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Via Hyron: The Path of the Hive
Nickname: Abelenes
Virtues: Conviction and Instinct
Bearing: Justice. Abelenes carry an atmosphere of divine retribution. Their bearing modifier affects rolls to convince others of the righteousness of their actions.
Basic Beliefs: As shepherds, Abelenes have been tasked to guide and protect Creation against demonic influences. The true accursed and enemies to all of creation are the children of the Lightbringer: demons, devils, and fallen angels. These ancient intelligences, birthed before the Word of the One Above unleashed Creation, wait in slumber, trapped by the One Above. Should these horrors be awakened, Creation would be flayed of all life.
The blasphemous titles of these entities are tremen-dously puissant, and each call uttered by infernal tongue rouses them further from rest. To ensure the preserva-tion of this great duty of keeping the sleepers passive and trapped, the Methuselah Moloch developed Via Hyron for his disciples — the ancient ethos of the Baali Clan. To accomplish his work, Moloch consumed one of the sleepers, and it spoke in his soul with the voice of a swarm. The chittering clicks translated by Moloch gave unity to the Baali. He learned the secrets of the sleepers and how to ensure they remain dormant on the edge of existence.
In order to maintain their slumber, the sleepers must be appeased through tireless efforts to flatter their hor-rendous dreams and desires. Chaos and destruction are the only lullaby that pacifies, and so a requisite balance is struck by the Abelenes: burn half the world or watch all of Creation erupt in flame. Though it revels in demonic trappings and profaning Christian iconography and text, Via Hyron is not infernalistic. Infernalists are believed to be especially dangerous to the Abelenes.
The names of the sleepers fuel infernal power, allowing them to patiently inch their way into Creation by devouring the souls of their supplicants. Therefore, all trace of their names must be erased from Creation. The misplaced faith of those corrupted to follow Lucifer’s churches has ever repelled the angels of the One Above and stunted humanity. The recently discovered Abelene Heresy (nearly stricken from the Guarded Rubrics but vouchsafed by the Molochim Old Clan Tzimisce and Baali) enhanced Moloch’s original teachings.
The writings contend that when the farmer Caine failed to sate the hunger of the One Above with his offering of herbs, grains, fruits, and flowers, his brother Abel showed him the way. Abel, the shepherd, ceased the beating heart and stained crimson the white coat of the most majestic goat in his flock in blood-offering to the One Above and was blessed for his sacrifice. Caine, seeing the path, wept as he lanced the heart of his brother Abel, sacrificing the first part of his joy with the branch of a pomegranate tree hewn from his unwanted oblation.
The One Above cursed Caine, marking him and his progeny for all time to gain no sustenance from the Earth without sacrificing joy for toil. Revoking the curse of death levied on mankind in Eden, he resurrected Abel to an immortal angel of vengeance, tasking Abel to be his brother’s shepherd and cull from Caine’s flock to reclaim the blood his brother had stolen from him. Abel’s broken heart was replaced with that of the beast Abel had offered. However, the One Above could not heal Abel’s sorrow despite the Beast tucked in Abel’s breast; the spiritual scar of Caine’s spear would perpetually wound him.
Seeing his trickery in Eden undone, the fallen angel Lucifer, bringer of morning and herald of the sun, grew jealous and spiteful that a child from the tribe of Adam was shown immortal favor and station that he himself had lost. He cursed Abel to the night, so the light from the One Above (presaged by the Morning Star Lucifer) would scorch and burn him evermore. Abelenes believe that all vampires are children of the light, shadows cursed to darkness, angels of vengeance blessed by the One Above, shepherding humanity and protecting creation against the Children of the Night.
Via Hyron: Path of the Hive Hierarchy of Sins
Rating Moral Guideline Rationale
10 Failing to ride the wave in frenzy The heart of Abel’s prized Beast was to him by the One Above. Its voice is sacred and unleashing its divinity protects his angels from assault.
9 Failing to staunch the in-fluence of institutionalized religion Throughout history, the deceiver, Lucifer, has twisted faith and clothed the spread of ignorance, bigotry, delusion, greed, and mayhem in the hypocrisy of religion. It is the duty of the Molochim to shepherd Caine’s flock.
8 Feeding on the children of Seth Reclaim Abel’s blood in vengeance from the builders, Caine’s chil-dren. Those living in harmony with Creation in the wild are not subject to retribution from the One Above.
7 Not actively pursuing safe knowledge of sorcery and the demonic Know thy enemy. Ignorance is darkness, and darkness is where the infernal hides. Blood sorcery is the sacrament in the arsenal against atrocity.
6 Refusing an opportunity to convert those seeking redemption The larger the hive, the greater the swarm. Those who have faced the infernal are hornets without a Nest waiting to be saved. Bind them through the blood and release them when they find shelter
5 Refusing to sing a lullaby to the sleepers The sleepers’ dreams are fueled by havoc and devastation visited upon Creation. Without fuel, the sleepers turn their attentions away from dreaming and seek to awaken.
4 Not being selective in a lullaby Undirected destruction that does not serve as fertilizer for new Creation to emerge is no better than an awoken sleeper. Shep-herd Creation by strategic application of violence and suffering.
3 Failing to enslave or extin-guish the demonic The One Above damned Lucifer and his children; their existence is forfeit.
2 Failing to cleanse the infernal Each utterance of a sleeper’s name and soul lost to the demonic stirs the sleepers from dream.
1 Failing to Nest Independence is the gateway to the infernal; Lucifer preys first upon individuals alone. Unity is the of the hive, isolation weakens the swarm. If leaving a Nest, find another.
The Ethics of the Path
• Be the Angel of Vengeance. Exact the toll of Abel and retrieve his stolen blood from Caine’s children, like a shepherd shearing his flock.
• Combat the authority of religion. Institutional worship and dogma are masks and forgeries for Lucifer’s church, including the Book of Nod. Only the Abelene creed holds the truth. The Molochim are the shepherds.
• Always be within a Nest. The Nest within the swarm of the Hive is the means of salvation to counter the infernal and demonic.
• Vampires are shadows cast by the One Above. When the One Above shines into a pit of blackest gloom, shadows are the only darkness permitted to remain.
• The Sacred Mission of the Molochim is the sword duty of all Abelenes. Keep the sleepers in dream at the expense of all else.
• Listen to your Beast. The one above bestowed the Beast to his angels for a reason. Heed its counsel and release its fury when enraged.
History
Via Hyron would have declined into obscurity were it not for the Tal’Mahe’Ra and Old Clan Tzimisce inculcating the Molochim Baali to form the Order of Moloch. In 1998, the demon Kupala awoke from its cage beneath the Carpathians. Molochim Baali flocked to the mountains in an attempt to quell the demon back to slumber. Only a few escaped extinction. Though failing, the Baali were not alone in their assault; Old Clan Tzimisce fought to restrain Kupala as well. The few Baali survivors found much in common with their new allies and pledged themselves to the Old Clan, sharing the Path’s sacred mission.
The Path went under serious revision by the Old Clan patrons. Its former ban on sorcerous practice of any kind was viewed as overly cautious and removed. The lack of its employment had crippled the Baali for millennia in their war and almost destroyed them entirely in their battle against Kupala. The Ethics of the Path and its Hierarchy of Sins were reconstituted to adapt the demonological knowledge of the Old Clan and formalize the mythos of the Abelene Heresy — a controversial 14th century Latin document thought to be derived from older sources un-known and considered dubious by the Rawi.
Current Practices
The swarm needs to endure; to endure, the sleepers must remain imprisoned. Disciples of Moloch study demonology as a means to an end, collecting vast amounts of forbidden knowledge to learn the hidden resting places and true names of the sleepers that they may better supplicate them into perpetual dreaming. Abelenes are noted occultists and incredibly skilled blood sorcerers who congregate in Nests, fluctuating groups of three to ten in membership, with no central authority. The Path itself was rebuilt to espouse the precepts of the Order of Moloch and all followers of the Path are, without exception, members of the Order. As it stands, the precepts of the Path are still in flux. A few artifacts from the previous Path still exist, but as its new patrons continue to exert influence, the Path of the Hive could become extinct, evolving into something new.
Description and Followers
Abelenes seem distant and inhuman to those outside of the Path. The needs and demands of the swarm (members of the Order of Moloch) guide the Path’s adherents. Followers do not possess a “hive mind,” but do focus on issues related to the Path within Nests. Members are demonologists, not infernalists. They do not submit to the powers of Hell or relinquish authority over their own souls. Abelenes strive to acquire the secrets of the demonic and either enslave, eradicate, or steal power from demons. Acolytes of the Path actively seek converts, choosing candidates who have been touched by the demonic and resisted its influence.
Following the Path
Nests of Abelenes support one another and keep each other in check to make sure none on the Path slip into infernalism. Unanimous vote guides the direction of a Nest, regardless of age or strength of the blood held by any member. Any within a Nest who disagree with a course of action chosen by the majority are required to leave. This method of governance guarantees that dangerous undertakings are rarely pursued without the strength of numbers to support a goal. Given the potential risks of infernalism, the refusal to allow individual leadership lim-its the liability of more powerful Abelenes from eclipsing their peers, curbing possible infernalists hiding within the Order from rapidly seizing control and spreading their filth throughout an entire Nest.
Common Abilities: Those following Via Hyron are expected to be devoted Academics and students of the Occult (with an emphasis on languages, demonology, and apocryphal religious scripture). To assist in the hunt for sleepers and track infernalists, the Path encourages Investigation and intuitive recognition of the supernatural through Awareness, while covering one’s motives from suspicion by way of Subterfuge.
Preferred Disciplines: Auspex and Animalism are emphasized for their information-gathering capabilities. Animalism, on top of awarding an unobtrusive network of spies, grants power over the Beast within others. Familiarity with any form of blood sorcery is demanded by the Path to provide some defense against the enemies of the Order. The versatility of Daimoinon compliments Abelene methodolo-gy and enhances its tendencies for combating fire with fire.
The Path of the Scorched Heart
Nickname: Unforgiving
Virtues: Conviction and Self-Control
Bearing: Intellect. Unforgiving are not easily swayed by appeals to emotion. Their bearing modifier affects rolls meant to influence them through Social Attributes.
Basic Beliefs: Emotion is a flaw that sullies perception and clouds judgment. Facts and hard data earned first-hand are what one can trust. The Unforgiving prize the faculty of reason, objectivity, logic, and observation over all else. The Path originates from a True Brujah whose unique perspective on vampiric existence led him to the conclusion that, since the Beast exercises its control through emotion, all emotion must therefore be tainted by the Beast.
With certainty, the actions of any Cainite not in com-mand of their emotions would surely be governed by their emotions, and therefore the Beast. In order to tame the Beast and find respite, one must first eradicate all trace of emotion by cutting off the mind and “scorching the heart.” If a Caintie can resist the Beast, she must resist it, and succumbing to frenzy or Rötschreck is an abject failure on the Path. Few Cainites recall events when in the grips of the Beast, ergo no knowledge, save secondhand, may be gleaned from the experience.
Unforgiving are superb listeners who vigilantly pay close attention to their surroundings, absorbing minutiae and details their peers overlook, which the Unforgiving store away and compartmentalize for later use. Meticulously thorough, they tend to have remarkably long and exact near-perfect memories, bordering on eidetic. As cham-pions of openness and honesty who abhor secrets, the Unforgiving are guaranteed to deliver literal truth, in all things, to any who deal with them.
Though lies are not tolerated, truth itself can be a deceit. Followers of this Path know that perceptions of what con-stitute wrong or immoral action are not definite. Opinions change with new information — right or wrong conclusions by an observer in a situation are malleable and mutable to the extent of the data used to arrive at a decision. Before under-taking any action that does not require immediate attention, they investigate, learn, and then act on their analysis only when secure enough in the knowledge acquired to do so.
The Unforgiving reveal only what is necessary to achieve their ends; the less an enemy knows, the more likely they are to make a mistake. Threats against oneself, however veiled, must be treated as real until proven otherwise. Loose ends and subtle hints cannot be trusted. The Unforgiving are dauntless and persistent in pursuit of a foe, not because of any petty emotional grudge or fear, but that the simple logic of self-preservation demands that one avoids any opportunity for an enemy to return and exact unexpected harm.
Path of the Scorched Heart Hierarchy of Sins
Rating Moral Guideline Rationale
10 Failing to acquire knowledge that is safely and readily available Knowledge is the wellspring of truth; you can never know enough.
9 Committing to any action without purpose Do not waste effort on what does not enhance you.
8 Sacrificing when you gain less A victory that costs you more than you earn gar-ners no benefit.
7 Relying on others Your actions are the only ones you can predict with absolute certainty.
6 Making assumptions Without clarity, error hides in the fog of unconsid-ered data.
5 Acting rashly You cannot learn from indiscriminate action. Ob-serve, think, calculate, consider, then act.
4 Speaking falsely Truth is a bullet. Without trust, truth has no gun.
3 Falling to frenzy or Rötschreck Carelessness is dangerous. You cannot control the threats you fail to see when not objective. If you cannot master yourself, you have no defense against others mastering you.
2 Making decisions based on emotion The urges of emotion are the words of the Beast, not your own. Purge them.
1 Acknowledging your emotions The Beast feels. You do not. Deny the Beast and it withers.
The Ethics of the Path
• Quench all emotion by drowning it in the frigid waters of reason. Emotion is the sole tool of the Beast, its only avenue of control. Lock the door to starve the Beast.
• Reality can be understood and quantified when not clouded by emotion. Right and wrong are atavistic emotional concepts. Morality is merely an impediment, a conduit for emotion. Favor ethics over morality and know the distinction.
• Trust only what you can verify. Assume nothing. Following a siren singing on the rocks only invites the ship to sink. Unless critically urgent for your survival, draw no conclusion, pass no judgment, and do not take any action without proof. When action is required, act decisively.
• Learn all you can; knowledge is never wasted. Simply knowing will help you predict the actions of others and the unfolding of circumstance.
• Define the nature of all your relationships explicitly. Never presume honesty or loyalty from another; intent is not a reliable indicator of outcome and truth to those with emotion is as subjective as ignorance.
• Be honest in all of your dealings to a fault (with preference to the fault of others, over that of your own). Truth is a weapon, so wield it. Let others deceive themselves by the truth in your words.
History
The True Brujah Rathmonicus first conceived the Path in the 14th century. Rathmonicus sought to catalogue and collect every philosophy and stricture made available to him on the topic of quieting the Beast. He compiled and recorded his findings in a codex called the Book of the Empty Heart. Though Rathmonicus himself fell to the tumult of the Anarch Revolt, copies of his work saw translations from his native Greek into Arabic, French, Latin, and eventually English. Despite only three verifiable copies of the original book surviving to the present age, unconfirmed English copies are somewhat common in scholarly circles. Path adherents diligently search for any texts to destroy inaccurate or inauthentic translations.
Current Practices
Students of Rathmonicus’ work have always been a rare breed, as those on the Path do not actively pursue converts. Teachers prefer to tutor those who discover the work on their own, see the merit in it, and seize the initiative to seek guidance by finding a mentor to direct them. Practitioners are inclined to organization and open communication with each other. Congregations of those on the Path are not unheard of, as they tend to contact one another when a copy of the Book of the Empty Heart appears in a newly opened collection, or on the market. When two or more Unforgiving meet, discourse usually steers to the philosophical and academic observances related to the subject of Rathmonicus’ book.
Description and Followers
Regardless of the Path’s inception with the True Brujah, they tend to be fickle in their disposition when it comes to Paths of Enlightenment. Brujah, Gangrel, Malkavian, and Toreador — those Clans most prone to wild emotion and needing to alleviate themselves of the Beast’s burden — tend to make up the bulk of the Path’s followers. Technology invokes a curiosity in adherents of the Path; even Elders take the time to study and comprehend new devices to serve them. The Unforgiving are unobtrusive, observant, quiet, and passive, but always alert. When they do speak, they ask clarifying questions and give simple, obvious statements on things that others have overlooked.
Following the Path
Withdrawn and non-confrontational, the Unforgiving repress emotion utterly and see little benefit in argument — the truth is not up for debate and blatant emotion clouds reasoning. When presented with contrary (false) viewpoints, followers deliver the factual position, ignor-ing opinion and those who stubbornly refuse to believe otherwise. Killing comes easily and without guilt. They typically have little compunction on the matter; evaluating and analyzing every potential outcome for a situation and striking where and when it proves necessary or advanta-geous for them to do so.
Common Abilities: Honing a refined command of Alertness, Investigation, Expression, and Academics is both respected and expected by followers of the Path. However, it bears noting that if a follower has the opportunity to learn something, she’s unlikely to decline.
Preferred Disciplines: The more one perceives the more data they gain, so Auspex is nearly universal amongst the Unforgiving. Animalism, by providing a ready means to quell and subdue the Beast, is equally prominent. Dominate as an instrument for coaxing forth the truth is both straightforward and blunt, complementing the Path. Yet, just as with Abilities, those on the Path of the Scorched Heart favor learning, and making any assumptions about their capabilities can prove quite fatal.
The Path of Self-Focus
Nickname: Internalists
Virtues: Conviction and Instinct
Bearing: Balance. Those around Internalists are relaxed by their peaceful presence. Their bearing modifier affects rolls to avoid confrontation or calm others down.
Basic Beliefs: Purpose is an illusion; the universe is a stream proceeding of its own accord and the rock that stands opposed is swallowed. Attempting to change a thing will only change you. Conscious inaction and acceptance of all things is the Path of Self-Focus. Where there is no conflict, the Beast is quiet. To be free of the Beast, one must welcome it or invite misery and failure.
Answers are irrelevant; they are an end and the universe is a way. Questions point to the way. The universe must work through each being. By interfering, one rejects the universe and assumes responsibility. Saving a being from pain robs the universe of a lesson and the being of a teacher. Actions align with the universe only when spontaneous, natural and the result of the moment.
Planning for the future is foolish, and acting for the past is wasteful. The work is done and then forgotten. And so it lasts forever. Only the ever-present holds the way of things. Focused, undistracted attention leaves no room for angst, passion, or consideration for anything other than the moment.
Path of Self-Focus Hierarchy of Sins
Rating Moral Guideline Rationale
10 Accepting everything A bowl filled to the brim will spill.
9 Accepting nothing Oversharpen your knife and it will break.
8 Laziness An ant on the move does more than a sleeping elephant.
7 Interfering in the universe In order to lead, walk behind.
6 Restraining the Beast Struggle creates conflict and moves you out of line with yourself.
5 Failure to treat others as you would be treated Act as your own master. Even a teacher must be questioned.
4 Allowing the universe to interfere with you You alone control your actions.
3 Overconfidence To know strength, harness weakness.
2 Rejecting nothing Water is gentler and more flexible than anything, and yet nothing can resist it.
1 Rejecting everything By not changing direction, you always arrive where you are headed.
The Ethics of the Path
• Exist only in the moment. Pay no mind to what has been or what is to come. Only the now can be affected.
• Nothing is exclusive or separate. The intellectual and the visceral are equal parts of your nature. Know yourself and the Beast utterly.
• To mourn suggests the universe is wrong. When hungry, feed. When threatened, kill.
• It is better to be underestimated than overestimated. The overconfident do not know their limits, and the weak are underestimated by all. Weakness is strength you have not mastered.
• Meaning is an invention of the heart. The mind compromises with meaning through words. Actions are the language of the universe. Meaning is imma-terial; words are paint, but actions build a house.
• A being’s responsibility is to itself, not others.
History
Dating back to the 6th century CE, the Path of Self Focus emerged out of cultural appropriation between Asian and Middle Eastern vampires trading in goods and ideas. Muslim Cainites learned the secrets of manu-facturing paper and the philosophies of the Far East, and Zen Buddhism and the mortal teacher Laozi’s concept of “Wu Wei” spread amongst the Ashirra courts. However, the foreign precepts were never fully adopted. Were it not for the attention of the Nagaraja, who then nurtured the basic concepts within the Tal’Mahe’Ra, the Path may not have materialized at all. While the Path never gained popularity with the Western Hand’s European Cainites, it has a small but dedicated following in the Eastern Hand and a growing interest in the Americas.
Current Practices
Followers of the Path are renowned for their intelli-gent introspection and tranquil, balanced nature. The Internalists’ ethical doctrine does not promote evangelizing or a desire to increase their influence inorganically by intention. The Path’s pursuits tend to be solitary; outside of mentor-student relationships path adherents rarely have any contact. Age, Clan, or Sect normally do not factor in determining who an Internalist will teach. Internalists commonly spend their time making observations on the “way” and discussions with prospective students who grasp the basic ideas.
Description and Followers
Many Kindred encountering Internalists dismiss them as slow and passive, but understand all too quickly that the Path’s followers are more than capable (and willing) to defend themselves if pressed — a stream, after all, does not have to destroy a rock to engulf it and uses as much or as little force as needed to do so. Patient and perceptive, all seek out new sensations to glimpse the unfolding “way” of the universe in action and would never reject or insult someone based on beliefs or words. Unlike the Unforgiving, Internalists are pure subjectivists — how circumstance relates to them as a whole is what captures their interest, not the minute details therein. Whereas the Unforgiving absorb whatever knowledge they can, Internalists learn skills that complement or contrast their inherent strengths and weaknesses.
Following the Path
Internalists are introspective in the extreme. New sen-sations (such as a different method of feeding or suffering a wound from a different source) are always fresh soil for contemplation. Existence is a series of spontaneous and perpetual changes, and to resist will only sow failure. Things must flow forward in whatever way they choose. To Internalists, dichotomies such as life and death, or the Beast and Cainite, are a single thread viewed from different sides.
Common Abilities: Anything that assists in “knowing” the universe through oneself (and vice-versa) while avoiding unnecessary stress is popular among Internalists. Empathy, Expression, Etiquette, and Survival offer followers the means to reflect and navigate on experience.
Preferred Disciplines: With the ability to drift in the ether, transcending the body through the higher levels of Auspex pairs well with the Internalist philosophy of “non-doing” or conscious inaction. Disciplines that rely on changing the self (such as Protean or Vicissitude) are valued. Most Internalists aspire to Celerity for its day-to-day utilitarian qualities as well as its simultaneous offering of both offensive and defensive uses.
Nickname: Abelenes
Virtues: Conviction and Instinct
Bearing: Justice. Abelenes carry an atmosphere of divine retribution. Their bearing modifier affects rolls to convince others of the righteousness of their actions.
Basic Beliefs: As shepherds, Abelenes have been tasked to guide and protect Creation against demonic influences. The true accursed and enemies to all of creation are the children of the Lightbringer: demons, devils, and fallen angels. These ancient intelligences, birthed before the Word of the One Above unleashed Creation, wait in slumber, trapped by the One Above. Should these horrors be awakened, Creation would be flayed of all life.
The blasphemous titles of these entities are tremen-dously puissant, and each call uttered by infernal tongue rouses them further from rest. To ensure the preserva-tion of this great duty of keeping the sleepers passive and trapped, the Methuselah Moloch developed Via Hyron for his disciples — the ancient ethos of the Baali Clan. To accomplish his work, Moloch consumed one of the sleepers, and it spoke in his soul with the voice of a swarm. The chittering clicks translated by Moloch gave unity to the Baali. He learned the secrets of the sleepers and how to ensure they remain dormant on the edge of existence.
In order to maintain their slumber, the sleepers must be appeased through tireless efforts to flatter their hor-rendous dreams and desires. Chaos and destruction are the only lullaby that pacifies, and so a requisite balance is struck by the Abelenes: burn half the world or watch all of Creation erupt in flame. Though it revels in demonic trappings and profaning Christian iconography and text, Via Hyron is not infernalistic. Infernalists are believed to be especially dangerous to the Abelenes.
The names of the sleepers fuel infernal power, allowing them to patiently inch their way into Creation by devouring the souls of their supplicants. Therefore, all trace of their names must be erased from Creation. The misplaced faith of those corrupted to follow Lucifer’s churches has ever repelled the angels of the One Above and stunted humanity. The recently discovered Abelene Heresy (nearly stricken from the Guarded Rubrics but vouchsafed by the Molochim Old Clan Tzimisce and Baali) enhanced Moloch’s original teachings.
The writings contend that when the farmer Caine failed to sate the hunger of the One Above with his offering of herbs, grains, fruits, and flowers, his brother Abel showed him the way. Abel, the shepherd, ceased the beating heart and stained crimson the white coat of the most majestic goat in his flock in blood-offering to the One Above and was blessed for his sacrifice. Caine, seeing the path, wept as he lanced the heart of his brother Abel, sacrificing the first part of his joy with the branch of a pomegranate tree hewn from his unwanted oblation.
The One Above cursed Caine, marking him and his progeny for all time to gain no sustenance from the Earth without sacrificing joy for toil. Revoking the curse of death levied on mankind in Eden, he resurrected Abel to an immortal angel of vengeance, tasking Abel to be his brother’s shepherd and cull from Caine’s flock to reclaim the blood his brother had stolen from him. Abel’s broken heart was replaced with that of the beast Abel had offered. However, the One Above could not heal Abel’s sorrow despite the Beast tucked in Abel’s breast; the spiritual scar of Caine’s spear would perpetually wound him.
Seeing his trickery in Eden undone, the fallen angel Lucifer, bringer of morning and herald of the sun, grew jealous and spiteful that a child from the tribe of Adam was shown immortal favor and station that he himself had lost. He cursed Abel to the night, so the light from the One Above (presaged by the Morning Star Lucifer) would scorch and burn him evermore. Abelenes believe that all vampires are children of the light, shadows cursed to darkness, angels of vengeance blessed by the One Above, shepherding humanity and protecting creation against the Children of the Night.
Via Hyron: Path of the Hive Hierarchy of Sins
Rating Moral Guideline Rationale
10 Failing to ride the wave in frenzy The heart of Abel’s prized Beast was to him by the One Above. Its voice is sacred and unleashing its divinity protects his angels from assault.
9 Failing to staunch the in-fluence of institutionalized religion Throughout history, the deceiver, Lucifer, has twisted faith and clothed the spread of ignorance, bigotry, delusion, greed, and mayhem in the hypocrisy of religion. It is the duty of the Molochim to shepherd Caine’s flock.
8 Feeding on the children of Seth Reclaim Abel’s blood in vengeance from the builders, Caine’s chil-dren. Those living in harmony with Creation in the wild are not subject to retribution from the One Above.
7 Not actively pursuing safe knowledge of sorcery and the demonic Know thy enemy. Ignorance is darkness, and darkness is where the infernal hides. Blood sorcery is the sacrament in the arsenal against atrocity.
6 Refusing an opportunity to convert those seeking redemption The larger the hive, the greater the swarm. Those who have faced the infernal are hornets without a Nest waiting to be saved. Bind them through the blood and release them when they find shelter
5 Refusing to sing a lullaby to the sleepers The sleepers’ dreams are fueled by havoc and devastation visited upon Creation. Without fuel, the sleepers turn their attentions away from dreaming and seek to awaken.
4 Not being selective in a lullaby Undirected destruction that does not serve as fertilizer for new Creation to emerge is no better than an awoken sleeper. Shep-herd Creation by strategic application of violence and suffering.
3 Failing to enslave or extin-guish the demonic The One Above damned Lucifer and his children; their existence is forfeit.
2 Failing to cleanse the infernal Each utterance of a sleeper’s name and soul lost to the demonic stirs the sleepers from dream.
1 Failing to Nest Independence is the gateway to the infernal; Lucifer preys first upon individuals alone. Unity is the of the hive, isolation weakens the swarm. If leaving a Nest, find another.
The Ethics of the Path
• Be the Angel of Vengeance. Exact the toll of Abel and retrieve his stolen blood from Caine’s children, like a shepherd shearing his flock.
• Combat the authority of religion. Institutional worship and dogma are masks and forgeries for Lucifer’s church, including the Book of Nod. Only the Abelene creed holds the truth. The Molochim are the shepherds.
• Always be within a Nest. The Nest within the swarm of the Hive is the means of salvation to counter the infernal and demonic.
• Vampires are shadows cast by the One Above. When the One Above shines into a pit of blackest gloom, shadows are the only darkness permitted to remain.
• The Sacred Mission of the Molochim is the sword duty of all Abelenes. Keep the sleepers in dream at the expense of all else.
• Listen to your Beast. The one above bestowed the Beast to his angels for a reason. Heed its counsel and release its fury when enraged.
History
Via Hyron would have declined into obscurity were it not for the Tal’Mahe’Ra and Old Clan Tzimisce inculcating the Molochim Baali to form the Order of Moloch. In 1998, the demon Kupala awoke from its cage beneath the Carpathians. Molochim Baali flocked to the mountains in an attempt to quell the demon back to slumber. Only a few escaped extinction. Though failing, the Baali were not alone in their assault; Old Clan Tzimisce fought to restrain Kupala as well. The few Baali survivors found much in common with their new allies and pledged themselves to the Old Clan, sharing the Path’s sacred mission.
The Path went under serious revision by the Old Clan patrons. Its former ban on sorcerous practice of any kind was viewed as overly cautious and removed. The lack of its employment had crippled the Baali for millennia in their war and almost destroyed them entirely in their battle against Kupala. The Ethics of the Path and its Hierarchy of Sins were reconstituted to adapt the demonological knowledge of the Old Clan and formalize the mythos of the Abelene Heresy — a controversial 14th century Latin document thought to be derived from older sources un-known and considered dubious by the Rawi.
Current Practices
The swarm needs to endure; to endure, the sleepers must remain imprisoned. Disciples of Moloch study demonology as a means to an end, collecting vast amounts of forbidden knowledge to learn the hidden resting places and true names of the sleepers that they may better supplicate them into perpetual dreaming. Abelenes are noted occultists and incredibly skilled blood sorcerers who congregate in Nests, fluctuating groups of three to ten in membership, with no central authority. The Path itself was rebuilt to espouse the precepts of the Order of Moloch and all followers of the Path are, without exception, members of the Order. As it stands, the precepts of the Path are still in flux. A few artifacts from the previous Path still exist, but as its new patrons continue to exert influence, the Path of the Hive could become extinct, evolving into something new.
Description and Followers
Abelenes seem distant and inhuman to those outside of the Path. The needs and demands of the swarm (members of the Order of Moloch) guide the Path’s adherents. Followers do not possess a “hive mind,” but do focus on issues related to the Path within Nests. Members are demonologists, not infernalists. They do not submit to the powers of Hell or relinquish authority over their own souls. Abelenes strive to acquire the secrets of the demonic and either enslave, eradicate, or steal power from demons. Acolytes of the Path actively seek converts, choosing candidates who have been touched by the demonic and resisted its influence.
Following the Path
Nests of Abelenes support one another and keep each other in check to make sure none on the Path slip into infernalism. Unanimous vote guides the direction of a Nest, regardless of age or strength of the blood held by any member. Any within a Nest who disagree with a course of action chosen by the majority are required to leave. This method of governance guarantees that dangerous undertakings are rarely pursued without the strength of numbers to support a goal. Given the potential risks of infernalism, the refusal to allow individual leadership lim-its the liability of more powerful Abelenes from eclipsing their peers, curbing possible infernalists hiding within the Order from rapidly seizing control and spreading their filth throughout an entire Nest.
Common Abilities: Those following Via Hyron are expected to be devoted Academics and students of the Occult (with an emphasis on languages, demonology, and apocryphal religious scripture). To assist in the hunt for sleepers and track infernalists, the Path encourages Investigation and intuitive recognition of the supernatural through Awareness, while covering one’s motives from suspicion by way of Subterfuge.
Preferred Disciplines: Auspex and Animalism are emphasized for their information-gathering capabilities. Animalism, on top of awarding an unobtrusive network of spies, grants power over the Beast within others. Familiarity with any form of blood sorcery is demanded by the Path to provide some defense against the enemies of the Order. The versatility of Daimoinon compliments Abelene methodolo-gy and enhances its tendencies for combating fire with fire.
The Path of the Scorched Heart
Nickname: Unforgiving
Virtues: Conviction and Self-Control
Bearing: Intellect. Unforgiving are not easily swayed by appeals to emotion. Their bearing modifier affects rolls meant to influence them through Social Attributes.
Basic Beliefs: Emotion is a flaw that sullies perception and clouds judgment. Facts and hard data earned first-hand are what one can trust. The Unforgiving prize the faculty of reason, objectivity, logic, and observation over all else. The Path originates from a True Brujah whose unique perspective on vampiric existence led him to the conclusion that, since the Beast exercises its control through emotion, all emotion must therefore be tainted by the Beast.
With certainty, the actions of any Cainite not in com-mand of their emotions would surely be governed by their emotions, and therefore the Beast. In order to tame the Beast and find respite, one must first eradicate all trace of emotion by cutting off the mind and “scorching the heart.” If a Caintie can resist the Beast, she must resist it, and succumbing to frenzy or Rötschreck is an abject failure on the Path. Few Cainites recall events when in the grips of the Beast, ergo no knowledge, save secondhand, may be gleaned from the experience.
Unforgiving are superb listeners who vigilantly pay close attention to their surroundings, absorbing minutiae and details their peers overlook, which the Unforgiving store away and compartmentalize for later use. Meticulously thorough, they tend to have remarkably long and exact near-perfect memories, bordering on eidetic. As cham-pions of openness and honesty who abhor secrets, the Unforgiving are guaranteed to deliver literal truth, in all things, to any who deal with them.
Though lies are not tolerated, truth itself can be a deceit. Followers of this Path know that perceptions of what con-stitute wrong or immoral action are not definite. Opinions change with new information — right or wrong conclusions by an observer in a situation are malleable and mutable to the extent of the data used to arrive at a decision. Before under-taking any action that does not require immediate attention, they investigate, learn, and then act on their analysis only when secure enough in the knowledge acquired to do so.
The Unforgiving reveal only what is necessary to achieve their ends; the less an enemy knows, the more likely they are to make a mistake. Threats against oneself, however veiled, must be treated as real until proven otherwise. Loose ends and subtle hints cannot be trusted. The Unforgiving are dauntless and persistent in pursuit of a foe, not because of any petty emotional grudge or fear, but that the simple logic of self-preservation demands that one avoids any opportunity for an enemy to return and exact unexpected harm.
Path of the Scorched Heart Hierarchy of Sins
Rating Moral Guideline Rationale
10 Failing to acquire knowledge that is safely and readily available Knowledge is the wellspring of truth; you can never know enough.
9 Committing to any action without purpose Do not waste effort on what does not enhance you.
8 Sacrificing when you gain less A victory that costs you more than you earn gar-ners no benefit.
7 Relying on others Your actions are the only ones you can predict with absolute certainty.
6 Making assumptions Without clarity, error hides in the fog of unconsid-ered data.
5 Acting rashly You cannot learn from indiscriminate action. Ob-serve, think, calculate, consider, then act.
4 Speaking falsely Truth is a bullet. Without trust, truth has no gun.
3 Falling to frenzy or Rötschreck Carelessness is dangerous. You cannot control the threats you fail to see when not objective. If you cannot master yourself, you have no defense against others mastering you.
2 Making decisions based on emotion The urges of emotion are the words of the Beast, not your own. Purge them.
1 Acknowledging your emotions The Beast feels. You do not. Deny the Beast and it withers.
The Ethics of the Path
• Quench all emotion by drowning it in the frigid waters of reason. Emotion is the sole tool of the Beast, its only avenue of control. Lock the door to starve the Beast.
• Reality can be understood and quantified when not clouded by emotion. Right and wrong are atavistic emotional concepts. Morality is merely an impediment, a conduit for emotion. Favor ethics over morality and know the distinction.
• Trust only what you can verify. Assume nothing. Following a siren singing on the rocks only invites the ship to sink. Unless critically urgent for your survival, draw no conclusion, pass no judgment, and do not take any action without proof. When action is required, act decisively.
• Learn all you can; knowledge is never wasted. Simply knowing will help you predict the actions of others and the unfolding of circumstance.
• Define the nature of all your relationships explicitly. Never presume honesty or loyalty from another; intent is not a reliable indicator of outcome and truth to those with emotion is as subjective as ignorance.
• Be honest in all of your dealings to a fault (with preference to the fault of others, over that of your own). Truth is a weapon, so wield it. Let others deceive themselves by the truth in your words.
History
The True Brujah Rathmonicus first conceived the Path in the 14th century. Rathmonicus sought to catalogue and collect every philosophy and stricture made available to him on the topic of quieting the Beast. He compiled and recorded his findings in a codex called the Book of the Empty Heart. Though Rathmonicus himself fell to the tumult of the Anarch Revolt, copies of his work saw translations from his native Greek into Arabic, French, Latin, and eventually English. Despite only three verifiable copies of the original book surviving to the present age, unconfirmed English copies are somewhat common in scholarly circles. Path adherents diligently search for any texts to destroy inaccurate or inauthentic translations.
Current Practices
Students of Rathmonicus’ work have always been a rare breed, as those on the Path do not actively pursue converts. Teachers prefer to tutor those who discover the work on their own, see the merit in it, and seize the initiative to seek guidance by finding a mentor to direct them. Practitioners are inclined to organization and open communication with each other. Congregations of those on the Path are not unheard of, as they tend to contact one another when a copy of the Book of the Empty Heart appears in a newly opened collection, or on the market. When two or more Unforgiving meet, discourse usually steers to the philosophical and academic observances related to the subject of Rathmonicus’ book.
Description and Followers
Regardless of the Path’s inception with the True Brujah, they tend to be fickle in their disposition when it comes to Paths of Enlightenment. Brujah, Gangrel, Malkavian, and Toreador — those Clans most prone to wild emotion and needing to alleviate themselves of the Beast’s burden — tend to make up the bulk of the Path’s followers. Technology invokes a curiosity in adherents of the Path; even Elders take the time to study and comprehend new devices to serve them. The Unforgiving are unobtrusive, observant, quiet, and passive, but always alert. When they do speak, they ask clarifying questions and give simple, obvious statements on things that others have overlooked.
Following the Path
Withdrawn and non-confrontational, the Unforgiving repress emotion utterly and see little benefit in argument — the truth is not up for debate and blatant emotion clouds reasoning. When presented with contrary (false) viewpoints, followers deliver the factual position, ignor-ing opinion and those who stubbornly refuse to believe otherwise. Killing comes easily and without guilt. They typically have little compunction on the matter; evaluating and analyzing every potential outcome for a situation and striking where and when it proves necessary or advanta-geous for them to do so.
Common Abilities: Honing a refined command of Alertness, Investigation, Expression, and Academics is both respected and expected by followers of the Path. However, it bears noting that if a follower has the opportunity to learn something, she’s unlikely to decline.
Preferred Disciplines: The more one perceives the more data they gain, so Auspex is nearly universal amongst the Unforgiving. Animalism, by providing a ready means to quell and subdue the Beast, is equally prominent. Dominate as an instrument for coaxing forth the truth is both straightforward and blunt, complementing the Path. Yet, just as with Abilities, those on the Path of the Scorched Heart favor learning, and making any assumptions about their capabilities can prove quite fatal.
The Path of Self-Focus
Nickname: Internalists
Virtues: Conviction and Instinct
Bearing: Balance. Those around Internalists are relaxed by their peaceful presence. Their bearing modifier affects rolls to avoid confrontation or calm others down.
Basic Beliefs: Purpose is an illusion; the universe is a stream proceeding of its own accord and the rock that stands opposed is swallowed. Attempting to change a thing will only change you. Conscious inaction and acceptance of all things is the Path of Self-Focus. Where there is no conflict, the Beast is quiet. To be free of the Beast, one must welcome it or invite misery and failure.
Answers are irrelevant; they are an end and the universe is a way. Questions point to the way. The universe must work through each being. By interfering, one rejects the universe and assumes responsibility. Saving a being from pain robs the universe of a lesson and the being of a teacher. Actions align with the universe only when spontaneous, natural and the result of the moment.
Planning for the future is foolish, and acting for the past is wasteful. The work is done and then forgotten. And so it lasts forever. Only the ever-present holds the way of things. Focused, undistracted attention leaves no room for angst, passion, or consideration for anything other than the moment.
Path of Self-Focus Hierarchy of Sins
Rating Moral Guideline Rationale
10 Accepting everything A bowl filled to the brim will spill.
9 Accepting nothing Oversharpen your knife and it will break.
8 Laziness An ant on the move does more than a sleeping elephant.
7 Interfering in the universe In order to lead, walk behind.
6 Restraining the Beast Struggle creates conflict and moves you out of line with yourself.
5 Failure to treat others as you would be treated Act as your own master. Even a teacher must be questioned.
4 Allowing the universe to interfere with you You alone control your actions.
3 Overconfidence To know strength, harness weakness.
2 Rejecting nothing Water is gentler and more flexible than anything, and yet nothing can resist it.
1 Rejecting everything By not changing direction, you always arrive where you are headed.
The Ethics of the Path
• Exist only in the moment. Pay no mind to what has been or what is to come. Only the now can be affected.
• Nothing is exclusive or separate. The intellectual and the visceral are equal parts of your nature. Know yourself and the Beast utterly.
• To mourn suggests the universe is wrong. When hungry, feed. When threatened, kill.
• It is better to be underestimated than overestimated. The overconfident do not know their limits, and the weak are underestimated by all. Weakness is strength you have not mastered.
• Meaning is an invention of the heart. The mind compromises with meaning through words. Actions are the language of the universe. Meaning is imma-terial; words are paint, but actions build a house.
• A being’s responsibility is to itself, not others.
History
Dating back to the 6th century CE, the Path of Self Focus emerged out of cultural appropriation between Asian and Middle Eastern vampires trading in goods and ideas. Muslim Cainites learned the secrets of manu-facturing paper and the philosophies of the Far East, and Zen Buddhism and the mortal teacher Laozi’s concept of “Wu Wei” spread amongst the Ashirra courts. However, the foreign precepts were never fully adopted. Were it not for the attention of the Nagaraja, who then nurtured the basic concepts within the Tal’Mahe’Ra, the Path may not have materialized at all. While the Path never gained popularity with the Western Hand’s European Cainites, it has a small but dedicated following in the Eastern Hand and a growing interest in the Americas.
Current Practices
Followers of the Path are renowned for their intelli-gent introspection and tranquil, balanced nature. The Internalists’ ethical doctrine does not promote evangelizing or a desire to increase their influence inorganically by intention. The Path’s pursuits tend to be solitary; outside of mentor-student relationships path adherents rarely have any contact. Age, Clan, or Sect normally do not factor in determining who an Internalist will teach. Internalists commonly spend their time making observations on the “way” and discussions with prospective students who grasp the basic ideas.
Description and Followers
Many Kindred encountering Internalists dismiss them as slow and passive, but understand all too quickly that the Path’s followers are more than capable (and willing) to defend themselves if pressed — a stream, after all, does not have to destroy a rock to engulf it and uses as much or as little force as needed to do so. Patient and perceptive, all seek out new sensations to glimpse the unfolding “way” of the universe in action and would never reject or insult someone based on beliefs or words. Unlike the Unforgiving, Internalists are pure subjectivists — how circumstance relates to them as a whole is what captures their interest, not the minute details therein. Whereas the Unforgiving absorb whatever knowledge they can, Internalists learn skills that complement or contrast their inherent strengths and weaknesses.
Following the Path
Internalists are introspective in the extreme. New sen-sations (such as a different method of feeding or suffering a wound from a different source) are always fresh soil for contemplation. Existence is a series of spontaneous and perpetual changes, and to resist will only sow failure. Things must flow forward in whatever way they choose. To Internalists, dichotomies such as life and death, or the Beast and Cainite, are a single thread viewed from different sides.
Common Abilities: Anything that assists in “knowing” the universe through oneself (and vice-versa) while avoiding unnecessary stress is popular among Internalists. Empathy, Expression, Etiquette, and Survival offer followers the means to reflect and navigate on experience.
Preferred Disciplines: With the ability to drift in the ether, transcending the body through the higher levels of Auspex pairs well with the Internalist philosophy of “non-doing” or conscious inaction. Disciplines that rely on changing the self (such as Protean or Vicissitude) are valued. Most Internalists aspire to Celerity for its day-to-day utilitarian qualities as well as its simultaneous offering of both offensive and defensive uses.