Lamia are those who are born as vampires.[2] They age, eat, and grow as humans do, but also have the ability to stop the aging process at any point they please; however, once a lamia who has stopped aging decides to begin aging again, the aging process will be accelerated so that their physical appearance will match their true age in a short amount of time. Also, the lamia are able to have children, unlike the "made vampires". Made vampires are humans who have been made into vampires by exchanging blood with lamia or with another made vampire. Since older people cannot survive the physical transition, all made vampires look about age nineteen or younger. Also, unlike lamia, made vampires do not age or eat and cannot reproduce. If a made vampire does not receive enough blood from the vampire who was "turning" him and subsequently dies, he will awaken as a ghoul, where his only aim in life is to kill and eat. Both lamia and made vampires have superhuman strength, speed, and agility, and can have telepathic powers. Sunlight weakens but does not destroy vampires. Unlike vampires in other fiction, they cannot transform into bats (with the exception of the original vampire, Maya, who was killed in Soulmate by Hannah, so this power died with her). As in most vampire lore, they need human blood to survive. Smith's explanation is that vampire cells are unable to carry oxygen, so vampires must acquire human blood cells for them to breathe. They are immortal but can be killed and are vulnerable to wood and fire. The first vampire in existence, Maya, was originally a witch. In her quest for power and immortality, she became the first vampire by the use of powerful magic, which involved drinking the blood of infants. Maya bore a son, Red Fern, who became the ancestor of all lamia. The first made vampire was a boy from Maya's tribe named Thierry, who was transformed against his will and features in Soulmate. All made and lamia vampires descend from Maya. As Maya is the first vampire in existence, she has many abilities her descendants do not (since their vampire blood is diluted), such as shapeshifting. She also retains her ability to perform magic. Despite the fact that the first vampire was a woman, vampires (particularly the lamia) are a very patriarchal society. There are also vampires from the Redfern family who have a greater concentration of witch blood, from a "kinship ceremony" enacted by Hunter Redfern and Maeve Harman. The symbol for lamia vampires is not mentioned in the book. Lamia characters such as James Rasmussen are known to carry the image of a black iris, which is the symbol for the Black Iris Club, a lamia club open to all denizens of the Night World. The symbol for made vampires is the black rose, as stated in Daughters of Darkness, the second book in the Night World series, as well as Soulmate, the sixth book.
Made vampires are humans who have been made into vampires by exchanging blood with lamia or with another made vampire. Since older people cannot survive the physical transition, all made vampires look about age nineteen or younger. Also, unlike lamia, made vampires do not age or eat and cannot reproduce. If a made vampire does not receive enough blood from the vampire who was "turning" him and subsequently dies, he will awaken as a ghoul, where his only aim in life is to kill and eat.
Both lamia and made vampires have superhuman strength, speed, and agility, and can have telepathic powers. Sunlight weakens but does not destroy vampires. Unlike vampires in other fiction, they cannot transform into bats (with the exception of the original vampire, Maya, who was killed in Soulmate by Hannah, so this power died with her). As in most vampire lore, they need human blood to survive. Smith's explanation is that vampire cells are unable to carry oxygen, so vampires must acquire human blood cells for them to breathe. They are immortal but can be killed and are vulnerable to wood and fire.
The first vampire in existence, Maya, was originally a witch. In her quest for power and immortality, she became the first vampire by the use of powerful magic, which involved drinking the blood of infants. Maya bore a son, Red Fern, who became the ancestor of all lamia. The first made vampire was a boy from Maya's tribe named Thierry, who was transformed against his will and features in Soulmate. All made and lamia vampires descend from Maya. As Maya is the first vampire in existence, she has many abilities her descendants do not (since their vampire blood is diluted), such as shapeshifting. She also retains her ability to perform magic. Despite the fact that the first vampire was a woman, vampires (particularly the lamia) are a very patriarchal society. There are also vampires from the Redfern family who have a greater concentration of witch blood, from a "kinship ceremony" enacted by Hunter Redfern and Maeve Harman.
The symbol for lamia vampires is not mentioned in the book. Lamia characters such as James Rasmussen are known to carry the image of a black iris, which is the symbol for the Black Iris Club, a lamia club open to all denizens of the Night World. The symbol for made vampires is the black rose, as stated in Daughters of Darkness, the second book in the Night World series, as well as Soulmate, the sixth book.