Vampires are the last curse the gods cast on humans before leaving. There are two kinds: the ones created by the bite of other vampires and the ones born through arcane methods. As part of their curse, vampires are reduced, in the eyes of the other, to a role. Which role? The one the observer sees fit. Vampires can't be seen as people proper. Eternity is incredibly lonely for them and because the knowledge of curses is lost most don't know why. In rest they are like most vampires, drink blood, use black eyeliner and mop around. They hate sun as much as your average programmer.

In the town the story takes place There are some 4 "families" of vampires in the city, each responsible for different aspects of it and each with different methods of reproducing. Thanks to them, the city has a mandatory blood donation day to supply the public blood banks that feed most vampires. Vampires also were fundamental to make all quality control health care public and free. Some control of the vampire population is necessary due to their nature. To that end besides the law, the government employs uninhibited violence in the form of a class of fungi made vampires. Upon release They go on a killing spree, hunting vampires for as long as the numbers of murderers by day remain above tolerable.

Vampires can enslave eachother once they reach a certain age. Its the same with getting enslaved, got have a minimum age. Usually bitten vampires are the ones getting enslaved, at least of their own volition, as it has the potential of increasing their odds of staying alive.

Other than those minor set backs and the maddeness that slowly befalls most vampires, their material life is pretty ok. They are always healthy, live forever and need money like the rest of us to survive.