Mind's Eye Theatre - Vampire The Requiem.pdf - RoseRed

the ordo dracul
amount of archaic and arcane writings that members require in order to learn and perform
their transcendental studies. The covenant experienced a sudden jump in power and membership
during the Industrial Revolution, then another in the late 19th century, then yet
another in recent decades. It is believed that the covenant grew to power in Eastern Europe, its
philosophies traveling with the development of transportation technology, but just as credible
theories place the group’s origins in Victorian London and even early New York.
The Ordo Dracul reveres its founder, but in a very different way than, say, the Lancea Sanctum
honors Longinus. The Dragons believe that the curse of vampirism can and should be
surpassed, that the Embrace is a judgment that can be overturned and even exceeded. Nothing
is permanent, the Order argues, not even the lingering undeath that all Kindred experience.
Of course, no known vampire has ever escaped the Requiem through the Order’s rites in a
manner that others would fi nd satisfactory. (It’s quite possible to reduce oneself to a pile of
ash or a torpid wretch through an ill-performed observance, though.) Regardless, Kindred are
perfectly willing to admit that such things take centuries, if not millennia. Some crucial piece
of knowledge must yet be missing, and with the world growing smaller and more integrated
as technology uncovers more of it, that knowledge won’t be long in coming.
In that regard, the Ordo Dracul is much more comfortable with the modern world than the
Invictus is, though not nearly so comfortable as the Carthians are. Technology isn’t something
to be feared, but another tool to be used, and since the covenant prizes mental evolution as
much as spiritual progression, elders who wish to retain their standing must shake off the
inertia of years and learn how to use a telephone or a scanner. Hidebound traditionalists
aren’t overtly snubbed, but they do tend to be left alone in their havens to experience the
Requiem and perform their research in solitude.
The search for knowledge is a commonly stated goal of the Order, but it’s deliberately vague.
Members of the Ordo Dracul are interested in knowledge, true, but that has more to do with
the kind of personality the covenant attracts than with its actual goals. The Dragons seek
information about the truth of the vampiric condition, and to that end, they enjoy talking to
other Kindred about their experiences, their feelings upon receiving the Embrace, how their
bodies have changed, and how their attitudes toward morals have progressed. (The Gangrel
in particular interest the Order, and those Savages who join the covenant quickly become
some of their most respected members.) The Dragons seek to establish patterns in God’s
plan, in the curse of undeath and in any other facet of the Requiem that will lead them to
the answer they seek — how to transcend the limits of vampirism.
The Ordo Dracul has a hierarchical structure unique to it, known internally as the Dragon’s
Tongue. The Order involves numerous rites and initiations, the completion of which symbolizes
the member’s passage from one “circle of mystery” or level of achievement to the next.
Progression through the hierarchy seems to correspond to mastery of the Coils of the Dragon,
but whether this is true or simply a non-member’s misunderstanding remains uncertain. This
structure also serves to protect the covenant’s secrets. The Ordo Dracul is loath to let anyone,
even low-ranking members, leave the faction. The higher one’s rank in the covenant is, the
more she has invested and accomplished and, thus, the more reluctant she will (theoretically)
be to leave. Yet, defections and renunciations occur with more frequency than the Order
would have outsiders believe.
MEMBERS
The Ordo Dracul doesn’t need to proselytize. While it welcomes new members, it isn’t as
open as the Invictus because its strength depends on the intelligence of its Kindred, rather
than on their loyalty. The Order isn’t out to overthrow the existing status quo or to enforce
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