Shadow Guardians: The Beast

Vampire - Pure-blood, created by the gods of the Light Realm, or by two vampires recreating. Vampires are always warriors, embrace war, and crave killing. Very few remain in the world, those who do are often in charge of their clans.

They can be killed by beheading or spearing the heart, mutilation, the sun, or starvation (by going without blood, though it takes months.)

Vampires have the ability to heal wounds relatively quickly, but the healing is often more painful than the wound itself.

Nosferi - a lesser vampire, a weaker subspecies of the pure-blood. Most are warriors, some are civilians. Civilian Nosferi are often doctors or in positions in society where they can help further the missions of war. They may or may not be part of a clan. They cannot heal quickly like the vampires. Nosferi came into being when a few of the early pure-bloods mated with humans. The humans would give birth to nosferi, and die thereafter. Since then, mating with humans is forbidden.

Transition - A painful time in a vampire or nosferi’s life, where they mature, usually happens at age eighteen. Many don’t survive. Vampires or nosferi are born, and are near-human before their transitional time. They cannot bite and transform normal humans into vampires, unless the human is a Neron.

Neron - A cross-species which can be born human and transition once in life to another vampiric species. They were created when the vampiric species was hunted to near extinction hundreds of years ago, as a way to increase their numbers. Very few survive. It is a gene that randomly appears in humans. Neron females have a greater chance of carrying a vampiric baby full-term.

Beast-gene - Only a vampire can carry this gene, but few do. The legends around this genetic mutation is murky, but some say that the Gods of the Light Realm created vampires with this gene who went straight into The Abyss in the ancient times, to fight the demons on their home turf. It was to keep them strong for enduring battles. Many died on both sides. Through the years, the beast-gene has been nearly wiped out of the bloodline of the species. It is almost never found in females, and often makes males fiercely territorial if they are bonded to a female.

Bonding - Bonding is a strong attraction that occurs between a male and female. Often the male is the first to bond. It may create intense sexual urges in the male. If the bond continues long enough, the male will instinctively mark the female, signaling other males to stay away. Once a female is marked, the bond is unbreakable. Marking is not something a male can control.

Meeran - An ancient word that translates to my beloved.

Blood - Vampires and nosferi drink blood from their mates, if they are mated, or take blood from a bloodbank if they aren’t. The latter usually gives less vigor, but does the job. Both vampires and nosferi still require food, blood just provides them with a specific nutrient they cannot obtain from normal food.

Ether Dimensions - Non-physical dimensions that often include the dream realms of humans.

Angels - Non-physical Warriors that fight the demon spawn in the Ether dimensions. Sometimes they are able to work together with the Vampiric race to bring down an enemy. They often appear in the form of light that dance on reflective surfaces.

The Light Realm - The vampiric term for something like Heaven.

The Abyss - The vampiric term for hell, or the spawning ground of demons.

The Infernal - An evil group of Gods that create demons.

Demon - An evil spirit or being that can, and often do, inhabit humans. They come in many shapes and sizes, but when they have taken over a human they often look haggard and their eyes turn black. When demons die, the ash they leave behind smells like brimstone. Sometimes the smell lingers around the humans they control, too.

Khad - A human without a soul that is being controlled by a demon.

Promised - A vampire or nosferi youngling that has found their eternal mate before transition. Since younglings cannot experience sexual cravings, they typically feel like they have a deep soul connection to their promised mate, and the love they feel is innocent. If their mates are post-transition, they may still feel sexual cravings toward the youngling, but the instinct will be more protective, like the soft glow of a candle rather than a runaway fire.

Nerei - A term of endearment that loosely translates to my dearest one.

The Shadow Guardians - Vampiric Warriors that fight the demon spawn of The Abyss in an eternal battle on Earth.