because the child will be too weak to move or hunt unless fed, they should receive one additional pint of blood from the creator.

The Change
Once the process of draining and feeding is complete, the change from human to vampire begins. Fangs will grow and their body will adjust to the new blood which will now fuel them. The child will immediately no longer be able to stand sunlight and will likely be physically exhausted, as well as possibly suffer some pain, as the change runs its course. It takes about a full night for the change to complete, at which time, if they have been properly fed, they should be able to hunt for themselves.

What happens after the turn is entirely up to the vampire and child. While there is no physiological bond between the pair, after performing such an intimate act, they may become more close emotionally. In most vampire cultures a vampire only turns those they have special regard for, though there are always unique circumstances and social deviants. Likewise, many would consider it morally wrong to create a vampire and abandon it completely, as a newly turned vampire has a reduced chance of survival without help and community support.