From SuspireWiki

"Quiet, Whelp. Words of prayer to false Gods will not save you from my wrath. The only power you need to be mindful of is my own, and the spirits that guide that power."

Basic Beliefs

• Everything in existence has its own spiritual energy, or even a spirit of its own.
• Spirits roam free in the physical realm, as well as the spiritual plane.
• Kindred possess their own spirit, or soul, that was barred from passage into the underworld.
• Consuming the blood of man revitalizes the spirit, the body and honors the Crone.
• With the proper sacrifice or offering, Spirits can be coaxed and manipulated to enact one's will upon the world.
• Death is but a doorway into another life

Creation Myth

The Birth of The World Tree

The world tree was birthed like any tree, from a seed, but the seed of the world tree was a powerful spirit, a spirit of growth and life. It has grown slowly over time from the very dawn of reality and has become a massive oak stronger then any structure in the physical plane. Though like any seed it had to be tended to in order to grow strong, and thus a myriad of spirits were born from its roots in order to tend to its growth. These spirits were darkness and light incarnate and when they were born the physical realm first began to grow. The spirits rotated around the tree and through its roots granting new life to it as it flourished and grew larger. Every aspect of the new world created multitudes of spirits to fill its existence and create new life.

Light birthed the Sun, which beat down on the world and dispelled the shadow of the Darkness so that life could build and flourish. The Sun Spirit’s rays fell upon the earth and water and repeated the process of the great tree anew on the surface of the physical plane, and less powerful forms of the world tree grew, each with a spirit of its own. The first Aeons of the physical world saw the birth of countless spirits, and when those spirits purpose came to an end they began to collect in the roots of the tree, these roots became the home of the dead spirits. In this way the energy of these spirits was digested by the world tree and then later reborn in the form of new spirits.

As the world tree began to flourish, the canopy opened and the powerful aspects of the universe began to dwell there. The spirits of the stars were born into the canopy, and the Canopy was filled with even more spirits, creating an entirely different plane of existence where the Spirits took physical form. From the Canopy these spirits added animals and man to the Physical realm, and gave them the gifts of ideas and inspiration.

Creation of Vampires

As man developed the spirits guided them, at first, and filled their life with peace and harmony. There were never droughts as the spirits of rain consistently watered their crops when they needed to be. There was never a shortage of food, as the Spirit of the Hunt guided the warriors to their prey. Man revered the spirits, paid them worship and homage, and knew without a shadow of a doubt that the animals they killed also had a spirit, a spirit that would be returned to the roots of the Great Tree and would later return to the earth again.

Darkness still roamed around the world tree, and it knew that a balance would need to be created. It cast away the light of the sun for half of the day and in the cover of darkness it too created spirits of its own. Spirits of animals that roamed the night and preyed on other animals and also on man. Spirits of the ideals of murder and wickedness. Soon the world that man occupied was not the paradise they once knew. Some of the men even became befuddled by the evil spirits, and one amongst them turned his sword on his fellows and took his life because he wanted the land that his enemy had. The spirit of this murderer was fundamentally changed from the moment he slew his brethren. From that moment on the spirit of death stalked man as well as beast, and the mortals knew then that they must learn to return their most beloved friends to the roots of the world tree.

The Murderer wasn’t content with only having the land of his first victim, and turned his attention towards yet another target. This time however, his target was prepared and defeated the man. The other mortals knew that he was too dangerous to allow to exist and they burned him in the fire. Darkness waited until Light had passed from the world and stole the spirit of the Murderer away from the Roots, and placed it back again in the world. This spirit became known as Vedmak, a spirit who drained the life from the mortals he once was a part of. Further more, Vedmak longed for his physical form, and one night he found it buried in the earth like the mortals did with all of their dead. He returned to his body, and when he awoke he found himself to be in a state between life and death. He had become a Vampire.

Over time as Man developed and forgot about the spirits that had created them most of the free roaming spirits retreated to the Canopy realm of spirits. Still new Spirits were born into the physical realm in the form of new buildings and structures. Evil spirits were born from the worship of cults who offered questionable sacrifices in their names. Good spirits were born from Men who longed to define their existence and learn of what awaits them in the afterlife. Throughout this the spirits of evil men found their passage to the underworld to be blocked and instead they Became Vedmak and were forced to roam the world as a spirit until they found their physical bodies once again. Amongst these individuals are Vlad Tepes and Longinus.

In modern times the spirit realm is not strong enough to completely interfere in the world unless called upon by the faithful who know of their true existence. The spirits of the deceased are no longer powerful enough to re-enter their bodies and so now the Race of Vampires is extended only through the act of the Embrace.

Philosophy in Action

Tribulation Brings Power

The Duchovian Kindred put a great deal of stock in this widely accepted philosophy of the Circle of the Crone. Tribulation can come in many, many forms and each of these new experiences help the Vedmak to adapt and evolve into a more powerful, and knowledgeable creature. It is expected of the Duchovian Kindred to meet these challenges without complaint and to chronicle the stories of their Tribulations to share with their fellows.

Creation is Power

There is no greater way of honoring the Crone, to the Duchovia, then by birthing into the world a new spirit that is the progeny of the Kindred's own blood, time and will. The Duchovian Kindred believe that everything is possessing of its own essence, or spirit, and that in the process of building or creating something you impart the energy unto that object to give it the spark of its own spirit. An example of this would be the blacksmith who endures the flame and heat of the forge and toils endlessly to craft a blade. As the Blacksmith hammers the blade into shape he is imparting the energy of the forge and his own hard work into that blade and thus gives life to the essence of the sword itself.

It should be mentioned that while creation of other Kindred is a way of practicing the Creation is Power, it is not considered as pure of an endeavor as simple hard work in the arts and other mediums. When you plant a garden and carefully tend to it over time, cutting away the weeds and assuring the Gardens survival, you are creating something of lasting beauty that was without a spirit of its own until you invested your time and energy into it. The process of creating a kindred is not so much a creation of a new spirit, but rather an altering of an existing spirit. Embracing is not frowned upon at all, and is indeed lauded, but embracing for the sake of embracing is frowned upon.

The Crucible

The Crucible is not so much an option of creation, as it is with some cults, but a tried and true test to determine the strength of a candidates spirit. Not all spirits are created equal, and some will shatter when put through the crucible. It is then necessary to determine if a man's spirit will be strong enough to weather the trials and tribulations it will face in the Danse Macabre. There are no rules when it comes to the Crucible, except that the test that the potential sire designs should have at least a chance of success otherwise it wouldn't be a accurate measure of the soul. All members of the Duchovian kindred are expected to design Crucibles for their potential progeny to undertake.

The Embrace

To the Duchovian, the Embrace is a spiritual act that marks the target's soul so that it is not returned to the roots of the world tree, and is instead allowed to return to the body and become an eternal creature. The marking process requires that the spirit of the mortal be drained of power, and thus the Sire must drink from his vassal all of its blood to the point where the spirit is barely tied to the physical body. Once the mortal is near death the Sire opens a wound and allows his Vitae to touch the lips of the corpse. The power of the Vedmak's spirit is then transfered, in small portions, to the shell of the man and the newly created Vedmak is drawn back into its body. The Transformation is sometimes accompanied by wild visions that the Vedmak believe to be images of the Spiritual realm of Prav.

The Duchovians believe that during this process of marking that their blood heritage is passed onto their new childe, which creates a spiritual link between sire and childe. It is thus why members of the same lineage can sometimes feel their sire's emotions and pain. It also explains why certain powers are easier to learn as the Sire's Vedmak is the most familiar with their use. The Duchovians believe that the five clans were originated by powerful Vedmaks who were not embraced as they were marked by the spirits themselves, and that the powers of those spirits transfered to the Vedmaks they created.

A Spiritual Realm

One of the primary philosophies of the Duchovia Stromu Sveta is that the world is teeming with spiritual energy. All living things, and some dead ones, have their own spirits that compel them along their path. Even inanimate items can possess spiritual energy as well. The Duchovian Kindred know that they are a part of this cosmic force and they seek to find a balance between the physical realm (Yav) and the spiritual realm (Prav). In so doing they are able to hear the will of the spirits around them and even coax them into doing their bidding. Those members of the cult who learn the ways of Cruac are referred to as Obavniks, which is a kind of hybrid shaman/wizard. However, it is key to note that Obavniks do not rely on Cruac solely for their communion with spirits, they believe the spirits are an ever present aspect of their existence.

There is one spirit that receives praise above and beyond the multitudes of lesser spirits, and that is the spirit of the World Tree itself. The World tree is a metaphorical, and literal, tree that holds together the different planes of existence of the world. The roots of the world tree are called Nav, and the spirits of the dead are sent to the roots to be subsumed back into the world tree and then are later reborn into the physical realm, Yav, which occupies the trunk of the tree. At the top of the tree, in the canopy, resides Prav - the spiritual realm that runs parallel to the physical plane. The spirit of the world tree is worshiped as the Crone in the Duchovia Stromu Sveta cult and its followers honor her by embracing the concept of the cycle of life that she embodies. The Vedmak must be fed, and to be fed it must steal life in order to revitalize itself.

Death is But a Door

It is easy for Kindred to fear what happens after the final death as most believe themselves to be damned, evil creatures destined to serve an eternity in hell - or worse, they simply perish into nothing their soul being snuffed out of existence. The Duchovia Stromu Sveta, however, believe that when something dies its essence is simply transfered back into the world tree so that the cycle of life can continue. Those who suffer the final death are no different, their essence becomes one with the earth only to be reborn into a new body over time. This in and of itself would lend to the idea that one can be purged of their Vampiric nature by simply seeking the final death. However there is something in death that the Kindred do fear, and that is Volos - the Large snake like spirit that is entangled in the roots of the world tree. This spirit steals the memories from the dead who pass into Nav and thus the experiences the Kindred has achieved are wasted. Thus while death isn't the finality that most see it, it is still something that should be avoided and it is believed that those who seek death to relinquish themselves of their Vedmak are forbade from entering Nav until they have gained some insight into their existence.

Rites and Observances

Cruac

Like most cults, The Duchovia have their own views and ideas on exactly what Cruac is, how it works, and what the cost for employing it is. Most kindred view themselves thriving in the morally gray area between good and evil, but being capable of doing both good and evil things. The Duchovia are no exception to this view, in fact they strive to maintain themselves somewhere in that gray area. However, because Cruac is the art of manipulating spiritual energy that is not meant for the soul to be able to channel, learning and performing cruac causes the soul to lose its balance. Its a requisite of being able to perform the rituals and sacrifices that must be done to petition the right type of spirits.

The form of casting a ritual can vary from practitioner to practitioner, but there are a few things that are standard. First and foremost, a sacrifice must be made in order to gain a proper channel to the spiritual energy one is trying to manipulate. For all rituals the necessary element is the sacrifice of spiritually infused blood, or vitae, in order to gain the attention of the spirit you are trying to persuade into your service. Most of the Duchovia, however, realize that there is a greater chance of success when there are additional sacrifices made that coincide with the effect one wishes to achieve. A sorcerer casting Cheval, for example, might cut out the eyes of an eagle and burn them whilst simultaneously spreading his vitae over the flames to put them out in order to ask for the spirit of the eagle to grant the caster it's sight.

Practitioners of Cruac within the cult call themselves Obavnik, which is a slavic word referring to a type of wizard that was half sorcerer half shaman. This is the best way to describe the blood magicians within the Duchovia as they have an understanding of both arcane and spiritual methods of invocation and know how to combine them to manipulate the essences of spirits and spirits themselves to do their bidding.

The Process

• The First step in casting a Cruac ritual is to identify what you wish to achieve. System wise you must know what ritual you are wishing to cast, and in game terms your character would have a clear concept of what he wishes to achieve from the casting of the ritual. For example the Hidden Heart ritual. The Character casts this ritual on his rival during a heated debate in the hopes of learning a secret that he can use as a barb to silence his enemy.
• The Second step is to identify the type of spirit you are wishing to petition. This is purely semantics from a systems point of view, its all there for fluff for casting the ritual. Your character may whisper something to an invisible third party, or actually raise his hands to the sky and verbally ask for what he wishes, but you should have a clear idea of what kind of spirit you are communicating with to do what you want. In the above example, the caster might invoke Volos, the spirit of secret knowledge, to learn of his enemies secrets.
• The third step of the casting process is to make the sacrifices needed to persuade the petitioned spirit to do your bidding. This can be as simple as just the spiritually infused blood that kindred like to call vitae, or as elaborate as you wish. In the example above, if the caster didn't care about visibly casting spells in front of his enemy, he might blow powdered and pulverized bone dust into the air to better connect to the underworld spirit, Volos.
• The fourth step is to roll the dice, and then to take into account success or failure in how your character reacts to the perceived message. The character from the above situation might get a evilly wicked grin and nod slightly as if having just been whispered some dirty little secret...right before he turns that secret against his enemy.

The Petitioned

The spirits that are capable of being petitioned for a Cruac ritual typically fall into one of three categories. These categories are mundane spirits, Spiritual Essences, and Omnipotent Spirits. Mundane spirits would represent like the spirit of a wolf that one might try to persuade to mark a kindred for easy tracking using prey's blood, or the spirit of a Turtle when summoning forth the maiden's skin. A spiritual essence is a feeling, sensation or emotion that can be channeled and manipulated as one might do when they attempt to channel the essence of hunger to cast Pangs of Proserpina or the Essence of pain when casting the Touch of The Morrigan. The third and final type of spirit that can be petitioned are the Omnipotent spirits that are powerful spirits that transcend the mortal plane. There are no small number of ways that each Cruac ritual could be petitioned, here's an example:

Blood Witness - Level 1 Ritual

• Petitioning a Mundane spirit - The Obavnik asks the spirit of the tree outside of Elysium to bear witness for him the events that happen around it, and then spreads his powerful vitae on the base of the tree as a tribute to its spirit. Later on he leaves his consciousness to look out from where the vitae is spread on that tree and watch what happens.
• Petitioning a Spiritual essence - The Obavnik believes that an intruder has been encroaching upon his site, and so he petitions the spirit of Justice to alert him when the intruder is present so he can see who it is. He asks for the essence of justice to infuse his spirit and vitae and then spreads that vitae on a hidden vantage point. who needs security cameras?
• Petitioning a Omnipotent spirit - The Obavnik is alarmed to find out that his grandsire's resting place had been tampered with! He immediately cuts his wrist and pours his spiritual essence into the world while whispering words of praise to the Domovik, the collective spirit of his ancestors, and asks for them to watch over the grave and let him see all that they see.

Examples of Mundane Spirits

Mundane is an adjective that can only describe the most basic of spirits in the spirit realm, but even mundane spirits are sometimes far away from the understanding of most kindred and mortals. Listed below are but a small splattering of mundane Slavic spirits, what they are, and how they might be petitioned for the purposes of a ritual.

Vedmak

• Vedmak's are the spirits of the kindred themselves. The legend goes that a soul that is marked by an evil act or spell might not be allowed to pass into the underworld, and so it returns to its body and rises from the grave to steal the sustenance of man in the form of blood. Vedmaks weren't considered completely evil, though, and some were actually capable of good acts that could redeem their spirits and allow them to return to the state of life. Legend echoes in reality, as there are whispers among the Circle of the process of Golconda, but most view it as a fool's errand.
  • There is only one Vedmak that is possible to be petitioned for the purposes of Cruac, and that is the one the caster possesses, or better said, his own soul. Several rituals could be empowered by the casters own spirit, not the least of which would be Cheval.

Zhar-Ptitsa

• These bird spirits are eternal and rest upon the border between mundane and omnipotent beings as they are the messengers of the higher spirits. Great portents and dreams are carried to the faithful on the wings of the Zhar-Ptitsa. It is the Slavic equivalent of the Phoenix and its wings are made from fire itself.
  • Possible rituals that may be empowered by a Zhar-Ptitsa: Fires of Inspiration, Night's Portents, Touch of The Morrigan, and many many more.

Karakonjul

• These Night spirits are tricksters and enigmas all wrapped into one. They appear as short, bow legged and big nosed humanoids that are covered in fur and will often wander along old winding roads and ask passer-bys riddles and questions. If those who are so questioned apply attention to the spirit, and answer its riddles, it may receive a reward, and if the spirit is ignored it might cause harm. These creatures are more prominent at the crossroads between worlds - places where the veil runs thing, like graveyards.
  • Petitioning the Karakonjul for rituals involving secret knowledge, trickery, or death energy can yield success. Rite of the Bloody Crossroads, hidden heart, or Painted fears are all good rituals to call upon the power of the Karakonjul.

Examples of Spiritual Essences

There are a countless number of types of Essences that the Obavnik has to work with when casting his rituals. The only limit to the possibilities is the imagination of the player. I've listed just a few here and some possible rituals they might be called upon for. One thing to consider about these essences, while its not necessary for systematic purposes, it makes sense for the physical (or emotional) representation of that essence to be present when casting. It makes little sense to summon the essence of fire when you are submerged in a lake, for example. Thus seeking out locations where the essence is strong might empower your chances at success with the ritual (if the bot gods are feeling generous)

Essence of Dread

• The Spiritual essence of dread is a thick and smothering blanket of emotional power that surrounds those it effects and makes them shrink away and hunker down inside themselves. Those suffering from the effects of dread are often prisoners in their own minds, and succumb to their baser instincts. Places where the Essence of Dread is the strongest would be in Creepy old haunted mansions, ancient graveyards, Anywhere that might be construed as the filming location for the hills have eyes, or any location where one knows there to be a powerful enemy.
• Rituals that might benefit from the Essence of Dread
  • Rigor Mortis Perhaps your take on the effect of this power isn't slowing the blood in their veins, but rather causing their actions to be shaky from the essence of Dread blanketing over them for a brief amount of time.
  • Krachun's icy Clutches Calling down the essence of dread to become a thick, tangible and cold force that chokes the life out of a mortal, Darth Vader style.
  • Stheno's Wicked Gaze Channeling the essence of Dread into one's own gaze causes those who meet that gaze to become stunned

Essence of Life

• The Spiritual essence of life dwells in the places of the world that are teeming with life either on a microscopic or macroscopic scale. The tropical rain forests of Brazil are one example of a location that would be potent with the energy of life, but also the lab of the scientists who brew life from petri dishes and experimentation. The essence of life fills the spiritualist with a sense of renewed energy and purpose, and can often be channeled into rituals to empower their effects.
• Rituals that might benefit from the Essence of Life
  • Midnight Blossoms Persuading the Essence of life to permanently reside within a garden and inspire those who spend time there is a potent way of petitioning spiritual essence for a ritual.
  • Harai The Obavnik petitions the Essence of Life for its assistance and charges his own vitae with that essence. Amazing when the ritual is complete the vitae burns up in a magic flame and the Obavniks retainer is healed of the wounds it suffered from
  • Ti'amat's Offspring After performing the necessary ritual of conception, with the pieces properly implanted within his or her body, the Obavnik sacrifices up a portion of her blood to petition the essence of life to enter her womb (or his body) and give life to the creature she wishes to birth.

Essence of Darkness

• The Spiritual essence of Darkness clings to the dark alleyways and deserted roads, blanketing the night's sky and blotting out the stars. It's power waxes and wanes with the moon, and when the moon is new it's power is amplified as the light of the sun never reflects fully to the surface of the earth. The Essence of darkness can be channeled into a ritual to achieve effects suitable for stealth, escaping foes, or for particularly dark deeds.
• Rituals that might benefit from the Essence of Darkness
  • Passage Of Inanna The Skilled Obavnik knows that in order to truly traverse the underworld of Nav, an item should be imbued with the power of the spirits of darkness to navigate the way. Calling upon the essence of darkness and infusing it into the item allows it to easily pass to the user through the roots of the world tree.
  • Night's Portent Learning the secrets that the darkness has absorbed into itself over time is one of the greatest tricks an Obavnik can learn. By calling upon the essence of darkness itself and performing a rite of divination he or she can interpret the portents of the Darkness itself.
  • Blade of Tu'at A ritual that is very lauded by the Duchovian Kindred is the Blade of Tu'at, and one of its common invocation methods is by coaxing the essence of Darkness into the Vitae that is used to coat the weapon. The Darkness allows the blade to strike between worlds, and potentially harmful spirits can be dealt with properly.

Essence of Light

• The Spiritual essence of Light resides in places and people that are holy or devout, no matter what their faith is. The true believers and the places they gather seem to be full of this essence and can sometimes tap it themselves through worship and prayers. This is of no little fascination to the Duchovia, who encourage their mortal followers to explore this connection to the Light. The essence of Light is useful to the Obavnik when he must produce an effect that sanctifies an item or place, or when he wishes to cleanse a person. There are other uses for this essence, but these are the most common.
• Rituals that might benefit from the Essence of Light
  • Harai By channeling the Energy of Light from a room or person it is possible to transfer that light essence into a wounded or drugged body and remove the afflictions they suffer under.
  • Metamorphosis of Spilt Blood
  • The hand of seth

There will be more examples to come, but you get the idea. Use your imagination :)

Examples of Omnipotent Spirits

The reason that this section is entitled "Examples of Omnipotent Spirits" and not "The Omnipotent Spirits" is that while the existing members of the cult put stock into the spirits of Slavic legend there is no actual established hierarchy of pantheon. A practitioner of Voodoo would be perfectly at home in the Duchovia Stromu Sveta, and would fit his belief of the Loas right into the faith without much qualm. The Voodoo practitioner would then petition Baron Samedi, rather the Veles, for rituals that called upon the energy of an underworld spirit. He might call upon Damballah, the Snake Creator spirit, rather then Belobog, when he needed to channel the primordial essence of light. Thus it also possible for a Kindred who followed the faith of the Native American Indians to be adopted into the Duchovia. The one binding philosophy of the Cult is that the primary force in the world is the force of spiritual energy - the name of that energy matters little.

The Crone

The Duchovia worship the Crone like most Acolytes, however rather then being a true Goddess, the Crone is viewed as the Spirit of the Great World Tree. The Crone is thus responsible for all life and death in the world. She is the great mother spirit that sees to the cycle of birth death and rebirth and is venerated above all other spirits. The Duchovia also believe that most other spirits also worship the Crone. Rituals of worship to the Crone often involve sacrificing blood and flesh to the earth itself so that the World Tree can soak up the energy of the sacrifice into its roots and thus revitalize the Crone.

Domovik

The Duchovia pay great respect to their Kindred ancestors even those that they have never personally met. This goes double time for ones sire, and respect for ones elders is taught as one of the first lessons to a new Kindred. However the Duchovia take it one step further by venerating the spirits of one's kindred ancestors who have met the final death. Like all things, once a Vedmak has served its purpose on earth and has finally been allowed passage to the underworld its essence is consumed by the roots of the World Tree. The Duchovia believe that when their Ancestors energy returns to the earth it can still bring their progeny good fortune. Thus the spirit Domovik is treated as a superior spirit and it is the collective spiritual energy of ones deceased Kindred Ancestors. The Duchovia often will feed these ancestor spirits their own vitae in order to appease their relatives.

Perun

Spirit of the Storm, Perun is viewed as a Greater spirit because it can spawn lesser spirits of lightning, thunder, rain, hail and all other manners of weather type spirits. Perun is also associated with the concept of storms and thus warrior types amongst the Duchovia dedicate themselves to Perun so that it may guide them during "the storm of battle."

Lada

Lada is the spirit of Love, Lust, Sex and Desire and venerated as a greater spirit due to the inability of man and Kindred alike to escape its pull. Often viewed as a female force, even to female members of the Faith, Lada is responsible for the Hunger that Kindred feel when they are not properly fed on the blood and life of man. Lada is an important spirit in Las Vegas, and members of the cult would do well to keep her (or it) appeased.

Dahzbog

The Spirit of the Sun itself, birthed from primordial light during the beginning of time. Dahzbog is in constant battle with the primordial incarnation of darkness and evil spirits and thus whilst Dazhbog is high in the sky the Vedmak flee from the sight of it to survive.

Volos

The Spirit of hidden knowledge, Wisdom and power Volos is a secretive spirit that knows all the hidden parts and aspects of the world. This spirit takes the form of a large snake that encircles the roots of the Great Tree and cleanses the spirits of the dead by stealing their memories and knowledge from them as their energy passes back into the World Tree.

Belobog

Primordial light incarnate, Belobog is sunshine warmth and happiness and all things Good in the world. Belobog is in constant battle with Chernobog to create a balance of Good and evil, Light and dark in the world. Belobog is seated in the canopy of the World Tree and helps to direct new energy into the world to bring about new life and to revitalize old life.

Chernobog

Primordial Darkness Incarnate, Chernobog is the Spirit of Darkness, death, decay and all things evil. Chernobog and Belobog toil constantly to create a balance of good and evil in the world. Chernobog is seated in the roots of the world tree where it brings the souls of the dead to be absorbed by the roots. Chernobog is responsible for the creation of several evil spirits including the Vedmak.

Svarog

Spirit of the Primordial Fire, Progenitor of all flames and inspiration in the world. Svarog represents the spark of life that does not exist within the Kindred and thus his flames bring more harm to their flesh then the mortals.