Lover Enshrined (2008) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Summary edit see section history

Characters edit see section history

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• Phury: Member of the BDB, twin of Zsadist and Primale of the Chosen. Drug addict. The loyal one, the one who sacrifices himself for others. Phury is Zsadist's twin brother and a celibate who cannot truly live because of everything his biological brother has lost.
• Cormia: A member of the Chosen. Select to be the first mate of the Primale.
• Nalla: Zsadist and Bella's Child. A female.
• The Princess: Symphath princess who blackmails Rehvenge
• Vishous: '"V". Member of the BDB, Doc Jane's hellren. The most intelligent and the one who is specially gifted. His curse is his ability to prognosticate: he sees the future, though not the 'when' of events so he is tortured by his inability to save those he loves from danger.
• Marissa: Butch's shellan. Sister of Havers. Runs Safe Place, a shelter for females and children.
• Mary Luce: Rhage's shellan. A human who was granted an extended life by the Scribe Virgin.
• Butch O'Neal: Member of the BDB, Marissa's hellren. Warrior name Dhestroyer, descended from Wrath's line. Former cop.
• Beth Randall: Queen of the Vampires, Wrath's shellan. Daughter of the Black Dagger Brother, Darius. Thought to be John Matthew's sister.
• Blaylock: 'Blay'. One of John Matthew's best friend.
• Tohrment: 'Tohr'. Member of the BDB, disappeared after his pregnant shellan, Wellsie, was murdered by a lesser. The steady one, the calm one.
• Zsadist: Member of the BDB, Bella's Hellren, Phury's twin. The most lethal of the brothers. A former blood slave, he was mercilessly tortured during the first hundred years of his life.
• Rhage: Member of the BDB, Mary's hellren. Known as Hollywood because he is so good-looking. The strongest of the brothers and the best fighter. Cursed by the Scribe Virgin, he is possessed by a dark side which is a danger to everyone.
• Xhex: Head bouncer, bodyguard at ZeroSum. Female who dresses manly. Half symphath/half vampire.
• Directrix Amalya: One of the Chosen, she supervises the Chosen
• Fritz Perlmutter: The BDB's doggen, basically a butler.
• Lassiter: Fallen Angel
• Jane Whitcomb: "Doc Jane" - V's shellan, human doctor brought back from death by the Scribe Virgin, now a ghost
• Havers: The Vampires species doctor. Marissa's younger brother.
• The Scribe Virgin: Mother of all vampires. Birth mother of Vishous. Sister of the Omega.
• The Omega: Creator of all lessers. Brother of the Scribe Virgin.
• The Wizard: The voice in Phury's head that tells him continually that he is unworthy, a failure. In Phury's mind, the Wizard resembles a Ring-Wraith from Lord of the Rings.
• John Matthew: One of the younger warriors, thought to be Darius' son. Mute because he was born without a voice box. Warrior name Tehrror.
• Lash: One of the BDB trainees, Qhuinn's cousin
• Bella: Zsadist's pregnant shellan. Rehvenge's sister.
• Qhuinn: One of John Matthew's best friends, social outcast because he has one blue eye and one green eye.
• Layla: One of the Chosen. She currently feeds Rhage and Vishous. Trained as an ehros.
• Rehvenge: Phury's drug dealer, Bella's brother, runs ZeroSum. Half symphath/half vampire.
• Mr. D: Fore-lesser.
• Stephanie: Manager of Abercrombie and Fitch
• Lohstrong: Qhuinn's father
• Karolyn: Havers' doggen

Quotes edit see section history

• “You know, I've always thought you had a half a brain, in spite of what everyone else has said.”

  Butch to Rhage

• “Let's be done with this, before we have to put Blay in an iron lung.Try 'sanitarium'". "No thanks, I've already had lunch.”

  Qhuinn and Blaylock

• “I can't fix your personality, sorry.”

  Rhevenge

• “I have been given the words to the story of my life, but that I remain largely unread.”

  Layla

• “Everything was so different, and so were the people. Where she was from, there were no males, and her sisters were interchangeable: All Chosen wore the same white robe and twisted their hair up in the same way and had a single teardrop pearl around their necks. They all walked and talked in the identical quiet manner and did the same thing at the same time. Here? Chaos. The Brothers and their shellans wore different clothes and they conversed and laughed in separate, identifiable patterns. They liked certain foods, but not others, and some slept late and others didn’t sleep at all. Some were funny, some were fierce, some were… beautiful.”

  Cormia

• “There was little return of strength for the male. Lately, it was nearly a wash between the energy he expended to feed and what he got in return. Which meant the end had to becoming soon. The male sat down on the forest’s bed of decaying pine needles and looked up through the boughs. For a moment, he imagined that the night sky was not dark, but white, and that the stars above were not cold planets reflecting light, but the souls of the dead. He imagined he was looking up at the Fade.”

  Thorment

• “What happened between you and Blay? “I cut him loose, and I was cruel about it.” "Good God… Why?" “I was on the way to jail for murder, remember? He’d have eaten himself alive worrying about me. It would have ruined his life. Better that he hate me than be lonely for the rest of his days.”

  John Matthew and Qhuinn

• “Is that sarcasm? Ah, right. You’d planned to be a washed-up junkie and a disappointment to your brothers, and now that you’ve succeeded you’re getting cheeky. You know, perhaps you should start a seminar for others. Phury, son of Ahgony’s ten steps to success at being an utter, irredeemable failure. Shall I get the ball rolling? Let’s start with the basics: being born.”

  The wizard

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• As much as we have free choice, absolute destiny is immutable. What is meant to happen does, through one measure or another.”

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• Sometimes words didn’t go far enough, the vessels of letters and the ladles of grammar incapable of holding the heart’s sentiments.

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• But if you find yourself fighting an inner voice in your head all the time, then it’s not where you’re supposed to be. Being a good liar is not a virtue.”

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• That was a parent, wasn’t it. They knew you better than you knew yourself, and they took care of you when you couldn’t care for yourself.

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• The righteous do not always do right, but their souls remain pure. You are untainted at your core.

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• AMONG THE PROBLEMS with shame was that it in fact did not make you shorter or quieter or less visible. You just felt like you were.

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• “We are all products of our upbringings, Primale. The constructions that result from our choices are laid upon the foundation set by our parents and their parents before them. We are but the next level in the house or paver in the path.”

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• “You want to toss in a couple of nouns and verbs there? I’m lost.”

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• I love you forever didn’t always need to be spoken to be understood.

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• “For fuck’s sake, get off the cross. Someone else needs the wood.”

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Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Caldwell, New York
• ZeroSum
• Screamer's
• The Iron Mask
• McGrider's Bar
• The Tomb: Sacred vault of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Used as a ceremonial site as well as a storage facility for the jars of lessers. Ceremonies performed there include inductions, funerals, and disciplinary actions against Brothers. No one may enter except for members of the Brotherhood, the Scribe Virgin, or candidates for induction.
• The Fade: Nontemporal realm where the dead reunite with their loved ones and pass eternity.
• Dhunhd: Hell.

Organizations edit see section history

• Black Dagger Brotherhood: Highly trained vampire warriors who protect their species against the Lessening Society. As a result of selective breeding within the race, Brothers possess immense physical and mental strength, as well as rapid healing capabilities. They are not siblings for the most part, and are inducted into the Brotherhood upon nomination by the Brothers. Aggressive, self-reliant, and secretive by nature, they exist apart from civilians, having little contact with members of other classes expect when they need to feed. They are subjects of legend and the object of reverence within the vampire world. They may be killed only by the most serious of wounds.
• The Chosen: Female vampires who have been bred to serve the Scribe Virgin. They are considered members of the aristocracy, though they are spiritually rather than temporally focused. They have little or no interaction with males, but can be mater to Brothers at the Scribe Virgin's direction to propagate their class. Some have the ability to prognosticate. In the past, they were used to meet the blood needs of unmated members of the Brotherhood, and thatpractice has been reinstated by the Brothers.
• Lessening Society: Order of the slayers convened by the Omega for the purpose of eradicating the vampire species.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• Ahstrux Nohtrum: Private guard with license to kill who is granted his or her position by the king.
• Ahvenge: To commit an act of mortal retribution, carried out typically by a male loved one.
• Black Dagger Brotherhood: Highly trained vampire warriors who protect their species against the Lessening Society. As a result of selective breeding within the race, Brothers possess immense physical and mental strength, as well as rapid healing capabilities. They are not siblings for the most part, and are inducted into the Brotherhood upon nomination by the Brothers. Aggressive, self-reliant, and secretive by nature, they exist apart from civilians, having little contact with members of other classes expect when they need to feed. They are subjects of legend and the object of reverence within the vampire world. They may be killed only by the most serious of wounds.
• Blood Slave: male or female vampire who has been subjugated to serve the blood needs of another. The practice of keeping blood slaves has recently been outlawed.
• The Chosen: Female vampires who have been bred to serve the Scribe Virgin. They are considered members of the aristocracy, though they are spiritually rather than temporally focused. They have little or no interaction with males, but can be mater to Brothers at the Scribe Virgin's direction to propagate their class. Some have the ability to prognosticate. In the past, they were used to meet the blood needs of unmated members of the Brotherhood, and thatpractice has been reinstated by the Brothers.
• Chrih: Symbol of honorable death in the Old Language.
• Cohntehst: Conflict between two males competing for the right to be a female's mate.
• Dhunhd: Hell.
• Doggen: Member of the servant class within the vampire world. Doggen have old, conservative traditions about service to their superiors, following a formal code of dress and behavior. They are able to go out during the day, but they age relatively quickly. Life expectancy is approximately five hundred years.
• Ehros: A Chosen trained in the matter of sexual arts.
• Exhile Dhoble: The evil or cursed twin, the one born second.
• The Fade: Nontemporal realm where the dead reunite with their loved ones and pass eternity.
• First Family: The King and Queen of the vampires, and any children they may have.
• Ghardian: Custodian of an individual. There are varying degrees of ghardians, with the most powerful being that of a sehcluded female.
• Glymera: The social core of the aristocracy, roughly equivalent to Regency England's ton.
• Hellren: Male vampire who has been mated to a female. Males may take more than one female as mate.
• Leahdyre: A person of power and influence.
• Leelan: A term of endearment loosely translated as 'dearest one'.
• Lessening Society: Order of the slayers convened by the Omega for the purpose of eradicating the vampire species.
• Lesser: De-souled human who targets vampires for extermination as a member of the Lessening Society. Lessers must be stabbed through the chest in order to be killed; otherwise they are ageless. They do not eat or drink and are impotent. Over time, their hair, skin, and irises lose pigmentation until they are blond, blushless, and pale-eyed. They smell like baby powder. Inducted into the society by the Omega, they retain a ceramic jar thereafter into which their heart was placed after it was removed.
• Lewlhen: Gift.
• Lheage: A term of respect used by a sexual submissive to refer to her dominant.
• Lys: Torture tool used to remove the eyes.
• Mhis: The masking of a given physical environment; the creation of a field of illusion.
• Nalla (f) Nallum (m): Beloved.
• Needing Period: Female vampire's time of fertility, generally lasting for two days and accompanied by intense sexual cravings. Occurs approximately five years after a female's transition and then once a decade thereafter. all males respond to some degree if they are around a female in her need. It can be a dangerous time, with conflicts and fights breaking out between competing males, particularly if the female is not mated.
• Newling: A virgin.
• The Omega: Malevolent, mystical figure who has targeted the vampires for extinction out of resentment directed towards the Scribe Virgin. Exists in a nontemporal realm and has extensive powers, though not the power of creation.
• Phearsom: Term referring to the potency of a male's sexual organs. Literal translation something close to "worthy of entering a female".
• Princeps: Princeps: Highest level of vampire aristocracy, second only to the members of the First Family or the Scribe Virgin's Chosen. Must be born to the title; it may not be conferred.
• Pyrocant: Pyrocant: Refers to a critical weakness in an individual. The weakness can be internal, such as an addiction, or external, such as a lover.
• Rahlman: Savior.
• Rythe: Ritual manner of assuaging honor granted by one who has offended another. If accepted, the offended chooses a weapon and strikes the offender, who presents him- or herself- without defenses.
• The Scribe Virgin: Mystical force who is counselor to the King as well as the keeper of vampire archives and the dispenser of privileges. Exist in a nontemporal realm and has extensive powers. Capable of a single act of creation, which she expended to bring the vampires into existence.
• Sehclusion: Status conferred by the King upon a female of the aristocracy as a result of a petition by the female's family. Places the female under the sole direction of her ghardian, typically the eldest male in her household. Her ghardian then has the legal right to determine all manner of her life, restricting at will any and all interactions she has with the world.
• Shellan: Female vampire who has been mated to a male. Females generally do not take more than one mate due to the highly territorial nature of bonded males.
• Sympath: Subspecies within the vampire race characterized by the ability and desire to manipulate emotions in others (for the purposes of an energy exchange), among other traits. Historically, they have been discriminated against and, during certain eras, hunted by vampires. They are near extinction.
• The Tomb: Sacred vault of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Used as a ceremonial site as well as a storage facility for the jars of lessers. Ceremonies performed there include inductions, funerals, and disciplinary actions against Brothers. No one may enter except for members of the Brotherhood, the Scribe Virgin, or candidates for induction.
• Trahyner: Word used between males of mutual respect and affection. Translated loosely to "beloved friend".
• Transition: Critical moment in a vampire's life when he or she transforms into an adult. Thereafter, he or she must drink the blood of the opposite sex to survive and is unable to withstand sunlight. Occurs generally int he mid-twenties. Some vampires do not survive their transitions, males in particular. Prior to their transitions, vampires are physically weak, sexually unaware and unresponsive, and unable to dematerialize.
• Vampire: Member of a species separate from that of homo sapiens. Vampires must drink the blood of the opposite sex to survive. Human blood will keep them alive, though the strength does not last long. Following their transitions, which occur in their mid-twenties, they are unable to go out into the sunlight and must feed from the vein regularly. Vampires cannot "convert" humans through a bite or transfer of blood, though they are in a rare cases able to breed with other species. Vampires can dematerialize at will, though they must be able to calm themselves and concentrate to do so and may not carry anything heavy with them. They are able to strip the memories of humans, provided such memories are short term. Some vampires are able to read minds. Life expectancy is upward of a thousand years, or in some cases even longer.
• Wahlker: An individual who has died and returned to the living from the Fade. They are accorded great respect and are revered for their travails.
• Whard: Equivalent of a godfather or godmother to an individual.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by Lover Unbound, and followed by Lover Avenged.

Preceded by Lover Unbound, and followed by Father Mine.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. J. R. Ward (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• debuts at #1 on the New York Times Bestsellers list

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: CPB Box no. 2789 vol. 10
• Dewey: 813.6

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Sexually Explicit Material

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Romance › Vampires
• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy › Urban
• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy › Series
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Erotica
• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy › Dark

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• J.R. Ward: Author's Website

More Books Like This edit see section history

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history