Abilities/Disabilities
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Alcohol: It is impossible for vampyres to become drunk by consuming alcohol. (M)
Recovery: Vampyres have the ability to recover quickly after injury. (M)
Sun: Vampyres do not burn in the sun, but the sun does make them extremely uncomfortable. Therefore, they prefer to avoid it as much as possible. (M)
Time: Vampyres always know what time it is. (M)
Truth: It is impossible to lie to an Adult Vampyre when asked a direct question. (M)
Appearance
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Appearance: Adult vampyres are incredibly good looking (M); Vampyre hair & fingernails grow abnormally fast (M)
Tattoos: Fledglings are Marked with the sapphire-blue outline of a crescent moon on their forehead. Once a Fledgling completes the Change into an adult vampyre, the crescent moon is filled in and expanded by a tattoo pattern that extends across the forehead and wraps around the cheekbones. Each tattoo is unique and represents the gift given to them by Nyx. (M)
Bloodlust & Sexuality
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Bloodlust & Sexuality: Though the frequency of need differs depending upon age, sex, and general strength of the vampyre, adults must periodically feed on human blood to remain healthy and sane. It is, therefore, logical that evolution, and our beloved Goddess, Nyx, have insured the blood drinking process is a pleasurable one, both for the vampyre and the human donor. As we have already learned, vampyre saliva acts as an anticoagulant for human blood. Vampyre saliva also secretes endorphins during blood drinking, which stimulate the pleasure zones of the brain, human and vampyre, and can actually simulate orgasm...The older the vampyre, the more endorphins are released during blood drinking, and the more intense the experience of pleasure for vampyre and human.
Vampyres have speculated for centuries that the ecstasy of blood drinking is the key reason humans have vilified our race. Humans feel threatened by our ability to bring them such intense pleasure during an act they consider dangerous and abhorrent, so they have labeled us as predators, the truth, of course, is that vampyres can control their bloodlust, so there is little physical danger to human donors. The danger lies in the Imprinting that often occurs during the ritual of blood drinking. (B)
Fledglings & Blood: Fledglings usually do not experience bloodlust until their 6th Former year. A few have experienced it as early as their 5th Former year. Fledglings are forbidden from drinking human blood. (M)
Cats
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Cats: Cats share a special alliance with vampyres. The cats in the House of Night choose who they want to be with. They are not owned as pets. (M)
Dark Daughters
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Dark Daughters: Dark Daughters is a group made up mostly of upperclassmen that are in charge of school spirit. It is a pro-school, pro-vampyre organization. The leader of the Dark Daughters is being groomed for High Priestess (she's supposed to be the heart, mind and spirit of the school). (M) When Zoey becomes the leader of the Dark Daughters, it is said that members must possess five characteristic affiliated with the elements - authentic for air, faithful for fire, wise for water, empathetic for earth and sincere for spirit. (B)
Imprinting
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Imprinting: An Imprint between vampyre and human does not occur every time a vampyre feeds. Many studies have been performed to try to determine exactly why some humans Imprint and some do not, but though there are several determining factors, such as emotional attachment, relationship between the human and the vampyre pre-Change, age sexual orientation, and frequency of blood drinking, there is no way to predict with certainty whether a human will Imprint with a vampyre. (B)
Imprinting (Fledgling - Vampyre): Due to the possibility of Imprint, fledglings are prohibited from drinking the blood of human donors, but they may experiment with each other. It has been proven that fledglings cannot imprint one another. However, it is possible for an adult vampyre to imprint a fledgling, this leads to emotional and physical complications once the fledgling completes the Change that are often not beneficial for either vampyre; therefore, blood drinking between fledgling and adult vampyre is strictly prohibited. (B)
Life at the House of Night
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Class ranks: Instead of Freshmen, Sophomores, etc. classes in the House of Night are called Formers (Third Formers through Sixth Formers). Fledglings wear signs affiliated with their class (M):
- Third Formers - Silver Labyrinth of Goddess Nyx
- Fourth Formers - Wings of Eros
- Fifth Formers - Nyx's Golden Chariot pulling trail of stars
- Sixth Formers - Three Fates
Leaving: When fledglings leave the House of Night, they must cover their Mark with concealer (B) and they cannot wear any part of the school uniform. They also must stay in close proximity with adult vampyres or the Change will escalate after a few hours and the body will begin to reject it, leading to death. (B)
School hours: Classes at the House of Night go from 8:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. The gym is open until dawn (the time of dawn is posted in classrooms, common rooms and gathering areas). Nyx's temple is always open. (M)
The Mark & The Change
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Change: Once Marked, a fledgling must report directly to the House of Night where, over the next few years, he or she will make the transformation into an adult vampyre. About ten percent of Marked fledglings' bodies reject the Change, and they die. (M)
Mark: The mark is sapphire-blue crescent moon outline that is placed on the middle of the forehead by a Tracker when a fledgling is called by Nyx to make the Change into a vampyre. Once Marked, a new fledgling must report to the House of Night as soon as possible. When a fledgling completes the Change, the crescent moon fills in and additional markings span the rest of the face. (M)
Name Choice: Once Marked, vampyre fledglings can choose which name to go by in their new life. (M)
Tracker: The Tracker Marks new vampire fledglings. (M)
Nyx & Rituals
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Affinities: Nyx gifts the High Priestesses with one or more affinity. (M)
House of Night School-wide Rituals: The school holds a formal ritual twice a week. (M)
Nyx: Vampyres worship Nyx, the goddess who is known as Night personified. (M)
Pentagram: The pentagram is a five-pointed star. Four points stand for the elements and the fifth point, which points up, stands for the spirit. (M)
Ritual: The customary ritual begins with the calling of the elements - air, fire, water, earth and spirit. The leader of the ceremony then speaks, giving what could be considered a sermon. Next wine is passed around and shared amongst those in the circle. Finally the circle is closed, and the ritual leader concludes the ritual with the words "Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again." (M)
Samhain: Samhain occurs at the end of the harvest season, and is the time to remember vampyre ancestors. It is the night when the veil between life and death is thinnest and spirits may walk the earth. Humans may know this celebration more commonly as Halloween. (M)
Yule: Yule is celebrated during the Christmas season as part of Winter Solstice. (C)
Role in World
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Arts: Vampyres dominate the arts - acting, dancing, music and writing. (M)
Wealth: Vampyres are incredibly wealthy. (M)
Signs of Respect
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Bowing: Vampyres bow and cross their fists over their hearts as a sign of respect. (M)
Greeting: Much like the shaking of hands, vampyres greet and show respect by shaking forearms, a custom acquired from the Amazons. (M)
Warriors
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Sons of Erebus: The Sons of Erebus are elite vampyre warriors. (C)
(HON) = House of Night Series Official Site; (M) = Marked; (B) = Betrayed; (C) = Chosen; (U) = Untamed; (H) = Hunted
