The Path of Lilith
| The followers of the Path of Lilith, who sometimes call themselves Bahari or Lilins, begin with a heretical view of Cainite history. According to the Lilins, the textual fragments that compose the Book of Lilith reveal the true story of vampires' origins. The tale begins not with Caine but with Lilith, Adam's first wife, whom he rejected because she claimed to be his equal. Exiled, she wandered the unfinished wilderness of the world. Out of her sufferings, greater than any we can imagine now, came a unique enlightenment. She built a garden other own and taught herself to master those gifts that God had hoarded for Himself. When Caine received God's curse, Lilith stood ready to take him, comfort him and train him. Caine has never acknowledged the extent of his debt; most of his childer show the same lack of gratitude. Nonetheless, Lilith's heirs persist in seeking true wisdom for themselves and for the whole world. The Lilins regard everyone, mortal and Cainite alike, as children trapped in an immature understanding of the universe. Everyone advances to a comfortable point and stops there, afraid of the challenges that lie ahead. Lilith taught Caine the way a parent must teach a rebellious child, the way her heirs teach themselves and others: Through pain. Only discipline forces the child to pay attention and persevere, resisting the temptations to turn aside. Adults deceive themselves into believing they've learned the important lessons. They're wrong. Compared to the vast scope of potential enlightenment, almost no one ever takes more than one step along the hard road. The Path of Lilith pushes its adherents to go further. Pain marks every step. The Lilins seek to challenge their own limits. Fire walking, freezing themselves, impaling themselves on thorns and blades, starving themselves, feeding on poisoned blood, amputation - everything that shocks the body and mind might open a door of perception. Flesh imprisons the soul even after life stops, and Cainite have to work at least as hard as mortals to escape its limits. Outsiders see the Lilins as a bunch of masochists and sadists, but no outsider really understands the point. Pain isn't the end; it's a means of forcing fresh thought. If other means served, the Lilins would use them. In fact, the Lilins do pursue esoteric study, meditation and the like, resorting to pain at the point the other means fail. While the Lilins don't pursue pain gratuitously, the Path allows no room for compassion in any ordinary sense. Enlightenment must come, whatever the cost. Let those who wish to remain ignorant remove themselves from the Lilins. Above all, Lilins drive themselves and each other, but they won't let others remain ignorant. Everyone needs to awaken to their full potential. The Final Nights give the Lilins an extra sense of urgency since they see absolutely no hope except the attainment of the heights Lilith reached long ago. If the Antediluvians rise and face only an ignorant horde, the world will not last. Pain must save the world. Some individuals find themselves suddenly hearing a quiet song beneath all other sounds. The Hierophants - the priests and priestesses of the Path - call this the ahi hay Lilitu and diligently seek out its hearers. The song marks one's readiness to join the ranks... regardless of how the listener feels about it now. Vampires on the Path of Lilith practice Conviction and Instinct. |