Lupi 09 - Mortal Ties

Battle fury or madness. Clanless lupi are especially subject
     to it, but it can happen to those within a clan, though it’s rare.
    gens amplexi
: literally, “clan embrace”; ceremony of adoption into clan. From
gens
(clan, tribe, people) +
amplexor
(embrace, welcome, love).
    gens compleo
: literally, “clan to fill up or complete”; the ceremony in which a young lupus (at
     age twenty-four) is confirmed as an adult clan member.
    gens subicio
:
subicio
means “to put under or expose; to subject; to place near or present.” When one Rho
     dies and a new one assumes the mantles, a
gens subicio
is held at which each member of a clan presents himself to his new Rho and ritually
     submits.
    Lu Nuncio: normally, a Rho’s acknowledged heir; also acts as enforcer/prosecutor/second-in-command
     as needed. (Note: Leidolf has separated the heir from the Lu Nuncio.)
Nuncio
is from
nuncupo
—“to name or pronounce solemnly.” Derivation of
lu
unknown, but may be short form of
lupi
.
    nadia
: mate (fem.); from
nodus -i
(masc.)—a knot; a girdle; any tie, bond, connection, obligation; also a knotty point
     or difficulty.
    ospi: out-clan friend or friend of the clan; from
hospes
(host, guest—friend, stranger).
    pernato
: a lupus who didn’t have a lupus father. A
pernato
is lupi because of recessives in both parents’ genes. (Also called throwbacks or
     lost ones, if one occurs that the lupi weren’t tracking. Term first mentioned in
Blood Challenge
.)
    Rhej: the title of a clan’s bard/historian/priestess. Also predates Latin.
    Rho: the ruler/leader of a lupus clan. Derivation unknown; legend says it predates Latin.
    seco
: part of “to call
seco
”—to call the ceremony that removes a lupus from his clan.
    surdo
: an unflattering name for humans (masc.). From
surdus
(deaf, unwilling to hear, insensible).
    t’eius ven
: the intimate or informal form of
v’eius ven.
    terra tradis
: t he private area where a clan’s male youngsters go before their First Change and live
     until they learn control.
Tradis
is a bastardized form of
trado
(to bequeath, to teach), so it means “the teaching ground.”
    thranga
: a form of war in which the clans unite under a single battle leader against a common
     enemy; traditionally it requires the Lady’s summons, but the nature of that summons
     may be disputed. Predates Latin.
    v’eius ven
: probably derived from a phrase meaning “go in her [the Lady’s] grace,” though some
     sources suggest
ven
may be from
venor
(hunt) rather than
venia
(grace), or even from
vena
(blood vessel or penis). This form is largely ceremonial.
    vesceris corpi: a major insult—translates literally as “eater of corpses” and implies taking a certain
     carnal pleasure in the act.
    Lupi: the Clans
    There are currently twenty-four clans; ten of them are considered dominant. Four of
     the ten dominants are in the United States; two are in Canada; one is in Africa; one
     is in Great Britain; one is in Sweden; one is in the Italian Alps; and one is in eastern
     Europe.
    A dominant clan possesses an especially strong mantle. Occasionally a dominant clan
     will accept temporarysubordinate status to another clan, as Kyffin did with Nokolai in Book 1; it’s still
     considered dominant because the mantle is unaffected. A clan loses dominant status—and
     may lose its mantle and identity—when it loses a Clan Challenge. Clan Challenges are
     rare and can mean outright war, but fundamentally they are a contest between the clans’
     mantles and may be settled by individual combat between the two Rhos. All but two
     of the nondominant clans are subordinated to one of the dominants. Nondominant clans
     are small, since the size of the clan has an effect on the strength of its mantle,
     and vice versa. Etorri is the exception. It’s very small, yet its mantle is extremely
     powerful.
    The most powerful clans currently are Nokolai and Leidolf, closely followed by Ybirra.
     Etorri wields great influence based on its
du
, but it lacks direct power because of its small size.
    Below are the ten dominant clans:
    United States
    Nokolai: Rule’s clan. Rho: Isen Turner. Rhej: Hannah. Originally from the Brittany region
     of France. Nokolai is the fourth largest clan (Leidolf, Ybirra, and Mondoyo are larger)
     and has the most subordinate clans—four, with two in the United States (Laban and
     Vochi)—and is the most wealthy. Clanhome is in southern California.
    Leidolf: A numerous clan, traditional enemies