Heat! Pain! Confusion! ... I smell bitterness. A cold fragrance wrenches my soul from its rest. I try to open my eyes, hearing his insisting voice: "Repeat them! You must repeat the words to live! Say it!" his voice keeps insisting "I, Sizzilia Valdero, hereby swear" I couldn't find the strength to open my eyes, where was I, what happened? "I, Sizzilia Valdero." I said weakly. What did he want me to say? Here I hear his voice again "I, Sizzilia Valdero, hereby swear my everlasting loyalty to the house and Clan Tremere and all its members." "I, Sizzilia" I feel nauseated, repeating his words with a disembodied voice. "I, Sizzilia Valdero, hereby swear my everlasting loyalty to the house and Clan Tremere and all its members�". Some warm and rich liquid was forced into my mouth. "Swallow and repeat after me again!" his voice commanded. "I am of their blood, and they are of mine. We share our lives, our goals, and our achievements. I shall obey those the House sees fit to name my superiors, and treat my inferiors with all the respect and care they earn for themselves. I manage to repeat his words, feeling exhausted, feeling how more liquid is filling my mouth, swallowing, starting to gag and choke from the taste, but manage for it to stay down." "Continue!" he says with his demanding voice. "I will not deprive nor attempt to deprive any member of House and Clan Tremere of his magical power. To do so would be to act against the strength of our House. I will not slay nor attempt to slay any member of the House and Clan except in self-defense, or when a magus has been ruled outlaw by a properly constituted tribunal. If a magus has been ruled an outlaw, I shall bend all efforts to bring such magus to justice."  "I will abide by all decisions of the tribunals, and respectfully honor the wishes of the Inner Council of Seven and the wishes of my superiors. The tribunals shall be bound by the spirit of the Code of Tremere, as supplemented by the Peripheral Code and interpreted by a properly constituted body of magi. I have the right to appeal a decision to a higher tribunal, if they should agree to hear my case." I knew I had no choice then to repeat his words, or I would die. So I did, slowly and weakly, phrase by phrase. "I will not endanger House and Clan Tremere through my actions. Nor will I interfere with the affairs of mundanes in any way that brings ruin upon my House and Clan. I will not, when dealing with devils, or others, in any way bring danger to the clan, nor will I disturb the faeries in any way that should cause them to take vengeance on the House and Clan." More warm liquid fills my mouth, and I start to welcome it while continuing to repeat this oath. "I also swear to uphold the values and goals of the Camarilla, and I will maintain the Masquerade. Insofar as these goals may conflict with my goals, I will not pursue my own ends in any way that would endanger the Masquerade. The strength of the House and Clan Tremere depends on the strength of the Masquerade." "I will not use magic to scry upon members of the House and Clan Tremere, nor shall I use it to peer into their affairs. It is expressly forbidden." "I will train only apprentices who will swear to this code, and should any of them turn against the House and Clan, I shall be the first to strike them down and bring them to justice. No apprentice of mine shall be called magus until he/she first swears to uphold the code. I shall treat my apprentices with the care and respect that they earn." Nerves given up for dead return to painful vitality. I try to scream, but can't.  Does this oath ever end? I continue as he demands  "I concede to my elders the right to take my apprentice should it be found that my apprentice is valuable to an elder's work. All are members of the House and Clan and valuable first to these precepts. I shall abide by the right of my superiors to make such decisions." "I shall further the knowledge of the House and Clan and share with its members all that I find in my search for wisdom and power. No secrets are to be kept, or given, regarding the arts of magic, nor shall I keep secret the doings of others which might bring harm to the House and Clan." "I will demand that, should I break this oath, I should be cast out of the House and Clan. If I am cast out, I ask my brothers and sisters to find and slay me, so that my life may not continue in degradation and infamy." "I recognize that the enemies of the House and Clan are my enemies, that the friends of the House and Clan are my friends, and that the allies of the House and Clan are my allies. Let us work as one and grow hale and strong." "I hereby swear this oath on August 6th ****. Woe to they who try to tempt me to break this oath, and woe to me if I succumb to such temptation." The life flow continues unabated, filling me. The pain becomes ecstasy. Such exquisite, living agony.  He was right, we have become one....

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