| The Beliefs of the Unbound The beliefs of those who call themselves Unbound come from two things - our old mortal lives, where many of us lived in a (somewhat) just society; and our dealings with elder Kindred, where our existence and rights were as nothing in the face of these beings' individual power. From the contrast of these comes our belief that together, we can be more than any single Kindred, no matter his or her age or generation, can hope to be. Of course, there are still questions and debates surrounding what exactly the Unbound believe in. But there remains a great deal of common ground. Again, I am merely continuing and codifying the debate, and by no means should these be construed as any kind of law. That's for us as a society to decide. My precepts are as follows. Take from them what you will. � We will not be bound by the curse of vampirism. Although we suffer from this curse, we are still part of humanity. Thus, we respect the rights of humanity. Even though we must take from people to survive, so shall we strive to give back to them and shepherd them for the greater good. � We will not be bound by the Jyhad. Although there are vampires that would seek to make us pawns in their battles, we will fight to protect our rights as individuals. Thus, we respect the rights of our fellow Kindred. We will treat each other as we hope to be treated ourselves. � We will not be bound by Clan. Although many vampires would seek to categorize us by our lineage, we are individuals first and foremost. Thus, we respect the lineage and blood of all Kindred. We will destroy the bigotry and divisiveness of Clan to build a greater society. � We will not be bound by Sect. Although many vampires would draw us into their battles, we will not become Machiavellian manipulators, nor ravenous monsters. We respect the ideal of our new society. We will govern ourselves, balancing our freedom with our responsibility to each other and humanity. � We will not be bound by the Blood. Although we have the ability to enthrall each other with the Blood Bond and our Disciplines, this is a violation of individual rights. We respect the ideal of free thought. We will never use the Bond, except mutually, or any mind-altering Disciplines against another. � We will not be bound by the Tradition of the Masquerade. Although there is still good reason to hide from humanity, we do so to protect them, not ourselves. We respect humanity too much to keep them in the dark forever. We will work through science and politics to one day rejoin our larger family. � We will not be bound by the Tradition of Domain. Although many vampires claim domain over humanity, this is a violation of their freedoms and rights. Thus, we respect the domains of humanity, not vampires. We will not claim territory possessed by our mortal cousins, but will shepherd them instead. � We will not be bound by the Tradition of Progeny. Although princes claim the power over the Embrace, we shall keep it for ourselves. Thus, we respect the right of humanity to live their lives in peace. We shall only Embrace or ghoul those we as a society decide upon, and then only with their permission. � We will not be bound by the Tradition of Accounting. Although many vampires punish sires for the sins of their childer, we recognize that both sire and childe are individuals. Thus, we respect their individuality and their right to unlife. We as a society will be accountable for our own actions. � We will not be bound by the Tradition of Hospitality. Although princes decide who shall stay in their cities, we do not hold to this autocratic notion. Thus, we respect freedom of movement and affiliation. We welcome all who would join us, as long as they abide by the rules decided upon by our society. � We will not be bound by the Tradition of Destruction. Although often decide who shall die for what crimes, this is inherently unjust. We respect both life and justice. The assembled society will judge those accused of wrongdoing, and only unanimously can we sentence a fellow Kindred to Final Death. � We will not be bound by secrets. Although the elders hoard knowledge of the vampiric condition, we will not. We respect knowledge and believe it should be free. We will share our knowledge of both the mortal and Kindred worlds, and will share our Disciplines, magic and lore amongst ourselves freely. � We will not be bound by superstition. Although we are vampires, and have seen many "supernatural" wonders, there are those among us who use superstition as a weapon. We respect what can be proven. We do not believe in what is written in the Book of Nod nor other Kindred myths unless they can be substantiated. Although these measures may seem extreme to many Kindred, my compatriots and I believe we must forego all of the trappings of the old order. After all, we must truly be Unbound from all of the hoary Traditions and customs of our forebears if we are to form a new, just society. A few points of clarification are in order. I don't think any Unbound Kindred would advocate a wholesale rejection of the Masquerade. That would be shortsighted and extremely foolish. However, many of us believe that humanity will eventually find out about us, whether we like it or not. Thus, we need to start acting like good citizens, shepherding them from the shadows instead of treading them like herds - hence our rejection of the term "kine." They are sentient beings, as are we, and we need to start treating them as such. If we are successful, then one day, perhaps we can approach them as brothers once again, and they will accept us. It's idealistic, but what isn't about all this? Reality gets its start from dreams such as these. As far as the rest of the Traditions go, we would rather place these responsibilities in the hands of the entire society, instead of a single Kindred. Thus, we envision an assembly of a city's Kindred which would vote on who can best shepherd various mortal affairs (Domain), which mortals should be Embraced (Progeny), and whether one of our number has committed a crime (Accounting and Destruction). One vampire, one vote - age and generation don't matter here. Establishing an Unbound Cell Back to Who Wrote This? Return home |