The foundation of our purpose

Purpose is a powerful word. It is one of the utmost importance to the Lancea Sanctum, for it is the nature of our Covenant with God. For all that we are eternally damned, we have been given a purpose in God's creation. I turn this night to the foundation of our purpose, the words that the archangel Vahishtael gave to Longinus. While the word purpose is used regularly throughout the Testament, here is the foundation for all of those references, for this was the moment of enlightenment:

7 “Fear me, Longinus. For I am the messenger of your purpose.
8 “The Damned are many, and they are denied salvation.
9 “But the Damned serve as the sign to humanity of the price of sin, and to make mortals fear and to understand that their lives are brief and full of pain, and they can only see the most pitiful reflection of the glories of Heaven, for they do not see clearly, but see as if through a blurred mirror,
10 and the Damned do not see through the mirror at all.
11 “And it is the lot of the Damned to take the blood of mortals, that mortals might know that they will die, and that their only salvation is in the next life.
12 “And it is your lot to go and give this message to all of the Damned, that they might know God’s purpose for them and rejoice.
13 “Now go, Longinus, and spread the Word to all the Damned.” - Malediction 14:7-13

For all that follows in the Testament, and all the context, nuance, and history that it contains, this is the most fundamental truth, that which all else rests upon.

In God's plan, the Damned exist for the sake of humanity. They are the center piece of his Creation and all things exist in relation to them. Our purpose is to steer them towards the Heaven that we shall never reach. Our method shall be the illumination of the flaws of this world and the certainty of death. We are given to share this purpose with all other Damned, but only so that the purpose may be more broadly fulfilled.

This is not a mission of politics. This is not a duty of love. This is not a purpose of peace. This is a call to focus the eternity that we are given upon humanity and their potential salvation. Let us hold this foundational truth in mind each night as we face a myriad of distractions. If, before each act we make, we ask whether or not it fulfills this purpose, we will find ourselves more fully focused upon that which truly matters. Let all the rest fall aside as mere distraction from our true purpose.

Simon Patterson Gloveli
Inquisitor Generalis de Lacus Magni

In praise of our limitations

We are predators, superior to any natural thing that walks the face of the earth. We are given the gifts we possess in abundance in order to fulfill the greater plan of God. We survive what might kill lesser creatures, we heal rapidly when taking in sustenance, and time itself has no hold over us. Why then, given that we have a purpose to fulfill, would God place limitations—weaknesses—upon us, that plague no other creature? Why should the light of day lull us to sleep? Why should the beast rage within us? Why should we hunger endlessly? Why should fire burn us? Would we not be more fit and capable to fulfill our purpose without such limitations?

We know well that with the power of Damnation comes limitation. The Damned hide among those who still enjoy God's love, making themselves known only to exemplify fear. Though we are blessed by our Damnation, we are still denied for eternity the light of God's grace. These limitations are of God's design, and we are bound to them as surely as we are bound to the Vitae that gives us sustenance. Yet happy are we that we may recognize and celebrate our limitations as but one piece of the greater plan of almighty God, and follow them with piety and with good cheer. – Rule of Golgotha 5, paragraph 1

We are creatures of the corrupt and fallen mortal world. Even the most pure amongst us bears the stain of sin. God sets out to create an ordering to the cosmos, understanding and accounting for the moral shortcomings of all creatures. We bear our weaknesses in order to remind us of our proper place in that grand order. Though we possess greater strengths than any man, we are not entirely above him. It is not our place to rule over him, nor to pose as a god to him, nor to confuse ourselves as the same as him. We are not human, we have different purposes, and a different fate. Our weaknesses remind us of this.

It is within the Rule of Golgotha 5 that we find the earliest recording of the Traditions that govern our society to this night. We find them here because they help us to understand our relationship with humanity and with each other. What are the Traditions but a way of demarcating our place in the proper ordering of the cosmos? And what are our limitations but reminders of that proper place?

The light of day is denied us because it is given to man to enjoy. By giving us the night, we are encouraged to remain among, but apart from them. While man toils in the day, we toil the nighttime. The fire burns us that we might be reminded that our realm is darkness and within it we must hide.

The beast and the hunger within us reminds us that our place is the place of a predator. We are not lambs to walk the land in peace. We exist and endure to take the blood of life from others. All other form of sustenance is anathema to us that we might not confuse our place.

We properly celebrate our limitations because they are a reminder of our place in this world. They are a reminder that though we may look as men do, we are not men. Our place, our purpose, and our destination is our own. We know it through not just the strengths we possess, but by the weaknesses that are given to us. Rejoice in that reminder, for it is that which keeps us collectively safe and helps us find our way.

Simon Patterson Gloveli

Inquisitor Generalis de Lacus Magni