Recently there has been a lot of talk about sin, god, absolution, redemption, and kindred. I know that the Lancia Sanctum or the Acolytes of the Circle tend to be our philosophers on religion's place among our kind. However with recent events, I feel it necessary to look back to where we came from to find our foundation for this issue. I recognize the irony in that statement. We Dragons are ever looking forward to what we kindred can become now that we are freed from mortality and blessed/cursed with immortality.
My point is look to the mortals. I understand that the Lancia believe that their bible is the true version. They are demons to tempt or punish mortals. Some believe that if they can do whatever it is that they do to mortals then that mortal is not righteous enough. That is a fair stance to take, but the mortals themselves have described the phenomena far clearer and over a longer period of time. Many mortal philosophers have examined the bible and other religious texts and concluded that entity god is dead and we are just in his still partly working machine. Others follow the belief that god is alive but like a neglectful parent who drowns their baby in the bathtub god is not invested in our mewling cries. These may seem like pessimistic viewpoints, but examine closely the counter arguments. There is significant proof of humanity's cursed and struggling existence and very little proof of divine intervention (kindred or otherwise).
Even when we were mortal, however long ago that was, god did not care about us. Millions pray every day for peace, food for their table, shelter from the abuse that god's creation applies and all these prayers go unanswered. I prefer to think that god is dead. That is the kindest option. If god still exists and he ignores or abuses or tests his creation in this fashion, then god is truly the most evil entity in all of existence. And I've met several extremely dark souls in my requiem.
Let us examine the followers of god. Many mortals do good only with the expectation of a metaphysical reward. If the only thing keeping a person decent is the expectation of divine reward, then that person is a piece of shit. In addition to this, the common good make up stories and creation myths of god. Look at those who choose to preach, those who lead or pull others to god. some truly believe and wish to do only good. However, a great number brainwash the lesser educated, the foolhardy, and the desperate. They transfer the people's fear and self-loathing onto themselves and become a figurehead of authority that provides an immediate cathartic release. The more fervent they are about their faith, the more the followers respond in kind. The message changes, but the acts stay the same. Religion has been used as a tool of control. It has pacified nations. It has crumbled empires.
Now, while I view the entity of god to be dead or worse than and I despise the masses that buy in to fervent metaphysical ideology without examining its true purpose, I fully believe that the allegory and the moral teachings in many religious texts are a good baseline. They set a value system that most mortals agree upon and many younger kindred still feel attached to. I respect those of our kind that choose to stick to an overly stringent set of personal rules. They choose to make their immortality harder. This has to it a twisted nobility that is rarely seen in nights that we currently frequent. I know kindred that have only ever eaten animals and refuse to taste the sweet nectar that is human blood. I know kindred that hold to strict moral tenants that they followed while living. This elegance is one of the few things that still passes for beauty in my eyes. My respect for the older of us that still hold to their rules and faith is almost boundless. I choose to revel in my requiem. I have chosen to accept the monster that I was made. I choose to enjoy all that we are, all that we have become, and all that we can achieve.
As kindred we avoid talking about certain topics. Purity tends to be one of them. Most of us consider the beast to be a curse even with all the benefits that it grants us. We live with one foot in the mortal world and the other foot in a raging eternity of night. This duality is beautiful in many ways. The beast curses us to the night. It makes us a predator of everything. We are the apex predator of every single ecosystem. Some of us forget that and try to cling to who they were. This is dangerous and incorrect. Who we were shaped us and called out to the monsters that made us monsters. As much as we were likely drawn to them, they were drawn to us for who we were.
Some forget who and what we are. Some of us forget who we were. Some of us remember too vividly. Sometimes when the sun dips below the horizon and we wake, our bodies feel not our own. Sometimes for just a second we can get lost in who we were. It is in that moment of remembering that the beast is within us all that hope for a return to mortal life dies. It can be the cruelest gift of short lived hope. Our ties to our former metaphysical beliefs should teach us, enlighten us, but not bind us completely to the dead husk of who we were. We are not as pure as we once were. We never will be again. Hold onto your morals, hold onto what you believe, but know that it is a revenant of the person you were. Holding onto these characteristics is noble and honorable and, likely even, good. Believing that they are still who you are is simply naive.
I was gripped with a bitter fear,
...
That the body I was in,
Might belong to someone else,
Someone kinder, someone surer,
Someone innocent, young and beautiful,
Someone purer.
That's no one I know.
Just some thoughts to ponder. After all I have been through I still remember my beliefs; do you yours?
-L
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