Formal Flashcards
avail (v.)
To subsist on granted land; to feed in territory granted by an overlord, especially a Regent or vassal, rather than the Prince. In modern nights, this term carries a connotation of low status or common demeanor, such as Kindred who feed by preying on random strangers. “I’m not some neonate, availing on the street, sire! I have a herd of my own.”
charge (n.)
A vassal’s official responsibility to her lord or the Prince; her duty. One’s charge is often, but not always, the act of her corvée (q.v.). For example, a Herald’s charge is to spread the Prince’s word, though she could owe a monthly corvée to her lord (who may or may not be the Prince) in exchange for a domain. “You are charged with keeping the border of 7th Street closed, Gough, and we’ll both be sorry things if you fail.”
contract of fealty (n.)
The contemporary version of the historical oath of fealty (which is still common among the Invictus), renamed as a matter of custom in the 18th century, following the French Revolution, and gradually adopted throughout masquerading cities (q.v.). This modernized form is meant to emphasize the two-way exchange of authority and land in exchange for loyalty and servitude, without necessarily implying a solemn or divine component. Though they may be ritually distinct, in truth a contract of fealty and an oath of fealty are functionally identical. “Remember your contract of fealty to me, childe, before you speak that way again.”
corvée (n.)
A tax or rent of service owed to a lord by a vassal. Corvée may be limited to a predetermined routine, such as the monthly collection of graft from local drug dealers, or it may be a number of nights of servitude due every month, involving any errand or mission the lord devises each term. Tonight, the grammar surrounding this word is quite confused; all of these are common uses: “to corvée,” “to perform (his) corvée,” “to pay a corvée,” “to do corvée.” “Go down to Ashton Park and break up the Acolyte rituals there, get them off my ground, and we’ll count this as the first night of your corvée.”
croft (n.)
Broadly, the land or domain a vassal receives from his lord; especially land that is surrounded by the lord’s own domain. Specifically, a low-status in stance of such a domain. Whereas a domain may or may not require a lord to perform corvée, a croft always does. Customarily, croft is never used to describe the domain of a true Regent; the term is sometimes restricted to indicate only the domains of tenants. “Lassiter has given out six tiny crofts to know-nothing Carthian neonates in as many months, and I have to wonder what sort of rent they’re paying.”
crofter (n.)
The vassal who receives a croft. Casually, the Kindred who actually pays the croft’s rent in blood or service. “How much time would we save if we didn’t have to sit here and ignore these crofters and their problems?”
fealty (n.)
The sworn loyalty between a vassal and a lord; also, the oath itself. Among the Damned, the oxymoronic phrase “secret fealty” sometimes is used. Although, formally, fealty requires some degree of open declaration (typically homage) or acknowledgement (such as a land grant or title), in practice some devoted but clandestine relationships are also described as fealty. “My fealty is to you, sire, not that Prince.”
investiture (n.)
The formal, often ceremonial, investment of a vassal’s title and domain by his lord. The vassal pays his lord homage (q.v.) and the lord bequeaths him authority and status in the ritual of investiture. “I attended your investiture, so I know how much the Prince expects of you and how loathe you are to let him down.”
lord (n.)
A vampire with power, authority or territory granted, especially if granted to him by a feudal superior (though any Kindred with a domain (q.v.) is said to be lord of that domain). The superior in any feudal bond (q.v.). “I am Benedict, Viscount of the Lawson Projects, Lord of Bucktown, and you are on my lord’s land.”
loyer (n.)
A more formal, more polite term for a vassal’s or tenant’s rent. (This is, literally, a French word for “rent.”) (v., slang) To pay a rent of money or materials to a lord. “I’d rather find a way to loyer over cash every month, like the living, than have to fetch another girl for Delacroix.”
Prince (n.)
The ruling vampire of the city. The role of the Prince, and the manner in which the position is won and held, varies greatly from city to city. Some Princes are appointed or awarded by the Primogen, others win through consummate politicking, some are puppets, many hold supreme dominion through fear, violence and presence. “This city is the Prince’s, and so are you.”
Regent (n.)
The lord of any domain who receives his authority, territory and/or title directly from the Prince (q.v.), even if he is not strictly the Prince’s vassal. In cities with especially strict feudal codes, the Prince may only appoint Regents directly below his own station in the feudal hierarchy; he may not appoint Regents as vassals of other lords. In practice, the overlords directly subordinate to the Prince, whether appointed by him, a predecessor or some other body (such as the Primogen) is also called a Regent. “You may be my landlord, Haunt, but I am a Regent now, and you will be careful how you speak to me.”
vassal (n., adj.)
A Kindred who receives territory (and sometimes title) from a lord (q.v.) through feudal tenure on conditions of homage, allegiance and sometimes corvée (q.v.). Casually, any directly subordinate Kindred in the feudal hierarchy, or any vampire at the “lower” position in a feudal bond (q.v.). In practice, all Kindred in a city’s feudal hierarchy are vassals to some lord, except for the Prince from whom all vassalage descends. “I am Delacroix, vassal in Edgeville to citizen Carver, vassal in Druid Hills to the lady Sycorax, and Hound to our Prince.”
vassalage (n.)
The feudal arrangement of lords and vassals, based on fealty and homage (q.v.), and servitude in exchange for power. The state of being or having a vassal; also, the vassal-liege relationship in general, or in particular; a particular vassal position or territory. “Every vassalage on the West Side seems to be coming apart, ever since the rumor of Regent Lars’s torpor got around.”
