APP;; Eric Northman [suckmychest]
Name: Sammo
Journal: fribbled
Email: liberalkitten@gmail.com
AIM: morbidpurr
Character Name: Eric Northman
Fandom: True Blood
Timeline: Episode 2.12 - "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'"
Appearance:
Placemarker.
History:
Eric was born in the late tenth century, in the area today known as Sweden. He was the son of a chieftain, and at the age of sixteen, he took his older brother's widow, Aude, as his own wife; he fathered six children with her until both she and the sixth child died of fever some years later. Eric had a relatively luxurious life for the time, presumably taking over as chief of his village and engaging in raids on other villages. At some point his late twenties or early thirties, he was involved in one such raid, but came out the worse for it. As he was very badly injured, he had to be carried off by two of his surviving men, who proceeded to build a wooden funeral pyre for him. After setting him on it, they settled in to wait for their leader's end. But they beat him to it when they suddenly found themselves disemboweled by an already-ancient vampire named Godric. Having seen Eric's performance in battle and thinking the carnage he'd created beautiful, he offered a way to keep him alive. Eric agreed, not wanting to die, and so was turned into a vampire.
The next several centuries were spent with his maker, learning all there was to know about being a vampire, the world, just everything. At some point though, Eric set off on his own at some point during the early eighteenth century. By the 1870s, Eric was becoming bored by himself, and one night turned a young girl on a dark London street so as to become his new companion. He quickly relocated with his new fledgling, whose name was Pam, to the north of England, and began showing her the ropes. So the next century and a half passed: Eric conducted whatever business he had at the time, and Pam would come and go as she pleased. Shortly after Word War II, the both of them came to America and settled there. Pam chose to explore this New World whereas Eric chose to reside northern Louisiana, where he quickly attained the position of Sheriff of Area 5.
At some point in the early 2000s, a team of Japanese scientists developed a synthetic substitute for blood. Though originally intended to aid in medical procedures, providing for transfusions and the like, the vampires soon found that this human innovation fulfilled all of a vampire's nutritional needs. This discovery led to a series of conferences and summits among the undead hierarchy, whose ultimate decision was to reveal themselves to the world at large. As Eric was a Sheriff of the largest Area in the extremely affluent Kingdom of Louisiana for some time, he was a rather significant player during this decision. And, ever the businessman, he saw a market for the vampire bar - somewhere for humans to actually see these until-recently-fictional beings. So he gave Pam a call, asking her to come back to Shreveport and help run his new club which he dubbed Fangtasia.
So it went for a year or so, with business booming, until Bill Compton, a vampire living under Eric's jurisdiction, came in with a pretty little blond on his arm to question his bartender, a vampire by the name of Long Shadow. Curious as to their purpose (and to check out Bill's new pet), he called them over to give them a look-see. After finding out Bill's date, Sookie Stackhouse, was indeed his and thus not for grabs, she surprised Eric and Pam by announcing an imminent police raid on the bar and the incriminating vampire draining a human in the bathroom. Thanks to her early warning, all four were able to safely make it out of the club in time to avoid any unpleasantness with local law enforcement. Although the immediate nature of the night's events didn't make for deep contemplation on just how this little human had known what she had known, Eric eventually figured out Sookie's telepathic abilities. He quickly let Bill know that he required that little gift, ordering him to produce Sookie at the bar the following night.
Of course, Bill had to comply, and so the next night, there they both were. They were informed of the situation: someone was embezzling funds from the bar, and she was there to "read" the human employees to find the culprit. Sookie however, negotiated her own terms, forcing Eric to agree not to kill whoever was found responsible, which Eric grudgingly accepted. After a few readings, it was concluded that none of the humans were responsible, though one had been glamoured to cover whomever had done it. Which meant a vampire. Any further detecting on Sookie's was cut short as Long Shadow jumped over the bar to kill her before she could officially out him.
To save Sookie, Bill staked him - and although Long Shadow had already been shown to be stealing from Eric, he still reported Bill to the Magister, the vampire judge for the region (most likely to get Bill out of the picture, leaving a certain telepath in the clear). However, Bill managed to get the whole truth out at his hearing, which managed to lessen his sentence to merely turning a random human in order to replay Long Shadow. But as Bill couldn't deal with a seventeen-year-old girl, he quickly fobbed her off on Eric and Pam. Let's all take a moment to laugh at Bill's incompetence for a moment. ...Ah. Okay. Moving on.
Now, although Eric and Pam were more than capable of controlling a troublesome newborn, they were not going to deal with Bill's fledgling just to be nice. So Jessica Hamby was quickly dumped back onto her questionably-competent maker in Bon Temps. But on the way back to Shreveport, Eric and Pam picked up one Lafayette Reynolds, who had been determined to be a seller of vampire blood and thus a suspect in another vampire's sudden disappearance. Eric kept him, along with a few other offenders, for a couple of weeks in a dungeon-like space beneath Fangtasia. After having Lafayette bear witness to one of his fellow prisoners ripped apart for putting silver to him, Eric brought him up to be interrogated as Pam did his hair. Concerned for the missing Godric (now a Sheriff in his own right in Dallas, Texas) and unimpressed with Lafayette's answers, Eric tossed him back down into the dungeon.
Shortly after, Bill brought a bloody, screaming Sookie to Eric's door. Being as well-connected as he was, Eric was able to call in a very expensive goblin, Dr. Ludwig, who was able to save her. However, this process took most the night, meaning the vampires had to quickly depart to their hidey-holes to sleep the day away - during which time Sookie wandered around the bar. And of course, she discovered the bitten, gunshot, and generally shit-looking Lafayette and became predictably angry. Eric struck a deal with Sookie: he'd let her friend go, and in return she would help him find Godric. But he wasn't done with Lafayette yet - Eric followed him home to Bon Temps and offered him his blood, which would simultaneously heal Lafayette's injuries and allow him to keep tabs on Lafayette. He then went on to meet Bill and Sookie in Dallas.
Eric, being Eric, hadn't shared his entire relationship with Godric, and instead focused on the excuse that if Godric had been kidnapped by an anti-vampire church, the Fellowship of the Sun (as this was the common theory), no one was safe. But eventually Bill had enough and called him out on it, being especially worried over Sookie's proposed infiltration of the Fellowship. Even with all this going on, Eric was still focusing on his own interests and so summoned Bill's own maker, Lorena, to get Bill out of the way. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Pam forced Lafayette back into dealing vampire blood, supplying him with several vials of V on Eric's orders. As all this was happening, Eric was staked out outside the Fellowship church with another of Godric's, Isabel, keeping an eye out for Sookie. After a discussion on the merits of human/vampire relationships, they returned to the hotel where Stan, a discontent "cowboy" vampire under Godric, called (again) for more direct action against the Fellowship. Eric remained in his room until overhearing Barry the bellhop relay a telepathic S.O.S. from Sookie to Bill, then rushed off to the church to save her as Bill was still dealing with Lorena.
He got there just in time to see Godric save Sookie from very unpleasant things, and for Godric to order him to get her out without killing anyone else. Things didn't exactly go as planned there, and the two ended up surrounded by the Fellowship. Eric offered himself for Sookie and Godric's safety and allowed Steve Newlin, the head of the Fellowship, to bind him with silver chains. He would have been staked but for the timely intervention of Bill, Stan and the Dallas vamps, and Sookie's brother, Jason, armed with a paintball gun. For a moment, all hell was about to break loose, but Godric stepped in and ordered everyone to just go home. So the vampires all left to go back to Godric's nest to get celebrating. Eric took a few moments out to set some things straight with Jason (a former V addict besides a hero of the moment), and an overprotective Bill attempted to do the same to Eric. Already certain of his involvement with Lorena's appearance, he warned Eric off of Sookie, and that she'd never be his.
But Eric was much more concerned with Godric's odd behavior than Bill's meaningless posturing: his being taken by the Fellowship willingly, his unwillingness to leave when "rescued", his soft handling of the human traitor Hugo, and his refusal to feed. However, any action he might have taken was forestalled, first by the return of Lorena and the almost-catfight she had with Sookie, then by a Fellowship suicide-bomber with silver strapped around him. Instantly shielding Sookie with his own body, Eric was riddled with silver shrapnel and began bleeding all over the place. Even with all this going on, he still managed to pull a straight enough face to convince Sookie to suck the silver out of his chest and neck in order to "save him". Of course, this was just so Sookie would ingest some of his blood and allow him to keep tabs on her location and emotions. It's also only now that Bill revealed the increased sexual attraction that happens with having vampire blood.
But all this was left in the dust when the vampires' spokesperson, Nan Flanagan, came in to assess the situation and assign blame. Even though everyone defended Godric's actions, he was fired from his position as Sheriff. Godric accepted it without a fuss, promised to make amends for his actions, and left. Eric tried to follow him but was momentarily waylaid by Bill's fist in his face. Shrugging it off, he continued after his maker, Sookie hot on his heels. She came up to the roof to find Godric ready to meet the sun - vampire suicide. Eric tried to stop him, ultimately breaking down and falling to his knees, sobbing as he begged him not to do it. But Godric was set, and ordered Eric to go back inside and live. As he walked by Sookie, she promised to stay with his maker for as long as it took.
Fast forward a bit, and Eric is back in Fangtasia with Pam, seemingly back to normal. Sam Merlotte, a shapeshifter from Bon Temps, comes to him asking for help with a crazed maenad back in town. Knowing nothing of the creature, he goes to ask the vampire Queen of Louisiana, Sophie-Anne Leclerq, for advice. Coincidentally, he meets Bill as he arrives, Bill just leaving after asking the exact same question. Bill threatens to expose his part in forcing Lafayette's V-dealing unless Eric stays away from Sookie. But Eric throws back a very vague threat about revealing why Bill came to Bon Temps in the fist place. Bill goes off in a huff after that, and Eric walks into Sophie-Anne's mansion to play Yahtzee. During the course of the evening, Sophie-Anne practically ripped him a new one for allowing Bill to find out about the V dealing operations, revealing in the process that she was the one supplying the blood for sale. Eric promised to remove Bill from the picture and went back to sucking at board games.
Personality/Psychology:
Eric Northman is a vampire in control. He's been around for a very long time, and he's put himself in a position of power to make sure things go his way. He's not jaded per se, but he's certainly seen a lot over the centuries and it takes something very special to surprise him. When he does find something that gets his attention, he sticks to it, milking the entertainment/distraction value for all its worth, because the number one enemy of vampires isn't sunlight or silver - it's ennui. But that isn't to say he's some kind of Friendly Neighborhood Vamp. Eric's first and foremost concern is taking care of number one and making sure he's going to come out on top of whatever he's doing, whether it's business, political, or personal, and he can be damned stubborn in getting what he wants. One of the key factors that's ensured his continued success in most arenas he competes in is his adaptability, a quality not all vampires embrace. That isn't to say he's not bloodthirsty - even before he was turned, Eric enjoyed a good fight a bit more than most people - but he'll consider all his options, which may or may not involve rending you limb from limb.
He also has the unique sense of humor that comes from knowing you're at the top of the food chain. It's dry and snarky, and he enjoys teasing and poking fun at 'lower beings' knowing they can't really do anything to him. Yes, he is aware that even vampires have weaknesses, but it's a fact that he's one of the oldest and the strongest beings wherever he goes. He is a textbook definition of Magnificent Bastard.
But there are exceptions to every rule, and this is too true with Eric. The first exception is his relationship with his maker, Godric. He is utterly loyal and obedient to him above and beyond the bond between a maker and his fledgling; he's eager to please and even quicker to protect the older vampire. Sookie hit the nail on the head in "Timebomb" - he has a lot of love for his maker. When Godric met the sun, he was absolutely devastated, but as vampire politics make the human version look like Teletubbies, he's had to shove that down to deal with later to avoid looking weak. So that's a ton of issues he's still dealing with. Overwhelming grief, of course anger (and a whole lot of hurt) that Godric didn't tell him and just left him alone; frustration that he wasn't able to do anything when he did find out something was wrong; an aching sense of emptiness where an unshakable bond used to be; and a massive amount of guilt for not sensing something was wrong.
Speaking of that second exception, Sookie Stackhouse is it. At first it was just surprise and interest due to her telepathic abilities that led to his pursuit of her, and he was definitely enjoying the chance to really stick it to Bill Compton. But it's grown past that into something more. There is a definite sexual attraction, and her usefulness is still a definite factor, but after the business with Godric and the blood-bond (however finagled), it's getting into areas I doubt even Eric foresaw.
Abilities:
◦ superhuman strength and speed
◦ healing factor
◦ enhanced senses
◦ flight
◦ glamour (mentally influence/control most humans)
◦ retractable fangs sharp enough to pierce/rip human skin
◦ intuitive empathy (only with those he's given blood)
◦ able to create new vampires
◦ extremely experienced in most forms of combat/weaponry
◦ very competent in matters of diplomacy, politics, strategy, and subterfuge
Weaknesses:
◦ can be killed by: wooden stakes, fire, decapitation, general dismemberment, and sunlight
◦ silver will severely burn him
◦ must sleep during daylight hours; lack of it will cause bleeding from the ears, eyes, and nose
◦ has to feed on either synthetic or real blood, approximately a pint or so a day?, or be considerably weakened
First Person Sample:
Placemarker.
Third Person Sample:
To most anyone else, the flames crackling before him would have made the hotel room stifling hot. True, Dallas in July hardly left one shivering, but a fire in the hearth had long ago been a symbol of safety, of security, of home. Even a thousand years removed, there was some of the old feeling left. But the small, almost nostalgic comfort was nothing compared to the terrible ache in his chest.
Godric was gone.
Eric stared sightlessly into the fire, his mind up on the roof. The sun had come up some time ago, but he refused to sleep. He hadn't even bothered to wipe the blood off his face, because what did it matter now? It was impossible to even imagine a world without Godric. Even when he'd left his maker to go his own way, there was something that went unchanged, no matter how many centuries or miles came between them. A connection, that even when unnoticed, had provided some a subconscious stability. And he'd taken it for granted. Maybe if he'd paid more attention, checked in with him more often, maybe he'd have noticed something was wrong sooner. Maybe he could have done something to help, something more than just sobbing like a broken, helpless thing, and then...
But it didn't matter anymore.
Soon enough he would have to go back to Shreveport, to Fangtasia. He would go back to being a top figure in vampire politics, being in perfect control. But right now... All he could do right now was mourn.
Journal: fribbled
Email: liberalkitten@gmail.com
AIM: morbidpurr
Character Name: Eric Northman
Fandom: True Blood
Timeline: Episode 2.12 - "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'"
Appearance:
Placemarker.
History:
Eric was born in the late tenth century, in the area today known as Sweden. He was the son of a chieftain, and at the age of sixteen, he took his older brother's widow, Aude, as his own wife; he fathered six children with her until both she and the sixth child died of fever some years later. Eric had a relatively luxurious life for the time, presumably taking over as chief of his village and engaging in raids on other villages. At some point his late twenties or early thirties, he was involved in one such raid, but came out the worse for it. As he was very badly injured, he had to be carried off by two of his surviving men, who proceeded to build a wooden funeral pyre for him. After setting him on it, they settled in to wait for their leader's end. But they beat him to it when they suddenly found themselves disemboweled by an already-ancient vampire named Godric. Having seen Eric's performance in battle and thinking the carnage he'd created beautiful, he offered a way to keep him alive. Eric agreed, not wanting to die, and so was turned into a vampire.
The next several centuries were spent with his maker, learning all there was to know about being a vampire, the world, just everything. At some point though, Eric set off on his own at some point during the early eighteenth century. By the 1870s, Eric was becoming bored by himself, and one night turned a young girl on a dark London street so as to become his new companion. He quickly relocated with his new fledgling, whose name was Pam, to the north of England, and began showing her the ropes. So the next century and a half passed: Eric conducted whatever business he had at the time, and Pam would come and go as she pleased. Shortly after Word War II, the both of them came to America and settled there. Pam chose to explore this New World whereas Eric chose to reside northern Louisiana, where he quickly attained the position of Sheriff of Area 5.
At some point in the early 2000s, a team of Japanese scientists developed a synthetic substitute for blood. Though originally intended to aid in medical procedures, providing for transfusions and the like, the vampires soon found that this human innovation fulfilled all of a vampire's nutritional needs. This discovery led to a series of conferences and summits among the undead hierarchy, whose ultimate decision was to reveal themselves to the world at large. As Eric was a Sheriff of the largest Area in the extremely affluent Kingdom of Louisiana for some time, he was a rather significant player during this decision. And, ever the businessman, he saw a market for the vampire bar - somewhere for humans to actually see these until-recently-fictional beings. So he gave Pam a call, asking her to come back to Shreveport and help run his new club which he dubbed Fangtasia.
So it went for a year or so, with business booming, until Bill Compton, a vampire living under Eric's jurisdiction, came in with a pretty little blond on his arm to question his bartender, a vampire by the name of Long Shadow. Curious as to their purpose (and to check out Bill's new pet), he called them over to give them a look-see. After finding out Bill's date, Sookie Stackhouse, was indeed his and thus not for grabs, she surprised Eric and Pam by announcing an imminent police raid on the bar and the incriminating vampire draining a human in the bathroom. Thanks to her early warning, all four were able to safely make it out of the club in time to avoid any unpleasantness with local law enforcement. Although the immediate nature of the night's events didn't make for deep contemplation on just how this little human had known what she had known, Eric eventually figured out Sookie's telepathic abilities. He quickly let Bill know that he required that little gift, ordering him to produce Sookie at the bar the following night.
Of course, Bill had to comply, and so the next night, there they both were. They were informed of the situation: someone was embezzling funds from the bar, and she was there to "read" the human employees to find the culprit. Sookie however, negotiated her own terms, forcing Eric to agree not to kill whoever was found responsible, which Eric grudgingly accepted. After a few readings, it was concluded that none of the humans were responsible, though one had been glamoured to cover whomever had done it. Which meant a vampire. Any further detecting on Sookie's was cut short as Long Shadow jumped over the bar to kill her before she could officially out him.
To save Sookie, Bill staked him - and although Long Shadow had already been shown to be stealing from Eric, he still reported Bill to the Magister, the vampire judge for the region (most likely to get Bill out of the picture, leaving a certain telepath in the clear). However, Bill managed to get the whole truth out at his hearing, which managed to lessen his sentence to merely turning a random human in order to replay Long Shadow. But as Bill couldn't deal with a seventeen-year-old girl, he quickly fobbed her off on Eric and Pam. Let's all take a moment to laugh at Bill's incompetence for a moment. ...Ah. Okay. Moving on.
Now, although Eric and Pam were more than capable of controlling a troublesome newborn, they were not going to deal with Bill's fledgling just to be nice. So Jessica Hamby was quickly dumped back onto her questionably-competent maker in Bon Temps. But on the way back to Shreveport, Eric and Pam picked up one Lafayette Reynolds, who had been determined to be a seller of vampire blood and thus a suspect in another vampire's sudden disappearance. Eric kept him, along with a few other offenders, for a couple of weeks in a dungeon-like space beneath Fangtasia. After having Lafayette bear witness to one of his fellow prisoners ripped apart for putting silver to him, Eric brought him up to be interrogated as Pam did his hair. Concerned for the missing Godric (now a Sheriff in his own right in Dallas, Texas) and unimpressed with Lafayette's answers, Eric tossed him back down into the dungeon.
Shortly after, Bill brought a bloody, screaming Sookie to Eric's door. Being as well-connected as he was, Eric was able to call in a very expensive goblin, Dr. Ludwig, who was able to save her. However, this process took most the night, meaning the vampires had to quickly depart to their hidey-holes to sleep the day away - during which time Sookie wandered around the bar. And of course, she discovered the bitten, gunshot, and generally shit-looking Lafayette and became predictably angry. Eric struck a deal with Sookie: he'd let her friend go, and in return she would help him find Godric. But he wasn't done with Lafayette yet - Eric followed him home to Bon Temps and offered him his blood, which would simultaneously heal Lafayette's injuries and allow him to keep tabs on Lafayette. He then went on to meet Bill and Sookie in Dallas.
Eric, being Eric, hadn't shared his entire relationship with Godric, and instead focused on the excuse that if Godric had been kidnapped by an anti-vampire church, the Fellowship of the Sun (as this was the common theory), no one was safe. But eventually Bill had enough and called him out on it, being especially worried over Sookie's proposed infiltration of the Fellowship. Even with all this going on, Eric was still focusing on his own interests and so summoned Bill's own maker, Lorena, to get Bill out of the way. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Pam forced Lafayette back into dealing vampire blood, supplying him with several vials of V on Eric's orders. As all this was happening, Eric was staked out outside the Fellowship church with another of Godric's, Isabel, keeping an eye out for Sookie. After a discussion on the merits of human/vampire relationships, they returned to the hotel where Stan, a discontent "cowboy" vampire under Godric, called (again) for more direct action against the Fellowship. Eric remained in his room until overhearing Barry the bellhop relay a telepathic S.O.S. from Sookie to Bill, then rushed off to the church to save her as Bill was still dealing with Lorena.
He got there just in time to see Godric save Sookie from very unpleasant things, and for Godric to order him to get her out without killing anyone else. Things didn't exactly go as planned there, and the two ended up surrounded by the Fellowship. Eric offered himself for Sookie and Godric's safety and allowed Steve Newlin, the head of the Fellowship, to bind him with silver chains. He would have been staked but for the timely intervention of Bill, Stan and the Dallas vamps, and Sookie's brother, Jason, armed with a paintball gun. For a moment, all hell was about to break loose, but Godric stepped in and ordered everyone to just go home. So the vampires all left to go back to Godric's nest to get celebrating. Eric took a few moments out to set some things straight with Jason (a former V addict besides a hero of the moment), and an overprotective Bill attempted to do the same to Eric. Already certain of his involvement with Lorena's appearance, he warned Eric off of Sookie, and that she'd never be his.
But Eric was much more concerned with Godric's odd behavior than Bill's meaningless posturing: his being taken by the Fellowship willingly, his unwillingness to leave when "rescued", his soft handling of the human traitor Hugo, and his refusal to feed. However, any action he might have taken was forestalled, first by the return of Lorena and the almost-catfight she had with Sookie, then by a Fellowship suicide-bomber with silver strapped around him. Instantly shielding Sookie with his own body, Eric was riddled with silver shrapnel and began bleeding all over the place. Even with all this going on, he still managed to pull a straight enough face to convince Sookie to suck the silver out of his chest and neck in order to "save him". Of course, this was just so Sookie would ingest some of his blood and allow him to keep tabs on her location and emotions. It's also only now that Bill revealed the increased sexual attraction that happens with having vampire blood.
But all this was left in the dust when the vampires' spokesperson, Nan Flanagan, came in to assess the situation and assign blame. Even though everyone defended Godric's actions, he was fired from his position as Sheriff. Godric accepted it without a fuss, promised to make amends for his actions, and left. Eric tried to follow him but was momentarily waylaid by Bill's fist in his face. Shrugging it off, he continued after his maker, Sookie hot on his heels. She came up to the roof to find Godric ready to meet the sun - vampire suicide. Eric tried to stop him, ultimately breaking down and falling to his knees, sobbing as he begged him not to do it. But Godric was set, and ordered Eric to go back inside and live. As he walked by Sookie, she promised to stay with his maker for as long as it took.
Fast forward a bit, and Eric is back in Fangtasia with Pam, seemingly back to normal. Sam Merlotte, a shapeshifter from Bon Temps, comes to him asking for help with a crazed maenad back in town. Knowing nothing of the creature, he goes to ask the vampire Queen of Louisiana, Sophie-Anne Leclerq, for advice. Coincidentally, he meets Bill as he arrives, Bill just leaving after asking the exact same question. Bill threatens to expose his part in forcing Lafayette's V-dealing unless Eric stays away from Sookie. But Eric throws back a very vague threat about revealing why Bill came to Bon Temps in the fist place. Bill goes off in a huff after that, and Eric walks into Sophie-Anne's mansion to play Yahtzee. During the course of the evening, Sophie-Anne practically ripped him a new one for allowing Bill to find out about the V dealing operations, revealing in the process that she was the one supplying the blood for sale. Eric promised to remove Bill from the picture and went back to sucking at board games.
Personality/Psychology:
Eric Northman is a vampire in control. He's been around for a very long time, and he's put himself in a position of power to make sure things go his way. He's not jaded per se, but he's certainly seen a lot over the centuries and it takes something very special to surprise him. When he does find something that gets his attention, he sticks to it, milking the entertainment/distraction value for all its worth, because the number one enemy of vampires isn't sunlight or silver - it's ennui. But that isn't to say he's some kind of Friendly Neighborhood Vamp. Eric's first and foremost concern is taking care of number one and making sure he's going to come out on top of whatever he's doing, whether it's business, political, or personal, and he can be damned stubborn in getting what he wants. One of the key factors that's ensured his continued success in most arenas he competes in is his adaptability, a quality not all vampires embrace. That isn't to say he's not bloodthirsty - even before he was turned, Eric enjoyed a good fight a bit more than most people - but he'll consider all his options, which may or may not involve rending you limb from limb.
He also has the unique sense of humor that comes from knowing you're at the top of the food chain. It's dry and snarky, and he enjoys teasing and poking fun at 'lower beings' knowing they can't really do anything to him. Yes, he is aware that even vampires have weaknesses, but it's a fact that he's one of the oldest and the strongest beings wherever he goes. He is a textbook definition of Magnificent Bastard.
But there are exceptions to every rule, and this is too true with Eric. The first exception is his relationship with his maker, Godric. He is utterly loyal and obedient to him above and beyond the bond between a maker and his fledgling; he's eager to please and even quicker to protect the older vampire. Sookie hit the nail on the head in "Timebomb" - he has a lot of love for his maker. When Godric met the sun, he was absolutely devastated, but as vampire politics make the human version look like Teletubbies, he's had to shove that down to deal with later to avoid looking weak. So that's a ton of issues he's still dealing with. Overwhelming grief, of course anger (and a whole lot of hurt) that Godric didn't tell him and just left him alone; frustration that he wasn't able to do anything when he did find out something was wrong; an aching sense of emptiness where an unshakable bond used to be; and a massive amount of guilt for not sensing something was wrong.
Speaking of that second exception, Sookie Stackhouse is it. At first it was just surprise and interest due to her telepathic abilities that led to his pursuit of her, and he was definitely enjoying the chance to really stick it to Bill Compton. But it's grown past that into something more. There is a definite sexual attraction, and her usefulness is still a definite factor, but after the business with Godric and the blood-bond (however finagled), it's getting into areas I doubt even Eric foresaw.
Abilities:
◦ superhuman strength and speed
◦ healing factor
◦ enhanced senses
◦ flight
◦ glamour (mentally influence/control most humans)
◦ retractable fangs sharp enough to pierce/rip human skin
◦ intuitive empathy (only with those he's given blood)
◦ able to create new vampires
◦ extremely experienced in most forms of combat/weaponry
◦ very competent in matters of diplomacy, politics, strategy, and subterfuge
Weaknesses:
◦ can be killed by: wooden stakes, fire, decapitation, general dismemberment, and sunlight
◦ silver will severely burn him
◦ must sleep during daylight hours; lack of it will cause bleeding from the ears, eyes, and nose
◦ has to feed on either synthetic or real blood, approximately a pint or so a day?, or be considerably weakened
First Person Sample:
Placemarker.
Third Person Sample:
To most anyone else, the flames crackling before him would have made the hotel room stifling hot. True, Dallas in July hardly left one shivering, but a fire in the hearth had long ago been a symbol of safety, of security, of home. Even a thousand years removed, there was some of the old feeling left. But the small, almost nostalgic comfort was nothing compared to the terrible ache in his chest.
Godric was gone.
Eric stared sightlessly into the fire, his mind up on the roof. The sun had come up some time ago, but he refused to sleep. He hadn't even bothered to wipe the blood off his face, because what did it matter now? It was impossible to even imagine a world without Godric. Even when he'd left his maker to go his own way, there was something that went unchanged, no matter how many centuries or miles came between them. A connection, that even when unnoticed, had provided some a subconscious stability. And he'd taken it for granted. Maybe if he'd paid more attention, checked in with him more often, maybe he'd have noticed something was wrong sooner. Maybe he could have done something to help, something more than just sobbing like a broken, helpless thing, and then...
But it didn't matter anymore.
Soon enough he would have to go back to Shreveport, to Fangtasia. He would go back to being a top figure in vampire politics, being in perfect control. But right now... All he could do right now was mourn.