HEAVEN (ABOVE)

The realm of the angels and the Creator. Humans who have died, were Judged, and found worthy of the realm also reside in Heaven. We have not seen this realm in the Guardian series, only heard of it.

CAELUM

Once the domain of the seraphim who watched over the humans on Earth, it now belongs to the Guardians. Every human has a natural anchor to Caelum, but only Guardians have the ability to pass through the Gates to Caelum.

Though once home to thousands of Guardians, the Ascension reduced their number to less than fifty.

EARTH

The realm where humans and vampires live now. Nosferatu were cursed and tossed from Heaven to Earth. For the most part, humans living in this realm are unaware of Guardians, vampires, demons and nosferatu.

HELL (BELOW)

When the rebel angels, led by Lucifer, were banished from Heaven, they were sent to this realm. Lucifer rules over Hell, but his reign is challenged by Belial, who wishes to return to Heaven. Lucifer and Belial's war is ongoing.

There are many parts of Hell: the Pit, in which evil humans are tortured; the frozen field, in which those who renege on their bargains are eternally tormented; Belial's territories, which he has claimed through his war; and there are many other areas we have not yet seen in the series.

Humans have a natural anchor to Hell, as do Guardians (because they are former humans.) Only demons may pass through the Gates to Hell, however; hellhounds, wyrmrats and the other creatures within Hell cannot pass through the Gates, because they do not have an anchor to Earth.

After Lucifer lost a wager to Michael, all of the Gates to Hell were closed, locking most of the demons in that realm. They will re-open in five hundred years.

CHAOS

Not much is known about this realm. It is the realm of dragons and wyrmwolves. It is a realm of dark mountains and rivers of burning lava. It is a realm of power, and Lucifer used to draw much of his from here, but he slowly lost access to Chaos.

In this realm, the sky is a frozen ceiling from which thousands of human bodies dangle. The dragons eat these bodies; the bodies regrow, only to be eaten again. The Guardians theorize that these bodies belong to the faces frozen into the field in Hell.

There are no Gates to Chaos. It can only be reached through teleportation, and the teleporting Guardian must have an anchor to Chaos. Those anchors include: Colin Ames-Beaumont, Savi Murray, and the Doyen's sword.

Because it is inescapable, the Guardians have used Chaos to imprison nosferatu -- who, in turn, are trying to use the symbols to discover a way to return to Earth or break through the frozen ceiling to Hell.


SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS (SI)

This law enforcement division, set up under the Homeland Security umbrella, was created after Michael revealed himself to a select number of U.S. senators. The demon Rael, a congressman, was instrumental in convincing the committee to form and fund the division.

Lilith and Hugh Castleford are co-directors, though Lilith hands out most of the assignments to the vampires, Guardians, and human agents working for SI. Hugh oversees the training of Guardian novices, vampires, and humans.

SI acts as a liasion between the Guardians and the government, and covers up all demon and vampire activity to keep the public ignorant of their existence. The agency operates out of a run-down warehouse in Hunter's Point, a district in San Francisco.

LEGION LABORATORIES

A large, multi-national corporation that hires and protects many of Belial's demons. Sammael is the regional head for the northwestern United States. It is rumored that Legion is training vampires to fight the nephilim.

RAMSDELL PHARMACEUTICALS

Over the course of two hundred years, Anthony Ramsdell's small practice evolved into a powerful international corporation. Colin Ames-Beaumont, Anthony's brother-in-law, has owned Ramsdell Pharmaceuticals for more than a hundred years now, but is not particularly active in the running of the company.

Ramsdell Pharmaceuticals is often used as a cover for the agents of SI, especially Guardians who need a human identity and job while on assignment.


POLIDORI'S

This San Francisco nightclub was once owned by the elders of the city's vampire community. A group of nosferatu burned it, however, and trapped the elders inside.

Colin Ames-Beaumont bought and rebuilt the property; now, it is the center of the vampire community.

AUNTIE'S

Savi Murray's grandmother owns this small Indian restaurant. Hugh Castleford waited tables there after he Fell and before he graduated from college; his students and Savi's friends regularly played DemonSlayer there -- until those students became targets for ritual slayings. It has recently been repaired and remodeled after being hit by a group of young vampires with automatic rifles.

BEAUMONT COURT

The Ames-Beaumont family property in Derbyshire, England, and the seat of the earl of Norbridge. The Doyen's sword was displayed in the library for several hundred years. 

COLE'S HARD TIME BAR & GRILL

A bar and grill in the Capitol Hill district of Seattle, Washington. It is owned by Old Matthew Cole. It is also a general meeting place for vampires and Guardians in Seattle.

PARADISE THEATER

A theater in Ashland, Oregon, where vampires put on plays. It is the center of Ashland's unique vampire community, and owned by Lucas Marsden.

THE HERITAGE THEATER

A theater across the street from Cole's Hard Time Bar & Grill, and once it is remodeled, will function in the same capacity as the Paradise theater in Ashland. At present, it is owned by Colin Ames-Beaumont, and managed by Charlie Newcomb.


ROME, BERLIN, & WASHINGTON, D.C.

Vampires in the surrounding cities are reporting that entire communities are being wiped out over the course of a single night.

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

A city in the eastern U.S. Famous for cheesesteaks and the Liberty Bell. In the summer of 2008, its vampire population was massacred by the nephilim.

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

A city in the western U.S. Famous for coffee, grunge music, and Microsoft. In 1991, it was the location where Hugh told Lilith he was going to Fall, and Thaddeus White, a serial killer, jumped from a bridge (please see excerpt for details of that 1991 encounter).

Although the nephilim were planning to slaughter the city's vampires, just as they had in Rome, Berlin, and Washington, D.C., the nephilim's attempts were thwarted. It is unknown, however, if the nephilim will try again.

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

A city in the western U.S. Famous for streetcars, rainbows, and sourdough bread. A Gate to Hell is beneath the Golden Gate bridge. Special Investigations is based in San Francisco.

ASHLAND, OREGON

A small, arty town in Southern Oregon, in the western U.S. Famous for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. A Gate to Caelum lies outside the city, and is the primary Gate used by the Guardians traveling from Caelum to San Francisco.

CAIRO, EGYPT

No information yet; please see DEMON BOUND.

DERBYSHIRE, ENGLAND

A county in England where the Ames-Beaumont family and the Ramsdells live. Beaumont Court is here.

LAKE GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

At a house party in the summer of 1816, Colin Ames-Beaumont was cursed, and his reflection replaced with images of Chaos. It was a very poor way to spend a holiday.