First Ever Arcane Vault Trivia Contest!

That's right, it's time to dig out your Vampire Academy books. You know, the oft-read tomes that you just can't resist? Well, get out your box of tissues and your bookmarks and get to re-reading, because we've got a list of trivia questions that are going to test your knowledge of Richelle Mead's amazing series!

Here are the rules:
1. There will be ten questions. You must answer all ten correctly in order to qualify for the prize drawing. (Yes, I said "prize drawing"!)
2. The questions will be drawn from all five published Vampire Academy novels.
3. The questions and the link to submit your answers will be posted at precisely 10 a.m. Pacific Standard Time (US) on Saturday, August 21st. You will have until 4 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (US) on Sunday, August 22nd to submit your answers.*
4. When you answer the questions, there will be a place for you to tell us the best way to contact you if you are a prize winner. You can tell us an email address, phone number, or street address. Your pick - but you must leave contact information in order to qualify for a prize. This will be confidential, and will ONLY be used if you actually win a prize. We are not going to keep anyone's contact information - we just need to actually be able to give you your prize if you win one. No need to leave contact information if you don't want to try for a prize.

Here's what the format will look like:
If you haven't taken our survey yet, please do! The trivia contest will use the same format. This will keep your answers and your contact information confidential. We'll set the program so that we'll be the only ones that can see your entries.

Here's the scoop on prizes:
We're offering up eleven prizes for eleven lucky winners! To qualify for prizes, you must answer all questions correctly and leave your confidential contact information. Qualifying entries will be put into a drawing, and eleven names will be drawn. One of the following items will go to each winner. Prizes will include one gray molnija shirt, five black molnija keychains, and five of our brand new red molnija keychains!

Any questions? Post them in the comments below, or ask us on our Facebook page! Now, get reading!

Contingency plan:
*We intend to pose some tough questions, but we know that there are a bunch of true VA experts out there! We expect to get well more than 11 qualifying answers to our trivia questions in the time that we've allotted for the contest. On the off-chance that we don't, though, we will reserve the option to extend the time allotted to 10 p.m. PST.

Symbolism in St. Vladimir's School Seal

OK, so we have a long blog post for you today. We recently released the design for the school seal of St. Vladimir's Academy (on our Facebook page), and we promised to explain the meaning behind the symbols used. Here are all the details! Feel free to ask questions if you have 'em.

The shield in the middle of the seal is divided “per pale”, which means that it is divided vertically into two halves. Each way of dividing a shield is representative of something. A “pale” or “per pale” design represents great defensive military strength. (Think of the railings in a guard fence “impaling” the ground.) The choice of a “per pale” division is meant to represent the choice of Moroi and Dhampir society to act defensively with the use of their magic and guarding techniques.

When an observer is looking at the shield head-on, the side that is to the left is referred to as the “dexter” side. (If you were the knight holding the shield, then it would be referred to as being on your right, or the “right” side.) We’ve made this the side of the shield that represents the Dhampirs at St. Vladimir’s Academy. Diagonal stripes, or “bends”, are another way of dividing the field of a shield. A “bend” is supposed to look like the sash of a military commander, and represents defense or protection. It’s a sign of great honor. A series of diagonal stripes is known as a “bendy” pattern, and carries the same meaning. The “charge”, or picture, on the dexter side of the St. Vladimir’s Academy shield is a key. Keys represent things that are held dear and are therefore protected.

When an observer is looking at the shield head-on, the side that is to the right is called the “sinister” side. (From the point of view of the knight holding the shield, it would be the “left” side.) This side of the St. Vladimir’s Academy shield represents the Moroi of the school. One horizontal stripe (1/5 of the shield’s height or less) is referred to as a “bar.” Multiple stripes create a pattern that is referred to as “barry.” According to Guillim, a heraldic scholar from Elizabethan times, “bars” represent “one who sets the bar of conscience, religion, and honour against angry passions and evil temptations.” The “charge”, or picture, is a column, which represents fortitude and constancy.

If you look closely, you’ll notice that each side of the shield, whether “bendy” or “barry”, has 13 stripes. This number is the same as the number of Moroi on the Council: 12 Princes and Princesses from the 12 royal families and the King or Queen.

And now to the animals! Shields are often flanked by figures that are called “supports”. Supports are designed to look like they’re holding the shield up, and they add meaning to the overall design. We chose animals that are commonly found in Russian and Eastern European symbology as well as having heraldic meaning. The dexter support, on the Dhampir side, is a bear. Bears represent strength, cunning, and ferocity in the protection of one’s kindred. The sinister support, on the Moroi side, is a stag. Stags represent one who will not fight unless provoked, or peace and harmony.

The school motto, “Truth, Life, Blood” comes from a contest that Richelle Mead ran some time ago. We remembered that a fan had inspired her when she was trying to come up with the school motto, and we found it…here it is in the context of the school crest.

The date of 1807 is in honor of the release of the first edition of Vampire Academy in 2007. There weren’t many Europeans in the inland western territories of North America at that time, which would likely have been attractive to Moroi and Dhampirs setting up a school meant to be isolated from human society.

-from the Vault Guardian

For further reading on heraldry, try:
Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles. A Complete Guide to Heraldry. (Google Books)
Guillim, John. Guillim’s Display of Heraldry.
Symbolism: http://www.fleurdelis.com/meanings.htm
Terminology Encyclopaedia: http://www.probertencyclopaedia.com/heraldry.htm
How to describe a coat of arms: http://cheshire-heraldry.org.uk/lesson.html

Promises, Promises!

It's an exciting weekend here at Arcane Vault - we have a new shirt design to post, and more in the works - including something that's been highly anticipated by Richelle Mead fans for, oh, YEARS.

Fans are familiar with the Molnija Mark, and we're proud to offer the only officially licensed Molnija merchandise out there. Within the next couple of days, fans will finally be introduced to two more marks important to the Guardians - the Promise Mark and the Zvezda (also known as "the battle mark")! Richelle will be releasing them on her blog first (http://blue-succubus.livejournal.com), and we will be previewing shirts, keychains, and bookmarks that feature the design by mid-week.

We're honored by the chance to bring these meaningful symbols to the fans. Please keep checking back as we start to show off new goodies. We'll be updating our site as soon as our approvals come in - thanks for being part of the process.

Arcane Vault: Now with International Shipping!!!

That's right, we've got great news for our extra-patient international fans. We have finally gotten all the proper paperwork processed, and are ready to ship internationally. Order away! We are also working on new designs and new products to put our designs on. What would you like to see???

Arcane Vault would like to congratulate Richelle Mead! We might be one step closer to seeing a Vampire Academy movie: Preger Entertainment has optioned the rights to the series. Nothing official is in the works yet, and it still might not happen at all, but here's hoping! What do you think about the news?