Glossary & Extra Content

Assuming some readers are coming into the series through this final book, I thought it might be useful to provide a glossary to cover some of the terms used throughout the Bonded By Blood Vampire Chronicles. Some characters and book references are also noted here for those curious about where characters appeared or when events happened in the other books of the series. Caution: Spoilers for the series may be included!

This section also contains some extra tidbits of information fans of the series might enjoy learning as additional trivia or little-known facts on characters they already know and love. Either way, I hope you enjoy these inclusions.

Note about glossary links: BACK links in the glossary only take you back to the corresponding glossary term linked in the book. If you get lost, be sure to use your eReader’s back button to return to your reading place.

Vamsyrians who are one-thousand years old or more. They have strength greater than younger Vamsyrians and possess a crippling ability to put pressure on a target’s brain, causing a hemorrhage. Against a Vamsyrian, it’s a punishment or torture, since they have regenerative healing powers and can recover. Against a mortal, it’s usually fatal.

An organization formed by Jehovah as a response to Lucifer creating the first Vamsyrian. The Hebrew name is Tzava Ha’or—translated The Army of Light. This develops into a holy order of members who educate all candidates coming before the Vamsyrian Council to cross over (see related definitions).

The Army of Light’s main responsibility is to educate initiates about the consequences of this choice to become a vampire. The initiate appealing to be a Vamsyrian will be turning their backs on God. Once they become vampires, they will not go to heaven if they die before the prophecy is fulfilled. Their souls are slated to go to hell and their only chance at redemption is through the prophecy.

The Army of Light are not enemies of Vamsyrians, nor are they vampire killers. Instead, they offer hope to those who plan to cross over by giving them a last-minute chance to stay human and protect them, or by providing sanctuary to Vamsyrians who wish to become redeemed through the prophecy.

In 1638 when the Illuminati are created, the Army of Light members are forced into hiding and the Vamsyrian Council is abolished. (See related definitions)

During the Victorian Era, Vamsyrians of the London underworld bought and converted opium dens for recreation. Vamsyrians learned that feeding from a mortal who was high on opiates transferred a euphoric and sometimes orgasmic rush through their blood, so turned quite a profit from this leisure activity.

Palace Slaves—mortals the vampires fed from—were given free room, board and opium in exchange for prostituting themselves and granting the permission for vampires to feed from them. These Palace Slaves were treated very well and given all the luxuries and comforts of a rich life, but it was not a life they could escape.

The addiction to the opiate was a side effect and they risked overdosing. They also risked their lives in the hands of the vampire clients who sometimes did not have control over the blood lust or the Hunger. Secrecy was demanded and anyone caught trying to escape or reveal the Blood Palace’s true function never lived to tell the tale.

If a Vamsyrian feeds from a mortal (it doesn’t need to be much), then feeds their now-infused blood back to the mortal, this will convert them into a Blood Slave.

The infused Vamsyrian blood creates a temporary connection between the mortal and Vamsyrian, giving the Vamsyrian control over the mortal’s emotions enabling them to bend the mortal to their will...hence the term blood slave.

However, since the mortal wasn’t drained to the point of near-death and the victim does not have enough Vamsyrian blood to make the transformation complete—which is what happens during the transformation—the mortal’s blood will fight the Vamsyrian blood like a virus. Unfortunately, the mortal will lose the battle since the Vamsyrian blood is immortal and cannot be destroyed. The death is very painful and prolonged. Such victims must have their heads severed after death to ensure they do not raise as a mindless undead corpse (a.k.a. zombie) or they must go through a proper transformation and cross over (see definition).

The process when a mortal is transformed into a Vamsyrian. The Vamsyrian first must feed from the initiate (mortal) until they are close to death, then the Vamsyrian feeds his/her blood back to the initiate.

Just feeding a mortal Vamsyrian blood does not start the transformation. The Vamsyrian must have fed from the initiate first so the mortal’s blood is within the immortal. When they feed the initiate’s blood back into them, it is the mortal’s blood mixed with the Vamsyrian’s blood.

This combination of “infused” blood and the weakened and blood-drained state of the mortal is what makes the transformation possible. If the Vamsyrian did not drain the initiate enough, the initiate will instead become a Blood Slave (see definition) and will eventually die unless the transformation is done correctly.

Any Elemental born on a date that straddles two zodiac signs. Example: Korban Frost was born on September 22, 1968, which is considered Virgo “on the cusp” of Libra, and therefore possesses both Elemental powers of those signs—earth (Virgo) and air (Libra).

A race of people created by the Goddess Terra to protect (with certain limitations) the mortals of Earth. They possess the magic to wield the powers of the elements based on when they were born on what is now known to most mortals as the traditional zodiac (i.e., Aries, Taurus, Gemini, etc.). The element that governs the sign(s) will determine what powers they wield (e.g., Aries is a fire sign, therefore the Elemental will wield the power of fire).

The powers wielded by Elementals are water, fire, earth, and air. The powers of spirit and time are additional abilities by rare Elementals called Spirit and Time Elementals. (see related definition)

When a Vamsyrian drinks the blood of someone—mortal or Vamsyrian—they learn their life’s experiences up until the point of the feeding. In some situations, this life experience cannot be gleaned:

The Army of Light has a blessing they use that provides a holy protection against those created by Lucifer—Vamsyrians and werewolves (see definitions). The original versions of Midnight Conquest (Book 1) and Midnight Captive (Book 2) had the full Hebrew phrases used for the incantation. However, as the audiobooks were produced, the proper pronunciation was difficult, so the Hebrew words were removed for simplicity. The original incantation is taken from the book of Psalms and comes in three parts:

1st Incantation—Verse that invokes God’s protective shield. Psalm 3:3: But thou, O LORD, [art] a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.

2nd Incantation—Verse that requests the shield to come down. Psalm 118:19 (first part of scripture only): Open to me the gates of righteousness.

3rd Incantation—Verse that answers the request and the shield comes down. Psalm 118:20: This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter.

For plot purposes, it was necessary to split the incantation into three parts, which is reflected in the storyline of Midnight Captive (Book 2) and carried into the plot of Midnight Hunt (Book 3). This presence of this incantation and its protection is how Broderick comes to believe the Prophetess when she says Davina has been reincarnated into the heroine of Book 3—Monika Konrads.

The Bonded By Blood Vampire Chronicles borrows from modern-day conspiracy theories of the well-known radical group bent on achieving their private agenda to create a New World Order. In the lore crafted for the Bonded By Blood world, they originated as a splinter faction of the Army of Light.

Angus Campbell’s direct attacks (see Angus’s Cloak of Protection) on the Army of Light causes several members to rebel against the restrictions of the Order in 1638. This splinter faction unites under the shared belief that the Army of Light misunderstood the wording of the prophecy: “God has foreseen that by the conflict of two Vamsyrian Brothers will the path toward redemption be known.” They believe the path toward redemption comes through Angus’s attack, helping members realize they should not be helping Vamsyrians. Instead, they should be killing them and this is how they will receive redemption—death.

This “illuminated” group become vampire hunters and call themselves the Illuminati, who employ such tactics as angelic keys, blessings, demonic curses, spells, the Enochian language and sigils as protection against vampires. They grow to hunt any supernatural beings, which they consider abominations and an offense to the Christian God Jehovah. By the time the 21st Century rolls around (the setting for Midnight Redemption, Book 6), they have become the organization fabled in the conspiracy theories.

Malloren Rune was given signs of the prophecy, which became milestones for each incarnation of Davina. They have been revealed in the series as follows...

The title Broderick MacDougal earned when he unleashed his revenge on the splinter faction of the Army of Light, known as the Illuminati. Though the Illuminati formed as an organization because Angus Campbell killed many members of the Army of Light, Broderick far surpassed the body count when he avenged the death of his wife, Monika Konrads—the first incarnation of Davina, his soul mate.

Spirit Elementals (mages or witches) are very rare as they are not only Cusper Elementals (born on the cusp of two signs), but they are also born on a solstice or equinox and during a lunar eclipse. Such celestial events give the Elemental three powers: the two elements of the cusp and power over the spiritual realm.

According to Etymology (the first time a word appears in recorded history or print), the earliest account of the word vampire did not exist until 1732, in reference to Hungarian vampires, from Hungarian vampir. And even then, this was NOT the definition of nightly blood sucker. That appeared two years later in 1734 from French vampire.

Midnight Conquest (Book 1) begins with Broderick’s transformation in 1486 and I couldn’t, in good conscience, have the characters using a word that didn’t yet exist for a few centuries. As a result, I invented my own name for my version of vampires.

Per the lore in this book, in the ancient tongue of the gods, as Lucifer tells it, Vamsyrian means son (or child) of blood. Vam = son/daughter/child; syrian = blood.

The Prophecy states that one unwillingly transformed into a Vamsyrian will become the Deliverer who will grant redemption. The prophecy also heralds the end of the vampire race.

To prevent the prophecy from being fulfilled, the Vamsyrian King created a Vamsyrian Council—a small group of trusted immortals who would ensure each person crossing over made the choice willingly. They also decreed that anyone changed unwillingly would be considered rogue, hunted down and destroyed along with their creator. Not all unwillingly created become the Deliverer. Such a person is chosen by the conditions of the prophecy, but the Vamsyrian ruler wasn’t taking any chances.

All candidates wishing to cross over must also meet with a member of the Army of Light to hear about the consequences of becoming a Vamsyrian. Anyone who changes their minds and goes with the Army of Light will be protected against the Vamsyrian Council.

Positions on the Council are coveted and political, as they are the only members of the Vamsyrian race who have direct access to the King and Prince. The Council was abolished after the Army of Light splintered into the Illuminati in 1638 (see definition Illuminati).

Werewolves in the Bonded By Blood world are creations of Lucifer as a method to hunt down and kill Vamsyrians, thereby killing them before they have a chance to be redeemed. Unlike Vamsyrians who receive a blood exchange, werewolves were created when Lucifer unleashed a pack of hellhounds on a few select villages throughout the Middle East and Eastern Europe; thus the disease of lycanthropy was spread in a very traditional fashion matching the typical lore—once bitten by a werewolf, the victim would go through a transformation that would not be noticed until their first full moon. Transformation is extremely painful and usually takes several minutes.

Since they are creatures of Satan, the Hebrew Incantations (see definition) also work against them.

Midnight Hunt (Book 3) is the first time werewolves appear in the series, where their condition is not only explained in great detail, but a cure for lycanthropy is also discovered.

Amice is the old gypsy woman Broderick traveled with in Midnight Conquest (Book 1). Since Rick’s mother died, his friendship with Amice developed into a mother-son-type relation. We see her briefly in Midnight Captive (Book 2). Her last name was Cartier, but it was never mentioned in the series until this glossary definition.

Ammon Gahiji is an Ancient Vamsyrian of Egyptian origin. He first appeared in Midnight Conquest (Book 1) as one of Vamsyrian Council Members presiding over Broderick MacDougal’s transformation. At the beginning of Midnight Eclipse (Book 4), he and his companions Mikhail Vladimir and Rasheed Patel are forced to become henchmen for the Vamsyrian Prince, Jesse Amir.

Broderick’s main nemesis and clan rival from his mortal years. Angus was born October 5, 1458 to Alyssa Campbell. However, her husband Fraser Campbell was not the father. She had an affair with, and became pregnant by, Hamish MacDougal. Although Angus knew he was a son of Hamish, Broderick and his brothers did not. Angus crossed over May 22, 1485. His first appearance is in Midnight Conquest (Book 1).

Biological son of Christabelle Williams (third incarnation of Davina). Born May 22, 1889 at the closing of Midnight Savior (Book 5). Due to events that happened while Christabelle was pregnant, her unborn child experienced side effects, which turned him into the first known Vamsyrian-human hybrid.

As such, Anthony’s blood retained some of the powers or characteristics of the Solar and Lunar Eclipse Rings Broderick was wearing during the incident, as well as the Vamsyrian blood involved during these events. Even though Anthony has Vamsyrian blood running through his veins, he is not affected by the cycle of sun and is therefore a day walker, and he has the strength of five grown men. However, his eyes are sensitive to bright light, he is immune to silver, and his blood is masked from any Vamsyrian who tries to feed from him. These conditions cannot be reversed.

Anthony activated his Vamsyrian blood at the age of twenty-five when he had his first taste of human blood. As such, his growth rate slowed exponentially. Though he is not immortal, he ages approximately ten years for every century.

Anthony does not, however, have fangs so if he does any feeding, he must make an incision on his victim/donor. Drinking human blood will increase his strength and other Vamsyrian abilities (e.g., sense of smell, night vision, etc.) to that of a full Vamsyrian, but it is only temporary (approximately 24 hours). His sensitivity to light is why he wears special lavender-colored UV protection glasses, which were created by the Elementals.

Broderick “Rick” MacDougal is the main hero of our series and at the center of the Bonded By Blood Vampire Chronicles. Born April 4, 1450 in Glenstrae, Scotland, he was the eldest son of Hamish and Moira MacDougal.

Broderick crossed over into immortality on October 11, 1486 and was originally brought before the Vamsyrian Council for transformation by Cordelia Lynn Harley. However, she withdrew her claim on Broderick.

Broderick became known as the Slayer of the Order and enemy to the Illuminati (see related definitions), which is revealed in Midnight Eclipse (Book 4).

Stepdaughter of Broderick MacDougal. She is the biological daughter of Davina Stewart-Russell and Ian Russell, and appears as a toddler in Midnight Conquest (Book 1). Broderick adopts Cailin as his own when he weds Davina. Cailin’s love story is featured in Midnight Captive (Book 2), which is set seventeen years after Book 1.

Cordelia makes her first appearance in Midnight Conquest (Book 1) during Broderick MacDougal’s transformation. In Midnight Captive (Book 2), we see brief scenes of her with Malloren Rune. Cordelia returns to the series in Midnight Eclipse (Book 4), where she has a prominent role and meets Peter Lund. And finally, she and Peter return in Midnight Savior (Book 5), where they are the managers of the MacDougal Shipping Company’s London office.

I was going to have her connected to the motorcycle company, Harley-Davidson. Although she appears in this book in a Harley-Davidson leather jacket and motorcycle helmet, I don’t mention this connection—save for here in the glossary, of course.

These sexy Norse wolf shifters make their first appearance in Midnight Eclipse (Book 4) as the protective brothers of Celina Hunter, the heroine and third incarnation of Davina.

As of the release of Book 6, they do not yet have their own stories, but they are being plotted. Jericho’s story will be a male/female romance in the twenty-first century, where Chandler’s story will be a male/male romance set in the eighteenth century.

Jack and Aideen are the hero and heroine of Frostbitten Hearts, a novella set in the time between Midnight Eclipse (Book 4) and Midnight Savior (Book 5). The Vamsyrian Prince created nurseries where he bred Elementals in captivity to harness their powers while he tried to create a Spirit Elemental. This is a stand-alone Elemental story in the Bonded By Blood world and doesn’t directly affect the main storyline arc of the prophecy.

James first appeared as the hero of Midnight Captive (Book 2) and was the business partner of Broderick MacDougal at MacDougal & Knightly Shipping Company. James and his wife Cailin disappeared in their fifties and it was assumed they were lost overboard on their ship, which readers learn about in Midnight Hunt (Book 3).

Many readers were none too happy to learn James and Cailin had passed on, so I resurrected them gradually by mentioning them and their adventures in Midnight Eclipse (Book 4) to set them up for their reappearance in Midnight Redemption.

The Vamsyrian Prince and the second ruling power of the Vamsyrian race (see below for definition of Vamsyrian). His father, King Samil Amir, is currently on the throne.

Jesse’s first appearance in the Bonded By Blood Vampire Chronicles is at the beginning of Midnight Eclipse (Book 4). He appears in the prologue, which is told through Ammon Gahiji’s point of view. However, this scene was originally featured in the Epilogue of Midnight Hunt (Book 3), which was told through Rasheed Patel’s point of view, and the scene closes just before the Prince arrives.

Angus Campbell’s wife is introduced in the Epilogue of Midnight Eclipse (Book 4). Her real name is Mabel Beauregard, born a slave in Louisiana as a Cusper Elemental (see definition) on June 22, 1732—between the signs of Gemini (air sign) and Cancer (water sign)—so wields the powers of the associated elements. However, she was also born on the Summer Solstice and during a lunar eclipse. Those two celestial events give Kahli power over the additional element of Spirit.

Mabel was the slave of a French plantation owner named Jean-Michel Roche, who was also a Vamsyrian and tasked by Jesse Amir to assist him in finding a Spirit Elemental (see definition). Although Jean-Michel had stumbled upon Mabel’s abilities as a spirit witch, he delayed handing her over to the Prince in order to partake in her powers for himself and fooled Mabel into thinking he loved her. As a gift on her nineteenth birthday, Mabel asked Jean-Michel to transform her so they could be together for eternity. Mabel crossed over on June 22, 1751.

Angus and Kahli met in a Blood Palace in Victorian London, a few years prior to the opening of Midnight Savior (Book 5), where their love story is featured in this novel.

Known as the Prophetess, she is the Keeper of Secrets and was the head of the Archives for the Army of Light (see related term under Definitions). However, as a result of her machinations, her role was changed to Custodian of the Prophecy. As the Prophetess, she had an unnaturally long life, but was not immortal until she crossed over in 1532.

Her first appearance in the series is at the beginning of Midnight Captive (Book 2), where we learn about the Prophecy promising redemption for Vamsyrians.

Mikhail Vladimir is an Ancient Vamsyrian of Russian origin. He first appeared in Midnight Conquest (Book 1) as one of Vamsyrian Council Members presiding over Broderick MacDougal’s transformation. At the beginning of Midnight Eclipse (Book 4), he and his companions Rasheed Patel and Ammon Gahiji are forced to become henchmen for the Vamsyrian Prince, Jesse Amir.

Mikhail makes a brief appearance in the Bonded By Blood novella, Frostbitten Hearts, which is an Elemental love story of the real Jack Frost.

Peter is a sun wolf shifter and makes his first appearance in Midnight Eclipse (Book 4) as the best friend of Jericho Hunter. He meets Cordelia in this novel and reappears in Midnight Savior (Book 5) as co-manager of the London office of MacDougal Shipping Company, along with his wife Cordelia.

Rasheed Patel is an Ancient Vamsyrian of Indian origin. He first appeared in Midnight Conquest (Book 1) as one of Vamsyrian Council Members presiding over Broderick MacDougal’s transformation. At the beginning of Midnight Eclipse (Book 4), he and his companions Mikhail Vladimir and Ammon Gahiji are forced to become henchmen for the Vamsyrian Prince, Jesse Amir.

Rasheed makes an additional appearance in the Bonded By Blood novella, Frostbitten Hearts, which is an Elemental love story of the real Jack Frost.

Yes, this is indeed me poking fun at the POTUS, BUT let me put this in context for you. At the time I wrote this novel, Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump were both running for office. IF Hilary had won, she would have been the President I would have poked fun at, and the same circumstances would have happened. I would have made changes in the POTUS’s personality to reflect who won the election. I am an equal opportunity poker, and I am not picking sides. I am being a satirist.

While Angus was creating his Shielding Cloak (see definition below), he learned the hard way that drinking the blessed blood from an Army of Light member was like drinking acid. Luckily, only his mouth and chin were lightly burned and scarred. Through trial and error, he learned such a protection could be broken if the blessed person ingested the blood of a Vamsyrian (a.k.a. the blood of the cursed).

After Angus made an incision on an Army of Light member and drained the blood into a cup. Then he tainted them with his blood and fed from the members to learn as much as he could about the secrets of the Order. The information he gleaned (see related term in Definitions) was recorded in his personal journal, which he used against the Army of Light.

His attacks on the Order caused controversy between members about whether Vamsyrians should be enemies and hunted or protected. Those wishing to hunt the Vamsyrians became the majority and the Army of Light was “dissolved”. However, several members who still believed in giving Vamsyrians sanctuary until the Redemption went into hiding and operated in secret from the majority, now newly formed into the Illuminati (see related definition).

Because Broderick MacDougal knew the Hebrew Incantation (see related definition) to protect him and his family against Angus Campbell, Angus sought a way to break through that protection. In Midnight Hunt (Book 3), Angus hunts down Army of Light members, whose blood he uses to create a cloak of protection, shielding him from the damaging effects of the blessing.

The cloak and Angus’s Journal are recovered by Jesse Amir. Although Angus gets his journal back from Jesse while he is a “guest” of the Prince, the cloak is thought to have been burned and, thereby, useless.

The Bonded By Blood Vampire Chronicles borrows from Norse mythology to explain the origin of the wolf shifter characters Broderick encounters in Midnight Eclipse (Book 4). Celina Hunter (Davina’s 2nd incarnation) is a moon wolf shifter. Her people are descendants of the Norse wolf gods Manegarm (moon wolf) and Sköll (sun wolf) and the giantesses of the Ironwood forest. Moon wolves usually have black and/or silver hair, sun wolves have blond hair, and members of both races are typically six feet or more in height.

Solar Eclipse Ring

BACK

The Solar Eclipse ring was forged by the dwarves of Norse mythology and is comprised of the golden shards of the holy spear from Sol, the sun goddess, and a sunstone. The sunstone was specifically forged to protect the Sun Wolf Clan from Sol’s curse on the wolf family.

The Solar Eclipse ring essentially contains the powers of the sun from a metaphorical standpoint. As such, the wearer of the ring is granted related powers:

Some believe there are other powers that might not yet be apparent.

BACK

Lunar Eclipse Ring

BACK

The Lunar Eclipse ring was forged by the dwarves of Norse mythology and is comprised of the silver shards of the holy spear from Mani, the moon god, and a moonstone. The moonstone was specifically forged to protect the Moon Wolf Clan from Mani’s curse on the wolf family.

The Lunar Eclipse ring essentially contains the powers of the moon from a metaphorical standpoint. As such, the wearer of the ring is granted related powers:

Though borrowed from European lore for this grisly magical relic, the lore of the item briefly mentioned in this novel is connected to the Elementals. Here’s the definition of the fabled relic in Wikipedia...

A Hand of Glory is the dried and pickled hand of a male person who has been hanged, often specified as being the left (Latin: sinister) hand, or, if the man was hanged for murder, the hand that "did the deed."

Old European beliefs attribute great powers to a Hand of Glory combined with a candle made from fat from the corpse of the same malefactor who died on the gallows. The candle so made, lighted, and placed (as if in a candlestick) in the Hand of Glory, would have rendered motionless all persons to whom it was presented. ~Wikipedia description as of February 2020

The Hand of Glory is plotted as the first book of the upcoming series The Knightly Journals, which features James and Cailin Knightly and chronicles their many adventures recovering magical items.

A magical compass used to find any object. One only needs to hold the compass, concentrate on what they want to find, and the needle will point them in the right direction.

First introduced in Midnight Eclipse (Book 4) when Malloren Rune and Cordelia Lynn Harley show up with part of the magical relic. Malloren’s visions lead her to find the casing for the compass, but the needle is missing. Further visions lead her to Broderick, who unknowingly has the needle in his possession.

Revealed in Midnight Eclipse (Book 4), the Army of Light once kept secret locations containing various magical relics. When the splinter faction of the Illuminati was created, most of those treasure vaults ended up in the hands of the Illuminati. Mederic Beaumont was the monk who created the first treasure vault.