Nadia's earliest memory is of the snow; of hiding from the bigger creatures and hunting the small ones.
She had become feral-in more ways than one.
So, when she's brought into the conclave, and through it, a civilized society, Nadia must regain what...
Humans with the ability to shift into the form of another animal.
Pack
A group of shifters of the same kind (ex: a pack of wolves). In some cases, they function as a town might. In others, they resemble extended families. Some packs may be called by other titles (ex: pride) depending on the shifters within them.
A term members of a den use to refer to close friends and family.
Den
A group of shifters of multiple types. They function much the same as a pack might and occur most often in cities, where the diversity of shifters is higher.
Hierarchy
Alpha: The leader of a pack/den, responsible for caring for their respective pack or den. Not an inherited position.
Beta: Often seen as the Alpha's right hand, beta's are in charge of making sure members of a pack and den are doing well—the alpha included.
Gamma: Gammas are in charge of seeing to the younger members of a pack, from the children to the young adults. They are often in charge of helping the young decide their future roles in the pack.
Delta: Officially in charge of handling pack finances during times of peace, deltas are also in charge of tactics during times of war. Due to their war-time position, they are the unofficial leaders of the trackers and warriors.
Warriors: The defenders of a pack. They often accompany high ranking members of a pack during official business or in hostile areas. In times of war, they are the ones fighting.
Trackers: Responsible for patrolling the borders of pack territory, finding lost pack members, and handling intruders. Trackers and Warriors often swap duties in order to lower the workload.
Healers: Shifters who either work in a medical profession or have been born with the ability to aid a fellow shifter's ability to recover.
Loners: Shifters who remove themselves from pack life. They often isolate themselves from everything, the rare few will live among others.
Wanderers: Shifters who travel from place to place, enforcing shifter laws, handling disputes, and acting as a mediator for all sorts of shifter related issues. Though they tend to be solitary, wanderers are not to be confused with loners.
Rogues
Shifters who have become stuck in either human or animal form. They are unable to shift and are at risk of going mad. Those who succumb to the madness often kill their packmates and close family.
Feral Derivative
A mutation within the shifter gene-pool that all shifters carry. Ferals can be identified by their gold eyes as well as their shifted forms, which can resemble ancient forms of known predators.
The average shifter is aware of their other form, as it often shows itself as another mental voice. Ferals lack this separation of minds, causing them to have difficulty interacting with anyone but a fellow shifter. Ferals are at higher risk of becoming loners, but cannot become rogues.
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Vampire
Formerly human, vampires are long-lived creatures who survive primarily off the blood of humans. Highly sensitive to sunlight.
Conclaves
A group of vampires created in order to foster the creation of new vampires. They often contain no more than three hundred people, including vampires and humans. More often than not, they become corrupt.
Hierarchy
Elders: Vampires who have lived for more than a thousand years. They are the only vampires with the authority to create mandates and interfere with the actions of other vampires.
Sire: A title used by vampires to refer to the vampire who turned them.
Fledgling: A term used to refer to young vampires and by sires to refer to a vampire they've turned.
Red-Eyes: Vampires who have red-eyes are viewed as purer than the rest. This is mainly due to the fact that they are stronger than the average vampire, can build resistance to sunlight, and are predisposed to live past five hundred years.
Brown-Eyes: Most vampires have brown eyes upon being turned. Their abilities are seen as average among other vampires and they rarely live past five hundred.
Gold-Eyes: A mutation among vampires that mirrors the feral derivative. Gold-eyed vampires are seen as outliers in the hierarchy. Their strengths, abilities, and lifespans are entirely unpredictable. They can also be referred to as sun-walkers due to their lack of sensitivity to sunlight.
They rarely get along with fellow vampires and often become removed from vampire society by choice.
Conclave Hierarchy
Sire: Though the term is largely used to refer to a vampire's creator, in conclaves, it is used to refer to the head of the conclave.
Advisers: A select group in charge of helping a conclave sire and suggesting courses of action concerning conclave matters.
Servants/Maids: The members of a conclave in charge of caring for the young in the conclave, cooking meals for the human members, and keeping the conclave in working order. Originally, they were called maids, as the position was limited to females. In recent times conclaves have opened the position to all, causing the title to change to servant.
Guards: Members of a conclave in charge of a conclave's safety. Like the servant position, the guard position has become open to all in recent years.
Executioner: A member of the conclave in charge of rule enforcement and punishment. Often a vampire, but there is usually a human trained for the position before they are turned.
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A/N
If there's a term you'd like added to the glossary, please comment here and I'll consider adding it!
