Some of our kind call us Cainites, after the legend that the first of us was Caine, he who slew his brother Abel. Mortals call us Vampires. We are all this and more. We are something to loathe, something to fear, something to love, and something to covet.
It is true we may only roam at night, for the sunlight is our enemy. This is one of the few things that will cause our death, along with immolation and decapitation. You must know that the concept of death by impaling is a myth. True, a wooden stake through what once was our heart immobilizes us, but that is all. Perhaps in your mortal history some have seen this and thought it death, but they were wrong. Once the stake is removed we are as near to alive as ever we were.
Holy water, garlic, crucifixes: none of these harm us - unless the holy item serves as a focus for the faith of the wielder. Only this intense Christian faith can drive us away: our beast cannot stand the power of the One God.
The Riddle is the basic ironic contradiction of our existence. If we do not feed, the beast inside becomes strong, and we are unable to control it. But in order to feed, we must commit horrendous acts, thus becoming the very beast we seek to avoid. This is the Riddle: 'Monsters we are, lest monsters we become'.
That is all I can tell you. Already I have said too much, and the Justicars will be after me. Farewell, my mortal friend, and God speed.
Signed, Vlad Tepes.
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