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
