The Path of Power and the Inner Voice
| The followers of the Path of Power and the Inner Voice, called Unifiers, take the rejection of their lost humanity to its extreme. They discard all desire for community, all interest in philosophical and theological matters, all intellectual and abstract pursuits in favor of one single goal: Power. Vampires, they say, exist to rule, and they shall set the example. Some night they'll rule the world. In the meantime, they rule as much as they can. Unifiers focus on the tangible world around them. If they ever had a soul, it's gone along with their breath. Human beings and their petty desires don't matter since they all die. Purely personal satisfactions don't matter, either. What counts is the society of vampires, and the role Unifiers play in it. The ability to give orders and watch others obey them matters. Unifiers aim to command everything around them - political, economic, social and spiritual authority should all be theirs. The Path of Power and the Inner Voice requires Unifiers to understand everyone. Would-be rulers must know why people obey, what drives them to rebel and how different forms of power work. Every aspect of human and vampiric nature comes into play, from the foundations of biology and occult history to psychology. Unifiers study both the surface mind and the subconscious, as well as the body they exist in. Particularly diligent followers of the Path zealously pursue competing theories of vampiric origins and development in hopes of creating the Cainite counterpart to human medical lore. Stupid power-seekers try to apply bigger sticks when obvious brute-force solutions fail. Usurpers know that command sometimes works secretly, and that very complex forces interact with each other each time subjects obey or reject an order. Unifiers enjoy a great deal of respect, and even more fear, from other Sabbat members. Every successful follower of this Path shows herself both willing and able to use every means at her disposal to increase her power. As followers, Unifiers seek constantly to displace their superiors. As leaders, Unifiers tolerate no failure or dissent. Wherever a significant number of Unifiers gather, most of them soon end up either fleeing or dead. The abolition of mercy and compassion applies to one's fellow followers of the Path just as much as to anyone else. Novices on the Path tend to practice overt forms of rulership, with fear and punishment as their tools. More sophisticated Unifiers realize that the best control is that which rules out the possibility of rebellion. Willing servants do things slaves and prisoners don't. An effective Unifier corrupts his followers until they can conceive of no existence without him. Offer them the satisfaction of all their desires and develop desires that only you can satisfy, and they're yours. Vampires on the Path of Power and the Inner Voice practice Conviction and Instinct. |