The Midnight Breed Series Companion (5 page)

[Author’s note: The presentation ceremony for Xander Raphael, Dante and Tess’s son, was shown in Chapter 28 of
Darker After Midnight
.]

Breed funerals

When it comes to paying respects to the fallen, Breed tradition dictates that the deceased be given up to the sun the first morning after his death. To prepare for this solemn event, the body of the dead is anointed with eight ounces of perfumed oil, wrapped from head to toe in eight layers of white silk, then taken outside by an appointed honor guard who will attend the body for eight minutes in full morning sunlight, before leaving the dead to burn to ash.

Prior to the release of the body, a ceremony is held, where the dead’s kith and kin, and his Breedmate if he had one, gather to pay their last respects. If the dead was not mated, his parents or siblings will speak to the gathering of his honor then say their good-byes.

If the dead was mated, his Breedmate will wear a hooded scarlet tunic, representative of her blood bond with the deceased. She will go to the body on the altar and speak the following words:
“This male was mine, and I was his. His blood sustained me. His strength protected me. His love fulfilled me in all ways. He was my beloved, my only one, and he will be in my heart for all eternity.”

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

The Breedmate will then accept a ceremonial blade from the officiant and carry it with her to the body of her mate. Private words of good-bye are spoken, not meant for outside ears, then the Breedmate scores her lip with the knife and places a bloodred kiss on the white silk covering the mouth of her beloved.

When she is ready to let him go, she moves aside and the Breed male appointed to carry the dead up to the daylight steps forward to begin his sober duty.

[Author’s note: Funeral rites were first depicted in
Kiss of Midnight,
Chapter 12, after Conlan’s death, and again in
Shades of Midnight,
Chapter 31, following Kade’s brother, Seth’s demise.]

Breedmate funerals

Breedmate funerals follow the ritual for those of the Breed, with the exception of how the body is released following the ceremony. Breedmates do not turn to ash under direct sunlight, so their remains must be cremated. Ritual dictates that a Breedmate’s ashes be kept by her mate until his death, if she has a mate, or with her Darkhaven family, if she dies unmated. The practice of keeping ashes is very old, and is usually followed only by the most traditional of Breed males.

Significance of Eight

The number eight, the symbol for infinity, is present in Breed rituals and in other aspects of Breed life throughout the series. In addition to eight factoring into birth and death rituals, it is also no accident that the Ancients arrived on Earth as a group of eight, or that the Order first formed with eight Gen One sons.

The Order

The founding of the Order

In the mid-1300s in Europe, violent attacks by the Ancients and Rogues were on the rise. A Gen One Breed named Lucan (Thorne) refused to stand by and let it go unmet. His mission took on a firmer, more resolute shape when his father, an Ancient, murdered Lucan’s mother in a fit of blood hunger gone too far. Lucan took his alien sire’s head that same night, then razed the family castle and declared all-out war on the remaining Ancients.

Original members

Joined with Lucan in this fight were seven other Gen One Breed males including Lucan’s eldest brother, Marek, a deadly individual named Tegan, and another of the original eight named Dragos (the elder). They succeeded in obliterating the last of the Ancients…all, save one, that is. But it was not until hundreds of years later—in modern times—that the secret of that hidden, surviving Ancient came to light.

Of the original founding members of the Order, four remain unnamed in the series, their current whereabouts unknown. Dragos the elder and Marek are both dead, the former having been killed during the time of the old war; the latter meeting his end at Tegan’s hand during the timeline of the series. Lucan and Tegan are both current members of the Order in present day.

Establishment of the Boston headquarters

The original eight members of the Order disbanded after the war with the Ancients had ended. They drifted apart, seeking their own paths in life, some never to be heard from again.

Lucan and Tegan were at odds following the abduction and death of Tegan’s first Breedmate, Sorcha, during the Middle Ages. The thread of friendship—of a brotherhood forged by war—stretched thin, then severed. Tegan wandered for many long years, spending some time in Germany and elsewhere, before resurfacing in the late 1890s to seek out Lucan once again.

As for Lucan, his personal mission following the war with the Ancients had been to combat Rogues wherever he found them. That goal eventually brought him to America, and in 1898, he decided to reform the Order with new members and establish a Boston headquarters, joined by a younger Breed male from London named Gideon. Tegan came on soon afterward, followed eventually by several other courageous modern-day warriors: Conlan, Dante, Rio, Nikolai, Kade, Brock, Hunter and Chase.

The secret, underground Boston compound thrived for more than one hundred years, until finally being compromised by one of the Order’s chief adversaries.

Glossary of Terms

Terms u
sed in the Series

(alphabetical order)

Ancient
   Term used to describe one of the eight male vampire-like conquerors from another world who crash-landed on Earth thousands of years ago and eventually sired the race of alien/human hybrid beings known as the Breed. The Ancients are not Breed, and vice versa.

Atlantean
   Term used to describe the race of male and female immortals who formed a secret, highly advanced colony on Earth thousands of years ago. This colony eventually came to be referred to in human mythology and legend as Atlantis. It was destroyed by the Ancients, in a catastrophic offensive strike that sent the Atlantean queen, her legion and subjects into hiding, where they remain to this day. A small number of Atlanteans defected from their colony over the years. It has recently been revealed that these defectors went on to father children with human women, creating the genetically and extrasensory gifted female offspring known as Breedmates.

blood bond
   The deep, unbreakable physical and emotional connection that forms between a Breed male and a Breedmate upon the exchange of ingested blood. A blood bond gives a Breed male added strength and healing power, and in a Breedmate, the bond enhances and stabilizes the power of her ESP talent, provides healing and nutritive strength and also gives her near immortal longevity. Blood bonded couples can sense heightened emotion in each other, and can sense their mate's presence and proximity in their veins. A blood bond initiates upon the first drink (whether it's a Breed male drinking from a Breedmate, or vice versa) and is sealed when the other member of the pair drinks from the other, completing the connection. A blood bond is severable only by death, even if only half of the bond has been initiated. For example, if a Breed male drinks from an unbonded Breedmate, he is inextricably connected to her, until one or the other of them dies. He cannot bind himself to another, and will sense this Breedmate in his blood for the duration of that bond. This same rule applies if a Breedmate drinks from an unbonded Breed male. Further, only blood bonded pairs are capable of conception.

blood club
   An illegal hunting sport, whereby Breed vampires collect a group of humans to be used as live game (see Renata, Mira) in a chase to the death. Blood clubs have long been outlawed, but there is still an element of the Breed who feel entitled to indulge their predator natures. The Order has broken up blood clubs during the course of the series.

Bloodlust
   An addiction in one of the Breed to drinking blood. Bloodlust is generally irreversible, but depending on the severity or length of the addiction, there have been rare instances of rehabilitation and cure (see Tegan, Sterling Chase). Once a Breed's Bloodlust passes the tipping point, where his blood system is fully corrupted by the disease and he can no longer control the transformation of his eyes or the presence of his fangs, he is considered to have gone Rogue and is beyond saving.

blood reader
   The ability to siphon thoughts or memories from the blood of the individual from whom one is drinking. This talent can work on humans, Breed, or Breedmates, in combination or exclusively one or the other (see Hunter, whose ability works on Breed and Breedmates, but not humans).

Breed
   The resulting offspring of an Ancient and a Breedmate. Like their alien forebears, the Breed lives on blood, possesses superhuman strength and speed, and can only be killed by prolonged sunlight exposure, decapitation, or catastrophic bodily injury. On the distaff side, a Breed male inherits his mother's eye, hair and skin coloring, as well as her unique Breedmate ESP talent. Breed offspring have always been born exclusively male due to the genetically dominant DNA of their Ancient fathers, however, experiments conducted in private by an individual named Dragos have resulted in the first laboratory-created Breed females (see Tavia Fairchild).

Breedmate
   The resulting offspring of an Atlantean male and a human woman. Called Breedmates because of their unique genetic and blood properties that make them capable of reproducing with one of the Breed, these women typically demonstrate flawless health and are psychically gifted in some unique way, and usually artistically gifted as well. Breedmates are born exclusively female due to the genetically dominant DNA of their Atlantean fathers.

Breedmate mark
   A small red birthmark present somewhere on the body of every Breedmate. The mark is a teardrop falling into the cradle of a crescent moon. This mark is also a significant symbol to the Atlantean culture. It has recently been revealed that Atlanteans bear this hidden symbol in their palm, an indication of their life's energy, which extinguishes with their death.