Anarch: A rebel among the Kindred, one with no respect for the elders. Most
fledglings are automaticlly assumed to be anarchs by the elder, and are despised as
products of the 20th century.
Barrens, The: The areas of a city that are devoid of life-graveyards, abandoned
buildings and parks.
Becoming, The: The moment one becomes a vampire; the metamorphosis from
mortal to Kindred. Also called "The Change".
Book of Nod: The "sacred" book of the Kindred, tracing the race's orgins and
early history. It has never been published in its entirety, although fragments are
known to exist in various languages.
Beast,The: The drives and urges which prompt a vampire to become entirely a
monster, forsaking all Humanity. Vide man infra
Blood: The vampire's heritage. That which makes a vampire a vampire, or
simply the actual blood of the vampire.
Blood Kindred: The relationship between vampires of the same lineage and
clan.
Blood Oath: The most potent bond which can exist between vampires; the
receiving of blood in an acknowlegdgement of mastery. This grants a mystical
power over the one who is bound.
Brood: A group of vampires gathered around a leader (usually their sire). A
brood may in time become a clan(qv).
Caitiff: A vampire with no clan.
Camarilla, The: A global sect of vampires in which all Kindred may hold
membership. Its rule is far from absolute, and it serves as a debating chamber
more than a goverment.
Childe: A degoratory term for youg, inexpernenced, or foolish vampires.
Clan: A group of vampires who share certain mystic and physical
characteristics.
Diablerie: The cannibalistic behavor of common among Kindred, involving the
coonsumption of the blood of another vampire. The elders do so out of need,
whereas the anarchs do so out of desire for power.
Domain: The fiefdom clamied by a vampire, mare often a prince. Invariably a
city.
Elder: A vampire who is 300 years of age or older.
Elysium: The name given for the places where the elders meet and gather,
commonly operas, theaters or other public places of culture.
Embrace, The: The act of transforming a mortal into a vampire by draining the
mortal's blood and replacing it with a small amount of the vampires own.
Fledgling: A young, newly created vampire. Vide, Neonate, Whelp.
Generation: The number of steps between a vampire and the mythical Cane.
Gehenna: The end of the Third Cycle; the impending Amrageddon when
Antediluvians shall awaken and devour all vampires.
Ghoul: A servant created by allowing a mortal to drink Kindred blood without
the draining that would give rise to a progeny.
Haven: The home of a vampire or the place where it sleeps during the day.
Hunger, The: As with mortals and other animals, the drive to feed.
Inconnu: A sect of vampires, mosty Methuselahs, who have removed
themselves from both mortal and Kindred affairs. They state that they have
nothing to do with the Jyhad.
Jyhad, The: The secret war being waged between the few surviving vampires of
the third generation.
Kindred: A vampire. Many elders consider even this term to be vulgar, and
prefer to use a more poetic word such as Cainite.
Kiss: To take the blood of a mortal, or the act of taking blood in general.
Lupine: A werewolf, the mortal enemy of the vampires.
Lush: A vampire who habitually feeds upon prey who are under the influence of
drink or drugs in order to experince the sensations thereof.
Life, The: A euphemistic term for mortal blood taken as sustenance. Many
Kindred regard this term as "prissy".
Man, The: The elment of humanity which remains in a vampire, and which
strives against the base urgings of the Beast.
Masquerade, The: The effort begun after the end of the great wars to hide
Kindred society from the mortal world.
Prince: A vampire who has established a claim to rulership over a city, and is
able to support that claim. The feminie form is still prince.
Riddle, The: The essential dilemma of a vampire's existence- to prevent the
occurrence of greater atrocities, one must commit evil deeds of a lesser nature.
Rouge: A vampire who feeds upon other vampires, either out of need or
perversion.
Sabbat, The: A sect of vampires controlling much of the eastern North America.
They are violent and bestial, reveling in needless cruelty.
Sect: General name for one of the three primary groups among the Kindred- the
camarilla, Sabbat or Inconnu.
Sire: The parent-creator of a vampire, used both as the female and male form.
Vessel: A potential or past source of blood, typically a human.
Clans
A clan is composed of all the vampires who descend from the same third-generation ancestor.
These groups are like large noble families of sorts, but there is still a lot of internal strife within each
and every clan. Still, the members of the same clan share some common goals, and they will often
cooperate.
Not every vampire belongs to a clan. There are some bloodlines who trace their ancestry back to
some vampire of lesser generation. This vampire was obviously different from the rest of her clan,
and was able to found a lesser clan of sorts, although she was not third generation. Vampires of
these bloodlines are not very common. Clans who get their third generation progenitor destroyed
are from that moment on classified as bloodlines.
There are also those who do not belong to any bloodline. These clanless bastards are called
Caitiff. Spitted upon, downtrodden and hounded, they travel the fringes of vampire society. The
Caitiff are almost without exception of very poor generation, and the only chance for them to
improve their position is to gain power. Because of this many Caitiff are diabolists, and they are
therefore always regarded with suspicion, and sometimes killed on sight.
