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

the unaligned
independence from the established order, and that was the part that caused a stir. Although
what passes for an unaligned “movement” has since settled down a bit (or at least retreated
to the shadows), the damage wrought upon the unbound was done. Tonight, more than a
few elders among the covenants have taken the actions of particularly truculent unaligned as
representative of the gestalt… or at least capitalized on the aftermath thereof in an attempt
to clamp down on such rogues.
Members
Just as the Invictus is plainly attractive to elders, so too is unaligned existence a magnet for
the young and downtrodden among the Kindred. Neonates make up the preponderance of
the unbound, and new believers discover independent urges with every passing night. Many
would-be unbound renounce their affi liations following eye-opening or humiliating experiences
in one of the covenants. Sometimes this occurs early on, with a bitter neonate loudly
claiming independence for succor and release. Other times, the taste for freedom attracts
ancillae who tried for decades to play the vampiric political game but were simply outmaneuvered
or disgusted by the toll it took on them over time. The independents probably see
more “converts” than any of the covenants, which is yet another reason why these outcasts
are often held in such low regard by the established covenants.
Although a great many unaligned Kindred are neonates or young ancillae, this is not to
say that no elders renounce sectarian ways. A number of older Kindred, primarily those of
the Mekhet and Gangrel, prize the unbound for their freedoms, and might even seek to turn
their infl uence toward uniting local unbound under a common banner in hopes of forming
a neo-covenant that advances their own agendas. In fact, these few manipulative elders are
responsible for the hostile attitudes that certain cells of independents harbor toward more
formalized groups of Kindred. This isn’t to say that every elder goes independent in hopes of
building a private army. Many elders among the unbound are quite content simply to ignore
social strictures that they personally fi nd distasteful. In the eyes of many “established” Kindred,
with elder power comes responsibility, and interpersonal pressures occasionally force into
covenants those elders who would be more satisfi ed if they were freed from such duties.
Philosophy
The guiding philosophical principle behind the unaligned mindset is the fundamental conceit
that every vampire — like every man — is free. Regardless of clan or age, no Kindred should be forced
to bow like some lowly serf before the feet of a provincial undead governor. Not surprisingly, the
unbound fi nd the notion of vampiric titles and duties contemptible. They recognize no “Prince”
to whom they should show self-effacing obeisance, and they regard the entire notion of formalized
social debts as wholly unnecessary. Each of the Damned is an individual, removed from the
brotherhood of mankind and thrust into solitude for all eternity. The unaligned tend to feel that
vampire-kind needs no phony system of forced indenture to make sure that each Kindred keeps
his word and honors his promises. As alone as they are, vampires realize that all they truly have
is their word — without the aid of unnatural and artifi cial hierarchy — and they act accordingly.
Those who don’t are weeded out naturally, and not by the arbitrary will of an elder.
This sole idea forms the approximate basis of the independent ideology, but like any solid
foundation, it embodies itself in a number of night-to-night practical principles. These trends
of the unbound mindset give individual Kindred a sense of self, while providing a necessary
grounding in the realities of unlife.
Again, note that these aren’t formalized codes of belief among the unbound. Each independent
Kindred is her own Prince, or at least wishes to be. These are simply the most common
points of agreement among a non-covenant of ruggedly individual vampires.
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