GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Biel Core: A Black orb used by the Family, to generate power.
Biter: A human infected with Nero Disease. Biters are extremely violent and only eat the flesh of healthy humans. Also called the Infected, Fleshers, and Flesh eaters.
Bean Vine: The wisteria plant. Also called Strangle Weed by the Family.
Black List: The list of people or items empirics are sent to retrieve.
Blue light: See Pulse.
Burnfruit: A brown fruit indigenous to the Family’s realm.
Cohort: Small unit of the Family, traveling together.
The Cure: Euphemism for killing a biter.
D’cara: An insult in the dialect.
Den: Houses or accommodations used by the Family while on earth.
The Dialect: The language spoken by the Family.
Elders: See Seven Elders.
Eminent: Title given to the Famila by the Thayns.
Empiric: A Famila trained to conduct special investigations.
Famila: A member of the Family’s race.
Favorite: A Thayn selected to serve a Famila closely.
Faycard: Device used by the Family to renew humans. It looks like a playing card. The faycard was a powerful focal point of the energy used by one of the Famila. Can also be used for playing simple tricks on children and humans.
Flesh Eaters: Another term for biter.
Flesher: Another term for biter.
Great Walk: The rite of passage every male in the Family must go through. It lasts 1,000 days.
Haro Caste: The fourth caste in the Family and the lowest. They work with the Thayns.
The High Street: The main business street of a town. The British version of Main Street.
Ino Caste: The highest caste of the Family and made up of the leaders.
Ilac Caste: The second caste; they include warriors and soldiers.
Jade Ocean: A green ocean near the Family’s home.
Journeying: To travel between realms via the thresholds.
Liege: The master /mistress of a Thayn. The person who renewed them and to whom the Thayns are loyal.
Mosroc: A deep emotional and mental bond between two people in the Family.
Motorway: The British word for highway.
Nero Disease: A sickness that causes humans to turn into biters. Also called Nero Plague, the madness, or Nero illness.
OBE: Stands for Order of the British Empire. An honor given by the King or Queen of England.
Obsidian Coral: Red coral used by the Family that enables them to journey through thresholds without dying, as thresholds are very dangerous and will rip any traveler apart.
Obsidian Crystal: Synthetic obsidian coral, deadly if used to travel through thresholds.
Pillar: A clan within the Family. There are seven Pillars in the Family. Each Pillar has four castes.
Piron Net: An artifact used by the Family to conceal their dens on Earth from humans.
Pulse: A blue light that emanates from the family. The blue light has many uses including: converting of humans to Thayns, healing the injured Family, and sometimes healing humans.
Prime: The first child and heir of a Sen.
Qwaynide: An insult in the Family Dialect.
Regeneration: A period of long rest during which Famila heal themselves.
Renewal: The process of turning humans to Thayns.
Sandwine: A strong beverage.
Sha: Okay in Yoruba.
Shana (singular and plural): Tattoo-like dots on some Famila.
Sen: A chief and head of a Family Pillar.
Sen-Son: The son of a Sen.
The Seven Elders: The heads of the seven Houses of the Family. Also referred to as the Seven or Elders.
Sixth Form: English equivalent to the American 11th and 12th Grades. Sixth Form takes two years to complete.
Sleepwalker: What some humans call Thayns.
Strangle weeds: What the Family calls Bean Vine.
Terra: The Famila word for Earth.
Terran: What the Family calls humans. It means Dirt people.
Thayn: A human who has been turned into a devoted follower of the Family by being renewed. Also called Sleepwalker.
Threshold: A Gateway used by the family to travel between realms.
Vappa: Means jerk or ass in the Family’s DialectYear Eleven: English equivalent to the American 10th Grade.
