certa: A place of ice and clarity, where sensation is sharp enough to cut and action flows too swiftly for thought. It’s a battle state; sensations heightened, thought clear but altered. Opposite of furo.
drei: Tithe or head tax; it’s a percentage of income or wealth given to the clan.
du: Honor, face, history, reputation; has magical component. Predates Latin.
firnam: Derivation unknown; a memorial for one fallen in battle.
fratriodi: Brother-hate. A grave sin among the lupi.
furo: Also called “the fury.” 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) and 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 mantle, 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 m.—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).
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 (m). From surdus (deaf, unwilling to hear, insensible).
T’eius ven: The intimate or informal form of V’eius ven.
terra tradis: The 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.
Unusual (non-Latin) words fromBlood Challenge
Binai: The race of Arjenie’s half sister, Dya. They live in one of the sidhe realms.
Divina’hueli: A sidhe kin name. Eledan is also related to this family, but is not considered a member.
Jidar: From the Binee language. It denotes kinship where there are no blood ties. In our world, for example, a mother-in-law or a stepsister would be considered jidar relatives. Dya’s Binai family considers Arjenie—who is sister to their daughter—a jidar relation.
Sha’almuireli: A sidhe kin name, one of the Hundred. (The sidhe use only a hundred surnames.) Arjenie’s father, Eledan, is a member of the Sha’almuireli.