In the world of Jun Mochizuki's The Case Study of Vanitas, the society the characters find themselves in is loosely based off of French nobility.[1] The following is a list of all nobility found within the story and the hierarchy upon which they function.
This article contains plot and/or ending details for The Case Study of Vanitas.
Read at your own risk.
Vampire Nobility[]
Vampires as a species were one of the products of the Babel Incident which massively rewrote the World Formula on a global, foundational scale. Specifically, Vampires came into being as humans whose constitutive formulas had been rewritten into an entirely new being altogether. While the physical makeup of Vampires as well as their general capabilities are far different from humans, their psychological makeup and culture remain fundamentally the same. Thus Vampiric society for the majority parallels human society, being based around a monarchy and a capitalistic economy that results in much inequality. As a result, the nobility in Vampire society tends to utilize the structure and titles of the ancien régime[2] used in France prior to the French Revolution.[3] However the select few details which differ are perhaps the most significant.
The capital city of the entire Vampire race is Altus Paris. Within that city is the base of operations for all central governing forces of the races, including the most powerful noble families, the Senate, and even the Vampire Queen herself.
The Queen[]
The Queen of Vampires, who is named Faustina, is the ultimate monarch of the entire race. All Vampires are compelled to submit to and practically worship her, which has been shown to eb an instinctive and inherent aspect to being a Vampire. As she is the very first Vampire of the Crimson Moon to have come into existence from the Babel Incident, she is longest living Vampire known in the world.
However in recent times, the Queen has become something of a recluse and is almost never seen in public anymore. The exact reason as to why remains unknown.
The Senate[]
The Vampire Senate is the reigning government of the entire Vampire race. It serves as an assembly of the most powerful forces of Vampirekind, including the Vampire Queen, the Grand Dukes who serve as her closest and most trusted advisors, and representatives of the most powerful noble families as Senators. The Senate will assemble to dictate the future of the Vampire race under the most dire of circumstances, having been the most active during the times of the War. In the current times, the Senate is mainly made up of Senators attempting to one up each other politically and subtly undermining one another's power. As a result, the Senate is known for being disorganized, slow, and ineffective as a governmental force.
Oriflamme[]
The Oriflammes are one of if not the most powerful family in all of Vampiric society. This is due to them being the family of one of the Grand Dukes, the closest advisors of the Vampire Queen herself and thus hoisting a power and influence second only to hers. However the Oriflammes currently stand in a very awkward position, because said position of Grand Duke is occupied by the only qualifying member, who happens to be the youngest: Luca. As his elder brother Loki is a curse-bearer and condemned to a life of isolation, and the only other adult able to act is not of blood relation to the family. Regardless the Oriflammes boast a long and storied history since the beginning of the Vampire race after the Babel Incident. During the apex of the race War against humans, the Oriflammes adopted August Ruthven who went on to be an instrumental part of forming the peace between the races. As a result, though he is not blood related, the current most authoritative figure in the family is Ruthven.
de Sade[]
The de Sades are a prominent and well-known family among Vampirekind. They have a reputation for being selfish, insolent, and only concerned with self-indulgent pleasure regardless of the impropriety. The family's founder is known as "The Shapeless One," a widely feared Vampire whose origins, true nature, and even real name are completely unknown. His and his family's status is sourced from him having served the Vampire Queen for the longest out of any other, though true to form he treats all his duties with little care. All active members of the family are high-ranking in status, being a Senator, a Beastia, and a royal guard respectively. Their outward image of a capricious and hedonistic family conceals their darker activities underneath the surface.
Archiviste[]
The Archivistes were a clan of Vampires who were well-known and distinctive for having pale hair, dark brown skin, and the ability to inherit the memories of others by drinking their blood. It is unknown if the clan were considered nobility by Vampiric society as a whole or if they boasted of any political power at all. The Archivistes had been the victims of a genocide that wiped out the entire clan, which seemingly left behind only one survivor: Noé Archiviste, who has lived his nineteen years of life without ever encountering another Vampire like himself.
Human Nobility[]
The world of The Case Study of Vanitas took an alternate path of history that began with the Babel Incident that changed the foundation of the globe. This incident brought into existence the new race of Vampires, which lead to a subsequent race war between the original humans and the newfound Vampires. The most notable and significant difference is the vast technological advancements accomplished by mankind thanks to the discovery of the World Formula. And after The War ended with an armistice between the races, most humans are under the impression that Vampires are either a thing of the past or always mere legend.
d'Apchier[]
The d'Apchiers were a human noble family has that have been established since long before even the Babel Incident came to occur, thus being one of the oldest nobilities seen thus far. After said disaster, the then Marquis's daughter became a Vampire, which was life-threatening to her during that climate of violent tension between the races. As a result the entire family from then on dedicated everything they had to researching the World Formula and a way to interfere with it despite the Catholic Church outlawing such—all in a ploy to try and change Chloé d'Apchier into a human. Their efforts resulted in the slow and steady development of the World Formula Alteration Device over the course of several centuries. This Alteration Device is suspected to be closely tied to the inception of the Beast of Gévaudan, which went on to wipe out nearly the entire d'Apchier family. In the current day, the d'Apchiers are survived only by one, the lone Vampire among their ranks, Chloé.
Granatum[]
The Granatums were a human noble family that has a long and storied history tied with the Catholic Church. During the times of the race War between humans and Vampires, the brutal and violent and indiscriminate hunting of Vampires and their supporters were commonplace especially among those of the Church. The Granatum family was an instrumental part of these hunts and thus a key figure in the War itself. After the War ended with a tentative peace and the majority of Vampires migrated to Altus to live, the Granatums for their contributions were granted a seat among the Chasseurs' Paladins for many a generation. Because of this history however, in recent years an incident has occurred that resulted in the horrific deaths of nearly the entire family, except for the son Astolfo. The lone surviving Granatum has gone on to become the youngest ever to achieve the title of Chasseur Paladin in the Church's history.
Neither[]
The world of The Case Study of Vanitas is ruled by the violent dichotomy between humans and Vampires. The two races existing in parallel dimensions separate from one another, the contrasting yet mirroring societies and cultures of each, the race War between them that defines the trajectory of the world afterwards. However, amidst this seemingly eternal clash exist some who fall within neither group of human nor Vampire, but rather as something in between. And because they fall within neither race, they fall outside of both societies, having no place to belong no matter what world they dwell in.
Dhampirs[]
Dhampirs are a hybrid species, being the product of a union between a human and a Vampire. Because of the violent tensions between the races of human and Vampire that date centuries back to the aftermath of the Babel Incident, Dhampirs as a race are greatly put upon. Neither of the two majority races out of a historical hatred for one another are willing to accept any Dhampir for being mixed race, to the point of violently hunting Dhampirs throughout history and continuing to regard them as "vermin." As a result, most Dhampirs consider only one another as true allies and never concern themselves with the drama and political strife of the other races, only about their own survival. In the present day, Dhampirs are for the most part able to live in relative peace due to the protection of Marquis Machina, a very venerable and prolific Vampire noble who stands as their sole protector.
The Blue Moon[]
There is a very well-known legend amongst Vampirekind, that near all Vampires are born in the nights of a Crimson Moon, but there is one exception. A Vampire named "Vanitas" who was born under the light of a Blue Moon, which was a symbol of disaster, catastrophy, and ill omen in Vampiric society. This made Vanitas hated and feared by their peers to the point of being run out of their home village. Their resentment and desire for revenge against the Vampires of the Crimson Moon brought upon the creation of the Book of Vanitas, a cursed grimoire with the ability to interfere with Vampires' True Names and turn them into Malnomen. It is said that whoever wields the Book in their hands will bring upon the destruction of the entire Vampire race.
In accordance to that legend, a being in possession of the Book of Vanitas turns up in Paris—except he is a human who wishes to save all Vampires from certain destruction. This human man, claiming to have inherited the Book and name from Vanitas of the Blue Moon, is revealed to be the Kin of the Blue Moon from having been Marked by them, thus imbued with the same power as the original Vampire and creator of the Book. And so, all members of the Clan of the Blue Moon share the same quality of not truly belonging to their original race, be it Vampire or human, due to the blood of the Blue Moon running through their veins.