Glossary

A fene egye meg! - Hungarian, a curse roughly equivalent to English 
   "A pox upon thee." Refers to Fene, a demon of illness. Literally,
   "Let it be eaten by the Fene."

Berkeley Mansion - One of the five mansions constructed by Dracula's minions
   sometime before his original defeat at the hands of Simon Belmont. Afterward,
   these fortress-mansions were used to house the remains of Dracula. In order
   to lift the curse which Dracula placed upon him, Simon had to explore each
   of these buildings and find the Relic of Vlad within. Berkeley Mansion
   originally rested on the edge of the Denis Marsh, north of Veros. At the 
   time of this story, it has been surrounded and nearly flooded by the marsh,
   leaving it difficult to access except by supernatural means.

Carmilla - Sometimes also known as Camilla or Millarca. Lesbian vampire 
   countess of the Austrian county of Styria first depicted in J. Sheridan 
   le Fanu's eponymous novel. Carmilla is associated strongly with her mask,
   Vampira, and appeared in the form of such during Simon Belmont's quest to
   lift Dracula's Curse.  Her vampiric power of transformation allows her to 
   take on the form of a gigantic demoness atop a snake-haired skull. She also
   appears in Dracula X, and again in Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, where 
   she is responsible for the final destruction of Morris Baldwin's seal on 
   Dracula. Her consort is the girl Laura, whom she seduced in the novel's 
   story. She is absolutely not to be conflated with Elizabeth Bartley. At the
   time of this story, she is in a forced state of torpor brought on by an 
   inconclusive battle with Morris Baldwin's father.
   
Dead River - Fictional Transylvanian river first portrayed in Castlevania II:
   Simon's Quest. In this story, the Dead River is a minor tributary of the Olt.
   
Dhampir - Roma word for the son of a vampire and a human woman. Dhampir, being
   half-human, have many of the powers of vampires with relatively few of the
   curses. While they have no reflection, cannot cross running water unaided,
   and may have less than positive reactions to garlic, silver, and strong 
   sunlight, they do not need to feed on the blood of the living to survive, 
   and their urge to do so is weak when not totally absent. Dhampir are capable
   of becoming adept at shape-shifting. They are not affected by the mere sight 
   of religious symbols or by contact with holy water, and they may in fact use
   these as weapons against lesser vampires. Dhampir are not affected by the 
   simple bite of a vampire. If brought over by drinking the blood, or vitae, of
   a vampire, a dhampir may irreparably damage his human side, however. Dhampir 
   are often considered the ideal vampire hunters due to their powers and 
   virtual immunity to further effects of the curse. It is thought by some that 
   a process may exist whereby a dhampir may destroy his vampiric side and 
   become wholly human, at the cost of all his vampiric powers and immunities.

Dora Woods - Place name for a fictional Transylvanian forest first portrayed in
   Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. Situated on an island between two forks of
   the Dead River. The town of Fetra lies across the river to the west, and
   the abandoned ruins of Ghulash, and of one of Dracula's castles, lie to
   the south. In the time of Simon it was not possible to pass from Dora Woods
   back to the Denis marsh; this road has been cleared in later times.
   
Ghoul - A human victim of a vampire who has become enthralled to his or her
   service via biting, via occasional doses of insufficient vitae, or via the
   intense psychological influence that some vampires display over their
   victims. Most ghouls are scatter-brained creatures of low intelligence
   with no valuable personality, though exceptions are known. The strongest
   ghouls, while extremely rare, may approach dhampirs in power. Ghouls 
   are wholly incapable of passing on the curse of vampirism.
   
Gitano - A Roma people of Spain. See also "tigane."
   
Jova - Place name for a fictional Transylvanian city first portrayed in
   Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, and arguably portrayed again in Akumajou
   Dracula X: Chi no Rondo. It is a small, unremarkable Transylvanian border
   town which occasionally attracts the wrath of Dracula due to its proximity
   both to one of his own castle sites and to the Belmont estate. The occupants
   are largely of Hungarian descent. It is bordered by mountains to the north,
   the Jova Woods to the east, and the Belasco Marsh to the west. Simon Belmont
   is thought to have called this town his home for a time.
   
Olt - A major river in the southern Carpathian watershed of the Transylvanian 
   river basin. It is a tributary of the Danube.
   
Ottoman Empire - Successor to the empire of the Seljuk Turks. This empire became
   a nominal threat to European Christendom in the 15th century when 
   Sultan Mehmed II used cannons to conquer Constantinople, bringing about the 
   end of the Byzantine Empire. In reality, Mehmed II was a relatively just 
   ruler who afforded conquered peoples a good deal of self-determination 
   including freedom of religion. The Muslim religion of the Turks would be used
   by Europeans to justify a new wave of Crusades as well as the notorious 
   cruelties of Vlad III Draculea. Dracula spent a great deal of time in the 
   Turkish court at Adrianople after being sent there by his father as a token 
   of good will, only to be detained as a hostage. He grew to hate the Turks 
   viciously during this time, while his brother Radu became a secret lover of 
   the Sultan. The Turks would later advance Dracula as their candidate for the 
   Wallachian throne, inadvertently bringing about the rule of their own 
   greatest opponent. The Ottoman Empire was dissolved in 1922 after the close 
   of the First World War after an unsuccessful alliance with Germany. The tsar 
   of Russia once referred to the Ottoman Empire as the "Old Man of Europe," as 
   a form of insult. Tensions remained high between the Ottomans and the Kingdom
   of Hungary throughout most of the respective nations' existences.
   
Pekseg - Hungarian, meaning "bakery."

Prieten - Romanian, meaning "friend."

Roma - see "tigane."
   
Tepes - Romanian, pronounced "tse-PESH". Post-humous moniker given to prince 
   Vlad III Draculea by his enemies, meaning "Impaler," inspired by his reported
   love of impalement as a form of execution and torture. This moniker is used 
   as a surname by Dracula and, accordingly, his son Alucard in the Castlevania 
   continuity. Compare Turkish "Kaziklu Bey," meaning "Impaler Prince."
   
tigane - Romanian name for the Roma people, also known as Gypsies. Pronounced
   "tsee-Gan-ay". The Roma are now known to be of Indian descent. They were
   traditionally nomadic, and they were severely discriminated against and held 
   in contempt in European culture through medieval times and even into the
   20th century. Roma in Romania, especially in Transylvania, were widely
   subjected to slavery, including during the time period of this story. Efforts
   to improve the condition of the Roma people continue in the present day,
   rarely without controversy, and rarely with widespread success. Bram Stoker
   demonized the Roma people by having them behave as mindless servants of
   Dracula. On the other hand, the heroic Belnades/Fernandez family (and by
   extension, the Belmonts descended from Sypha), are widely believed to be
   of Roma heritage.
   
Transylvania - The northernmost principality of Romania, a forested river basin
   bordered upon three sides by the majestic Carpathian mountains. Historically
   a territory of the Hungarian Kingdom, and the latter Austro-Hungarian Empire,
   it fell under Habsburg rule and was heavily colonized by the Hungarians, who
   relegated the native Vlachs to the status of serfs and slaves, going so far
   as to ban them from even entering some cities. Though never a historical
   territory of Vlad III Draculea, the Wallachian prince was in fact born there,
   and did wage war upon the principality, risking the wrath of his Hungarian 
   allies in the process, to unseat rival Danesti princes who were in hiding
   there. He also later attempted to take refuge there when forced to abdicate 
   the throne of Wallachia by the Turks. In 1820, Transylvania was ruled by
   Grand Prince Francis II Habsburg-Lorraine.

Veros - Place name for a fictional Transylvanian city first portrayed in 
   Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. The city lies in a clearing within the dense
   Veros Woods on the east bank of the Dead River and is bordered by mountains 
   near to the east and south. Also known as the Hidden City for its near 
   invisibility from any appreciable distance, and for the fact that it was 
   originally built below the surrounding ground level - the original city still
   exists in ruin below the streets. The name "Veros" is supposedly derived from
   "Verossa," the alleged name of a Romanian town which the author has not
   been able to locate on any map. In this story, Veros bears mixed traits of
   real Transylvanian cities such as Sibiu and Brasov. It is depicted as an
   autonomous city state, something which did not historically exist in
   Romania during this time period, its independence being necessitated in
   no small part by the devastation repeatedly wrought by Dracula.
   
Vitae - The "blood" of a vampire, collected life energy from its victims. It
   may have a black color and foul, viscuous nature, but may also appear as
   relatively normal blood. To fully bring over a victim and make them into
   a vampire, it is necessary for the vampire to force or coerce the victim
   into absorbing some of its vitae, typically via drinking. If a vampire
   drains another vampire of all its vitae, it absorbs all of its power.
   This process is known as diablerization. A victim who is only bitten by
   a vampire, or who ingests only a very small amount of vitae, may become
   a ghoul instead.
   
Wallachia - The southern principality of Romania, this territory has been hotly
   contested for most of history since the fall of the Roman Empire. Due to the
   efforts of prince Vlad III Draculea to halt Turkish expansionism, Wallachia
   never became part of the Ottoman Empire, though it was invaded on many
   occasions and often paid heavy tribute to more than one of its neighbors at
   any given time. Dracula's capital of Targoviste, as well as his blood-stained
   Poienari fortress, were located in this province. Wallachia was first united
   with the other Romanian provinces in 1600 by Mihai Viteazul, though this
   union lasted less than six months, and would not occur again until 1859.
   In 1820, Wallachia was under oppressive Greek Phanariote rule by Alexandru 
   Sutu of the House of Soutzos. Major political upheaval would occur during the
   next year in the form of a revolt lead by Tudor Vladimirescu.