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

kindred mythology • mythology, faith and kindred behavior
exceptionally diffi cult for some Kindred to accept. The Kindred relationship with faith is an
odd one. Their existence serves as suffi cient proof, at least to most of them, that something
must exist beyond the realms of science. Most vampires do believe that, yes, some sort of
God or higher power exists. To attribute to Him an innate benevolence and sense of order,
however, as most religions do, is something else entirely. Few vampires truly accept what they
are, or even the very existence of their race. Can this be the work of a kindly deity, one who
wants only what’s best for His creations? Many Kindred believe in God, in some form or
fashion. Not so many of them consider Him worth worshipping, however.
Consider as well the inherently deceptive and manipulative nature of the Kindred. Rare is
the vampire who hasn’t made lying and deceit a common practice. So what if The Testament
of Longinus says what’s true or how the Kindred should behave? Rites of the Dragon says the
exact opposite. Who’s to say who actually wrote any book that puts forth an origin for the
Damned? The Kindred have nothing but the word of other Kindred to trace any rumor or
writing back to a given source. Few Kindred accept even the most minute piece of information
at face value if it was given them by another vampire. Why should something so major as
the origins, beliefs and even purposes of their race be any different? Of course, as with many
things in the Requiem, the fi nal arbiter is the Blood itself, which enforces the Traditions
more thoroughly and effi ciently than any institution ever could.
Thus are the majority of Kindred divided into distinct camps. The Lancea Sanctum and the
Invictus believe that The Testament of Longinus represents a good approximation of the truth,
and they modify their behavior and religious beliefs accordingly. (It must be said, however,
that the Invictus pays these beliefs lip service when they come into confl ict with members’
own interests. Most of the time Invictus Kindred seem not to care at all.) The Ordo Dracul has
its own writ, Rites of the Dragon, that, while it doesn’t rule out the possibility of the Longinus
theory, certainly doesn’t require it to make its own position valid. The Circle of the Crone
rarely bothers with formal works of vampiric origin, relying instead on oral traditions far older
than either the Sanctifi ed’s or the Dragons’. Others reject such postulation on the origins of
their kind as utterly meaningless, fi ction or propaganda penned by manipulative elders for
their own inscrutable purposes. Very few vampires fall into the middle ground. As a whole,
Kindred tend to either believe strongly in one myth or none at all.
MYTHOLOGY, FAITH AND KINDRED BEHAVIOR
The faith espoused by Kindred who do fi nd one of the many theories particularly poignant or
resonant is so prevalent that it has spawned many of the vampire laws, acknowledged and obeyed
even by those who don’t accept a given philosophy’s dogma as gospel. For instance, the three
formal Traditions by which almost all Kindred society operates are mandated and spelled out in
(purportedly) Longinus’ own words as well as those of the now-defunct Camarilla. Many local
traditions are also inspired, though less directly, by passages from the Testament. (See p. 91 for more
on the Traditions.) The Masquerade in particular is often touted as a prime example of Longinus’
wisdom and foresight. His followers maintain that if the progenitor could foresee the need for
the Kindred to hide from mortals, even back when the living did not outnumber the undead to
nearly the extent they do now, then surely his other commandments are equally wise.
On the other hand, many regional groups of the Circle of the Crone draw precepts from
cultures and mythologies that existed long before the Crucifi xion, or entirely independently
of it. Their own theologies have developed concurrently with the same limitations of the
Kindred form that members of the Lancea Sanctum experience. To their mind, even if Longinus
did exist, his only claim to fame was setting his commentary down in written form, not
explaining the genesis of the Kindred.
87