thunder and lightning.” The second Elder was Udama, of Sumerian origin, from Mesopotamia. The third was Ixtab, pronounced “Esh tahb.” She bore the name of the Mayan Goddess of “suicide by rope,” which, for some reason for these folks, was an honorable way to go.
I had already knew the last two: Kyrill and Baldur. Kyrill came from the Byzantine Empire, and Baldur was from these parts—what a shocker, I thought cynically.
The noble families came from first offspring of the male Elders. Two families from Sango’s blood, then one per each of the other Elders—Udama, Kyrill and Baldur. Which came to five, but I remembered Matthews saying there were six noble families in the Council. Ixtab didn’t count because female vampires can’t bear any children. So, who was the head of the sixth family?
The next pages of the book covered wars, led among or against people. Humans, that is. Wars against humans were mainly caused by the Rogues—vampires who had originally been human and had been turned by other vampires. During the Middle Ages, there came a schism that divided the higher ranked vampires on the issue of the Rogues. While most vampires didn’t approve of the Rogues’ uncontrolled violence, they weren’t all in favor of the extinction of the Rogues—which was the implicit policy of some nobles. And all that led to the biblical phrases, “brother shall deliver up brother to death,” and “the most rotten fruit of all,” which, in this case, was the Holy weapon.
The Holy weapon was a well-kept secret, previously unknown to most vampires and preserved for the day when humanity would reach a pre-foreseen number and become a true threat to vampire communities. In the case of some sort of Crusade-type war being launched against them, vampires would have, as their defense, the Holy weapon. And the kicker was—this Holy weapon was the Vocati! What an irony. However, the weapon wasn’t actually used against humans, but against opponents within their own race, which seemed like a very human thing to do, keeping the whole history in mind. And it made me rethink the emphasis that the vamps liked to put on their higher morals.
Vocati were the dead who had been awakened by the hand of a Priest who knew the secret of the weapon. They should have been fed with human blood to ensure that they would become our deadly enemies. But the Priest gave them a significant amount of vampire blood, and let Chrysiridia rhipheus —the prettiest of the day moths—enter their bodies. This allowed the spirit, the body, and the mind to form into newly-risen creatures.
The Chrysiridia rhipheus moth was a rare species that still lived in Madagascar; locals called it Lolonandriana , or “the king’s spirit .” That’s why Vocati called the moth tattoo they each had on the back of their necks Lolo, meaning spirit. The Latin name Vocati means “called upon.”
With the help of this new form of mind and spirit, the Priest had created obedient Warriors who were faster and stronger than any vampire. He summoned four of them to attack the four noble families who were pro-extinction of the Rogues. Unskilled to fight these superior opponents, the vampire Warriors had fallen like flies. Unthinkable massacres had occurred. Four of the six noble families survived. Afterwards, Sango fell into a coma, probably from shock, though the book didn’t say why. Udama and Ixtab were killed, but since these Elders were immortals, they entered a form of slumber. And that was the answer to my question about active/inactive vampire Elders, and it comprised almost the entire book.
Later that night, I dreamed of the morose man from the hotel lobby. Even though I knew now that he was a killing machine, I couldn’t shake off the ache that I had felt in his eyes. Was that a trick? Or was it the silver Baldur and Blake had mentioned? In the dream, he sat at a table, all crooked and drained. In a small vase in front of him was a yellow flower. He sat like
I had already knew the last two: Kyrill and Baldur. Kyrill came from the Byzantine Empire, and Baldur was from these parts—what a shocker, I thought cynically.
The noble families came from first offspring of the male Elders. Two families from Sango’s blood, then one per each of the other Elders—Udama, Kyrill and Baldur. Which came to five, but I remembered Matthews saying there were six noble families in the Council. Ixtab didn’t count because female vampires can’t bear any children. So, who was the head of the sixth family?
The next pages of the book covered wars, led among or against people. Humans, that is. Wars against humans were mainly caused by the Rogues—vampires who had originally been human and had been turned by other vampires. During the Middle Ages, there came a schism that divided the higher ranked vampires on the issue of the Rogues. While most vampires didn’t approve of the Rogues’ uncontrolled violence, they weren’t all in favor of the extinction of the Rogues—which was the implicit policy of some nobles. And all that led to the biblical phrases, “brother shall deliver up brother to death,” and “the most rotten fruit of all,” which, in this case, was the Holy weapon.
The Holy weapon was a well-kept secret, previously unknown to most vampires and preserved for the day when humanity would reach a pre-foreseen number and become a true threat to vampire communities. In the case of some sort of Crusade-type war being launched against them, vampires would have, as their defense, the Holy weapon. And the kicker was—this Holy weapon was the Vocati! What an irony. However, the weapon wasn’t actually used against humans, but against opponents within their own race, which seemed like a very human thing to do, keeping the whole history in mind. And it made me rethink the emphasis that the vamps liked to put on their higher morals.
Vocati were the dead who had been awakened by the hand of a Priest who knew the secret of the weapon. They should have been fed with human blood to ensure that they would become our deadly enemies. But the Priest gave them a significant amount of vampire blood, and let Chrysiridia rhipheus —the prettiest of the day moths—enter their bodies. This allowed the spirit, the body, and the mind to form into newly-risen creatures.
The Chrysiridia rhipheus moth was a rare species that still lived in Madagascar; locals called it Lolonandriana , or “the king’s spirit .” That’s why Vocati called the moth tattoo they each had on the back of their necks Lolo, meaning spirit. The Latin name Vocati means “called upon.”
With the help of this new form of mind and spirit, the Priest had created obedient Warriors who were faster and stronger than any vampire. He summoned four of them to attack the four noble families who were pro-extinction of the Rogues. Unskilled to fight these superior opponents, the vampire Warriors had fallen like flies. Unthinkable massacres had occurred. Four of the six noble families survived. Afterwards, Sango fell into a coma, probably from shock, though the book didn’t say why. Udama and Ixtab were killed, but since these Elders were immortals, they entered a form of slumber. And that was the answer to my question about active/inactive vampire Elders, and it comprised almost the entire book.
Later that night, I dreamed of the morose man from the hotel lobby. Even though I knew now that he was a killing machine, I couldn’t shake off the ache that I had felt in his eyes. Was that a trick? Or was it the silver Baldur and Blake had mentioned? In the dream, he sat at a table, all crooked and drained. In a small vase in front of him was a yellow flower. He sat like
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