HoN VOCAB

-----------------------
                        \
     VAMPYRE             \______________________________________________________

Defined as a supernatural creature that lives off the nourishment of blood, vampyres are one of the supernatural creatures in the House of Night. The Change from human to vampyre itself takes four years. The newborn vampyre is known as a "fledgling".

The Change first takes place sometime after puberty is reached. The person notices the sapphire outline of a "crescent moon appearing on their forehead". The appearence of the Mark itself is a symptom of a biological change that has begun with in the body. A fledgling will then begin to experience colds, chills, and coughs. Around the same time, the body secrets an invisible essence from the apocrine glands called "Alarm Pheromone, which is only present at the beginning of the sequence of events of reactions. Left alone, the fledgling will die. A gifted sect of vampyres known as Trackers have the ability to scent these Alarm Pheromones. As soon as the fledgling is in the presense of a Tracker, the preservation Pheromone, that only a Tracker detects, begins to act on the young fledgling's T-Cell receptors , slowing down the degeneration of the body's pulmonary capillary system. The external evidence of this physiological reaction is the crescent sapphire outline that appears on the forehead.

However, the Trackers' preservation Pheromone creates only a temporary respite from the potentially fatal reaction that has already begun in the body, which is the reason why newly Marked fledglings must make their way directly to a House of Night. The Shield Pheromones, secreted by all adult vampyres, bathe the fledglings pulmonary and capillary systems. That minimizes the unavoidable damage that takes place within the body as it attempts to assimilate the necessary changes that happen in order for the body to evolve to the physiology of a vampyre.

One out of ten fledglings on average do not make the Change.  Some even die in their early third former year. Those who do reject the Change begin to show the signs quickly and easily. The first sign is a cough, and then several more coughs, each one worsening until at last they catch the attention of everyone else. At this point, it is noticably heard by everyone in a room and then the fledgling begins coughing up blood. Coughing, spitting and hacking as blood continues to pour out of every orifice: mouth, ears, nose, eyes, etc. The fledgling dies minutes later. Their body has rejected the Change.

When this happens, the High Priest/Priestess gives the dying fledgling a vial filled with a liquid comparable to milk in color, which helps lessen the pain.

The common trait that all fledglings possess that identifies them as "fledglings" is that their cresent shaped sapphire tattoo on their forehead is un-filled. Fledglings also display some traits that are found in typical vampire lore. Their appearance, as vampyres, become enhanced (all vampyres at the House of Night are much more attractive than humans). Their senses are very keen, they can smell blood as soon as it is in the air, their sense of sight is almost as good as a cat's at night. The rate of healing for a vampyre is much faster. Physical strength, reflexes, speed and stamina; surpasses the norm for humans. Vampyres, whether fledglings or adults, cannot go into sunlight, as it will cause them mental pain, headaches, etc. The sun will not burn them though, as it only makes them uncomfortable. That is why the classes, at the Houses of Night, are only active during the night.

At the House of Night, fledglings are constantly active and involved in physical activities (as a way to help their bodies become stronger and healthier during the change to an adult vampyre). At the House of Night, fledglings take courses that help them learn more about the changes they will be going through from human to vampyre as well as vampyre traditions and rituals. As most importantly their Goddess,Nyx.

As a sixth former, fledglings will have developed their taste for blood and it will finally become appealing to them.

Whether they require blood, otherwise they will lose health of body and mind is not known.

-----------------------
                        \
     FLEDGLING            \______________________________________________________

A newborn vampyre and student of the House of Night.

-----------------------
                        \
         NYX             \______________________________________________________

Although Nyx is the embodiment of Night in a literal divine personification, she is actually very similar to what people typically consider the Earth Goddess, Gaia. Nyx is found everywhere, she is most powerful at night, which is why her special children have always been vampyres. Since ancient times, vampyres have honored Nyx by living in a matriarchal society where women rule, but men are honored and respected for their roles as guardians and companions. Nyx ensouls the earth – filling rocks, trees, rivers and mountains with her spirit. She is known by many names including Changing Woman, Gaea, A’akuluujjusi, Kuan Yin, Grandmother Spider and even Dawn. Often she gifts individual fledglings and vampyres with special powers. Those so gifted are also given the additional responsibility of becoming leaders among their kind such as High Priestesses or Warriors. Nyx is a benevolent Goddess. She is not jealous or vindictive, but she does not tolerate liars and her path is not always an easy one to tread. So, choose wisely...

-----------------------
                        \
   THE CHANGE             \______________________________________________________

The Change is the phyiscal transformation that turns a fledgling into an adult vampyre. The Change begins in a fledgling's body as soon as they are Marked. The Change is a comlex thing. Some fledglings even die during the process. A Change-related death is explained as a fledging's body "rejecting the Change". There is no stopping a rejected Change, and the doomed fledging drowns in their own blood and bodily fluids.

During the Change, many phyiscal aspects about the fledgling change. Among them are:
The ability to feel cold
Increased sensitivity to light
Bloodlust in older fledglings
The ability to Imprint a human

-----------------------
                        \
   BLOODLUST              \______________________________________________________

Sexuality and Bloodlust: Though the frequency of need differs depending upon age, sex, and general strength of the vampyre, adults must periodically feed on human blood to remain healthy and sane. It is, therefore, logical that evolution, and our beloved Goddess, Nyx, have insured the blood drinking process is a pleasurable one, both for the vampyre and the human donor. As we have already learned, Vampyre saliva acts as an anticoagulant for human blood. Vampyre saliva also secretes endorphins during blood drinking, which stimulate the pleasure zones of the brain, human and vampyre, and can actually stimulate orgasm.

-----------------------
                        \
      IMPRINT             \______________________________________________________

An Imprint is a strong mental bond formed between two people.

An imprint can be formed between humans and vampyres, vampyres and vampyres, vampyres and fledglings, and fledglings and humans.

How is it formed?

An imprint is formed when a vampyre or fledgling drinks from another vampyre, fledgling, or human.
How does it feel?

When a vampyre or fledgling drinks from another person, it is a very intense and sexual feeling. After the imprint is formed, the two people involved in the imprint can feel each others emotions, and if the imprint is strong enough--even read their thoughts. If one person in an imprint is being physically injured, then the other could feel it.

How does an imprint break?

Breaking an imprint is extremely painful for at least one of the people involved in the imprint. Here are ways an imprint can be broken:

    Another imprint replaces the imprint
    One of the people involved in the imprint dies
    Through a series of extremely painful rituals
    If the imprint isn't strong, it may fade from loss of contact

"Imprinting: An Imprint between vampyre and human does not occur every time a vampyre feeds. Many studies have been preformed to try to determine exactly why some humans Imprint and some do not, but thought there are several determining factors, such as emotional attachment, relationship between the human and the vampyre pre-Change, age, sexual orientation, and frequency of blood drinking, there is no way to predict with certainty whether a human will Imprint with a vampyre.

Fledgling--Vampyre Imprinting: As discussed in the pervious chapter, due to the possibility of Imprint, fledglings are prohibited from drinking the blood of human donors, but they may experiment with each other. It has been proven that fledglings cannot Imprint one another. However, it is possible for an adult vampyre to Imprint a fledgling. This leads to emotional and physical complications once the fledgling completes the Change that are often not beneficial for either vampyre; therefore, blood drinking between fledgling and adult vampyre is strictly prohibited."

-----------------------
                        \
     AFFINITY             \______________________________________________________

An affinity is a gift given to a lucky fledgling or vampyre, by the goddess, Nyx. Males usually are gifted affinities or gifts that have to do with the physical realm, like fighting, sword skills, or strength. Females are usually gifted with affinities that are related to the mental and emotional realms such as elements and intuition.

-----------------------
                        \
DARK DAUGHTERS & SONS     \______________________________________________________

The Dark Daughters and Sons is the House of Night’s premier fledgling organization. Its members are the best and brightest of our school and set the standard for the other fledglings. The Leader of the Dark Daughters is chosen because Nyx has gifted her with extraordinary powers. This young woman is considered a High Priestess in Training and has the added responsibility of both performing monthly rituals dedicated to Nyx and leading the fledgling members in the rituals. The Leader of the Dark Daughters is mentored by the High Priestess of the House of Night, who takes special interest in her development. Membership in the Dark Daughters and Sons is by exclusive invitation only. The symbol for the Dark Daughters is the traditional symbol for the Triple Goddess: two crescent moons back-to-back against a full moon. The Leader of the Dark Daughters wears a silver pendant with the symbol, a full moon encrusted with garnets.

-----------------------
                        \
 PEOPLE OF FAITH          \______________________________________________________

The People Of Faith are an active Christian group who believe that God is above all. They are very snobby with their views and they believe that Vampirism is caused by misbehavior.