Immortals After Dark 03 - No Rest for the Wicked

gray eyes, the color of enduring summer storms. “I love you, Bastian.”
    “I’ll never tire of hearing that.” He nuzzled her ear and rasped against it, “Maybe one day you’ll come to love me as much as I do you.”
    She frowned and pushed up on his shoulders so they were facing each other. “I happen to adore you, vampire.” Her hands laced around his neck, and she twined her fingers in his hair. “No, I’m absolutely certain I love you more .”
    He grinned down at her, that half-grin that made her heart twist, then slowly rocked forward to fill her. “Tell yourself that, Valkyrie.” He leaned down to catch her gasp with his lips. “As much as you like.”

From the Book of Lore

    The Lore
    “... and those sentient creatures that are not human shall be united in one stratum, coexisting with, yet secret from, man’s.”

    The Valkyrie
    “When a maiden warrior screams for courage as she dies in battle, Wóden and Freya heed her call. The two gods give up lightning to strike her, rescuing her to their hall, and preserving her courage forever in the form of the maiden’s immortal Valkyrie daughter.”
    · Take sustenance from the electrical energy of the earth, sharing it in one collective power, and give it back with their emotions in the form of lightning.
    · Possess preternatural strength and speed.
    · Without training, they can be mesmerized by shining objects and jewels.
    · Also called Swan Maidens, Shield Maidens.
    · Enemies of the Horde.

    The Vampires
    · Two warring factions, the Vampire Horde and the Forbearer Army.
    · Each vampire seeks his Bride, his eternal wife, and walks as the living dead until he finds her.
    · A Bride will render his body fully alive, giving him breath and making his heart beat, a process known as blooding.
    · Tracing is teleporting, the vampires’ means of travel. A vampire can only trace to destinations he’s been to before.

    The Horde
    “In the first chaos of the Lore, a brotherhood of vampires dominated, by relying on their cold nature, worship of logic, and absence of mercy. They sprang from the harsh steppes of Dacia and migrated to Russia, though some say a secret enclave, the Daci, live in Dacia still.”
    · Distinguished by their red eyes, a side effect of drinking victims to death.
    · Enemies of most factions in the Lore.

    The Forbearers
    “... his crown stolen, Kristoff, the rightful Horde king, stalked the battlefields of antiquity seeking the strongest, most valiant human warriors as they died, earning him the name of Grave-walker. He offered eternal life in exchange for eternal fealty to him and his growing army.”
    · An army of vampires consisting of turned humans, who do not drink blood directly from the flesh.
    · Kristoff was raised as a human and then lived among them. He and his army know little of the Lore.
    · Enemies of the Horde.

    The Lykae Clan
    “A proud, strapping warrior of the Keltoi People (or Hidden People, later known as Celts) was taken in his prime by a maddened wolf. The warrior rose from the dead, now an immortal, with the spirit of the beast latent within him. He displayed the wolf’s traits: the need for touch, an intense loyalty to its kind, an animal craving for the delights of the flesh. Sometimes the beast rises... ”
    · Also called werewolves, war-wolds.
    · Enemies of the Horde.

    The Furiae
    “If you do evil, beg for punishment—before they come... ”
    · Ruthless she-warriors bent on delivering justice to evil men when they escape it elsewhere.
    · Led by Alecta the Unyielding One.
    · Also called Furies, Erinyes.

    The Berserkers
    “A berserker’s lonely life is filled with naught but battle rage and bloodlust... ”
    · A cadre of mortal warriors who swore allegiance to Wóden, known for their merciless brutality.
    · One of the few human orders to be recognized and accepted by the Lore.
    · Able to conjure the spirit of the bear, and channel its ferocity.

    The Sirenae
    “Near the sea’s edge, beware the siren’s song... ”
    · A female species of immortals, they can permanently mesmerize and enslave males who hear their singing.
    · Derive power from the sea and can’t be away from it for more than one cycle of the moon.

    The Wraiths
    “... their origin unknown, their presence chilling.”
    · Spectral, howling beings. Undefeatable and, for the most part, uncontrollable.
    · Also called the Ancient Scourge.

    The Demonarchies
    “The demons are as varied as the bands of man...