Kindred Society

Those who show the sin of hubris and do not keep an unoffending facade when in the company of mortals shall surely bring doom upon themselves. For man is clever and when he finds an enemy he will find a way to destroy it. It is not the wolf's way to lie down with the sheep. Better it is that man should fear the night, the unknown and the predators therein. Punishment shall be great for he who brings the wrath of man down upon himself and his brethren. Be not prideful, lest your betters – be they Kindred or God – feel the need to correct you. - Rule of Golgotha 5:3

The Testament of Longinus contains some of the earliest recordings of what have come to be the major Traditions of kindred society. The above is clearly an admonishment that kindred should maintain what we now know as the masquerade. For all that the Testament is ultimately focused upon that which is beyond the temporal, it also provides insight into how kindred are to act, both with mortals and with each other.

In the two millennia since the Testament came into being, kindred society still operates by the same constraints. The wisdom within the words above are as relevant today as they were all that time ago, and will hold weight long centuries from now as well. This is so because while kindred and mortal alike may come and go, while locations and details may change, there is nonetheless a great underlying order to this world and its operations. While the realization of essential truths may be new to those who are themselves new, the truths predate us all. They are part of an essential ordering to the universe.

The Damned shall suffer yet more should they slay a fellow to take his soul from him. Your own soul shall become yet blacker in the eyes of God, for he shall not look kindly on one who would take a soul from the judgment of heaven. The call of Kindred Vitae is an insidious and enticing one. To take into one's own body the strengths of another, whether body, mind or soul, is a temptation to all but the most pious. To take a soul must therefore be nearly irresistible. To make oneself more potent, more brilliant, more charismatic, with no effort from yourself seems heavenly in its effortlessness. Know, however, that such things can be seen by eye of God and other Kindred, who will surely turn their hatred upon your sloth and pride. - Rule of Golgotha 5:7

Is this admonishment, this warning, not as true tonight as it was two millennia ago? Do we not immediately recognize its wisdom now, just as kindred did then? The modern Traditions, which every kindred of worth upholds, find their origin in organization and understanding in the words of Longinus. Other words may be used, often less flowery in order to appeal to a broader array of kindred, and yet we recognize that beneath it all, there is a common message.

Kindred society has existed since antiquity. We have had our struggles, our turmoil, our clashes, and our times of peace, far longer than any yet awake can recall. Modern turmoil is but part of a lengthy tradition, existing in a perpetual chain. It is nothing new, though we do engage with it in some vigor during a Crucible. To believe that there is anything new in this is to not understand ourselves or the world in which we live.

Throughout these long millennia, we have never required mystical bonds being placed upon all of kindred society to regulate us. Indeed, every broad attempt at bondage has provoked greater backlash and bloodshed in the long term. Stability bought through slavery rather than through factual understanding of our nature and the essential truths of the world and its ordering, is false. Let us then work as best we might to each understand that which is eternal, including even the struggle between ourselves. In doing so we can achieve a far more stable society than any that can or would be imposed upon us.

Sum Sanctus,

Simon Patterson Gloveli

Augustus Inquisitor de Lacus Magni