Blue Bloods: Keys to the Repository

Lutetia: The ancient Gallic city under what is present-day Paris, it was built by Blue Blood Romans as a massive underground network of tunnels. It is also the location of one of the seven Paths of the Dead and a Gate of Hell. The tunnels are like a maze, enchanted against the animadverto, where a vampire could be lost forever. The center is under the Eiffel Tower, where all tunnels eventually lead. There are seven corridors radiating from the center, representing the seven ruling houses of the Blue Bloods. When Gemellus moved the Gate of Time, he left an intersection there.

Mark of Lucifer: A five-pointed star on the neck of a vampire who has been Corrupted by a Silver Blood. It looks like a burn or a cattle brand.

Mark of the Archangel: A mark on the wrist of the Uncorrupted archangels, in the shape of a sword piercing clouds, identifying the archangels as children of the Light. It cannot be duplicated or falsified.

Materia Acerbus (Dark Matter): That from which the Silver Bloods come. The opposite of the White. Also the name of a book of black spells in the Repository.

Modo Caecus: A blinding spell that makes humans forget what they’ve seen

Mutatio: The vampire ability to change into the elements of fire, water, or air, including smoke and fog

Mutatus: The shape a vampire shifts into

“Nexi Infideles”: “Death to the traitors!” A Blue Blood war cry

Obsido: An obstruction brought about as a ward

Occludo: Closing your mind to external influence in order to resist the glom

The Order of the Seven: The seven guardians of the Gates of Hell, chosen during the Crisis in Rome and composed of the seven original ruling Blue Blood families. The gatekeepers scattered far and wide and are now unknown to one another and the Conclave leadership for their own protection.

Palaver: A conversation between those of different status: angel vs. demon. Bliss demands a palaver of the demon in her dreams.

Passive State: The resting state vampires enter between cycles. Also called Evolution.

Paths of the Dead: The only remaining passageways between Earth and the underworld, they are now secured by the Gates of Hell, forged by the Blue Bloods at Michael’s command after the battle in Rome. In the glom they look like paths of molten lava, hissing with steam.

“Phoebus ostend praeeo”: “The sun shall show you the way.” It is the cryptic message Jordan leaves for the Venators searching for her.

“Propon familiar”: “Tell your friends.” The Compulsion Mimi uses to get the little slum girl in Rio to tell the Venators of Jordan’s whereabouts.

Quadrille: An old-fashioned figure dance at the Four Hundred Ball lead by the Committee members being presented; the teens in the foremost quadrille are chosen because of their family’s hierarchy in the Committee.

Regenerative Memory Syndrome: The process during a vampire’s Transformation when a Blue Blood’s memories of past cycles return; the young vampires feel as if they are actually experiencing the memory again.

Regent: The second-highest ranking member of the Conclave. The Regent is responsible for the Coven when the Regis is unable to fulfill his/her duties. Also, when the Regis is in the passive/ hibernation state, a Regent is chosen to lead the community.

Regis: Head of the Coven and the Conclave, the Regis can only be elected unanimously and blessed by the seven Wardens representing the seven ruling houses. The Regis’s orders are law.

Regression Therapy: The process in which vampires learn to access past lives and the accumulated knowledge available to them from their vast past-life experiences

The Repository of History: The Committee headquarters and Blue Blood archives, it holds all the knowledge and secrets of their race. Its towering stacks were once located several stories below the Blue Blood–exclusive nightclub Block 122, but after Kingsley called forth a Silver Blood, it was moved to a “corescraper” below Force Tower, miles underground.

The Sacred Language (the Old Tongue): The ancient, heavenly language of the vampires. Latin is the bastardized, awkward Red Blood version of the language, as the sacred language is not Latin, per se, and does not adhere to Latin structure or grammar. Its historical roots trace even beyond Sumarian script or Egyptian hierogylphs. According to the laws of Heaven, every creature on God’s earth must obey commands given in this language.

Sanctus Balineum: The ritual cleansing a Blue Blood bride undergoes before her bonding. Surrounded by her bondsmaids and the female Wardens, she dips into an ice pool, a steamy vapor bath, a relaxing harmony pool, and finally a fire pool, all of holy spring water.

Sangre Azul: The blue blood: it is as old as time and a living database of the vampires’ immortal consciousness. It contains their wisdom, vast intelligence, and memories.

Sending: A manipulation sent through the glom

Shapeshifters: Vampires able to change their physical shell at will, for example, into another human figure or an animal. Unlike mutatio, not every vampire can do this.

Sigul: A telltale mark or signal, as the emblems of each of the seven ruling houses