Children of Night and Snow

Vocabulary + Book 2 Update

First book is over, but the story isn't and while you wait, I have a little something for you, which will become useful especially as we head into the second part of the story - a little breakdown of various terms. There are many werewolf themed books out there and every author works with the lore slightly differently. I am no exception to this, so I figured I will create a vocabulary which should help expand the story just a bit more. I'm also adding a map of the World where our heroes live. And lastly, at the very end of this update, there is some info regarding book 2 so definitely check it out!

Summerlands:

Population: Summerlands population consists of humans and inhumans alike. While the majority of settlements are human, you could encounter witches, fairies, werewolves and an occasional mermaid if you are visiting Southern or Southeastern shores. That's because the continent was originally home to inhumans first, specifically Elves - now extinct ancient race and ancestors to fairies and vampires. It was only in recent millenia that humans took over, creating a majority on the peaceful continent.

Werewolves: There are roughly 3000 werewolves living in Summerlands at the time of our story start. Vast majority of them resides in the town of Moonvalley, a mountain locked picturesque town in central Summerlands where sun rarely goes down and its residents get to enjoy beautiful warm weather all year long. Local woods are perfect to let their wolf souls run free in the wild, that is if they manage to summon their wolf part at all.

Under an old peace treaty, Southern werewolves suppressed their predatory nature, therefore they lost many abilities which came with their heritage. They grow to the usual heights of regular humans, cannot control their shifts (some never shift at all), and their senses are slightly better than humans. They are naturally talented hunters.

Alpha: This is a hereditary title which was passed down from generation to generation all the way from the original ancestor Alexander who brought a group of werewolves from Winterlands and settled in Moonvalley. To challenge the Alpha and his authority is considered the ultimate treason and is punishable by death or by exile. In the werewolf society of Summerlands, this is considered the worst possible crime.

Mate: Werewolves have naturally longer lifespans than humans with an average of 140 years. This means they often take a while to find their destined mate, a soulmate whom they are meant to be with for the rest of their life. While it is a special occasion when a mate is found, if the werewolf already has someone else they care about, they often end up formally rejecting their true mate, choosing someone else instead. For this reason, finding true mates being with each other is very rare in the South.

Religion and holidays: In widely pagan society, Moon Goddess is the one werewolves mainly pray to, if they pray at all. Given that Southern wolves have never actually even seen the moon, religion isn't a priority for them and they keep holidays mainly for social purposes. Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice are the main annual celebrations with festivals, gift giving and charm carving.

Hunting: Werewolves are predators by nature. That said Southern werewolves are a peaceful nation, hunting only during dedicated season and even then only a selected group of most skilled men with the best control of their wolves is allowed. The human and wolf side are firmly separated in their minds as well.

Winterlands:

Population: Winterlands is a home to werewolves, with only a small population of humans of werewolf origin and a few witches. The cruel and unforgiving land is practically always shrouded in darkness and freezing cold of never ending night, local settlements locked in land by giant ancient mountains which likely hide remnants of long lost Dark Elven cities and Dragon lairs. This frozen werewolf kingdom is separated from Summerlands only by Frozen Wastes, an empty stretch of land which consists half of just frozen sea and not actual land.