Hello there. I am Jennifer Marie Coldrath III, daughter of John Coldrath IV and Marie LeNoir. I was born in 1746, in the city of Dublin. My parents were Vampires as well, so this is what I always have been. My sister Amelia has close ties with Creator, so I was asked to talk about the Children of Darkness.
Forget everything you've read in Anne Rice, or seen on the Television. None of the Vampires I know could be killed by steaks in the heart, or have any sort of disliking to Garlic. There are many different breeds, and we're not all bloodsuckers. Myself, I am a Cria-Vampire of the Coldrath line. Cria-Vampires, like most, have the power to reproduce ourselves by birth, as well as by giving our blood to mortals. Pure-blooded Vampires can only make more by way of blood exchange.
The Leannan are sort of half-fairy, half-Vampire. They are not a very populous race, and are almost 90% female. They survive by consuming the souls of those around them. In Earth Literature, you might find them mentioned as Dark Muses. A Leannan will take a mortal lover, and multiply his/her life energy to it's full potential. This only lasts for a few months before the victim burns out and dies.
As for the Stone-Life, well, I don't really know. There are only 12 of them at any time, because there are only 10 spirit-stones. They get their immortality from these cursed stones. When one wears the necklace with the Stone-Life pendant, the aging process stops. If the pendant is removed, the wearer begins to age normally again. The stones themselves are the vampires. They drain life-energy from people, that the wearer might have eternal youth.
Cria-Vampires like myself could live for millenia without killing anyone. Most pure-bloods cannot drink any of a person's blood without feeling the need to finish the job and kill the person. Leannan need to eat and exercise as humans to, and take maybe a year to burn out the energy of a companion. The Stone-Life are controlled by the spirit-stones, which have particularly random feeding patterns. They don't always kill, but more often just sap a person's energy for a while.
A cross never hurt me. Wooden steaks are harmless. Garlic is fine. Holy Water... well, that depends on who makes it holy. The sunlight... now that is my greatest enemy. It killed my father instantly. It burns a vampire to ashes, except for the really old ones. Fire, as well, is unpleasant. Asside from that, there isn't much else...
In Malthyrian history, which I don't know very well, there seems to be no mention of Vampires at all, except with regard to Milrax, which I dont' know anything about... In earth history, let me just stress this: Dracula was fiction, written by Bram Stoker, a decent author, and an Irishman.. interesting fellow, I stalked him for a while. The Vampire Chronicles are fiction. Anne Rice is a fascinating lady, very imaginative. That Vampire-Slayer TV show is fiction. Funny show, yes... but no, I don't believe that any Model-Actress-Teenage-California-Blonde poses much threat to anyone.