The Philosophy of Ascension

"Seek in Yourself perfection and tranquility, and help others find it as well. For Golconda is not exclusively for the Children of Caine. Help the Children of Seth Ascend as well, and chose a single mortal who show great promise. When You reach Golconda, You will take the mortal under your protection, teach it the Ways of Saulot, Embrace it and pass on all Your blood to it. True, this will mean the end of Your physical shell, but know that Your soul will be free to Ascend, and You will have prepared another to follow in Your footsteps"
- Attributed to Serenna the White, now-aascended Salubri

This Philosophy is the one which is associated with the Clan. Once the Salubri has attained Golconda she commits suicide by forcing her Childe to Diablerise her. The reason for this seemingly strange behaviour is, that the Salubri believes that while it would be unforgivable to create new Progeny, it would be even worse to attain Golconda and then keep other beings from walking the more difficult but infinite more promising road to Golconda by being a Cainite. They Embrace only those they find most promising, as they see the way of attaining Golconda as a Salubri as a fate which must be reserved for the greatest of spirits.

Those who hold this Philosophical point of view, believe themselves to be sinners who have been chosen to endure hell as a vampire, to help them achieve Golconda and through that Ascension. They must perfect themselves in mind, body and soul before they can achieve Golconda. They must live pure lives, in which they must overcome the ravenous thirst of the Beast by denying it any foothold. Because they have taken upon them the sins of the world, they must lead lives of complete balance. They meditate intensely and focus their mind completely on their task ahead. The followers of this Philosophy deny themselves pleasures and excesses of every kind, believing such to upset the balance of their soul and endanger their walk towards the light of Golconda. For this reason, they may seem very cold and removed from their surroundings, because they are constantly focusing upon maintaining balance.

Because of the belief the followers of this viewpoint hold, that they are the scapegoats of all Creation, they have been nicknamed "Lambs" by the other Salubri, or "Scalers" because of their constant worrying about the balance of the scale of their souls. They refer to themselves as "Ascensionites."

They also believe that they must help others toward achieving a State of Perfection, which they term the Ascension in accordance with the Philosophy of the Tradition Mages. Like them, they believe that although the Salubri are already Enlightened, they will become less than perfect if they do not attempt to guide their fellow beings unto the path to Golconda, a path which will eventually lead them to Ascension, a state of unification between mind, body and soul. All followers of this Philosophy are pacifists, who will defend themselves by escaping their enemies. Violence is an indulgence in powerful negative emotions which will upset the scales of balance, while surrendering to their enemies would be to cast themselves into a void of indifference, which would also upset the scales and stop their own Ascension and hindering them in assisting others in attaining that blessed state of being. But they may never force their beliefs upon others, only those who want to listen to their own inner voices should be offered help.

The Philosophy of Golconda

"It is Our responsibility to spread the Word of Golconda to all beings in Creation. We know, that for one to step beyond the rage and frustration in this world warped by powerful creatures, all must step beyond. We call it Golconda, the Tradition Mages call it Ascension _ even the Ba'ali have a word for it, only it is ``Living Hell'', what we might term Descension. A Collective Higher State of Consciousness is what we strive after. All must be guided unto the Path!"
- Khunshua the Redeemer

The Salubri who follow this Philosophy, have split into two fractions. Under one they are known as "Golcondanites", but are split into the Redeemers and the Preachers.

They are all in even greater danger than the rest of their brethren, as the beliefs they preach are only a hairsbreadth away from the Ascension Philosophy of the Tradition Mages. Therefore they are targeted for ``correction'' by various branches of the Technocracy who usually believe them to be Celestial Chorus Mages. Of course, when (or if) they discover their mistake, the Salubri in question is still going to be corrected as she is preaching Forbidden Words to the Sleepers, and disturbing the Reality of the Technocracy. Of course, the agents dispatched to deal with the Salubri will usually have their hands full, as these Cainites believe in defending their religion with Claw, Tooth and all the Power of Caine.

The "Redeemers", as the followers of the indoctrinating branch of the Philosophy have been nicknamed by the other Salubri, are very militant and fanatically religious about their beliefs and have been known to attack those who oppose them. They believe that all the sentient beings in this world must be brought unto the Path of Mercy, whether they want to or not. For these Salubri to attain Golconda, they must first herd all of humanity unto the Path of Mercy _ willing or screaming and kicking _ it matters not. Sadly, many such Salubri are behind the surge of Eastern religions which have flooded the Western world in the later years, recruiting followers among the weaker souls and brainwashing them into fanatical acolytes.

It does seem rather strange that these Salubri are trying to force people into a state of harmony and serenity. However, this twist of the Philosophy has been developing over the last 600-800 years and is followed mainly by the younger members of the Clan, some of the Salubri Elders believe that some Order of Tradition Mages, most likely the Celestial Chorus, have been corrupting the minds of the young and thereby gaining a very effective cover for their own activities. Other Elders argue that making Cainites run rampant with religious fanaticism and thereby harming the Kine is unthinkable for the Celestial Chorus Mages. They speak of the Dark Ones, the Mages who serve the daemons of the Netherworld, the foul Nephandi who rival even the Ancients in power. Proper allies for Shaitan and his Progeny in their attempt to destroy both the Salubri and the world. The Elders do, however, agree that Mages of some sort are most likely behind some of the mindframe behind this Philosophy as it is very close to the system of belief the Mages adhere to.

The original Philosophy, which is still followed by some of the Golcondanites, was based on Saulot's teachings of peace and harmony. The Salubri who still follow that pattern of thought, are nicknamed "Preachers"or "Prophets." They believe that although it is very important to spread the One Truth, it must be accepted by the individual, not forced upon it in an attempt to mass-indoctrinate. For if a set of beliefs is forced upon the individual, it can never truly make the beliefs its own, and how can one achieve Golconda when living oppressed by a forced truth? The Preachers agree with the Redeemers on the fact that all sentient beings must reach Golconda before all can step on to the next level of consciousness. But they argue that the method the Redeemers have chosen, is as much a rape of the mind and soul as the methods used by Ba'ali and Tremere Vampires.

As both groups believe in their own version of the One Truth with a fanatical zeal, it is hardly surprising that a state of almost-religious war exists between them.

The Redeemers argue that the only way to open the minds of the Sleepers, is to force them unto the correct road. The state of affairs have changed greatly since Saulot first preached his beliefs, and today (meaning the last 600-800 years) humanity has become so stagnant in their way of thinking, that the gentle methods of the Preachers are a waste of time and energy _ rude awakening is the only way!

The Preachers argue that if this is so, how can one explain the tremendous development which has taken place? They also refer to their prophesies on a regular basis, yet another way to argue that they hold the One Truth. The Preachers have an overwhelming majority of prophets in their ranks, whereas the other Philosophy followers have almost none. Saulot was a prophet, and it is only right that those who follow the One Truth are gifted with the gifts he also had _ a mark of authenticity if one will.

The Philosophy of Purification

"There are those who say that Our Founder surrendered to the Foul Tremere because he believed it to be wrong to fight. That is not even remotely close to the truth. Saulot, Our Father, chose to die because He was tired of existing in a world where all He ever saw was corruption, evil and death. A world where His ideals were constantly soiled. A world where He was constantly betrayed. But We, his Childer, have not yet despaired over this world and if We chose merely to wait for the kiss of the Tremere or Ba'ali, who would hold high the flame of good? What right have We to die because We cannot stand the pain of Our eternal existence? What right have We to leave this world to the Ba'ali, the Setites, the Tremere, the Wyrm- followers as a playground? What right, when the One Above has reached out and offered Us a Path of Mercy? I say unto you, take up arms against Our foes! Move in the shadows like they do, fight them with their own arsenal of weapons, but do not succumb to fighting Evil with Evil. Pit them against each other. Manipulate the manipulators. Heal the wounds they cause on their victims. Lead the innocent towards Golconda. Destroy the Enemy if You can!"
- Nahstradia, Councillor of the Ages, Thhe Swords of Saulot

This Philosophy is held by most of the Elders of the Clan, at least those who have not tired of this world, and gone into Torpor or ventured out in search of enemies which they can drag screaming with them to the Abyss before they die the Final Death. Some of these Elder Salubri have entered the Inconnu, where they pose as Elders of other Clans, working with the small hope that things will change if more of the Elders of the Clans reach Golconda.

The rest have been battling the Forces of Evil ever since they were driven from the city of Shaitan in the lands of Kala-At-Shergat. They have entered the shadows of their enemies in order to fight from the same position as them. They have chosen to manipulate their enemies and pitting the world against them, just as their enemies have been doing unto them for millennia. They move in uttermost secrecy, leaving no trail behind for their hunters and ever creating turmoil in the world of the Children of Seth and the Children of Caine, enabling them to move in unseen and hurt their enemies from within. In many ways, they operate like undercover agents, sometimes even assuming false identities for many years in order to make as much damage as possible.

The belief of Golconda held by the followers of this Philosophy differ from that of the two others. Mainly because they believe that only the Innocent must be lead to Golconda. However, by innocent is not meant "pure from taint". The innocent are those who repent and seek true forgiveness _ those who are willing to learn from their past are ready for Golconda. Those who are not willing to learn, but continue to wallow in their crimes, deserve the Hell they get. The followers of this Philosophy also desire to save the other Salubri from their foolish ways, but since they must always watch their step, this has proven to be an extremely difficult task.

These Salubri have decided that they must battle the enemy with lies, illusion and subterfuge, thus many walk a thin line between Golconda and Beast. They have decided that they are willing to sacrifice their own serenity in the battle against their enemies and the enemies of all Creation. If they lose their firm position on the Path of Mercy in destroying an Acolyte of Destruction, that is a small offer. They believe firmly in their cause, and are almost impossible to stop once they set their sights on something. But they also know that they must never lose the True Purpose, namely that of leading the innocent towards Golconda. The battle against Evil is merely a means to secure the safety of the bodies and souls of the innocent, it is not an end in itself!

Sadly some of the Salubri forget this, getting so caught up in the battle that they do not care what happens if they can only manage to destroy their enemy. In such cases, the Salubri have little choice but to remove the Cainite from the Shadow War _ hopefully only by restraining him until he can see the errors of his ways, and find Golconda again.

These Salubri are rarely detected as Salubri by other Cainites, as they behave and think completely different from all other members of their Clan. They will fight for their ideals and the ideals of Saulot until Final Death _ either that of their enemies, or their own. As none of the other Salubri know of the existence of this Philosophy, they have no nickname. Under one they call themselves "Purifiers", but have split into two groups: the "Flames" and the "Swords", and have banded into two sects named the "Flames of Serenity" and the "Swords of Saulot." The sects operate in the Eastern and Western part of the world respectively, although they often chase their enemies unto each other's territory. The sects are organised around a religious framework. Each sect is headed by a Highpriest (the Eldest Salubri in the sect), who is advised by a Council of the Ages (composed of Salubri of various Generations), who passes down orders to a body of Priests and Priestesses (usually Elders of the 5th through 7thGenerations) who function as advisors and scholars and who are above the Templars (the rest of the Salubri who does not wish to hold positions of leadership). The Highpriest(ess), the Council of the Ages and the Priests(esses) compose the brain of the sects, and the Templars the fighting body. The sects are however by more democratic than the Camarilla and the Sabbat, being based on the leadership of the most wise and knowledgeable and drawing upon the power and knowledge of all Generations, thereby not giving all power to those who the closets to being Firstborn, as is the case with both Camarilla and Sabbat.

The sects keep a close contact to all their members, as well as to each other. They have learned that their efforts can be completely nullified if one hand does not know that the other is about to strike.

Given the religious thinking which permeates this Philosophy, it is hardly surprising that the most firm believers in it have True Faith. Such Salubri come as a hideous shock for the Ba'ali who encounters one, believing an easy kill to be at hand. Especially the most Ancient of the sects have this characteristic, and have often been mistaken for gods in the past.

The Shadow Wars