“Raven, look at me,” he commanded softly. She lifted her gaze to his face, to the black eyes that held hers. The same color as Jared’s eyes. The thought slid through her brain, but was supplanted by others, because at that moment Xeke smiled- or, not quite a smile, more a baring of teeth.

She watched as his top two canines elongated, sharpening until they became graceful fangs, obviously enough to pierce flesh.

Again she raised a hand to her throat, replaying the conversation they had just had through her mind, hearing again his lazy assurance, Don’t worry; I didn’t take enough to hurt you.

Things began finally to fall into place, everything from the ease with which Jared had dispatched Uncle George to Xeke’s apologetic statement in the hospital. Jared and I- much as I hate to begin any sentence with our names side by side- we belong to a different world than you do.

“You’re a vampire.”

Xeke nodded.

“Jared’s a vampire.”

Again, he nodded to her calm statement.

“Ash?”

“No. But he’s bloodbonded to me, which means he’s not quite human, either. Rasa and Isha, too.”

(continued)

The World
The world of Nyeusigrube overlaps ours; its timeline runs alongside ours. The difference lies in those breeds that are not quite human, not quite mortal, not quite... us. From the formless, elemental k'jait to the human sorcerers of the le Coire family, they are the denizens of a world that is just a little darker than the one we claim as ours.

Note: Content still to come. In the meantime, check out the Wiki (links in the header).

Elementals
The elementals are the only true immortals in Nyeusigrube. They are not gods, though they have at times masqueraded as such in order to be worshipped. In their natural forms, they can see and hear, and they can drift through the minds of mortals, but they cannot otherwise interact with the natural world. In order to gain a physical form, they must be bound to the mortal realm. Each elemental is bound in a different way: fire by blood; earth by flesh; air by breath; and water by tears.

Higher Nyeusi
The higher Nyeusi are the direct descendants of Zadre and Diosa, the human twins who made a deal with the fire elemental Leona, gaining a share of her immortality in exchange some of their mortality. Zadre’s descendants include Fariza, Siete and Triste. Diosa’s include Cera and Macht. Cera and Siete have a son, named Leben.

Lunar Vampires
The Lunar vampires are Siete’s creations. They are ageless, possessing enough of the elemental power to render them almost immortal... but they must maintain their mortal forms by feeding on blood.

Solar Vampires
The Solar vampires are Fariza’s creations. They are the descendants of the priests and priestesses who once worshipped her, during the days when she masqueraded as a goddess. They are not mentioned in any of the published works, and probably will not be.

Tristes
Tristes are the creations of Triste. They are very similar to vampires in many ways, also ageless, and in some ways even more powerful. Instead of ingesting blood, they are trained to feed on raw mortal power.

Macht Witches
The Macht witches are primarily the descendants of Macht’s children with a human man. They are mortal, and are born and live and breed and die like humans.

Elavie
The Elavie are, collectively, the many races of shapeshifters that have been created by Leben. They are featured most prominently in the Kiesha'ra Series.

Non-Nyeusi Notables
Though my books tend to focus on Leona's progeny, the Nyeusi, there are some powers worthy of note that come from other sources.

Ahnleh Pantheon
A multi-media presentation that proves the author was having a little too much fun with JavaScript... but which is written as an introduction to the pantheon of Ahnleh, worshipped by the Dasi, which is discussed in some detail in Falcondance. Best viewed on a PC with Internet Explorer, but all content should be accessible in other computers and browsers if you lack IE or have a moral objection to using it.



(continued)

“You bit me?”

Since she didn’t seem to have freaked out, he relaxed, now looking more amused than concerned. “Considering how long you’ve been with Jared, I figured it wouldn’t surprise you.”

“He’s never bitten me.”

“I apologize for the assumption.”

“It wasn’t a complaint,” she said quickly. “You think I would complain about anything you did today?”

“I think,” he replied evenly, “I could not begin to try to predict what you would or would not do."

-- Raven and Xeke
This Too Shall Pass