The Midnight Breed Series Companion (4 page)

Across the proverbial tracks from all three of the above, are the Rogues. These guys are the outlaws, gangbangers, boneheads and other low-lifes of the vampire world. They are addicts living in anarchy, acting on impulse, whether that's to feed or rape or kill. Rogues skulk like vermin around human settlements, mainly larger cities, where the hunting is plentiful. Like human narcotic addicts, Bloodlusting Rogues have no personal pride, no care for how they live. Consequently, they generally live in filth and decay. They also kill humans openly, just one of their most unforgivable offenses, as this behavior could jeopardize the security of the entire Breed nation.

Breed life events: Birth, blood bonds and death

Breed gestation is nine months, similar to a human pregnancy. Unlike humans, however, Breed newborns feed on their mother’s blood, not milk or formula. The infant is born with tiny fangs and can nurse from his Breedmate mother’s blood (wrist, generally, not breast) until the time he is old enough and strong enough to hunt for a blood Host on his own—typically around four or five years old.

At puberty, a Breed male’s feeding habits become more complicated. Now, feeding from a Breedmate will result in a blood bond to that female—a physical and psychic connection that, once initiated, cannot be broken except by death.

A Breed male can live an almost immortal lifespan, often many centuries. If he takes a Breedmate, his blood bond will allow her to live as long as him—barring any incident or accident that could kill her. An injured Breed male (or Breedmate) can be aided dramatically in healing, sometimes even brought back from the brink of death, if he or she drinks from the other at the time of injury.

Breedmates

A Breedmate is a mortal female with unique blood and DNA properties that allow for reproduction between her eggs and vampire sperm. Breedmates are distinguishable physically by the small teardrop-and-crescent-moon birthmark they are each born with somewhere on their bodies. Breedmates are also naturally physically fit and immune from illness in all stages of life, although on their own, they are not immortal. A Breedmate requires a blood bond with one of the Breed in order for her aging to cease.

Breedmates typically exhibit varieties of extrasensory abilities, but these abilities are often sporadic and/or difficult for her to control or master unless and until she forms a blood bond with one of the Breed. These females are also very often gifted artistically or creatively in some fashion.

Physical traits of the Breedmate

Breedmate physical appearances are as varied as human women all over the world. Breedmates can be born in all corners of the world, so ethnically they represent many kinds of women and cultures. What Breedmates share in common is their birthmark, and the presence of a blood scent that is unique to each woman.

Breedmate blood scents are detectable by members of the Breed, but generally not distinguishable to less-developed human olfactory senses. Breedmate blood scents are attractive to the Breed, sometimes even aphrodisiacal.

Although Breedmates can and do bite their Breed lovers to drink their blood, Breedmates do not have fangs or blood thirst, nor do they develop either after the blood bond with a Breed male. They do not have dermaglyphs or elliptical pupils.

The Breedmate mark

The Breedmate birthmark is a small red symbol, present somewhere on the body of every Breedmate. The mark itself is in the shape of a teardrop falling into the cradle of a crescent moon.

The Breedmate mark represents the blood bond (teardrop is actually a blood drop) and the fertility cycle of a Breedmate, which is the period of the waxing and waning (crescent) moons. The symbol is also representative of the act of conception, when the Breed male’s blood and seed are accepted by the chalice of the Breedmate’s body.

Breedmate talents

Breedmate ESP talents range from simple mind-reading and emotive perception, to more powerful gifts such as sonokinesis, pyrokinesis, and the ability to either restore life or rescind it with a touch. A Breedmate’s talent will strengthen, along with her ability to wield and control it, once she is blood-bonded to a Breed male.

During pregnancy with a Breed offspring, a Breedmate’s talent will diminish and not resume until the birth of her child. Whatever unique talent a Breedmate possesses, it is inherited by her Breed offspring.

Breedmate origins

[Author’s note: The following is another example of world-building and background information that hasn’t (yet?) made it into any of the novels themselves. I decided to include it here because it helps paint a picture of the dark, early days of the Breed’s genesis on Earth.]

In the early ages, human females who bore the spawn of their alien rapists often routed out the gestating seed, or, on their own or at the pressing of worried family, made sure the infant abominations did not survive their births. The first Gen Ones were considered devil babies, and treated as such. The few Gen Ones who were spared maternal slaying, were often abandoned in the wild to be consumed by their first sunrise, or if sheltered in dark caves, by slow starvation for blood.

Stories of these “demonic” rapes and resulting cursed births were passed down as warnings from woman to woman, until, finally, a small number of pregnant Breedmates found each other and formed a pact to protect themselves—and their children—from the superstitions of humankind and the monstrous savagery of their babies' then-presumed demon fathers. These women loved their babies regardless of their origins, and banded together in secret, hidden enclaves.

Circa 1000 CE. One rare exception to the aliens-as-rapists dynamic was Lucan's own parents. His Breedmate mother and Ancient father actually came to care for one another. Narok (the father) separated himself from the rest of his kind and, for a time, made a home with his lover (Etain). Tragically, Narok's alien genes proved too strong, and he ended up killing Etain while feeding from her in a state of severe physical injury following a battle.
[Author’s note: This incident was referenced more than once in the novels, however, in compiling this Companion, I realized I never specifically mentioned Lucan’s parents by their names in the novels. I’ve included it here because I thought readers might find it interesting to have this info.]

As the series evolved, it has been revealed that Breedmates are not merely human women born with inexplicable genetic properties and true ESP talents. They are, in fact, the daughters of mortal,
Homo sapiens
women and men from a hidden, immortal race of beings popularized in human mythology as Atlanteans.

Breedmate life events: Blood bonds, child-rearing and death

A Breedmate’s life expectancy is equivalent to a human female’s, unless and until the Breedmate forms a blood bond with one of the Breed. Then, she will cease aging at her prime (roughly the age of thirty) and remain youthful for the duration of her blood bond.

A blood bond provides all the nourishment a Breedmate needs to live, although they can (and do) continue to enjoy human food when they wish, unlike the Breed, who cannot consume human food except in extremely small quantities and only in rare instances.

Breedmates nourish their young with blood, not by breastfeeding or synthetics. A Breed child will drink from his mother’s vein (usually the wrist) from the moment of his birth until around the time he is four or five years old and able to hunt and feed on his own. If a Breedmate mother should die before the child is ready to be weaned, a Breedmate surrogate can feed him.

If a Breedmate’s partner should be killed, her blood bond is broken and her body will resume aging unless she takes another Breed male as her mate. A widowed Breedmate never loses her place in the vampire community, even if she loses her mate.

As the widow of a Breed male, she has a couple of options. She can choose to continue to live without taking another mate from within the community. This will mean that her human biology will kick back into gear, and she will begin to age normally (and eventually die) like any other human. Alternatively, a widowed Breedmate can decide to take another mate at some point in time. She would then begin a new blood bond with that Breed male. Her aging process would again slow and cease, reverting back to her youthful prime, should she be advancing in physical age at the time of the new bond.

Rituals

Mating and fertility

There is no true “wedding” among Breed males and their Breedmates. The blood bond and the binding ceremony are the closest they have to the human equivalent of a wedding. There are no papers, religion, or legalities involved; only a heartfelt commitment and a pledge to share the rest of their lives together—a sacred, eternal vow sealed with blood. This is an intensely private, intimate affair between the mated pair only. It isn't until after a formal binding is complete that the couple announces to friends and/or family. The binding is a cause for celebration, and, given its intense sexual nature, a cause for ruthless ribbing amongst the Breed males of the community.

The binding ceremony is a symbolic and literal declaration that the mated pair intends to live for each other from this night forward. The ceremony is conducted during the eve of a crescent moon, with the mated pair sneaking off to some undisclosed location where they will make love beneath the crescent moon, exchange blood (may or may not be for the first time) and pledge their undying devotion.

[Author’s note: Lucan and Gabrielle’s binding ceremony was shown in Chapter 34, the closing scene of
Kiss of Midnight
.]

Infant presentation ceremony

Breed tradition dictates that by the eighth night after an infant’s birth, he should be formally named and presented by his parents to the members of their Darkhaven. In contrast to the binding ceremony and blood bond, the infant presentation ceremony is a public affair and great cause for celebration. Godparents are designated and present for this ritual, as they will be responsible for the upbringing of the child, should anything happen to his mother and father before the infant is old enough to feed and support himself.

As part of the ritual, the baby is presented to the gathering by an officiant who asks,
“Who brings this child before us tonight?”

The parents reply that they do, and announce the baby’s name. They then take the infant and hold him up for all to see, with the couple reciting in unison:

“This babe is ours. With our love, we have brought him into this world. With our blood and lives we sustain him, and keep him safe from all harm. He is our joy and promise, the perfect expression of our eternal bond, and we are honored to present him to you, our kin.”

To which, the gathered reply,
“You honor us well.”

From there, the officiant then asks,
“Who pledges to protect this child with blood and bone and final breath should duty call upon it?”

The godparent (or godparents) come forward and reply,
“We do.”

To conclude the ceremony, the officiant places the infant in a cloth cradle made of strips of white silk, woven together at the start of the ceremony and now held suspended by the child’s parents. The Breed godparent then bites his own wrist (and that of his Breedmate, if he has one) and let their blood drip onto the baby’s naked body, signifying their commitment to surrender their lives for the protection of his.