[Dragaera] vampires

[J C]

re: sethra not afraid of sun; I say "this" to the comment about the enclouding/overcast blocking out the harmful effects of the sun.  
 
Mystically speaking, it can't be resolved.  Vampires find the sun to be bad for them for quasi-religious reasons, or quasi-scientific reasons, depending on the source.  Xianity being merged into the Sun-god myths, it stands to reason that all abominations fear the light of the sun (see: Orcs in Tolkien), and vampires just happen to be particularly vulnerable to it, since the light of the sun is mystically revelatory by nature, and like the Sword of Shannara, a vampire will be destroyed if they are called to face the facts of what they are:  parodies of life whose essence will fall-apart given the right unravelling.  Mummies are just vampires who take that literally.
 
The quasi-scientific reason that vampires die is, I guess, the UV radiation in the sun, combined with the fact that *everyone* knows that the one tried-and-true method of destroying vampires is fire.  "Sunburns" become "Suns Burn" to the vampire.
 
Of course, the religious element cannot be the case, because well, the xian God doesn't apply here.  So maybe that's why Sethra doesn't get harmed by the light.
 
If it IS in fact the enclouding that saves Sethra, that presents a problem, because isn't it UV light that allows plant life to grow?  It's the energy in the UV, isn't it, that the plants can metabolize, right?  (I don't actually know, I'm a bibliophile, not a cellular biologist!)
 
 
 
>Our lore isn't 100% consistent - and various authors have picked and >chosen which aspects of various legends are interesting for them to >borrow. Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire to see various >European, Non-European, and modern styles of vampires. Huge >variations.
To this I respectfully say that this is irrelevent: We know certain things about vampires from Agyar.
 
They're beautiful, have strangely coloured irises, are immensely strong, don't require sleep, have celerity in spades, reproduce by the transmission of vampiric blood into the mouth of the victim, and maybe through commingling of blood.  Of course they're phenomenally rich, as all vampires are, *they're into the night-life, sunlight DOES destroy them*, they have powers of enchantment, seduction, and hypnotism.  The sire wields enormous power and influence over the younger vampire, able to compel it from afar and cause it to do things regardless of whether or not the younger vampire would normally be strongly against such an action.  They may be able to specially commune with other undead or dead things, ie, Jim, though I'm not sure if a human could see Jim, or if he just chose not to reveal himself to them, or what.
 
It's been a while since I've read the books, and I'm sure I'll find other powers explicitly stated or subtley implied when I re-read it.
 
<---vampire buff :P
 
Strangely, Agyar was NOT what got me into Brust, it was just another gem along the way :D
 
 
 
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