When I first saw a vampire in cyroddil , I thought it was a terrible creature , a disease that warps the mind and body , on - par with things such as the blight and corpus
But now I bring forward new evidence to change your opinion on this bizarre illness , evidence with case studies from both skyrim and oblivion ( so minor spoilers ahead , watch out )
Like many , I have often asked myself what vampirism exactly was , why did it make the person need blood , why did it burn their skin in sunlight , how did it dramatically prolong ones lifespan ?
The question I will attempt to answer today is on lifespan , how can a disease allow mortals to live for centuries if not millennia ? Its beyond biological possibility for a human to live anything beyond 85 - 100 years in the world of tes .
There is a two - pronged theory to this question , the first theory is the more conventionally accepted theory , the second is my own , I think possibly new theory.
The first theory is that vampirism effectively kills the body , that the disease kills the organs of the body , living the person medically dead , but that in doing so the body lives and does not decay , the mortal effectively becomes literal " the living dead" .
But there are many holes In this theory , the biggest one being " so im cured...but im not 6ft under?" - if somebody is cured of vampirism , they should by all means die instantly , because the body is effectively already dead , yet this isn't the case , the mortal emerges perfectly normal , possessing normal traits . Of course until skyrim the only person to test this theory was yourself, which as we all know is patchy .
My theory is that sanguinare vampriris is far less sinister than we may believe - it could even have massive positive effects.
The diease does not In fact kill the body , stifling the organs and poisoning the mind , what it in fact does is freeze the personas genetic compound - freezing their DNA- thus making them "immortal" because the ageing process has been "frozen" . It does not change the persons personality , it is in fact the persons conviction which causes this , a "placebo" effect
How this happens , I haven't a clue , but I have two case studies from skyrim to help me prove my theory , and one from oblivion , which is based more on the psychological side.
*spoilers ahead*
Case study one : Babette - child vampire - advlt mind -
Babette is a vampire in skyrim , but shes unlike any vampire ever seen in tes , because shes a child , age around about 9-12 , she ins in fact 300 years old . Her race is Breton , who probably having a lifespan closer to humans than elves.
She was bitten as a child , and physically this was where her biological development stops - she posses the body of a child . Yet she has the mentality of a 300 year old woman ...with some philological "issues" ( shes a cold blooded killer in the dark brotherhood...) . Nevertheless her mental makeup is at its proper development .
This study shows that vampirism will freeze the biological factors of the body , but nots its philological factors . The brain seems unaffected but vampirism . It also shows that vampirism can infect a mortal of any age with the same effects . Babeete should be a grown woman , she is in fact tapped inside a childs body - because vampirism froze her genetics.
Case study two : Count Janus Hassildor - troubled man - sane mind
As all oblivnators know , janus hassildor is a rare species amongst vampires - a good decent man , one who doesn't prey on innocents during the night , a man generally concerned for his people.
But as we have observed , vampires are all savage beasts, with no ethics and personality ? I think not . Janus is a well developed vampire , but hes no savage , he seems a calm collected man who can be within reasonable contact with even the best neck . This suggests that vampirism only affects the biological factors in the body , the mind is left untouched and is not affected by the disease , that the person continues to have an independent personality and will.
Case study three : Serana - a Nordic beauty bites the dust ?
Serana is a nord in skyrim , she is ancitent , quite possibly many millennia years old , and yet has the biological composition ( and mental composition) of a nice normal young Nordic woman . Like janus she isn't savage , and, being locked away for many centuries , presumably hasn't touched blood for many years - which is a strong factor suggesting again the phycology remains completely independent of the body , and its need for blood to maintain supposed "sanity".
The player has the opportunity to cure her , yet when cured she is...normal , by all means she is a paradox , how can a mortal whos normal lifespan she has lived many times over emerge mortal again and not simply dissolve to dust , it seems biologically impossible .
In her mortal life , she was bitten at that age , so what we are seeing is effectively a millennia old "snapshot" of her all those years back - because her genes were frozen.
Presumably , when she is cured , she effectively begins ageing like a normal mortal again .
So , I have given you all my evidence , if you can read through it all and give your own educated findings , well I would be most gratified .
Do you agree or not agree ?