A/N: I have below provided a list of the most common terms from Vampire:
The Masquerade. Please don't feel that you MUST read these in order to
enjoy Harper's story, you certainly won't. But they are here for those who
are interested. All information below is intellectual property of White
Wolf gaming, I'm just borrowing the world for fictional purposes.
Lexicon
Common Parlance
These words are in common use in Kindred society.
Anarch: A Kindred rebel who opposes the tyranny of elders. Anarchs wish to redistribute the wealth and resources of a city equitably among the vampires therein. Naturally, the elders oppose this, having cultivated their influence for centuries.
Becoming, The: The moment one passes from being a fledgling into "full" vampire status. One may not Become until her sire deems her ready and gains the prince's approval.
Book of Nod, The: A loose collection of Kindred legendry and history. The Book of Nod chronicles the origin of the Kindred, though it has never been published in its entirety. Fragments of the document and its many partial transcriptions circulate among certain strata of Kindred society. Commonly compared to the bible/torah/etc.
Beast, The: The inchoate drives and urges that threaten to turn a vampire into a mindless, ravening monster.
Blood: A vampire's heritage; that which makes a vampire a vampire. Usage: I doubt her claims to such esteemed Blood.
Blood Bond: A mystical power over another individual engendered by partaking of a particular vampire's blood thrice; accepting blood from a vampire is an acknowledgment of her mastery. Causes absolute emotional infatuation with master Kindred, comparable to a simultaneous cocktail of addiction and love.
Camarilla, The: A sect of vampires devoted primarily to maintaining the Traditions, particularly that of the 'Masquerade.
Childe: A vampire created through the Embrace - the childe is the progeny of her sire. This term is often used derogatorily, indicating inexperience. (pl. childer)
Clan: A group of vampires who share common characteristics passed on by the Blood. There are 13 known clans, all of which were reputedly founded by members of the Third Generation.
Coterie: A small group or "pack" of Kindred, united by the need for support and sometimes common interests. A Coterie can be tense and friction-filled, or as close as extended family.
Diablerie: The consumption of another Kindred's blood, to the point of the victim's Final Death. Vampires of high generation may lower their generation through this practice, considered by the Elder Kindred of the Cammarilla to be the 'ultimate crime' in vampire society, since they have the most to loose; comparable to cannibalism, rape and murder. Often simultaneously. Diablerie provides young vampires of higher Generation (and thus less potency of blood) with a quick and dangerous route to achieve great power. Though some infant vampires may simply not understand the magnitude of the crime.
Domain: An area of a particular vampire's influence. Princes claim entire cities as their domains, sometimes allowing lesser vampires to claim domain within.
Elder: A vampire who has experienced three or more centuries of unlife. Elders are the most active participants in the Jyhad.
Elysium: A place where vampires may gather and discourse without fear of harm. Elysium is commonly established in opera houses, theaters, museums and other locations of culture.
Embrace, The: The act of transforming a mortal into a vampire. The Embrace requires the vampire to drain her victim and then replace that victim's blood with a bit of her own.
Fledgling: A newly created vampire, still under her sire's protection.
Generation: The number of "steps" between a vampire and the mythical Caine; how far descended from the First Vampire a given vampire is.
Gehenna: The imminent Armageddon when the Antediluvians will rise from their torpor and devour the race of Kindred and the world.
Ghoul: A minion created by giving a bit of vampiric vitae to a mortal without draining her of blood first (which would create a vampire instead).
Haven: A vampire's "home"; where she finds sanctuary from the sun.
Hunger, The: The urge to feed, as with any living creature. For vampires, however, the Hunger is a far more powerful call.
Jyhad, The: The secret, self-destructive war waged between the generations. Elder vampires manipulate their lessers, using them as pawns in a terrible game whose rules defy comprehension.
Kindred: The race of vampires as a whole, or a single vampire.
Kiss, The: To drink blood, especially from a mortal. The Kiss causes feelings of ecstasy in those who receive it.
Masquerade, The: The Tradition of hiding the existence of vampires from mortal society. Designed to protect the Kindred from destruction at the hands of mankind, the Masquerade was adopted after the Inquisition claimed many Kindred lives.
Prince: A vampire who has claimed a given expanse of domain as her own, particularly a city, and supports that claim against all others. The term can refer to a Kindred of either sex.
Sabbat, The: A sect of vampires that rejects humanity, embracing their monstrous natures. The Sabbat is bestial and violent, preferring to lord over mortals rather than hide from them. The direst enemies of the Cammarilla.
Sire: A vampire's "parent"; the Kindred who created her.
Old Form
Amaranth: The act of consuming another Kindred's blood (q.v. Diablerie).
Ancilla: A "proven" vampire, between the elders and the neonates. (pl. Ancillae)
Antediluvian: A member of the dreaded Third Generation, one of the eldest Kindred in existence.
Cainite: A vampire; a member of the race of Caine.
Humanitas: The extent to which a Kindred still maintains her humanity.
Kine: A term for mortals, largely contemptuous. The phrase Kindred and kine refers to the world at large; everything.
Leech: A human who drinks vampire blood, yet acknowledges no master.
Lineage: A vampire's bloodline; the Kindred's sire, sire's sire, etc.
Methuselah: A vampire who has existed for a millennium or more; an elder who no longer exists among the greater whole of Kindred society. Methuselahs are rumored to hail from the Fourth and Fifth Generations.
Neonate: A young Kindred, recently Embraced but no longer under the protection of his sire.
Progeny: All of a given vampire's childer, collectively. Less formal, and less flattering, is Get.
Primogen: The leaders in a given city; its ruling body of elders, typically composed of one member from each clan present in a city. Third Mortal: Caine, who was cast out and became the First Vampire.
Thrall: A vampire under the effects of a blood bond, having drunk another Kindred's blood thrice.
Vitae: Blood.
Whelp: A derogatory term for a young Kindred, originally used with exclusive reference to one's own progeny.
Witch-hunter: A mortal who searches out and destroys vampires.
Lexicon
Common Parlance
These words are in common use in Kindred society.
Anarch: A Kindred rebel who opposes the tyranny of elders. Anarchs wish to redistribute the wealth and resources of a city equitably among the vampires therein. Naturally, the elders oppose this, having cultivated their influence for centuries.
Becoming, The: The moment one passes from being a fledgling into "full" vampire status. One may not Become until her sire deems her ready and gains the prince's approval.
Book of Nod, The: A loose collection of Kindred legendry and history. The Book of Nod chronicles the origin of the Kindred, though it has never been published in its entirety. Fragments of the document and its many partial transcriptions circulate among certain strata of Kindred society. Commonly compared to the bible/torah/etc.
Beast, The: The inchoate drives and urges that threaten to turn a vampire into a mindless, ravening monster.
Blood: A vampire's heritage; that which makes a vampire a vampire. Usage: I doubt her claims to such esteemed Blood.
Blood Bond: A mystical power over another individual engendered by partaking of a particular vampire's blood thrice; accepting blood from a vampire is an acknowledgment of her mastery. Causes absolute emotional infatuation with master Kindred, comparable to a simultaneous cocktail of addiction and love.
Camarilla, The: A sect of vampires devoted primarily to maintaining the Traditions, particularly that of the 'Masquerade.
Childe: A vampire created through the Embrace - the childe is the progeny of her sire. This term is often used derogatorily, indicating inexperience. (pl. childer)
Clan: A group of vampires who share common characteristics passed on by the Blood. There are 13 known clans, all of which were reputedly founded by members of the Third Generation.
Coterie: A small group or "pack" of Kindred, united by the need for support and sometimes common interests. A Coterie can be tense and friction-filled, or as close as extended family.
Diablerie: The consumption of another Kindred's blood, to the point of the victim's Final Death. Vampires of high generation may lower their generation through this practice, considered by the Elder Kindred of the Cammarilla to be the 'ultimate crime' in vampire society, since they have the most to loose; comparable to cannibalism, rape and murder. Often simultaneously. Diablerie provides young vampires of higher Generation (and thus less potency of blood) with a quick and dangerous route to achieve great power. Though some infant vampires may simply not understand the magnitude of the crime.
Domain: An area of a particular vampire's influence. Princes claim entire cities as their domains, sometimes allowing lesser vampires to claim domain within.
Elder: A vampire who has experienced three or more centuries of unlife. Elders are the most active participants in the Jyhad.
Elysium: A place where vampires may gather and discourse without fear of harm. Elysium is commonly established in opera houses, theaters, museums and other locations of culture.
Embrace, The: The act of transforming a mortal into a vampire. The Embrace requires the vampire to drain her victim and then replace that victim's blood with a bit of her own.
Fledgling: A newly created vampire, still under her sire's protection.
Generation: The number of "steps" between a vampire and the mythical Caine; how far descended from the First Vampire a given vampire is.
Gehenna: The imminent Armageddon when the Antediluvians will rise from their torpor and devour the race of Kindred and the world.
Ghoul: A minion created by giving a bit of vampiric vitae to a mortal without draining her of blood first (which would create a vampire instead).
Haven: A vampire's "home"; where she finds sanctuary from the sun.
Hunger, The: The urge to feed, as with any living creature. For vampires, however, the Hunger is a far more powerful call.
Jyhad, The: The secret, self-destructive war waged between the generations. Elder vampires manipulate their lessers, using them as pawns in a terrible game whose rules defy comprehension.
Kindred: The race of vampires as a whole, or a single vampire.
Kiss, The: To drink blood, especially from a mortal. The Kiss causes feelings of ecstasy in those who receive it.
Masquerade, The: The Tradition of hiding the existence of vampires from mortal society. Designed to protect the Kindred from destruction at the hands of mankind, the Masquerade was adopted after the Inquisition claimed many Kindred lives.
Prince: A vampire who has claimed a given expanse of domain as her own, particularly a city, and supports that claim against all others. The term can refer to a Kindred of either sex.
Sabbat, The: A sect of vampires that rejects humanity, embracing their monstrous natures. The Sabbat is bestial and violent, preferring to lord over mortals rather than hide from them. The direst enemies of the Cammarilla.
Sire: A vampire's "parent"; the Kindred who created her.
Old Form
Amaranth: The act of consuming another Kindred's blood (q.v. Diablerie).
Ancilla: A "proven" vampire, between the elders and the neonates. (pl. Ancillae)
Antediluvian: A member of the dreaded Third Generation, one of the eldest Kindred in existence.
Cainite: A vampire; a member of the race of Caine.
Humanitas: The extent to which a Kindred still maintains her humanity.
Kine: A term for mortals, largely contemptuous. The phrase Kindred and kine refers to the world at large; everything.
Leech: A human who drinks vampire blood, yet acknowledges no master.
Lineage: A vampire's bloodline; the Kindred's sire, sire's sire, etc.
Methuselah: A vampire who has existed for a millennium or more; an elder who no longer exists among the greater whole of Kindred society. Methuselahs are rumored to hail from the Fourth and Fifth Generations.
Neonate: A young Kindred, recently Embraced but no longer under the protection of his sire.
Progeny: All of a given vampire's childer, collectively. Less formal, and less flattering, is Get.
Primogen: The leaders in a given city; its ruling body of elders, typically composed of one member from each clan present in a city. Third Mortal: Caine, who was cast out and became the First Vampire.
Thrall: A vampire under the effects of a blood bond, having drunk another Kindred's blood thrice.
Vitae: Blood.
Whelp: A derogatory term for a young Kindred, originally used with exclusive reference to one's own progeny.
Witch-hunter: A mortal who searches out and destroys vampires.