Blood rage is a genetic illness that affects vampires. Blood rage can cause loss of control and violent impulses. It may be triggered by strong emotion, such as rage or fear. It also has the surprising characteristic of making a male vampire potentially able to father children biologically with certain types of female witches called weavers.
Vampires suffering from blood rage have sometimes been able to develop more control over their symptoms over time, especially when provided a supportive environment.
It is not stated as to how a witch with daemonic DNA in their blood will react to the change, seeing a witch with daemonic DNA is a Weaver, a special type of witch that is capable of bearing children with a vampire who has blood rage.
Past[]
Prior to the events of The Book of Life, any vampire known or suspected to be suffering from blood rage would be put down, along with their sire and children. Blood rage was viewed as uncontrollable, leading to the view that the only way to deal with the problem was to eliminate all affected vampires.
Cause[]
Blood Rage is caused by a genetic anomaly in the Creature Chromosome of Vampires. When a Vampire carries this genetic fault they will pass it on to all of their children. Blood Rage can be inherited but not expressed by said children leading to Blood Rage hiding in vampiric families for generations without a child developing the symptoms. The Blood Rage gene will only be expressed, that is, the Blood Rage gene will only be switched on if Daemon DNA is present in the original human DNA of a vampire (assuming the vampire was reborn from a human being). Blood Rage is exhibited, as various traits - heightened and new (aggression, blood thirst and craving etc) only when the the BR gene is switched on. And it can only be turned on in the presence of daemon DNA. The mechanism by which daemon DNA exerts this influence is not yet known. What is clear is that it does so as an epigenetic phenomenon.
One likely mechanism of action might lie with 'Transferring Elements' (TEs) or transposons. These are mobile genetic elements or "jumping genes," which were first identified in corn in the 1950s by Barbara McClintock. These lengths of non-coding DNA can insert themselves into other chromosomes within a genome. In their new chromosome location they can potentially influence the turning on, the turning off; the turning up, the turning down, of an immediately adjacent gene. It is likely that the Daemon creature chromosome 24 contains such elements, as a normal part of Daemon DNA. Some of these transposons have a tendency to translocate upstream of the BR gene in the vampire chromosome. This translocation inevitably switches on the BR gene, causing the Blood Rage syndrome to appear in the afflicted vampire. Any one of a number of putative BR-transposons (Tr-BR's) can cause the permanent switching on of the BR gene in the afflicted vampire. These Daemon transposons, termed Tr-BRs, must also be able to translocate from the Daemon chromosome into the human genome, since the afflicted vampires' susceptibility came from Daemon DNA sitting within their original human DNA. It is equally clear that fruitful human-daemon pairings/marriages have occurred frequently throughout creature history.
To summarise: one or more of certain BR-transposon, (Tr-Br's) derived from daemon DNA cause the permanent switching on of the BR gene in the afflicted vampires. Carriers such as Marcus Whitmore do not develop the disease because their BR gene is never switched on - they do not have any Tr-BR's in their original human genome.
Equally, a daemon could be reborn as a vampire and yet not develop Blood Rage if their vampire sire does not carry the BR gene. One useful analogy is that of a gun. A gun needs a bullet to fully function. With only one element, the bullet or the gun, nothing can change, nothing is triggered. The daemon BR-transposon is the bullet, the sire-derived vampire BR gene is the gun.
Ancient vampires seemingly knew of the dangers of turning Daemons into vampires due to the possibility of the maker silently carrying the Blood Rage Gene. Therefore, turning Daemons into vampires is strictly forbidden under Vampire Law. What they did not take account of, however, was how widespread human-daemon pairings were, or that they would result in many humans with daemon DNA. While some have suggested that greater amounts of Daemon DNA present in the human DNA of the new vampire will cause Blood Rage symptoms to become worse such as the case of Jack Blackfriars who, according to his DNA test results, processed far more genetic markers that activated the Blood Rage Gene making him act more violently and react to a greater spectrum to stimuli that triggers his Blood Rage. This would mean that a pure-born Daemon who is turned into a Vampire by a sire with the Blood Rage Gene will be almost completely consumed by the symptoms providing another reason siring Daemons is strictly forbidden.
Connection to Weavers[]
The reason a vampire with blood rage and a weaver is able to conceive children is because weavers are witches whom also have daemonic strands of DNA within their genetic makeup. Because both creatures share this genetic makeup, and both of these creatures also have the 24-pair chromosomes, they have the ability to conceive children with one another. Nathaniel and Sophie Wilson's daughter Margaret Wilson, whose daemon mother was born from witches, and whose father is a daemon, will thus be a weaver like Diana Bishop-Clairmont.
Known sufferers[]
- Matthew Clairmont
- Louisa de Clermont
- Benjamin Fox
- Jack Blackfriars
- Ysabeau's maker
- Ysabeau's Siblings
- Marcus Whitmore's descendants
Known Carriers[]
- Marcus Whitmore
- Ysabeau de Clermont
- Ransome Fayrweather
- Marcus Whitmore's other descendants
- Louis de Clermont
- Janet Gaudi Sr.
- Janet Gaudi Jr.
- Andrew Hubbard
- Andrew Hubbard's other children