The Roads of Enlightenment

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Revision as of 02:26, 18 July 2025

The Roads of Enlightenment and Belief for the Tal'mahe'Ra

(The below Roads are guidelines on how to role-play your Kindred's view of the world both mortal and Vampire alike. All Hand members must choose a Road to follow. Each Hand member is to role-play within the Road's guidelines to his or her best ability.)

The Road of Zemyaza

(Enochians)

Beliefs:

Enochians believe the key to inner peace is found only within oneself. Finding this wisdom requires the examination of one's desires and the practice of restraint. The Road of Zemyaza is a journey walked alone. There are no established meetings or rituals for the Road, though others may be consulted about their insights. It has no leaders, but those who have reached an understanding of what they are earn the respect of others on the Road.

The vampires on this Road study their race's history and their founder. They search for missing pieces to the Book of Enoch and accept the book as the truth. They seek to find Zemyaza and serve him as faithful childer. They are eschatologists as well, studying the concept and evidence of the Endless Night as well as all aspects of the great cycle of vampire events.

Diablerie is practiced not for its inherent material power, but to become closer to Zemyaza. The followers of this Road seek to eliminate the Antediluvians more fervently than any others within the sect.

The Road of Zemyaza is not concerned with the salvation of the vampire. Instead, it seeks to strengthen the natural order of the universe. Those on this Road believe that vampirism was established by Oblivion. Vampires are part of the natural order and it is not evil for them to act in the manner vampires should. Vampires should seek to sanctify their normal existence, not avoid it.

Practices:

- Search for wisdom through the exercise of restraint. Never go to extremes in anything.

- Develop your willpower and learn the meaning of inner strength.

- Learn as much as possible about vampiric history, especially that which concerns Zemyaza.

- Pursue any chances to drink the blood of older generations.

- Meditate and spend time alone to better understand yourself.

- Respect those on this Road who have come closer to the truth than yourself.

- Fight the Beast inside you. Master it. You are stronger. Never succumb to frenzy. The Beast will force you to murder whether you want to or not.

- Live in peace among humanity's works whenever possible. Do not reveal your existence to the humans. You were not meant to live with them as a brother or sister.

- Participate in War Parties if they provide you with opportunities for diablerie.

- Never have human allies or friends.

- Never feel guilty about taking human life.

- Never drink animal vitae when human vitae is available.

The Road of Cathari

(Cathari or Albigensians)

Beliefs:

The Road of Cathari is one of religious dualism. The basic beliefs hold that there are two creators, a good and bad. The good creator created the spiritual world. The bad creator was the progeny of the good and he created the material world. The Cathari (which means "the pure") believe the body to be evil, but the soul to be good. They accept the physical world, but consider all within to be evil.

Vampires were created by the evil god, Oblivion, to test the strength of the strong spirits and force them to succumb to the evil of the material world. The vampires that accepted this once-mortal religion have altered it to such a degree that it is almost unrecognizable from its original form. They hold that they were the predestined to become vampires, tied to the material world. The vile nature of their form only increases their belief in the innate evil of the material world.

The followers of this Road wholeheartedly accept evil as innate to their now-immortal existence, since they are denied the spiritual plane after death. They have developed a religious morality based on the original Cathari beliefs about how to avoid the evil of the world. The Cathari seek out the evil against which their predecessors acted.

Practices:

- Seek out material wealth. Make your immortal existence as pleasurable as possible.

- Create new vampires without hesitation. You are damning them, but immortal life really is not that bad.

- Succumb to temptation. You have nothing to fear from it. Let the Beast loose when it wants to come out and play.

- Do not trust anyone, because almost everyone is just as corrupt as you are. They just won't admit it.

- Accept the evil of the world as a natural part of existence. There is no reason to stop it or avoid causing it as long as it serves your needs.

- Do anything to increase your temporal power. Wealth is important to you.

- Pursue pleasure to the fullest.

- Kill humans without remorse.

- Flaunt your wealth.

- Drink animal blood as well as human blood, though humans are much more delicious than animals.

- Atrocity and savagery bother you very little or not at all. They are facts of life.

- You do not fear Final Death, but you avoid it at all costs. Existence is better as a vampire than as a human, so you wish to stay a vampire as long as you can.

- You are a total hedonist.

- You have trouble tolerating ascetics.

- Never maintain long-term romances with other vampires or kine.

The Road of Death and the Soul

(Necronomists)

Beliefs:

The Road of Death and the Soul is a Road devoted to understanding what it means to be an immortal soul trapped in a physical body. That vampire is a ghost with a physical form. All powers and weaknesses stern from this link with the spirit world. It is important to learn as much about the about the spirit world as possible so one can comprehend the purpose of existence.

Existence is constant cycle of birth, death and rebirth. The soul is constant. The soul lives out life after life as it draws closer to Oblivion. The vampire is the break in the cycle. The soul of a vampire is forever locked in one form. Many on this Road believe their souls will be released into the cycle again once they suffer Final Death but, like mortals, they are not eager to find out. Vampires were set apart from the cycle of existence when Zemyaza was changed. All vampires now carry the burden of Zemyaza for the length of their immortal lives. After Final Death, they are released from the curse to return as mortals once again.

The followers of this Road believe the soul to be located within the heart of the body. Blood serves both physical and spiritual functions. Since their own corpse-like bodies cannot produce blood, the blood of others is needed to revitalize the soul.

Practices:

- Study death in its many forms.

- Do not fear Final Death.

- Learn as much about the occult as possible. The clues have always been present, but now is the time to piece together the puzzle.

- Explore the nature and purpose of all things.

- Accept the greater consciousness to which all belong.

- Search for meaning in the emotions and conscience of your once mortal self.

- Act dispassionately, always analyze situations and act logically.

- Show no interest in making new friends, though you are courteous and loyal.

- Fight frenzy every time it tries to emerge.

- Perform your own "scientific experiments" to study death.

- Spend a lot of free time alone.

- Associate with others on this Road to glean their wisdom.

- You do not mind killing

The Road of Harmony

(Harmonists)

Beliefs:

Everything has a purpose, even vampires. It is a vampire's responsibility to walk the tightrope over the abyss without ever losing concentration. Vampires are not human, but they share many things in common with mortals. It is best to remains true to one's human side, for the monster inside is so strong that if one gives up one's humanity, there will be nothing left.

However, a vampire cannot be human. A vampire must prey upon them as livestock for her own needs. A vampire has a right to exist, and to exist she must feed, but she must never lose sight of what it is she must do and to whom she must do it. Prey is not to be wasted or treated as valueless. All life is precious. It is just vampiric nature to feed upon humanity. The Road of Harmony is in many ways the Road of Golconda. It is a means for vampires to achieve true inner harmony through acceptance of their dual nature There is nothing innately evil about acting in the manner that is natural to oneself.

Practices:

- Life should be respected. Human life should be taken only out of necessity, but you should never feel sorry for doing what is natural for you, like drinking blood.

- Shift between the human and the animal in you with ease; try hard to balance the two sides of your existence.

- You are very emotional and have a limited degree of compassion for all creatures.

- Have no compunctions about killing or drinking blood for your own survival.

- You are very sociable.

- Fight the frenzy when it is inconvenient, but ride the wave whenever you can.

- You like to be around nature and keep animals as pets.

- Visit the wild often if you live in the city.

The Road of the Honorable Accord

(Patriots, Canonici)

Beliefs:

This is the strongest of all the Roads. It is little more than a code of conduct, which serves to keep some semblance of order in a very chaotic sect. In fact, those on this Road are spelled out in the book called the Code of Milan. The basic philosophy accompanying the Code is one that does not try to understand the purpose of existence and instead focuses upon the present. Honor is the true measure of strength and greatness. Similar to the Road of Zemyaza, the Road of Honorable Accord is one of structure. However, unlike the former Road, this Road approves of change.

Practices:

- Serve your leader faithfully.

- Keep your word of honor.

- Respect your peers and treat them fairly.

- Never betray another's trust in you.

- Be brave. Cowards have no honor.

- Be generous to your brothers and sisters.

- Always repay debts.

- Treat the dishonorable harshly.

- Keep the traditions of our people.

- You dislike those who have no honor.

- You always support your comrades.

- You protect any in your charge from harm.

- You are very hospitable, yet can be very stern and harsh.

- You are loyal to the Black Hand above all else, including your own safety.

The Road of Lilith

(Lilins)

Beliefs:

Followers of this road call themselves Lilins after a class of demons associated in ancient lore with the Demon Queen. Many consider them the daemons of their namesake, as they are among the least human of Kindred. They believe in living separately from mortals and in acting as monsters. They dislike interfering with mortal affairs and do not espouse the vampiric ruling of kine. They place no faith in honor, trust, truth or fairness however; they realize there is strength in numbers and serve the Black Hand well. They are scholars, much like the Enochians who follow the Road of Zemyaza, except they study the legends and cultures of mages, werewolves and other creatures as well. Lilins believe all supernatural beings were born of Lilith.

The Lilins believe Lilith is the first vampire, not Zemyaza. Lilins consider her the mother of demons and the killer of children... including her own. Her name is the only word from the ancient language to survive, and for good reason - she still survives herself. She remains a great threat, and many would serve her. In the end, she will return to complete her task: She will kill all her children - the Kindred, the Garou, the mages and all others born of her blood.

Lilins believe personal strength comes from knowing one's limitations. They explore their vampiric natures, discovering their own weaknesses so they can overcome them and finding their strengths so they can improve upon them. The Lilins have their own secret libraries, said to contain ancient artifacts from vampiric history which not only link Lilith to the Kindred, but also support their claim of her being the first vampire. Some say they have original writings from the time of the real First City, Stygia, which speak of Zemyaza as Lilith's lover and king of the Kindred by her decree.

Followers of this road often practice Thaumaturgy. True masters of the Discipline are said to know a ritual for creating an amulet, which will guard against Lilith, demons, mages, werewolves and all other supernatural threats. Lilins often gather to conduct strange rituals of their own, far away from the prying eyes of their sect. Some believe they join with mortal cults and mages in these rituals. Lilins are typically extremely friendly with the Handmaidens of Lilith, as the two groups consider each other family under their Dark Mother.

Practices:

- Fear Lilith, for the Demon Queen kills her own children.

- Explore the worlds of other supernatural creatures and study their legends and myths, for Lilith is their creator, and each holds a piece of the puzzle.

- You are not meant to rule the mortal world.. You may hold enough power to protect yourself and rule your own kind, but your role is that of monster, not master.

- You are a master of the night. Rule it well. You must be the monster of legend, and all mortals should fear you.

- You must perfect your vampiric nature through the exploration of what unlife really means. Explore its pleasures, pains, joys, strengths, and weaknesses . You must know your limitations... and those of your enemies.

- Search out and confront your fears, overcome them and find the strength you need to survive.

- You are disgusted over the vampiric obsession with materialism and wealth.

- Always feed from mortals, for they were meant to be your prey.

- Use mortals as Retainers when necessary but remain apart from them. Do not befriend them or love them, for they are not of your kind..

- Maintain a facade of honor, honesty and fairness, but never truly follow these principles, as they set unnecessary limitations and spawn weakness.

- Love, trust and obey only those you must. Find strength in independence, but wisdom will teach you that you cannot always stand-alone.

- Know that in the end you will succumb to your weakness or to someone stronger then yourself. No one is truly immortal. No one is truly strong. You can only lengthen your unlifetime by making few enemies and by destroying those you do make.

The Road of Power and the Inner Voice

(Unifiers)

Beliefs:

This Road is devoted to ambition, strength and excellence. To be on this Road is to follow the heart's desire. This is the Road of passion. It is the penultimate expression of vampiric Darwinism. The object is to master oneself as well as others.

The followers of this Road believe their self-consciousness is an aspect of the soul itself. The soul exists outside the material world, but interacts with reality through the body. They believe both mortals and immortals have this power, but vampires have received the ability to allow part of their souls to enter the real world, and are this capable much more than humans.

Followers of this Road believe the truth lies within them and is best found by an inner search for personal enlightenment. At the same time, they believe in strengthening the power of the body through self-discipline. It is not uncommon for those on this Road to experience mystical visions related to the choices they make.

Practices:

- Follow your heart. Follow the Beast when necessary, but do not follow your fellow vampires - lead them.

- Develop your assets and hide your weaknesses. Show yourself as invincible.

- Support others on this Road as long as they do not oppose your own conquests.

- Never give quarter to the enemy and ask for none.

- Do not be influenced by mortal thoughts and morals. They are sources of weakness.

- Do not accept failure and punish it severely when it occurs.

- Expose weaknesses in others.

- Choose allies carefully. Never make long-term alliances.

- Treat those who follow you well. Use everyone for your own advancement.

- Spend a great deal of your free time in self-contemplation.

- Listen to everyone, but take only your own advice.

- Value power of all kinds. You believe power makes you stronger in more ways than one. Seek knowledge and wealth.

- Never remain satisfied with what you have or what you can do.

- Manipulate others to your personal advantage. Be willing to bend and break rules that restrain you.

- Betray those close to you if it is completely necessary to follow the Inner Voice.

The Road of the Scorched Heart

(The Unforgiving)

Beliefs:

The Road of the Scorched Heart is known for its ability to turn Kindred into inhuman creatures, completely devoid of emotions. Vampires without emotions do not hate, fear, envy, lust, love or enjoy...they only "experience". They are cold and cunning, and their logic is geared toward survival among the duplicitous and treacherous.

The road is followed by a number of Brujah, since it is an adoption of their beliefs. The whole purpose of the road is to teach that the Beast is strong and that it affects all emotions - even subconsciously. Thus all emotions are Beast-driven and so will eventually lead to corruption and despair. The only way to overcome the Beast is to cut free of all emotions and think logically about everything. While a part of the vampire dies in this process, the Beast becomes far weaker because its greatest tool is gone. Followers of this road recognize the distinction between good and evil and consider anything that positively benefits human society to be good - especially peace. They do not feed from "good people", but only take from mortals who have killed or who have performed great evils themselves. Otherwise they feed only upon animals.

The Unforgiving are pacifists most of the time but will kill any one they perceive as a threat to themselves. They murder without remorse and show no mercy to anyone they believe must be destroyed. They consider the majority of Kindred evil and continuously look for weaknesses in others. They always use those weaknesses against their enemies and never let an enemy live one night longer than she must. The Unforgiving are extremely secretive, for they know others will use their weaknesses against them. While they have a code of honor, they will lie, cheat, steal and do whatever else is necessary.

Practices:

- Love only yourself. Do not feel other emotions. Shut them away, repress them or overcome them. More importantly, never show any emotions (mercy, love, hate, etc.), for they reveal your weaknesses.

- Conceal your pleasures and interests, or others will turn them against you.

- Do not feel fear. Face down all your fears, for they are tools the Beast will use against you.

- Do not have friends among the Kindred - only associates.

- Choose allies carefully. No vampire can be trusted.

- Destroy those who stand in your way. Resist the Beast when it wants to be free.

- Fight the frenzy and build your inner strength. Always think logically. Do not let emotions cloud your judgment.

- Plan carefully whenever undertaking any important action.

- Always use others to your own benefit.

- Do not commit violence without just cause. Then, and only then, act without mercy, restraint or emotion. Never leave an enemy alive or undead.

- Among the Kindred you must be devious. Lie, chat, steal, murder and do whatever else is necessary for your own good..

- Do not waste all your time with debauchery and pleasures. Take what you need, but no more.

- Be generous, not greedy.

- Feed only from animals and evil mortals.

The Road of Blood

(Dervishes)

Beliefs:

Few know about this road outside clan Assamite, and even fewer follow it. Every follower of this road believes that the children of Zemyaza are nothing but failures fit only to bring them (the children of Haqim) closer to "the one". Haqim ordered all of his blood to seek out and destroy all the children of Zemyaza, and to purify the world from the taint they inflict upon it.

However openly announcing their intent would be outright suicide, as the rest of Kindred society would unite against them. Therefore they work as bodyguards and assassins for other Kindred, while claiming the blood of anyone unlucky enough to cross their road.

Practices:

- Never kill a mortal for sustenance. Though it is nourishing to the body, killing lessors poisons the soul.

- Honor your word to your Clanmates and never act against them.

- Do not give in to the Beast.

- Destroy all unrepentant Kindred outside the Clan.

- Pursue lesser blood, as other members of the Clan may benefit from such vitae.

- Aid more advanced members of the Road.

- Take every opportunity to lower your generation.

The Road of Bones

(Gravediggers)

Beliefs:

Those who follow the Road of Bones try to understand and solve the question of life and death. What is death? What comes after? What happens when a wraith or ghost gives up its existence and disappears? Is death simply the gateway into another existence? These are questions, which troubles the followers of the road nightly, and each opportunity to learn more will be spent.

Practices:

- Never show fear of Final Death, as fear inhibits learning.

- Study all occurrences of death.

- Never postpone feeding when hungry, that serves no greater purpose.

- Never refuse to kill when given the opportunity, and do not actively prevent death.

- Make all your decisions based on logic, not emotion.

- Do not inconvenience yourself to benefit another.

- Do not succumb to the Beast. It is irrational, and emotion serves no purpose to advance knowledge and understanding.

The Road of Night

(Nihilists)

Beliefs:

The followers of the Road of Night regard themselves as damned, and accept this. They believe it is their (un)holy duty to bring evil and torment to all agents of good, and to leave not part of life or unlife untainted by their touch. It is their belief that they should use any means necessary to tempt, horrify and disturb those around them. The weak will fall, while the strong will get stronger.

However, the followers of the road aren't butchers seeking an excuse for their blood thirst. They truly believe that by fulfilling the role given to them, they can transcend and finally find ultimate peace. It is said that some of the Nihilists who have fallen beneath the sword or the stake of mortals have thanked their mortal slayers for releasing them from their immortal torment.

Practices:

- Do not kill mortals for food, as dead mortals feel no dread.

- Act only in the best interest of yourself, not others.

- Never ask for aid from another, or offer aid to someone else.

- Do not accept the superiority of another, as all Kindred are equal.

- Only cause repentance, never repent for your own actions.

- Act only upon your own will, never bow to that of another Kindred.

The Road of Metamorphosis

(Metamorphosists)

Beliefs:

Followed exclusively by the member of Clan Tzimisce. They believe that chains of evolution make everything up; Animals are below humans, who are below Kindred, who are below something. The Tzimisce who follow this road believe that by the use of their discipline Vicissitude they can reach the next stage on the evolutionary ladder.

The majority of their time is spent in research. They use everything they can come across as subjects in their experiments, be it dead or alive. Even other Kindred might be used as subjects in these experiments. However, the Tzimisce who hope to ascent to the next stage are very suspicious and very rarely discuss their discoveries with others, this goes for other followers of the road as well.

Practices:

- Feed when hungry. Hunger is distracting.

- Do not indulge in pleasures, since hedonism is a deterrence.

- Never ask another for knowledge or share the knowledge you have. Knowledge is to be learned, not copied.

- Kill when knowledge may be gained from it.

- Ride out frenzies, for you must know the Beast to transcend it.

- Experiment, even at the risk of your own safety.

- Do not show compassion for others or consider the needs of others.

- Alter your own body, for physical change must be attained before any more significant metamorphosis.

The Road of Paradox

(Shilmulo)

Beliefs:

All most without exception all followers of the Road of Paradox comes from clan Ravnos, although there are a few Gangrels and Malkavians who claim to walk the Road of Paradox. Kindred are outside the never-ending universal cycle (maja). While other beings on the other hand are continually reborn through samsara, a continual connection to the cycle of rebirth. All people have a purpose to fill (svadharma), according to the Road, but Kindred have lost theirs. Because of the curse, and the Shilmulo regard their immortality as a curse, all Kindred must now try to advance maja. How to advance maja does however vary, but one thing is common to all the Shilmulo; Vampires, who do not follow the Road, must be eliminated.

Practices:

- Embrace only males, as they traditionally make better offerings.

- Never destroy another Shimulo.

- Do not kill mortals for sustenance, as death robs a person of their svadharma.

- Destroy other Vampires, as those that do not see the true way should be returned to a productive role in the cycle.

- Never become Blood Bound.

- Do not embrace needlessly or out of personal desire, as this is removing others from the cycle, not returning them to it.

- Always aid another's svadharma, as this is the purpose of the Shimulo.

The Road of Typhon

(Corrupters)

Beliefs:

The main goal of this road, which is practiced by almost all and almost exclusively by Serpents, is to resurrect their god and clan founder, Typhon. While Kindred outside this Road believes that Typhon was just another Antediluvian, the followers believe otherwise. They say that Set was divine before he was embraced; in fact they say that he allowed Zemyaza to embrace him. That way he could use the descendants of Zemyaza as servants and as weapons against his divine counterparts, such as the mythical Gaia and Lilith. Typhon, and his descendants, the Serpents, are agents of entropy and breaking down the old so the new may blossom.

Practices:

- Aid others of the Road.

- Pursue the indulgences of others, not your own. The slide into vice is a tool, not a recreation.

- Serve the Follower's religious rituals.

- Pursue all arcane knowledge, for the secret to Typhon's resurrection might be hidden anywhere.

- Undermine the current social order so that it favors Serpents.

- Do not obstruct another Serpent's efforts, for there is no room for petty power plays.

- Take advantage of others' weaknesses, as Typhon holds no place for compassion.

- Do all you can to aid in Typhon's resurrection.

- Corrupt others. The more individuals in Serpent's debt, the better.