THE ORDER
“The immortal takers. Once captured by the Order, immortals do not return. …”
*A multinational mortal operation created to study—and exterminate—nonhumans.
*Thought to be an urban legend.
THE VAMPIRES
*The Fallen are vampires who have killed by drinking a victim to death. Distinguished by their red eyes.
*Tracing is teleporting, the vampires’ means of travel. A vampire can only trace to destinations he’s previously been or to those he can see.
THE TURNING
“Only through death can one become an ‘other.’”
*Some beings can turn a human or even other Lore creatures into their kind through differing means, but the catalyst for change is always death, and success is not guaranteed.
THE ACCESSION
“And a time shall come to pass when all immortal beings in the Lore, from the Valkyrie, vampire, Lykae, and demon factions to the witches, shifters, fey, and sirens … must fight and destroy each other.”
*A kind of mystical checks-and-balances system for an ever-growing population of immortals.
*Occurs every five hundred years. Or right now …
PROLOGUE
Hark! Hear this tale, the legend of Aidan the Fierce and Reginleit the Radiant One, a pair of lovers both bound and cursed by fate.
It begins, as many legends do, with a destined meeting—this one between an immortal girl who would never know death and a jaded mortal man who lived only to kill.
Theirs is a story of woe and warning. Take heed and listen well. …
The Northlands