Leaving the Light
By: Christine Schnell
FAQ
Beware, there be
spoilers ahead.
The
Known Universe:
How many vampires/slaves? Approximately 70 vampires to 200 slaves, the number
fluctuates now and then. (as of the writing of this FAQ)
Why do some only have one name?
Mostly they don't need surnames since they live in a
small community, but also because some come from places where
they didn't have them.
Who's such and such? Checkout the profile list.
Why don't you talk about such and such that
often? Um...well... There's lots of people
and I can't keep track of them all.
What's in the box?
No, I haven't forgotten about it. That will be revealed later. In
fact it's revealed in Book 2, Chapter 9.
Yeah, I know your next question
and I don't have an answer quite
yet.
Why is Toni brought into the elite circle of
vampires? Something's are meant to remain a
mystery.
Who killed Lowell for real? That's revealed in Book
1, Chapter 29 .
Why? Now that's a good question,
I'll let you know once I find out. Why does any
vampire do anything? I'm sure there was a reason
they're just not letting me in on the secret.
Why won't Bram bite Toni? For the most part that
answer is in Book 1, Chapter 33 , yet I feel there
is something more.
Update: as of Book 1, Chapter 50
there certainly is more.
Why does Bram and Keir not get
along? They go way back. Hmm... I should
have said there's bad blood between them. :)
Update; Book 1, Chapter 46
shows a different side of them,
but that doesn't mean there still isn't something
for them to fight over.
Why does Keir not like Al? Al probably did something to him in a previous life. Actually
Al told Toni why in Book 1, Chapter 34
. Although I'm
wondering if there isn't more to it.
Who put the knife/gun in the closet? Why do you keep asking me questions which I can not answer?
But I can say they did show up mysteriously. Who do we
know that would do something mysteriously?
Why don't they just kill her? Toni asks this question often and gets the same answer as
you. Don't know other than they want to torture
her. Or it could be because of the next
question...
What is the prophecy? Well if I told you I'd have to
kill you. No actually it's in Book 1, Chapter
38
.
Yeah, but that's not all of it, what's
the rest? Again, this will be revealed at the
proper time. What do you want? Me to be punished like
Kama for trying to reveal it too soon?
What does it mean?
Well the short answer,
Toni's supposed to kill the King. The long answer
is that it is only one interpretation that everyone has
accepted. It may or may not be the true
interpretation.
What's the importance of the
pipes/computer/journal/etc.? Some things
you'll note do have importance the others are just to
show the normal life here. If something does have
importance it will be revealed eventually if it hasn't
already. (see question about the box/prophecy). For the
most part these things just give Toni something to think
about.
What's with the dreams and
hallucinations? The subconscious often knows
things our conscious mind doesn't. perhaps they're
trying to tell her something? Or it's just her
overactive imagination having a let out.
You use strange words care
to tell me what they mean? These vampires are old and
don't like to change everything they know, so they speak Latin from time to
time. Take a look below at my Glossary. If I've missed anything e-mail me and let me
know.
Why did my favorite
character (fill in many names here) die? Well they are
vampires after all, people tend to die around them. Most of the time the
person has served their purpose. It's hard to accept
I'm lost, what does the floor plan of the
complex look like? Click here
and find out (new and improved!). If
I get really ambitious I might do other areas, but don't
hold your breath.
Why won't you give me a straight
answer? Because most of these things will be revealed in their
own time.
The
World Outside:
Is there ever going to be a light
side? Well, it isn't called Leaving the Light for
nothing. Actually it's named that for several
different reasons, but I'll leave it up to you to figure
that out. Honestly Toni's life is tough, but yes,
she will not always be miserable.
Why is this so long? How long will it
be?
Until it ends. Yes I do have an ending. It's just not going to be
anytime soon. Like life, it is not easy to tell this all at once, and since
Toni's life will be a bit longer than most, well... Okay a straight answer, it's
a series, we are currently towards the beginning of the second book of the
series, there will be approximately 5 books.
Can I start reading Book 2 (or any episode)
without first reading Book 1? - Yes, but do so at your
own risk. If you are I'd suggest to start at the beginning of a book.
Starting at episodes is more confusing as some have overlapping story
elements. Books are easier to step into as these are major changes in her
life. Just be warned I refer back to people and events from previous books
sometimes without much explanation. Characters also have preexisting
relationships and move forward with them without pity. Use this FAQ and
Character Reference to fill in the gaps.
When will you add another chapter? My goal is to add a chapter a month normally around the
15th. Sometimes I miss by a few days, weeks or more depending
on what's going on in the real world.
How come you only
update one chapter a month? It takes me that
long, if not longer to write a single chapter.
Why don't you publish this?
To be honest I would love to, but publishing (and editing)
takes time. I am working on publishing another shorter novel. So unless
someone walks up to me and hands me a contract and pay
advance, it probably won't happen anytime soon.
Who are
you? Well you can find a little about me here.
Hey, my question is not here! Okay, then
don't be shy, send me an
e-mail.
Say What? (Glossary)
The
King has tried to keep some of the older words, most vampires don't use them and
the slaves don't even know about most of them. These are the ones Toni
currently knows.
Amanuensis - (latin) secretary
Conventus - (latin) gathering
Depleo - (latin) Kill by
drinking too much
Dearg-dul -
(gaelic) red blood sucker of Irish lore.
Domus -
(latin) household
Familie - (latin) gens
members
Gens
-
(latin)
clan, race, nation, people, tribe.
Genitor - (latin)
sire
Genere - (latin) give birth to
Nutrio - (latin) nourish/feed/fuel
Oraculum - (latin) prophecy
Progeniei - (latin) child, offspring
Raptum - (latin)
prey
Servus - (latin) servant
Sextarii
- (latin) pints
Sicarius - (latin) assassin
Suboriri - (latin) to come into being, used here
as the process of becoming a vampire.
Tripudium Aequitatis - (latin) Dance of Equanimity - Literally the dance of right
disposition. This is a dance performed by the vampires with a single slave where
the one who is dancing with the slave when the music stops bites them. This is
done primarily to "balance" the slave's mind and make them
accustomed to being bitten.
Veneficus - (latin)
wizard
Venatus - (latin) hunting
By any other name.
Here's a little insight into my mind and why I name
certain episodes as I do.
Book 1,
Leaving the Light:
The title more or less appeared out of thin air
when brainstorming for a title that wasn't associated with other
vampires. There are several meanings to the
title some hidden some obvious.
Episode
1: Life as We Know It - This title is based off of the saying that as far
as I know originated in Star Trek, "It's life but not as we know it." This
is the introduction to Toni's life as she became accustomed to her new
surroundings.
Episode 2: Taken
From Hope - I know I've heard the phrase somewhere but don't ask me
where. The episode concentrates on how Toni has lost hope for the future
and herself.
Episode 3: Cure
for the Sleeping Death - This is one of my favorite titles. It is taken
directly from Disney's Snow White, the Sleeping Death is the potion the Wicked
Queen used to poison Snow White and the only cure was True Love's First
Kiss. Obviously this episode gives Toni just that, as well as her
adjustment to and giving in to the vampires.
Episode 4: Trust - Okay, this isn't a
phrase but it is very important. In this episode Toni learns who she can
trust and who she can't. She also learns how not to solve a
mystery.
Episode 5: The
Escape - Again not really a phrase but catchy. While the actual
event doesn't happen until close to the end of the episode, Toni finds other
meanings of the word.
Episode 6:
Slavery is Freedom - This is taken directly from George Orwell's
1984. Unsurprisingly references to this book can be found all over this
story and others as this is the book solely responsible for my love of
writing. Back to how it affects Toni, well she finds that by obeying and
giving herself freely to the vampires she can be allowed small amounts of
freedom and responsibility herself. For careful readers you might note
that Bram told her just this in Episode 2.
Episode 7: Pet Peeve - Do you know what
Toni's pet peeve is? She mentions it quite a few times. Especially at the end of
this episode. The anticipation of waiting to become a vampire disturbs her to a
great degree.
Book 2,
Season of Darkness:
Again I was brainstorming and was the
finalist over many, it fell into place when I was looking up an unrelated quote
in Charles Dickens's "A Tale of Two Cities." There's also double meaning
to the title which I'll leave up to you to figure out.
Episode 1: Entering the Darkness - I think this one's pretty obvious. These
are Toni's first days as a vampire and the nights to follow.
Episode 2: Hunting Ground - This
one has a couple meanings. The obvious one being she learns how to hunt as
a vampire. There are also other things she's trying to find the answers
to, thus hunting
Episode 2: Trial and Error -This one is probably pretty obvious too, it's a learning period for Toni. She will try things and of course will fail at times, so she will learn.
