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Caine was cast out by God. According to the rumour, he had sacrificed his brother, Abel to God - in order to present the must surreal and perfect gift to his Lord. And so Caine was cast out for his act. Not for the sheer heinous nature of the crime, but for the fact that in his arrogance, he rejected God and refused to offer apologies for his sins.
The major of these - being Pride. In his pride, Caine left the sanctity of his Lord's domain, and made his way into the world. He bore a mark upon his forehead that all would know him, and offer him no succour. He would taste only ashes. Each time an Angel of God offered him sanctuary, and a chance to repent, Caine in his pride, refused.
And so Auriel cursed his line, that his childer's childer would always rise up to destroy their Father's. Uriel, Angel of the Sun, cursed Caine, banishing him forever from its light. And so he would walk in darkness, forever alone.
~~
These are old legends. Taken from the Book of Nod. The rumoured diary of Caine. Assembled by scholars of Enochian around the world. By the Cainites, the very childer Caine swore he would never create.
There are scholars, the "Noddists". Vampires who believe every word scribed within these precious fragments. They treat it as gospel, and follow it as law.
Others see the tome as nothing more than a flight of fancy. Mad ravings springing from the mouth of babbling imbeciles. No more truthful than the flight of fancy that serves as the 'way' to the millions of cattle - the Bible.
Whatever the truth, there are certain factors that are prevelant within Kindred society. Creatures of death and of blood. They truly taste only ashes - and hunger for only power.
A deeper look within the psyche of these Cainites is that the one thing they all truly puruse with equal vigor is power. Many will not realise this, and if confronted with that fact - will not acknowledge it. But in the case of every Cainite I have ever encountered it is, along with the blood the thing that drives them.
For in essence, what they *truly* seek is freedom. From the time of their birth, mortal's feel trapped within the shackles of their mortality. There is never enough time to do what they wish. They never have the power they seek - to be free from their Lord, their King, or their God. And so in illusion, desperation, or fear - any number of reasons, they accept, or have forced upon them , the Embrace.
More often or not, the Embrace is not offered. It is merely bestowed. And as they open their eyes to the night, the fledgling vampire feels a new sense of power and freedom. But after a short time, it is quite clearly revealed that they have merely exchanged one form of slavery for another.
Many fledglings spend years, decades and even centuries under their Sire. The kind of degradation suffered under a Cainite is rivalled by no other. As they in turn were held under their Sire's thrall, so it gifts them with power to enslave another. For remember, despite illusions they may hold to the contrary, humanity is waging a losing battle with the Beast constantly within all Cainites.
And so, this kind of treatment does little more than become a self-fulfilling prophecy - Angels or no. It is indeed rumoured in the so-called diary of Caine, that Auriel placed the curse of self-destruction upon Caine and all of his line. Whether or not this is true is completely irrelevant. For in the mere caste like , fixed structure of their society, Cainites do little more than seal their own fate.
In an effort to counteract these effects, and their doom. The Kindred suffered a knee-jerk reaction. After the Inquisition, they split into two major factions. The setting for this event was the "Convention of Thorns". Elders, of great power, saw the destruction which was reaped from the rumoured and probable diablerie (the draining of blood, and subsequent consumption of the soul of another Cainite) of two Clan Elders. Namely Lasombra and Tzimisce.
Chaos reigned, and for the first time in many millenia - the Elder's felt fear. And so they sought to protect themselves. They created the Traditions. The Traditions were put in place to protect vampires. And more specifically, the Elders. They needed a way to control what was going on around them.
And so, the Camarilla was formed, and the six rules were set out. Now known as the Traditions. Presented here in their earliest form ;
The First Tradition ; The Legacy
Thy Blood is that of Caine, cursed by God and blessed by Lilith. To seek change in your state, or to return to that of your mortal life is sin against thy Father and Mother, and against they God.
The Second Tradition ; Destruction
Thou art forbidden to destroy another of thy kind who is thy Elder. Those closer to Caine know his will, and may destroy any childer who are unfit in his sight. It is forbidden for those of weaker blood to rise up against their Elders.
The Third Tradition; Progeny
Thou shalt only Sire another with the permission of thy Elder. If thou createst another without thine Elder's leave, both thou and thy progeny shall be slain.
The Fourth Tradition ; Accounting
Those thou create are thine own childer. Until thy progeny shall be released, thou shalt command them in all thins. Their sins are thine to endure.
The Fifth Tradition ; Domain
Thy Domain is thine own concern. All others owe thee respect while in it. None may challenge thy word while in thy Domain. When thous comest to the fief of another, thou shalt present thyself to the one who ruleth there.
The Sixth Tradition ; The Silence of The Blood
Thou shalt not reveal thy true nature to those not of the Blood. Doing so shall renounce thy claims of Blood.
Now by reading these Traditions, one can see the way in which the Elders of the newly formed Camarilla were protecting themselves, and their sect.
The time of the Inquisition hade barely passed, and Cainite numbers had been decimated. This had provided a severe shaking to the sense of arrogance and god-like power that had grown. For despite the magnificence of the Blood, the pure simplicity of the matter was that mortals outnumbered immortal by nearly ten to one.
The first four Traditions clearly are designed to protect the 'Elder'. These rules, solidly enforced provide a base for protection. Combined with the period of servitude, under which a Childe is kept after their Embrace. The system is nearl foolproof. A childe might look to destroy their hated Sire, but taking on an entire sect of similarly motivated Elder vampires is a feat too impossible to be attempted.
Now to the opposing side of the Camarilla, reside the Sabbat. Vampires that refused to capitulate to the whims of the Camarilla Elders. It is their belief that Gehenna is coming.
Call it Gehenna, call it the apocalypse. Either way it means the end of the world. The core of Sabbat belief is that the Antediluvians will rise up and destroy their childer, and in the process, sink the world into a time of darkness and blood.
The integral difference here, is that whilst the Camarilla are devoted towards protection of the masses (themselves included), and peace - the Sabbat are girded for war. A war they believe is approaching ever closer as we enter what they term as the "Final Nights".
According to rumour, and hearsay.. fiction or truth ? There are signs to Gehenna, and many Noddist scholars have noted that many of the m have occured. In a later passage, I will discuss these, and their repurcussions at length.
But the inital lead up has been to war. A war that is engendered and encouraged by every facet of Cainite society.
The Jyhad.
A war. More specifically a holy war. Often referred to within many different cultures as jihad or any other variants of spelling. But the quintissential nature of the war is the same. Something so long ranging and devestating that it pervades an entire society or culture.
And so, the Cainites, young and old flurry around desperately seeking the same purpose. The freedom to fight the Jyhad on their own terms. The fledglings abandon their sires, and run with large groups, usually consisting of Clan Brujah, but more and more often in these desperate times -anarchy is present in every Clan.
And those who consider themselves Elders - they control their mass of childer and mortal servants. Massive amounts of wealth lie at their command, and the world essentially at their feet. But they sense that something is not right. Something old and far more powerful even than them is pulling the strings.
Antediluvian means pre-flood. As in The 'Flood'. The mythical deluge that washed away the world. Now taking this into account, as well as my own considerable age and power level.. these Antedilvians must be truly phenomenal.
And so the question lies - what is it they wish. These master of puppets, who pull the strings of everyone and everything. A power so great that it can break a mind without a thought. A physical presence that is overwhelming from thousands of miles away.
Is there an escape from the Jyhad ? Is there any way to 'win' ? This is an answer I do not know yet. But I can feel the darkness of these times growing night by night. Though I have distanced myself from the sects, and their petty politics - I often wonder who's tune I am dancing to...
But for certain, I hope that in the penning of my studies over the years, I will find an answer - a solution in their culmination...
~~~~
to be continued..
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