TEXT:  
  Kickstarter Manuscript Preview #2H: 
  Kindred Religions – 
  Minor Cults 
   
  © 2019 White Wolf Entertainment © 2019 Onyx Path Publishing 
  
  Kindred Religions 
  “Every methuselah is capable of shepherding a flock of devotees, convincing 
  them of miracles of the Blood, and forcing them to supplicate before an 
  almighty leader. Every methuselah is a god just waiting to take on the title.” 
  — Shrug, Nosferatu Mistress of Cardiff 
  Undeath causes many a crisis of faith. The devout Christian might cease to believe in the 
  sanctity of life and the forgiveness of God Almighty. The Muslim might fail to reconcile their 
  own experience with the Qur’an’s teachings on death as a long night of sleep, where upon 
  dying, the individual immediately discovers their destiny in heaven or hell. The Hindu waits 
  for their atman to be reborn in a new body, only to find themself locked in their own damned, 
  unliving shell. 
  It is enough to drive one away from faith entirely, and yet, vampires discover new beliefs. 
  There will always be great mysteries in the world, and faith has provided millions, perhaps 
  billions of humans with answers, and comfort where there are no answers to be found. 
  Vampirism is a terrifying state in which to find oneself. It’s only natural that Kindred flock 
  together to find meaning, purpose, and sometimes, salvation in communal struggle. 
  Sometimes it comes in service to a higher power, other times it comes through examining the 
  Beast within, and rarely, it leads to transcendence beyond a vampire’s base instincts. 
  The religions presented in this chapter all exist within the World of Darkness, with some as 
  prominent vehicles of vampire faith, and others merely existing on the fringes of Kindred 
  society. In your chronicle, these might act as backgrounds, support networks, the sources of 
  powerful Mawlas, or the font from which to draw horrifying antagonists. 
   
  Minor Cults 
  “And some that were burying a man, saw the rovers, and cast the body into 
  the sepulcher of Eliseus. And when it had touched the bones of Eliseus, the 
  man came to life, and stood upon his feet.” (4 Kings 13:21, Douay-Rheims 
  Edition) 
  — Nuno Domingo de Madrid, Lasombra Governor of Lima, final words  
  Up to a hundred Kindred cults exist in tonight’s World of Darkness, though few are as 
  impressive in strength and size as those mentioned earlier in this chapter. These other cults 
  predominantly form around worship of a methuselah or Antediluvian, or around a concept 
  such as the Beast, Golconda, or the Amaranth. Many have fallen into memory due to 
  persecution, their membership being annihilated, or their long-lived members simply moving 
  on to other pursuits and philosophies. Others are localized, and so only affect their domain, or 
  are new to the night.  
  The most peculiar of these minor cults are those that emerge from the pages of history 
  without any of their original members. Vampires are creatures of ritual, placing great 
  importance on ancestry and myth, yet it is an oddity to see a religious order spring up in an 
  apparently random domain in worship of an until-recently forgotten methuselah. Perhaps, 
  muse some, these cults manifest when those methuselahs stir in their torpid slumber, or 
  worse, when they wake. 
   
  
  Amaranthans 
  Worshipers of the ancient Toreador named Amarantha, the purported first victim of diablerie, 
  the Amaranthans have existed for millennia as hunters of vampire cannibals, operating 
  without sectarian authority in their pursuit of diablerists. Established by Amarantha’s lovers 
  among Clans Brujah, Nosferatu, and the Banu Haqim, the cult still largely consists of 
  Kindred from those clans, few of whom remain in one domain for longer than it takes to kill 
  their target and acquire a new one. The process of joining the Amaranthans isn’t one usually 
  undertaken by choice, with mortals Embraced by members of the cult immediately 
  indoctrinated into an existence of hunting vampire sinners. In that regard, there are few 
  murder cults quite so driven as the Amaranthans. 
  In past centuries, the cult’s coteries would gravitate toward rumors of diablerie, investigate, 
  and then execute the guilty without trial. In these nights they follow similar practices, though 
  many among them find satisfaction in a secondary role as bearers of their victims’ final 
  messages, harbingers of their last wills (providing they don’t run counter to the cult’s 
  objectives), and have even granted mercy on a handful of occasions. 
  Current Goals 
  The Amaranthans have been tolerated among the dominant sects for centuries due to Kindred 
  society’s widely attested distaste for diablerie. As long as these Amaranthans commit their 
  murders quietly and move on, they’re creating spaces in the hierarchy previously occupied by 
  murderers, so most Kindred take the view that they’re a kind of religious pest control. This 
  view is gradually changing, however, since whereas the Amaranthans used to primarily target 
  Sabbat vampires, with that sect out of the picture and the cult having no desire to follow them 
  on their Gehenna Crusade, they’ve since taken out a few high-profile Camarilla targets, 
  including an Archon and two Princes. 
  The Amaranthans are dedicated to their goal even though they know it’s one without end. If 
  their practice was a disincentive to commit diablerie, it surely would have stopped diablerists 
  by now. The current objective of the already small cult is to survive renewed Camarilla and 
  Anarch scrutiny while furthering their more esoteric aims, which if rumors are to believed, 
  involve the diablerie of some of their most dangerous targets. Supposedly, the Amaranthans 
  believe they can free or merge with Amarantha if they can finally consume her murderer, but 
  that would entail consuming that vampire’s descendants, all of whom show a similar 
  dedication to cannibalism. 
  Cleopatrans 
  Nosferatu tell tales of the wise, beautiful childe of their progenitor, named Yima, who was 
  Embraced before Absimiliard — the clan founder — was cursed. She rode out God’s great 
  storm and Caine’s ire through charm, love, and honesty.  
  Other Nosferatu tales tell of Yima being the one Nosferatu who stood between Caine and the 
  Antediluvian, bearing the full brunt of the clan’s monstrous bane as Absimiliard only took a 
  fraction of the blow. Her love for her sire was such that she would die or be forever mutilated 
  on his behalf. 
  Rather than receiving her sire’s affection and care, Absimiliard abandoned her to her 
  monstrosity. Or, her beauty so awesome in his sight, Absimiliard could no longer bear to look 
  upon her. The tales are contradictory, but what is known, is Yima became the clan’s holy 
  grail as a figure of sympathy or aspiration. 
  The cult known as the Cleopatrans of Yima, or just the Cleopatrans, formed at the height of 
  Caesar Augustus’ Rome, with rumors of Yima spreading widely in the wake of Cleopatra. 
  
  This pharaoh, more powerful than any man, beautiful and deadly, bewitched the Roman 
  Nosferatu imagination, and parallels were drawn between her and ancient Yima.  
  The Nosferatu started adorning their hideous faces and bodies with paint, baubles, masks, and 
  elaborate outfits, to accentuate beauty and prove their purpose as more than horrors and 
  lepers. The Cleopatrans selected only the canniest wits to make their cult of advisors and 
  leaders, creating a bubble in time between the 1st and 4th centuries CE where Nosferatu 
  occupied rare places of prominence throughout Europe and North Africa. Every third domain 
  held a Cleopatran in a place of importance. It was a rich time for the clan. 
  The Cleopatrans were only powerful for that duration, however. With the fall of the Western 
  Roman Empire, the cult dissolved, and tales of Yima and Cleopatra disappeared with them. 
  Current Goals 
  In the early 20th century Kindred society observed a convulsion in Clan Nosferatu, as once 
  again the Sewer Rats started adorning themselves as lords and ladies, perfumed, well-dressed, 
  and far above the station the Camarilla had assigned them for the first four centuries of its 
  existence. This trend hasn’t disappeared, with “Cleopatras” appearing in random domains, 
  sometimes among the ranks of resident Nosferatu, other times as outsiders freshly visiting a 
  staid city. As they did almost two millennia before, these Cleopatras (dropping the “n” as the 
  majority don’t recognize their cult as one of worship or lineage) attempt to seize roles above 
  traditional Nosferatu standing. For many, their mix of self-belief, delusion, and confidence is 
  enough to put them in positions of Herald, Primogen, or Sheriff. While no Cleopatras have 
  become Princes yet, many believe it’s just a matter of time. 
  Kindred scholars debate whether simply dressing up and taking on a sound-alike epithet is 
  enough to constitute a revived cult, or a cult at all, but what none outside the most successful 
  Cleopatras know is they’ve been receiving communal dreams, including images possibly sent 
  to them telepathically, of a great, gorgeous nude woman who caresses the Nosferatu, 
  mending their disfigurements with her palm, before ordering them to take command of all 
  Kindred. These vampires receive subsequent visions guiding them on how to exploit the 
  weaknesses of local rulers, with most guidance proving successful. It seems the Cleopatras 
  have a patron, though it’s too soon to tell if it’s Yima, a poisoning of their Blood sent down 
  from Absimiliard himself, or some Toreador messing with each of their heads for one big 
  elaborate joke. 
  The Cult of Isis 
  The Cult of Isis has undergone several transformations in the years since its founding, 
  revering Isis as Lilith, Isis as Hathor, Isis as Mary, Isis as Aquarius, and Isis as countless 
  other deities or deific female figures. All celebrate fertility, life, and ceremonies of joining, 
  making them an ostensibly strange cult for Kindred involvement, and indeed, for centuries 
  they’ve operated with minimal vampiric intervention. Only now, with the open resurgence of 
  Kindred faith, have vampires once again flocked to a religion that preaches veneration for 
  health, magic, and marriage. 
  From its early days to tonight, the Cult of Isis is a religion of empowerment. The cultists 
  don’t recognize Isis as an individual so much as a concept, with many mortals focusing on 
  Isis as nature and femininity, and vampires identifying Isis as the meaningful, compassionate 
  Embrace, and guardianship over sacred and magical places. In the latter respect, the Cult is 
  fiercely militant, protecting with homicidal ferocity those areas where mages can more 
  efficaciously practice their arts, where the Shroud (see p. XX) thins, and where the 
  supernatural struggles to exist. They disdain areas of religious importance, however, reviling 
  holy land and artifacts as much as any vampire. 
  
  Current Goals 
  While the Cult of Isis’ cells have a shared name and agenda, little communication exists 
  between the religion’s various groups. There is no central authority, and hierarchy changes 
  from cell to cell, though some branches emulate the Bahari scale of seed, maiden, mother, 
  and matron. Though some cells restrict membership based on gender, others find this attitude 
  radical or outdated, leading to one of the only divides in the cult that causes inter-cell 
  conflict. 
  The Cult of Isis’ goal has broadly extended to the protection of abandoned fledglings, leading 
  to a surge in Caitiff members. Unintentionally, its reverence of youth (in mortal and immortal 
  terms) and the potency of Blood has created a swell in membership for this cult, and the elder 
  members aren’t sure how to utilize this new army of angry youths, who all seem ready to 
  fight someone or something. The cult has been based around protection and reaction to 
  attacks on sacred places and people for so long, that the idea of dispatching a militia to take a 
  site or eliminate an enemy is new to them. 
  These nights portend interesting times for the Cult of Isis, as they could prove to become 
  kingmakers or domain breakers, depending on how they use their swathe of new recruits. 
  Eyes of Malakai 
  An ancient cult of bizarre, destructive belief rarely seen in the modern nights, the Eyes of 
  Malakai are often stamped out as soon as they appear, usually by Malkavians driven to 
  oppose the cult without knowing their reasons for fighting against it. 
  The Eyes first emerged millennia ago, supposedly as worshipers of Malkav’s twin sister — a 
  vampire, god, or demon named Malakai. In legend, Lilith Embraced Malakai, and according 
  to Cainite theory, she would be of similar potency and age to her brother, were the two active 
  and stable enough to pursue singular courses. Nobody is alive to know the truth of the 
  Malakai tales, however. If she exists, she’s so old or torpid as to be unreachable in any 
  meaningful way. 
  The Eyes do exist, however, and to a single vampire, they’re terrible, vicious predators with 
  what appear to be few coherent motivations. 
  Current Goals 
  Regardless of Malakai’s status or whereabouts, the vampires who become Eyes have 
  appeared every few decades each century. These cultists were usually presentable, 
  functioning members of Kindred society. Then, they undergo an awakening. Some Kindred 
  theologians believe Malakai visits these vampires — often Malkavians — and provokes their 
  existing conditions to a state of permanent mania. Others guess the Eyes’ Blood revolts in 
  their bodies due to their Antediluvian’s sins. It’s all guesswork, however, as the Eyes of 
  Malakai don’t know why they do what they do. 
  The awakening rapidly changes the Eyes. It would be incorrect to consider their change a 
  devolution — some Eyes are wights, most are not — but they suddenly lose their sense of 
  attachment to Touchstones and fellow Kindred, and become entirely predatory. Some start 
  spying on and stalking former companions, others hunt solitary vampires and diablerize them 
  as soon as they gain the opportunity. Some Eyes make copious notes on local Kindred society 
  before burning the notes in a ritual fire, and then throwing themselves into the flames. These 
  are all recorded behaviors of the Eyes, but none of their actions explain their objectives. 
  When vampires question the Eyes as to the meaning behind their new behaviors, they either 
  lash out or passively respond they’re “the Eyes of Malakai,” apparently lacking the capacity 
  
  to conceal their condition. Some vampires call them “incarnate madness” or “infected vitae.” 
  The word “Eyes” makes other vampires assume these vampires are spies for someone, 
  presumably Malakai, but the Eyes often enough just try to make other vampires’ existences 
  miserable, or conspire to sabotage the Camarilla in a domain, making their ambitions 
  something grander than just observing for a third party. 
  The Eyes of Malakai appear infrequently enough to become vampire folklore, but when 
  rumor enters a domain of Eyes emerging to spread ruin, it’s enough to mobilize Kindred into 
  forming a hunting party. 
  Gorgo’s Nest  
  Gorgo’s Nest, the Children of Gorgo, the Daughters of Gorgo, or simply the Gorgons, have 
  pursued a path of eliminating tyrants, murderers, rapists, and monsters for centuries. They 
  only have one restriction on whom they target: they are the slayers of men. Gorgo’s Nest 
  formed around the stories of a Nosferatu methuselah who may have been the Medusa of 
  Greek legend or the famed Queen of Sparta, who was killed by a mortal hunter or the 
  Nosferatu Antediluvian when he tried to eradicate his childer in a fit of rage. Whatever the 
  genesis, Gorgo no longer exists, but her followers, not all of whom are Nosferatu, believe 
  sincerely in avenging her and using their immortality to prevent men like Perseus, 
  Absimiliard, and even Caine, from visiting harm on others. 
  There is no compassion among the vampires of Gorgo’s Nest. They have never attempted to 
  save, aid, or care for victims of abuse. The vampires of this cult are almost all of a low 
  Humanity and disconnected from Touchstones, pursuing the kill above all else. Their crusade 
  continues when they become wights, with Gorgo’s Nest staking members fallen to the Beast, 
  only to release them when they can be placed in a location rife with male targets. 
  Current Goals 
  Most Kindred believe Gorgo’s Nest possesses a firebrand agenda, which is misplaced, 
  misguided, and ultimately destructive. This view isn’t exclusive to male vampires, as Gorgo’s 
  Nest dispatches killers to slay vampires guilty of the Embrace, over-feeding, or maintaining a 
  retainer for too long, making their standards for elimination highly subjective.  
  Vampires in Gorgo’s Nest detest comparisons to the Bahari. They maintain they are not lilin, 
  and in fact their view of the Bahari is aggressive to the point of frenzy. They hate sharing a 
  space with the lilin, and commonly war with the cult whenever they share a domain. These 
  battles have gone on for centuries, and Gorgo’s Nest is the cult that has taken the most 
  grievous injuries in the contest. These nights, Gorgo’s Nest is a shadow of its former self. 
  The reasons behind the conflict between Gorgo’s Nest and the Bahari aren’t widely known, 
  but consume the Gorgons’ modern agenda. In truth, the cult split off from the Bahari three 
  centuries ago due to a bloody, personal feud between a Gorgon (one of the Nest’s high 
  priests) and a matron of the Bahari. The feud spread to their followers, their companions, and 
  eventually, their wider cults. Since then, all because of a disagreement over whether a mortal 
  under the Bahari’s protection should be pushed into an arranged marriage to a powerful 
  nobleman, the cults have been at war. 
  Gorgo’s Nest have lost sight of their initial, murderous objective, and now persist in 
  sabotaging Ba’ham Gardens. Vampires join the cult because they’re already rage-filled, so 
  the cult directs them against the Bahari some nights, and men the rest of the time. When not 
  delivering death, the sorority of the cult seeks to stabilize members at risk of succumbing 
  permanently to the Beast, but this is sadly a latter concern these nights. To compound 
  
  matters, the resurgent Lamiae also go by the title “the Gorgons” and take pleasure in 
  sabotaging this cult when they can. 
  Los Hijos de Si  
  Los Hijos de Si, or “The Children of Si,” is a Kindred cult operating throughout Peru and 
  Bolivia with a history stretching back nearly 1500 years to its founding by Illari, a Moche 
  priestess of the moon goddess “Si.” Los Hijos have been active of late, quietly recruiting new 
  members and expanding their influence. They seldom participate in the Gehenna War or the 
  meaningless bickering of the Camarilla and Anarchs, their gaze firmly fixed on the moon 
  above as they await the soothing darkness of salvation.  
  Los Hijos serve the Machukuna, or “Ancient Ones,” revered entities from a prior age whose 
  spirits persist into the present. The cult believes the Machukuna inhabit a shadowy parallel 
  reality and were born of a nocturnal age lit only by moonlight. Their species died in fire upon 
  the birth of the present age, but many endure, their ageless and desiccated bones concealed 
  from the sun’s killing light in deep caves and lake bottoms. Only the Machukuna know their 
  origins with certainty and Los Hijos are not inclined to doubt them.  
  The cult believes the Machukuna are avatars of the moon goddess Si, who holds the key to 
  escaping the Kindred’s endless Jyhad, and perhaps reality itself. They defend the 
  Machukuna’s ancient bones, bear their sacred word, and satiate their unquenchable hunger 
  for blood, passion, and offerings. In return, the Machukuna provide wisdom, access to the 
  potent dust of their bones, and the promise they will lead Los Hijos safely into an age where 
  Si rules the skies alone, unencumbered by the sun. 
  Until recently, the childer and descendants of the cult’s founder Illari made up the cult’s 
  Kindred contingent. This changed with the induction of new coteries from the recently 
  vacated Sabbat stronghold of Lima. These Kindred and their mortal counterparts work 
  vigorously to fortify their Machukuna wards against time itself, always present, but seldom 
  seen. They perpetuate false legends of the Machukuna, reducing them to folk tales easily 
  explained away by mortals, defend their bones, and make sure their masters are well fed, 
  cajoling humans and Kindred to propitiate them in return for Los Hijos’ favor.  
  The Machukuna are the sacred beyond compare, creatures of darkness from a more perfect 
  age, representatives of a better road forward than that offered by meaningless faiths, or 
  seekers of Golconda. They are always watching, always waiting, and always pushing Los 
  Hijos to greater acts of devotion, for they are the Si-given signposts on the road to salvation. 
  A road every Hijo intends to walk. 
  Current Goals 
  Los Hijos’ goals are a balance of reconstruction and expansion. The cult took significant 
  losses in the centuries where the Sabbat were dominant in Lima, stretching its ability to 
  protect the Machukuna. Illari and her childer actively seek to Embrace new Kindred to 
  restore their numbers in addition to inducting new Kindred from afar. 
  In addition to replenishing her ranks, Illari places renewed emphasis on security. The Second 
  Inquisition haunts Peru, thin-bloods walk the streets of Lima, and She Who Screams in the 
  Forest is active in Brazil. The signs of Gehenna are everywhere and Los Hijos prepare to 
  weather the storm. Lima’s Nosferatu erase electronic records of Hijo activity and have 
  fortified the cult’s mines with an astonishing array of defenses, transforming them into 
  tunnels of death rivaling the Amaganti Warren of Brasília.   
  As always, the cult seeks to accumulate additional power, food, and security for the 
  Machukuna. High Priests Don Esteban and Giuliana work vigorously to expand their 
  
  influence among the kine, while Illari’s childer walk unnoticed among the sick and poor 
  mining communities of Peru, trading the vitae necessary to keep them alive in return for a 
  steady supply of blood when demanded. They also ensure that the miners and villagers of the 
  hinterlands leave proper sacrifices for the Machukuna and their servants. What the 
  Machukuna do with cigarettes, liquor, and food is unknown, but these offerings are stacked 
  neatly before their desiccated skeletons deep underground and vanish before the Hijos return.  
  Sons and Daughters of Helena 
  The essence of a methuselah cult dedicated to the accumulation of wealth and influence, the 
  Sons and Daughters of Helena pay tribute to their legendary icon, the vampire known 
  variously as Helena, Helen, Helene, or — to those few who know her modern-nights Mask — 
  Portia, in exchange for her blessings, direction, and supernatural aid. Structured as a pyramid 
  of worship, adherents are lured in with tales of Helena being the undead Helen of Troy: a 
  figure of supreme beauty, intellect, and wit. They’re told tales of how she’s survived for 
  millennia, manipulated armies to further her goals, orchestrated the fall of Carthage, and is 
  now the most powerful vampire in the USA. How much of this is true is debatable, but the 
  Sons and Daughters use their Presence to attract recruits, make their words believable, and 
  foster adoration from fresh initiates. 
  Helena is indeed the individual prominent in the tales of the Trojan Wars, and she is the 
  schemer and beauty icon her cult purports her to be. She’s even present in the United States 
  and influences a small army of followers. However, these followers are not the Sons and 
  Daughters, over whom she has minimal control and about whom she has little interest. Elders 
  of Clans Ventrue, Toreador, and Brujah with no attachment to Helena formed this cult in her 
  name to exploit the myths surrounding her and profit from fledgling gullibility.  
  Current Goals 
  A vampire pyramid scheme, the Sons and Daughters’ elder council sends abstract messages 
  and puzzles to the lower level adherents, requesting they perform tasks on the cult’s behalf 
  while intimating that by performing well, they’ll please Helena and earn her favor. The 
  missions they set usually center on eliminating the cult’s enemies, obtaining or laundering 
  money, seizing territory for higher ranking members, or expanding the cult. The initiates at 
  the bottom are expected to dedicate their time to serving Helena, send tribute up the chain, 
  and in return — if they please “her” — a nice bauble comes back down. Usually this takes 
  the form of the elder council recruiting other initiates to perform a task for the previous 
  group, or more rarely, the elders might send down a vial of treated, potent vitae with the 
  message to “use this only in times of extreme duress.” The vitae usually comes from the body 
  of another captured vampire from outside the cult. 
  To the Sons and Daughters, their religion is a mystery cult from which they obtain more 
  wisdom and enlightenment the more they dedicate themselves. To anyone who delves deeper 
  into the cult’s inner workings, it’s about as mundane a cult as vampires could form. Yet, as 
  with many con jobs, as long as the marks don’t realize they’re being milked for all they’re 
  worth, the sense of belonging, purpose, and belief is enough to keep them from slipping to 
  the Beast. The cult’s dissolution would lead to many vampires greeting the dawn in 
  humiliation and despair. 
  What little Helena knows of this cult amuses her, so she’s content to let it persist at least until 
  it tarnishes her reputation. If that time comes, she’ll make a grand show of annihilating the 
  elder council and stepping in to address the Sons and Daughters as their grateful goddess, 
  picking up the cult’s devoted scraps. 
  
  The Meneleans 
  A confused cult with no leadership in these modern nights, the Meneleans were once 
  dedicated to rebuilding Carthage anew, revering the wisdom of the Brujah methuselah who 
  unknowingly founded their order, and fighting the servants of the Toreador methuselah 
  Helena. In their recorded history, the Meneleans read stories of the frequent clashes between 
  the vampire known as Menele or Menelaus, and his rival Helena. The two fought using 
  thousands of mortal and undead proxies for millennia before finally reaching the United 
  States, where the two reached an ostensible stalemate and the war went underground. 
  In part dedicated to freeing vampires from elder subjugation and manipulation, while 
  advocating closer bonds with the kine to help ground the cultists, the Menelean faith is one 
  that’s not outwardly destructive like that of many cults. Aside from Helena’s cultists, the 
  Meneleans had no natural enemies. They furthered a cause of freedom without the vice of 
  worshiping Set, spoke in favor of domains drenched not in bloodshed but in understanding, 
  and strongly believed the pathway to Golconda was through perfect assimilation into mortal 
  life. The only price was drinking a dose of Menele’s vitae every decade. 
  Then Menele disappeared, probably Beckoned, and a hundred bonds snapped. 
  Current Goals 
  The great fraud of the Meneleans was that Menele enforced his will through his vitae. The 
  cult operated so successfully, and appeared so uniformly altruistic, because Menele wished it 
  so. Whenever a cultist tried to pursue their personal interests, he or one of his childer 
  intervened to correct the course through the Blood or destroy the bug in the system. 
  Undoubtedly, the cult’s followers achieved many great things in Anarch and Camarilla 
  domains alike, encouraging vampires on the cusp of becoming wights to fold into mortal 
  society, softening a Prince’s tyranny, and influencing the building of new cities such as 
  Milton Keynes in the United Kingdom and Songdo in South Korea specifically to cater to 
  Kindred needs. However, this was only sometimes the will of the vampires involved. Most of 
  these schemes filtered down from on high. 
  The question many free Meneleans now ask is whether they would have pursued the same 
  goals were Menele not involved. They also want to know how much control Menele had over 
  their pursuits, as for all they know they could have been receiving subtle pushes from 
  Menele’s dreams, or dictates from a tyrant methuselah. The cult is in disarray, with their 
  ancient grudge against Helena’s followers even put to the side as Meneleans come together 
  and discuss how they’re going to act without their master’s vitae. 
  The One True Way 
  A pamphlet occasionally appears in haven letterboxes, trampled on the street outside 
  Elysium, or folded between two books in a Tremere chantry. This pamphlet, printed like a 
  flyer for a Christian group meeting that invites its readers to “join and share over drinks and 
  honesty to discuss Golconda,” is titled “The One True Way,” and has been banned in 
  domains far and wide for what Princes perceive as a Masquerade risk, and others consider an 
  obvious trap designed to lure vampires into a cult. In this respect, the word “cult” is used with 
  all negative connotations. 
  Perhaps due to its negative reputation, vampires seek it out. If it’s caused such a stir, there 
  must be some validity to its words, right? Kindred track down the community centers, scout 
  huts, and church halls advertised in the pamphlets and find themselves in the company of 
  other interested vampires, creating a sense of camaraderie. After a brief wait, a speaker 
  emerges and talks at length about the one true way to Golconda, the steps one must take to 
  
  reach the enlightened state, and after the speech — sometimes accompanied by PowerPoint 
  presentations and team building activities — attendees are invited to share, without judgment, 
  activities they’ve pursued that cause them shame or horror. The speaker then gives guidance 
  from the certified one true way, which promises to help them in the future. The group 
  disperses and most Kindred never return. Some, however, do. They buy in. They take the first 
  step on the one true way to Golconda. 
  Current Goals 
  The One True Way is a Golconda cult established by a mysterious vampire going by the title 
  “Master of Ravens,” not that many of the cult’s adherents ever encounter him. He might 
  show up to impart wisdom directly if a powerful cult member experiences second thoughts, 
  or to rally followers against an enemy that wishes to destroy the cult, but for the most part he 
  works in the background. 
  The vampires who give themselves fully to this cult eventually find the group meetings are 
  just the first step on a program. They then lead their own sessions, gathering secrets from 
  confessing, troubled Kindred, and use them to pursue the cult’s ends. The Master of Ravens 
  expects the cult leaders to use these disclosures to elevate their own status too, however, as he 
  uses the cult’s accumulated knowledge against his own ancient enemies, including at least 
  one Antediluvian. 
  Meanwhile, the One True Way’s veracity is debatable. Long-term cultists exhibit a changed 
  persona, but this could be learned behavior as easily as it might be a radical change based on 
  Golconda. These upper level cultists, commonly titled “Ones,” appear to gain impressive 
  control over their Beasts, extending to their direct communion with the internal, hungry 
  voice, but some Kindred report the cultists allow their Beasts to take over in unmatched 
  displays of violence and sadism. The Ones explain the Beast cannot be snuffed, only silenced 
  for a time, and that they have learned how to release it at opportune moments. It so happens 
  these opportune times always occur around the cult’s most vehement enemies. 
  Servitors of Irad 
  According to Noddist history, Irad was the most bloodthirsty warmonger of his time, his 
  prowess on the battlefield and in commanding men earning the respect of the first murderer, 
  and Caine’s Embrace. Irad joined the ranks of the Second Generation and led Caine’s armies 
  for an unrecorded number of centuries, always loyal to his sire and kin, as long as the 
  battlefield could slake his unquenchable thirst.  
  Something changed in Irad when the Antediluvians rebelled against the Second Generation, 
  however, with the handful of accounts from vampires who claim to remember the war 
  agreeing Irad turned his armies to oppose Enoch, Zillah, and a controversially vague number 
  of other Second Generation vampires. His motives for doing so are unclear to this night, 
  though some posit he felt the Third Generation could bring him the blood he so craved in 
  greater quantities than his sire and siblings, while others believe Caine snubbed him as 
  nothing more than a killer, goading Irad into showing him what a killer he could be. 
  Whatever the case, Irad wasn’t exempt from the Third Generation’s attack on the Second, 
  though some believe he fell last, his denouement coming as a surprise after everything he’d 
  sacrificed for them.  
  The cult that emerged in the millennia that followed openly claims to serve the will of 
  Antediluvians, which strikes Cainite scholars as odd, given their epithet as “Servitors of 
  Irad.” The cultists respond that Irad is emblematic of all blood shed in glorious battle, crimes 
  of passion, and subtle assassinations. The individual matters less than their service to the true 
  
  warmongers — the Antediluvians — and just as Irad served them to drench the planet in 
  blood, the Servitors shall do the same. 
  Current Goals 
  The Servitors of Irad have ever waxed and waned in power and popularity, drawing Kindred 
  who see themselves as divine killers or who lack purpose beyond destruction. During times 
  of great war between the kine, the Servitors emerge to ride the tide of battle and drive 
  increasing numbers of mortals into the jaws of death. During times of peace, they attempt to 
  provoke war or needle vampires into territorial disputes, sectarian conflicts, or religious 
  crusades. They are ever on the lookout for the grandest buffet, which inevitably follows chaos 
  and battle. 
  The Gehenna Crusade has revitalized the Servitors of Irad, who join the fight from every 
  conceivable position, whether as manipulators pushing political buttons or as warriors in the 
  field. The more philosophical branch of the cult wishes to consume a host of methuselahs 
  while summoning their Antediluvian masters. The more politically motivated Servitors want 
  to deal a grievous blow to the Sabbat, who they feel are still rank amateurs at war when 
  compared to the clan founders. 
  For obvious reasons, Servitors of Irad rarely declare their presence or openly recruit in 
  peaceful domains, though with the Sabbat’s absence in many of its former domains, they look 
  to propel the Camarilla and Anarchs into a fresh conflict absent for so many centuries. 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Storyteller [multi]/World of Darkness (WoD) [multi]/Vampire/Vampire 5e/Cults of the Blood Gods Preview/Cults of the Blood Gods Kickstarter Manuscript Preview 2H (V5).pdf