The lower class of vampires are the ones at the greatest disadvantage because they aren’t part of a brood. This isn’t to say they aren’t capable of achieving a great level of power or influence, but typically operating independently isn’t nearly as efficient or productive as working as a group.
Exiled vampires are those who once belonged to a brood and were either forced out or chose to leave. Being forced to leave a brood could happen for a variety of reasons; they failed to uphold the laws set forth by the leader of the brood, they proved to be a potential threat, they failed to provide value and became a burden on the brood, and so on.
A vampire may also leave if they feel the brood wasn’t serving their best interest, if they disagreed with leadership decisions or rules, or they felt that they would do better on their own.
Exiled vampires tend to be rare as most broods would prefer to execute these outcasts. An exiled vampire may possess knowledge of the brood’s location, members of the organization, have an understanding of weaknesses or logistical operations and so on. Each exiled vampire represents a potential risk for the brood and in the vast majority of cases eliminating that vampire is the safer option.
Typically if a vampire is allowed to live in exile it’s because the brood leader believes they can come back under certain circumstances, perhaps the exile is temporary as a punishment, they believe the member will want to come back after struggling on their own for a while, or something similar. In some rare cases it could be that executing the member would put a strain on influential members of the brood who are associated with them so exile is politically expedient.
Loner vampires are ones who have never joined a brood, either because they aren’t aware of its existence, there isn’t one in their area, or they’ve never expressed an interest in joining. These are far more common than exiles as broods are a rare phenomenon among vampires.
The reason broods are rare is because vampires are solitary predators so there’s a biological resistance to joining groups. Also, as broods become too large and too powerful they start to gain attention which puts the vampires in the area at risk. And finally, if a brood does manage to form the leader at the top can only hold that position of power through fear, military strength, and by making the organization benefit, or seem to benefit, everyone involved.
It’s a very delicate balancing act that few vampires can pull off successfully. As such most broods are short lived and prone to splintering into multiple factions that cause infighting.
A Loner vampire isn’t necessarily alone, some can form small groups of their own with the help of humans and occasionally vampires. In fact some vampires have been known to achieve considerable power by tricking, blackmailing, or seducing humans to protect and provide for them in exchange for the promise of vampirism.
For the most part loner and exiled vampires struggle to sustain themselves and avoid detection. Among humans they’re often the notorious serial killers who never seem to be caught, are mercenaries for criminal organizations, or feed on the outcasts of society who can go missing without raising any alarms.
It’s a meager, rough existence that breaks many vampires, but can be known to produce strong and independent individuals. Some vampires have been known to survive thousands of years roaming the world as nomads or hunkering down and building up a mini empire only moving on when they start to gain unwanted attention.
For the majority of vampires however a loner or exiled existence is rough and incredibly dangerous. These are the vampires that tend to get picked off by vampire hunters, other vampires who don’t want them encroaching on their territory, or broods who see them as a liability.
For this reason, they are considered lower class. They are typically a detriment to the species as a whole, they don’t accomplish much on their own, and are usually only concerned with day-to-day survival without any long-term ambition or accomplishments.
If you want to see an example of an Exile type vampire than you can read my book Emerging In Darkness: Prologue. The rest of the series will give insight into every class of vampire as the main character slowly explores this dark and grim world.
If you want to check it out you can buy it at any major online retailer and here are some links to my favorites:
Thanks for all of your support and I look forward to seeing you in the comments and the next part of the series where I discuss the Middle Class of vampires, the Hunters and Workers.