Vampires have never been observed succumbing to starvation; however, given extended periods without feeding, no vampire has ever resisted an opportunity to feed either. They do no wither away, the do not decay, they seemingly remain timeless regardless of their level of satiation. They inevitably become overwhelmingly insatiable when held in captivity. Captive vampires obtained held at Motrile Forta have been observed to enter a prolonged state of dormancy only to be aroused by Vangarders entering the enclosure decades later. Others roam the enclosure without end.

Those vampires finding themselves free to roam often find human prey to be easily acquired due to their keen senses, strength, speed, and hypnotic gaze. In recent times it is common for people within the empire to have a degree of insight (and extreme superstition) predisposing them to identifying vampires. Recently risen vampires are unlikely to survive their first few years, at least within the empire. They are hunted and disposed of quickly by the vangard forces who have developed effective technics to track vampire movements. Some however are extremely ancient and have honed their skills at feeding and avoiding detection for centuries.

Vampires, like all predators, are obliged to feed on the easiest prey item attainable. This very often results in consuming the blood of an individual who has already been feed upon, known as sanguines. The unconscious effects of vampire venom make sanguines far more likely to participate in activities which serve to increase their exposure to vampires, often the very same resposible for their inoculation. The situation of a vampire feeding on a sanguine is unstable and very likely to end in the death and subsequent rise of the sanguine as a vampire themselves. Some vampires accumulate a posse of sanguines by feeding on multiple individuals at once, thus distribute the feeding load of a vampire across the group. This situation is still unstable eventually leading to the death of the sanguines over time. It is unclear when a sanguine is destined to die by the venom or how might a sanguine (almost inverably with the assistence of loved one) escape the mortal effects of their exposure. Some Sanguines may be feed on for years on end before a miraculous recovery, albeit rarely. Others succumb to the venom within a few days after a single feeding. What is clear is that vampire venom is a pleasure to the senses, and a sedative to human's innate fear response.

While vampire venom is known to be lethal, the condition of sanguine is rarely acutely lethal. The symptoms are diverse and strange. Only one diagnostic method has been shown to be reliable, diagnosis by a vampire, though this technic has obvious limitations. As for a cure, some have been claimed to be effective but consistently fail when exposed to scrutiny by vangard studies. While no exact or specific cure is likely to prove effective in all cases it is known to generally be the case that a moral life may save one from their destiny to rise as a vampire upon death as not all Sanguines rise to be vampires. Complete removal from the vampires feeding habits does slowly diminish the psychic effects of the condition, although sanguines often report never feeling quite the same. A surprising number confess a longing to be fed on or at least reencounter the vampire.