The Testament of Longinus
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The Testament of Longinus is the holy book of the Lancea Sanctum. It explains the origins of their faith, and charges them with the divine task of showing mortals the price of sin. Some of the book was allegedly written by Longinus, while other parts were written by The Monachus or unknown authors. Naturally, the Fog of Ages has made discovering the truth a nigh-impossible task.
Contents |
The Testament
The Testament of Longinus consists of five books: The Malediction of Longinus, The Torments of Longinus, The Rule of Golgotha, The Sanguinaria, and The Book of Eschaton.
The Malediction of Longinus
This book chronicles the life of the man who would become Longinus (his birth name is never given). Born to a prostitute named Livia, Longinus lived an extremely sinful life that left his predestined to strike Jesus Christ with the Spear of Destiny on that fateful day. During his life, Longinus violated each one of the seven deadly sins, which in egregious ways, which ultimately caused him to be present at Golgotha when Jesus was crucified, and to attack Jesus (his final sins, Sloth and Gluttony, respectively). Later, outside Jesus's tomb, Vashishtael confronted Longinus and explained the nature of the curse of damnation to Longinus.
The Torments of Longinus
This book describes how Longinus came to terms with his damnation, his embrace of The Monachus, and the founding of the Black Abbey. It tells of how Longinus came to accept the fact that he could feed from the blood of mortals (except Christians), and how eventually even their faith waned and no longer prevented him from feeding on them. It also tells of Longinus's journey to Europe, and the abbey of sinful monks that he happened upon and slaughtered (all save one, who would later become The Monachus). The choice that The Monachus made to be embraced is a pivotal part of the book, and is later echoed in the Third Canon. From there, the book goes on to describe the embrace of the Dark Apostles and the spread of the Lancea Sanctum's faith across Europe.
The Rule of Golgotha
This book contains the laws and precepts to govern Kindred society and morality. It is the shortest of the five books of the Testament, but it is perhaps the most important to the Lancea Sanctum's faith. Much of the book is later echoed in the Sanguineous Catechism. This is the book most often quoted by Kindred who are not members of the covenant.
The Sanguinaria
This book, while complicated and awkwardly-written at times, addresses the fate of the Dark Apostles as they spread the Sanctified faith across the world. Five of the Dark Apostles were murdered, and would later become the Black Saints of the Lancea Sanctum. In addition to this historical account, this book also contains philosophical treaties on damnation and vampirism in addition to proverbs and sayings attributed to The Monachus and Longinus.
The Book of Eschaton
This book contains cryptic prophecies spoken by Longinus to guide the Lancea Sanctum through the ages. In addition, this book also tells the Sanctified that those who survive until Judgment Day and fulfill the role God charged them with playing (namely, that of the Damned), will be allowed to seek absolution for their sins and, should their contrition be genuine, be welcomed into the Heaven. The book also cautions that those who seek absolution on their own (such as Golconda) will be guilty of the sin of Pride, and thus unwelcome in God's Kingdom.
The Sanguineous Catechism
The Sanguineous Catechism is alleged to have been written by The Monachus several centuries after the Testament of Longinus. It does not discuss the fate of Longinus, but implies that, by the time the Catechism was written, he was no longer in direct contact with his covenant. Since The Monachus was not cursed directly by God and was not visited by Vashishtael, some Sanctified wonder just how binding the Catechism really should be. The book, while heavily relied upon, is thus not considered "divinely inspired." The book is prefaced with a preamble containing the Monachal Creed, and contains 13 Canons, 9 of which remain in common use.
The First Canon
Regarding the purpose of our damnation. In order to understand this purpose, a Sanctified Kindred must first accept the fundamental nature of the world, which exists solely as a prison to punish the descendants of Adam and Eve for the Fall. The First Mortals were expelled from Paradise for their sin; the world in which they and their descendants came to live must rightly be considered their “jail” — a place of pain and torment from which death is the only release. Vampires are raised above their fellow men to guard over them and help maintain the prison that is the world. The act of the Embrace cuts the neonate off from God’s Grace entirely, for such divine intercession can only interfere with the vampire’s duties: feeding on the mortals and helping to make their world into the purgatory it was always meant to be.
The Second Canon
Regarding the inalienable wisdom of the Masquerade. God placed weaknesses upon the vampires that make their discretion essential. If the vampires ruled openly, then the mortals would hate and fear their vampiric overlords. Instead, God wishes the mortals to hate and fear the very world around them, a World of Darkness in which faith in God is the only shield against misery. Above all else, mortals hate and fear what they do not understand. They must never truly understand the Damned. They must know only that hunters lurk in the darkness, waiting to devour.
The Third Canon
Regarding the shameful necessity of the Embrace. Having established the embrace as a necessary evil, the Third Canon places four limitations on the act.
- First, no Sanctified should ever sire outside the religious strictures of the domain in which he resides. Generally, this means that any embrace must take place as part of a Creation Rite.
- Prior to the embrace, the childe must have all the relevant aspects of vampiric existence explained to her by a Sanctified Kindred (usually the prospective sire). She is then given a choice: Either she accepts the embrace or she will be killed.
- Both the Sanctified who has sired and his childe must participate in such a rite before the childe will be considered a true member of the covenant. One common purification ceremony requires that both the sire and the still-mortal childe must be scourged with a whip a number of times equal to their respective ages. Of course, mortals typically will not survive a lashing at the hands of a vampire. Consequently, the sire often chooses to take the childe’s lashes
- The fourth limitation is a proscription of Embracing "the pure."
The Fourth Canon
Regarding the abomination of the Amaranth. Diablerie is a sin because by consuming the soul of another vampire, the diablerist prevents the victim from either being judged by God or seeking absolution from the Returned Jesus Christ during the Second Coming. When one commits diablerie, he degrades his own soul, thereby inhibiting his ability to function in a moral manner. He increases the potency of his blood, but in exchange he hastens his descent into Torpor, a period of time possibly lasting for centuries during which he cannot fulfill his divine role.
The Fifth Canon
Regarding the revelation of the Testament of Longinus. The Lancea Sanctum must pursue evangelism, asserting the proper role of the vampire to all who will listen, and, where necessary, bringing Final Death to the heretics and apostates who will not.
The Sixth Canon
Regarding the efficaciousness of the sacred rites. The purpose of the holy sacraments is not to fulfill some talismanic repetition of ceremony to demonstrate the Sanctified’s belief. No, the Lancea Sanctum leaves such paganism to the Circle of the Crone. Instead, the Apostolica and Ecclesia are purely symbolic opportunities for the Sanctified to join together, whether en masse, in coteries or individually to demonstrate their piety and devotion to their holy purpose.
The Seventh Canon
Regarding the miraculous arts of our Theban brethren. The chapter’s chief theological role is to refute those who suggest that Theban Sorcery is a kind of witchcraft comparable to the Acolytes’ blasphemous art of Crúac. The Monachus expounds at length on the differences between the two, and particularly on the unholy effect that Crúac has on its practitioners, which demonstrates conclusively (to The Monachus, at least) that it is of unwholesome origin.
The Eighth Canon
Regarding our congress with the Canaille. Aside from the need for the Masquerade, all Sanctified should be circumspect in their dealings with the kine, for it is not the wolf’s way to lie down with the sheep. The kine are not friends, companions or lovers. Neither are they toys or puppets to be abused for the sake of entertainment or sport. They are food, and the survival of the Kindred race depends on the vitality of the herd. Concern for a Ghoul is tolerated, as such a creature represents an investment of the regnant’s time and blood, but a vampire who endangers himself for the benefit of a mortal borders on aberrant and should go henceforth to his confessor. On the other hand, for the Damned to flourish, the kine must do likewise, and the wise Sanctified will seek to make his domain one in which his herd can prosper and grow, even if they will take no pleasure from doing so.
The Ninth Canon
Regarding the recognition of wisdom within our ranks. Within in any Sanctified parish, the Sanctified are bound by faith to follow the wisest of their number, "he who most perfectly manifests his Damnation." In theory, this means that within a parish, authority over the covenant is vested within the most powerful Sanctified present who can command the loyalty of his fellows. In practice, of course, it often translates into charisma, popularity or even demagogy.
The Tenth Canon
Regarding the transubstantiation of vitae. While observed by the Monachal Creed, this canon is no longer seen as relevant by the other Creeds. It suggests that, when drinking blood, Kindred transubstantiate blood into vital energy that fuels that Kindred.
The Eleventh Canon
Regarding the proper operation of a monastary. This canon, while important when the covenant was first founded, is largely irrelevant today. Barring the select few vampire monastaries in Europe, and a few small communes hidden from prying eyes, the Kindred of the Lancea Sanctum no longer establish monastaries.
The Twelth Canon
Regarding the nature of martyrdom, and the veneration of the Black Saints. This canon is observed mostly by the Monachal Creed. Most other Creeds choose not to recognize the Black Saints with any real veneration, and instead use Saint's Nights as festive occasions. Besides explaining how to properly venerate the Black Saints, this chapter also discusses the nature of martyrdom, and the rewards of such.
The Thirteenth Canon
Regarding undeath. This canon concerns the nature of damnation and how it relates to death (and how the Kinded's unnatural "half-life" relates to the natural state of death). At times, this canon flirts with paganism and the metaphysical, and it elaborates on how one might achieve the state of undeath. This is the most controversial canon in the Catechism, and Sanctified Kindred continue to argue about whether it is Apocrhyphal or, perhaps, the key to "secret knowledge" regarding the nature of the Kindred.