Road of Light

Many Cainites feel the mark of Caine as a curse and rail against fate and the injustice of it. Others however cling to the belief that divine purpose guides the hand of fate, and that even great evil can serve a greater purpose. Vampires who walk the Road of Light devote themselves to understanding that purpose through subservience to a higher power or powers.  It is said that Saulot himself was the originator of the Road of Light and some Cainites privately (or publicly!) consider him a martyr.

Known as the Faithful, most Cainites on the Road of Light hold fast to the faiths that they held in mortal life. Outwardly, the Road of Light appears as the most fragmented and chaotic of roads; medieval Europe teems with religions, and many older Cainites retain faiths that no longer have mortal adherents. Differences between Faithful tend to be entrenched, with different Paths often representing distinct religious traditions.

These differing religious traditions inform how Cainites on the Road of Light make sense of their Embrace. Christian Cainites liken themselves to Job, seeing themselves as subjects of a cosmic test of character. Muslim Cainites see the Embrace as a call to destroy the servants of Shaitan. Jewish Cainites find the Embrace an invigorating call to scholarship, a new avenue for insight into the nature of the divine. Druidic Cainites reason that serving the Great Balance requires darkness as well as light. And a servant of the old Roman Godsn might believe that she has somehow offended one of them and must strive to regain that god’s favour.

However they practice their faith, every Cainite on the Road of Light believes in the existence of a higher power and its dominion over all things. The mark of Caine is part of a divine plan, and only through submission to divine will can the Beast be contained.

While those who walk the Road of Light do their best to adhere to the faiths they once held as mortals, many acknowledge the logistical challenges their vampiric condition poses to their respective faiths. For example, if adherents to Abrahamic variants of the Road of Light cleaved strictly to their own religious texts, the taboo of drinking blood would require them to starve in the name of piety. In addition, periods of prayer during the day go unobserved due to the nature of vampiric slumber. This leads many on the Road of Light to strive to follow the spirit of their religion’s teachings rather than the exact proscriptions. With the mortal schisms that plague larger faiths however, more lax adherence can lead to accusations of mere mortal heresy. Such deviations from doctrine must often be hidden lest the accusers discover the real reasons behind said heresy.

Sobriquet

Faithful

Preferred By

Banu Haqim, Brujah (Path of the Pure only), Gangrel, Lasombra, Malkavians, Mesu Bedshet (Path of the Aesir and Path of the Watchful Gods only), Nosferatu, Ravnos (Path of Christ only), Toreador

Ethics

The Road of Light is a bit different from other Roads in that there is no base Road. Adherents of the Road agree to a core set of beliefs:

  • The existence of a higher power or powers, and its dominion over all things
  • Vampiric existence is part of a divine plan
  • The Embrace is a call to direct service of the divine
  • Serving divine will over individual will
  • Following divine law and rejecting evil is the only way to shackle the Beast
  • Each Faithful must choose their own Path, which determines more specific ethics and morality that they adhere to

Organisation

The organisation of the Faithful breaks down largely along the lines of Path and faith traditions. Many Faithful prefer to gather for worship in communities of like faith, particularly followers of the Abrahamic faiths. Jewish Cainites place great importance on forming and maintaining communities of faith and tend to limit unnecessary contact with Cainites of other faiths. Muslim and Christian Cainites also tend to form large local congregations of faith. Christian communities tend to be more fragmented, as disagreements over doctrine and appropriate practice cause frequent rifts among some congregations.

Some Cainites, however, feel their faith is best practiced in secret, in sacred groves and caves, out in nature where faith is between oneself and the spirits ever-present in such settings. A few even prefer to gather with groups of Cainites of mixed faith, discussing and debating the merits and flaws of the different faiths.

Within the Anarch Revolt, the various Paths tend to converge around two major groupings – the monotheistic Abrahamic religions and the polytheistic pagan religions.  Neither the Zoroastrians nor the Katharoi are entirely welcome in either camp, and so they often find common cause together despite their very different metaphysical views.  When it comes to liaison outside the Road, therefore, it is usual to find a voice from each of the former two groups, balanced by a mediating presence from those unwelcome in either.  The Road’s shared acknowledgement of higher power(s) tends to prompt them towards debate and discussion rather than internecine violence, but of course mortal conflicts within and between religions rarely confine themselves to human followers.

Aura

Holiness. The Faithful receive bonuses whenever they are in situations where being seen as holy would lend them social advantage.

Paths