Author’s Note: The following entries may contain mild spoilers.
Glossary
Avalost: A vampiric city-state founded in the late 11th century in the remote Arctic Circle following the White Mercy’s expulsion of vampire populations from northern Alba (then-Scotland). Named by refugee nobles as a bitter portmanteau of “Avalon” (Arthurian isle of the blessed dead) and “lost.” Architecturally divided between Moonside (surface) and Shadowside (subterranean), accommodating the seasonal extremes of the Long Dark and Long Light.
Basilica of the Resurrected Shadow: Ecclesiastical throne from which the Daystar of the Sepulchre reigns. Mother cathedral of the Lazareth faith. Architecturally distinguished by its massive stained-glass fenestration depicting the Luminary’s resurrection and the mythological genesis of vampirekind.
Brother Confessor: Senior male inquisitor within the Crimson Orison, specializing in physical interrogation methods. Distinguished by brilliant crimson robes worn with bright turquoise mozzetta and biretta (shoulder-mantle and square cap).
Burnished: Vampires subjected to alchemical vivisection involving liquid gold infusion. Most die during the procedure. Survivors gain sunlight immunity but suffer extreme blood dependency, progressive mental and physical deterioration, and unnaturally bronze-gold skin (hence the name).
Carcharodons: Amphibious selachian humanoids of immense strength and savagery, formerly dominant regionally. Enslaved by vampirekind following a devastating chemical war. Commonly employed as enforcers and laborers.
Carnivale: Mobile torture exhibition operated by the White Cross Society, displaying captive vampires across Christendom. Officially condemned by the Vatican (1302) following the Society’s attempted coup against Boniface VIII, but continued covertly for decades.
Carpinions: Spring-loaded retractable tri-blade mechanisms worn at the wrist. Constructed from crucible steel. Favored by assassins for concealment and extensively employed in inter-House warfare.
Castigant: Monk of the Scabricht Brotherhood, the Crimson Orison’s male monastic arm. Distinguished by bright yellow capirotes (pointed hoods) against black robes. Duties include jailer, torturer, and executioner. Bound to silence save during “correctional ecstasy.”
Claret See: Avalost’s dominant religious institution claiming spiritual authority over all vampires through apostolic connection to the Twice-Born Luminary. Power significantly diminished in recent decades due to imported Enlightenment influence, though threat remains considerable.
Coalblood: Non-noble vampire class comprising the majority of Avalost’s population. Politically disenfranchised despite numerical superiority. Employed as laborers, servants, and industrial workers.
Crimson Orison: Inquisitorial division of the Claret See charged with suppressing heresy, apostasy, and threats to the twice-born order. Notorious for systematic torture.
Crownblood: Vampiric nobility. Lineage traceable to founding Houses or elevated through exemplary service or marriage. Control governance, military, and economic power.
Crucibis: Double-barred cross icon of the Lazareth faith symbolizing eternal life and resurrection. Distinguished from the Orthodox cross by the second bar’s placement near the base rather than the top.
Cruenti: Throwing/combat knife of Avalostian design. Characterized by aerodynamic profile. Favored by duelists.
Dame Inquisitrix: Supreme authority of the Susurrae Sistren, an order of inquisitorial nuns specializing in psychological breaking. Reports exclusively to the Daystar of the Sepulcher. Distinguished by dark red habit with azure wimple lining.
Daystar of the Sepulcher: Supreme pontiff of the Claret See, ruling from the Sedes Deliquii in the Basilica of the Resurrected Shadow. Current: Flaelus I (ascended 1668).
Direman: Human slave-soldiers, almost exclusively male. Tongues ritually severed to prevent conspiracy. Employed due to vampiric reproductive limitations and the precious nature of immortal life.
Dragons of Steel: Elite vampiric military order personally selected by the Evincarmine. Honed through decades of training impossible for mortals. Armed to excess with the era’s finest weapons, made practical by their supernatural strength.
Dunloch House of Penitence: Prison-fortress and asylum overlooking Avalost from the southern base of Nylor Dread. Architecturally imposing and widely feared. Holds prisoners of ecclesiastical and civil jurisdiction alike.
Eclipser: Steam-powered deployable steel-and-rubber canopy system for naval vessels. Provides completing deck coverage against sunlight. Expensive but essential for vampiric maritime operations.
Evincarmine: Secular monarch of Avalost. Rules from the Throne of Behemoth (built from antediluvian mammoth bones) in the Sorrowset Spires. Current: Arrecifian II (ascended 1803).
Fallen Steel: Meteoritic alloy (caelum ferrum) that nullifies vampiric strength and speed upon contact. Employed in restraints, vault doors, and dungeon infrastructure. Former use in crossbow quarrels discontinued following expense concerns and a direman uprising in which bolts were weaponized against crownblood masters.
Foxfire: Bioluminescent fungus (Panellus borealis) endemic to subglacial caverns. Selectively cultivated for enhanced luminosity. Favored in Shadowside and subterranean spaces for flameless lighting. Produces characteristic blue-green glow; requires minimal maintenance.
Frol: Individual vampire’s blood preference, typically determined by donor ethnicity, profession, or physiological/psychological qualities. Subject of connoisseurship among the crownblood class.
Glace Wine: Wine fermented from Arctic berries (bramble, cloudberry, lingonberry). Served chilled; commonly fortified with blood by Avalostian vintners.
Gray Malaise: Devastating 18th-century plague causing blood degradation and wasting. Resulted in mass quarantines, thousands of deaths, and the complete immolation of the Maldewark district.
Guloths: Wolverine-descended predators native to select far northern islands. Centuries of conditioning have cultivated wolf-like pack behavior and trainability. Employed as attack animals.
Hemovore: Epithet for a vampire who drinks the blood of other vampires. The equivalent of cannibalism; universally reviled.
Lazaria: Annual winter solstice festival commemorating the Twice-Born Luminary’s resurrection and ascension to eternal life. Celebrated through elaborate banquets featuring glace wine and feasts of slow-roasted seal, traditionally concluded with sanguettes—honeyed blubber pastries prepared with firstborn’s blood.
Long Dark: Arctic polar night period. Avalost’s principal season, when Moonside teems with life and commerce.
Long Light: Arctic midnight sun period. Avalost’s population retreats to Shadowside for the duration of perpetual daylight.
Mahalia: Bride of Lazarus and venerated mother of vampirekind in the Claret canon.
Malarick: Failed alchemical augmentation project commissioned by Evincarmine Arrecifian I. Subjects force-fed blood hypercharged with epinephrine from tortured humans (often syphilitic stock deemed expendable). Resulted in extraordinary strength and endurance offset by permanent madness and unceasing amber-red hemorrhaging. Officially terminated, despite persistent rumors of surviving specimens in Dunloch’s depths.
Maldweller’s End: Ruins of Maldewark, a former coalblood quarter on Avalost’s northern periphery. Razed by order of Evincarmine Satharan I during the Gray Malaise. Widely believed haunted by the immolated.
Mausolaeum: Subterranean archive beneath Maldweller’s End, curated by Kassianides of Herseth since Avalost’s founding. Repository of rare and forbidden texts, artifacts, and arcane implements. Guarded by glamours rendering the entrance invisible to those of malicious intent. Includes Subterranaeum and Maleficaeum sublevels.
Moonside: Avalost’s surface district; populated quarter during the Long Dark.
Nylor Dread: Active volcano situated south of Avalost. Supplies geothermal energy for heating and hot water systems. Ancient Norse called it Nál (needle) for its sharp peak; vampire settlers added ‘Dread’ for its fearsome eruptions.
Red Repose: Aristocratic feeding ritual in which an anesthetized human bleeds into a heated tabletop receptacle. Considered the “civilized” alternative to direct feeding by contemporary vampire society. Traditionally performed in red parlors designed for the purpose.
Ribbon Reaver: Turbulent river snaking through Avalost. Named for its serpentine course and treacherous currents. Notorious for drownings.
Severlaine: Venerated Avalostian poet of the Quiescent School (17th century), a literary movement rejecting the hedonism of the preceding Succubines. Emphasized restraint, compassion, and the preservation of mortal virtue within immortal frameworks.
Shadowside: Avalost’s subterranean district; refuge during Long Light. Functions as a complete underground city.
Shadecloak: Full-body garment with smoked glass visor and chemically treated fabric providing limited daylight protection. Expensive, uncomfortable, and extremely dangerous.
Shroud: Practice of masquerading as human. Extended shrouding is considered both an artform and a survival necessity for existence beyond Avalost.
Silmaris: Luxury spider silk harvested from Nephila magnifica, an enormous Indochinese orb-weaver. Its golden sheen and tensile strength mark such garments as immediate indicators of crownblood wealth.
Sombria: Nun of the Sombriae Sistren, the Claret See’s primary sisterhood. Distinguished by gray habits, with senior sisters marked by deep blue scapulars (sleeveless cloaks). Duties include nursing, archival work, and administration.
Sophia Inversa: Heretical cult originating from marginalized Jewish enclaves across Christendom. Theology centers on YHWH (blasphemously dubbed the “Captive One”) as a malevolent and incompetent Creator who must be overthrown. Practitioners employ ‘black gnosis’ to exploit perceived flaws in divine design. Recently aligned with the Claret See through mutual ostracism and shared ambitions, despite theological incompatibility.
Sorrowset Spires: Palace complex serving as the Evincarmine’s residence and seat of secular governance. Architecturally iconic for its tiered lancet minarets capped in gold and clad in crimson enamel tiles. Dominates Avalost’s skyline during both Long Dark and Long Light.
Twice-Born: Contemporary euphemism for vampires. References supposed descent from the Twice-Born Luminary and denotes “second birth” transcending mortality.
Twice-Born Luminary: Lazarus of Bethany post-resurrection (Gospel of John). Claret doctrine identifies him as first vampire, death’s conqueror, and progenitor of all vampirekind.
White Cross Society: Militant religious order of Alban origin (est. 1087) dedicated to the extermination of vampires and other gentes monstrosae. Initially extra-ecclesiastical; later incorporated into Vatican structure. Destroyed by papal decree (1302) following plot against Boniface VIII. Splinter cells persisted before absorption into later witch-hunting and exorcist orders.
White Mercy: 11th-12th century genocidal campaign against vampires conducted by the White Cross Society. Called the “Mercy Crusade” by perpetrators. Forced survivors from northern Alba to Arctic refuge. Name derives from the Society’s white surcoats and the salt pillar fields left where vampires were staked to the ground en masse and burned by sunrise.