E M E R A L D C I T Y C H R O N I C L E S
A C C O R D S A N D D E C R E E S
Even Anarchs feel the need to chronicle their history, a long parade of years punctuated by the actions of the undead that combine to make it the World of Darkness that all Kindred call home. That history is a record of certain moments of import, a written proof of the turning points of the Cainite race.
But who keeps the documents that shape history? In whose trust can the Kindred leave these treaties and celebrations of victory — and acknowledgements of defeat? No vampiric museum exists to protect these fragments of momentous history. No, for the Kindred, history is much like privilege, hoarded by those who already have it in ample quantities.
Reader, beware: Without a centralized and impartial record-keeping agency whose efforts benefit all Kindred, any collection of the agreements that have shaped the history of the Damned is unreliable at best, and quite likely to be suspect. What the Anarchs believe they agreed to may well not be what signatories of other sects recall...
- Anarchs Unbound, pg. 132
The Traditions
The Code of Milan
The First Tradition:
The Masquerade
Thou shall not reveal thy true nature to those not of the Blood.
Doing such shall renounce thy claims of Blood.
The Second Tradition:
The Domain
Thy domain is thine own concern.
All others owe thee respect while in it.
None may challenge thy word while in thy domain.
The Third Tradition:
The Progeny
Thou shall only Sire another with the permission of thine Elder.
If thou createst another without thine Elder’s leave, both thou and thy Progeny shall be slain.
The Fourth Tradition:
The Accounting
Those thou create are thine own children.
Until thy Progeny shall be Released, thou shall command them in all things. Their sins are thine to endure.
The Fifth Tradition:
Hospitality
Honor one another’s domain.
When thou comest to a foreign city, thou shall present thyself to the one who ruleth there.
Without the word of acceptance, thou art nothing.
The Sixth Tradition:
Destruction
Thou art forbidden to destroy another of thy kind.
The right of destruction belongeth only to thine Elder.
Only the Eldest among thee shall call the Blood Hunt.
I. The Sabbat shall remain united in its support of the Sect’s Regent. If necessary, a new Regent shall be elected. The Regent shall support relief from tyranny, granting all Sabbat freedom.
II. All Sabbat shall do their best to serve their leaders as long as said lead- ers serve the will of the Regent.
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All Sabbat shall faithfully observe all the auctoritas ritae.
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All Sabbat shall keep their word of honor to one another.
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All Sabbat shall treat their peers fairly and equally, upholding the
strength and unity of the Sabbat. If necessary, they shall provide for the needs of their brethren.
VI. All Sabbat must put the good of the Sect and the race of Cainites before their own personal needs, despite all costs.
VII. Those who are not honorable under this code will be considered less than equal and therefore unworthy of assistance.
VIII. As it has always been, so shall it always be. The Lextalionis shall be the model for undying justice by which all Sabbat shall abide.
IX. All Sabbat shall protect one another from the enemies of the Sect. Personal enemies shall remain a personal responsibility, unless they undermine Sect security.
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All Sect members shall protect Sabbat territory from all other powers.
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The spirit of freedom shall be the fundamental principle of the Sect.
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All Sabbat shall expect and demand freedom from their leaders.
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The Ritus of Monomacy shall be used to settle disputes among all Sabbat.
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All Sabbat shall support the Black Hand.
Addenda to the Code of Milan
XIV. All Sabbat have the right to monitor the behavior and activities of their fellow Sect members in order to maintain freedom and security.
XV. All Sabbat possess the right to call a council of their peers and immediate leaders.
XVI. All Sabbat shall act against Sect members who use the powers and authority the Sabbat has given them for personal gain at the expense of the Sabbat. Action shall be taken only through accepted means, approved by a quorum of Prisci.
In the decades following the fall of the Cappadocians, the Giovanni were the subject of a great deal of gossip and rumor in the nascent community of the Camarilla. The other Kindred called the Giovanni the “Devil Clan,” based on their betrayal and diablerie of Cappadocius as well as the darker proclivities of the family. The Camarilla had only recently experienced the Anarch Revolt, and they were desperate to nip another possible threat in the bud before the Giovanni incited another revolt or, worse — from their point of view — joined with Sascha Vykos and its crazed cohorts in the Caine cult that became the Sabbat. Starting a war with us would have been a problem as well, because where the Sabbat were largely made up of the groundlings, we had footholds in the same halls of power as the Ventrue and the Toreador. It would have been starting a war on a second front. They didn’t want to condemn us for the Great Betrayal, because that would set things off. They didn’t want us shamelessly sauntering around their parties either, because that would make them uncomfortable.
I wasn’t there. I don’t know what the treaty actually says, and neither does anyone else I know. The meetings were secret, and the outcome was just as secret. Maybe there are provisions in the Promise the Camarilla don’t want their own Antediluvians to know about. Maybe Augustus has a ripcord, in case some of us decide to take him out. Who knows? I assume Augustus has a copy, and the Camarilla must have a copy, but it’s not as if we can check the Library of Congress, right? As far as night-to-night existence in the here and now, they stay out of our affairs, and we stay out of theirs. We own Venice, as is only right and fucking proper, but their Inner Circle gets to hold annual meetings there, on “neutral” ground. The fun question is: What else did Augustus agree to on our behalf? He’s not talking, and who knows if one of the Camarilla’s going to show up at our doorstep one night calling in some ancient marker?
Many years have passed since the start of our current conflict, now called the Anarch Rebellion. Be it known that on this night of 23 October 1493, the Jyhad has ended. The time of conflict is over.
This concordat, bound in the Covenant of Caine by sacred vow, represents an unyielding, vigilant truce between the Kindred known unto themselves as the Anarchs, the Clan Assamite, and the freestanding Kindred bound under the title of Camarilla. Henceforth, the parties shall be recognized by faction as the Anarchs, the Assamites, and the Camarilla.
Each of these parties agrees to the responsibility of maintaining peace. Each shall lay its censures on any who breach or oppose this sacred Agreement. Accounting will be made of all parties for violations by them to either the letter or spirit of this Agreement. This document is not binding under the social code of all Children of Caine by the accepted Lextalionis of all Cainites as it has passed through the ages.
However, all Kindred are entreated to accept and gain solace from this peaceful accord.
Be it known that the Anarchs will enjoin with the Camarilla as an accepted part, making it whole. All Cainites are expected to work peacefully to achieve their own ends. Each must become defenders of all, and each shall receive full entitlement to all rights and privileges belonging to all Camarilla Kindred. All Anarchs shall be accepted back unto their elders and their formerly denounced clans without any fear of reprisal. Only the most vicious of atrocities shall not be forgiven. These shall stand written for the justicars to hear within one year, after which all allegations are no longer valid. All Anarchs shall reclaim all remaining and rightful property confiscated from them. In return they must turn over any war gains taken during the conflict by giving them to their sires or any recognized clan elder.
Know also that if the Anarchs are further warred on, this open Jyhad invalidates their responsibility to maintain peace with
their attacker. They may act freely without fear of reprisal from inactive members of the Camarilla. Anarchs are guaranteed the freedom to act as they please, short of breaching the Masquerade imposed for the protection of all Kindred from the kine.
It is also noted that any member of any other self- proclaimed sect must openly declare this before his elders and renounce this relation. Failure to do so will result in the destruction of any deemed guilty. No Kindred may be sent knowingly to his death by an elder or sire.
From this night forward, the Assamites shall henceforth no longer commit diablerie on members of other clans. The Assamites must commit themselves to this acceptance by a mark of assurance placed on them in the form of a Thaumaturgical limitation. All member of the Assamites shall become unable to drink freely of the vitae of other Kindred from now unto forever. In addition, the Assamites shall pay the Brujah elders of Spain two thousand pounds of gold, in ransom of the five Assamite elders captured committing diablerie. Also, the Assamites may no longer participate in blood hunts.
Be it also known that the Assamites are guaranteed complete independence from Camarilla demands. The Assamite fortress, Alamut, shall be free from further assaults. Assamites are also granted, out of respect for their beliefs, the freedom to commit diablerie within their own clan without restraint and the right to commit diablerie on all Kindred not recognized as holding membership within the Camarilla.
It is rendered that all parties involved and all showing allegiance to any of these parties shall be held responsible for all aspects of this Convention brought forth here, in the neutral Kingdom of England, outside the hamlet of Thorns, near the town of Silchester. May Caine hold truth and peace for us all.
The Giovanni Promise of 1528
The Convention of Thorns
The Status Perfectus (Anarch)
BEING A DECLARATION
OF THE
PRINCIPALS OF SELF-GOVERNANCE
OF THE
KINDRED OF THE FREE STATE
We, the Kindred of the Free State, do hereby declare that we and our progeny, and all Kindred who choose freedom over oppression and liberty over tyranny, of all clans and generations, have as an inherent part of their being the spiritual substance called libertas, or Free Will. We further declare that, as we have freed ourselves from the bonds of mortality, so must we free ourselves from the forces that would rob us of our libertas. Not only must we continue to struggle on our own behalf, but on behalf of our brothers and sisters who continue to be robbed of their libertas by oppression, ignorance and fear.
The Anarch Free State is the political expression of that struggle. In choosing to free ourselves from political tyranny, we have also chosen to embrace our own libertas and that of our brother and sister Kindred everywhere.
For these reasons we, the Kindred of the Anarch Free State, meeting this night in solemn convocation, do hereby pledge ourselves to the following principles:
1. We declare ourselves to be free and independent, owing allegiance to no creature and no organization.
2. We declare our ability to rule ourselves, with no Prince, no Primogen and no other ruler other than that we choose for ourselves.
3. We declare our kinship with oppressed Kindred everywhere and offer a home to all Kindred of all generations and clans who will agree to dwell in harmony with us.
4. We further accept our responsibility to our oppressed brothers and sisters everywhere and pledge to assist them at all times and in all places in their own struggle for the freedom that we declare to be the birthright of all Kindred, from now until the end of time.
5. We recognize our responsibility to maintain the Masquerade, and we pledge to protect and defend it.
6. We establish this Status Perfectus and recognize its duty to all Kindred.
The Treaty of Tyre (excerpts)
In the Year of our Lord, 1496...
Whereas we, the Elders and Kindred of the Clans Ventrue, Tremere, Toreador, Nosferatu, Gangrel, Brujah and Malkavian, gathered together in Brotherhood and Mutual Faith and hereinafter known as the Camarilla, being the True and only Rightful Heirs of the Estate of Caine, do desire an end to the Unlawful and Diableristic Practices of the Rebels hereinafter known as the Clan Assamite;
And whereas the said Clan Assamite does desire that the said Camarilla shall hold back its Hand from the Full and Ultimate Extinction of the Clan Assamite:
Therefore, be it agreed between all Parties signed and witnessed hereunto that the following Articles shall stand as binding between all the Parties and their Progeny and Servitors, from this date perpetually...
...The Clan Assamite shall refrain from taking the Blood of other Kindred, and as surety of this provision shall submit themselves to a ritual to be administered by the Elders of the Clan Tremere, whereby Kindred Blood shall be made poisonous to them...
...The Clan Assamite shall remain peacefully in the territory ceded to them by the Camarilla, which they have historically claimed as their own. They shall seek no expansion of this territory, nor shall they permit any unrest of mortals within their territory to spread to other areas. They shall not travel, either singly or in groups, outside this territory, nor shall they have Retainers or Servitors of any kind travel outside this territory on their behalf.
The Princes of the Camarilla have the perpetual right to call a Blood Hunt against any Assamite or Assamites within their fiefs, and need give no other reason for such a Blood Hunt beyond membership of the Assamite bloodline...
The defenses of the castle of Alamut shall be dismantled to the point where the castle can no longer withstand a siege or other attack by the forces of the Camarilla. The Clan Assamite shall permit observers from the Camarilla to verify compliance with this provision. Further, any refortification of Alamut, or any attempt to establish a fortification elsewhere, shall be in breach of this treaty, and a worldwide Blood Hunt may be called against those committing the breach...
...The Camarilla undertakes to cease all action against the Clan Assamite, and not to violate the borders of its agreed territory without the sanction of a full Convocation of the Camarilla.
The Clans of the Camarilla agree among themselves that they shall no longer seek to employ members of the Clan Assamite as hired assassins, and that those violating this provision shall forfeit the protection of their Clans and may be subject to a Blood Hunt.
The Clan Assamite undertakes to cease any and all activity of its members as assassins for hire...
Founding of the Red List
By This Decree in the Year 1504, we the undersigned do hereby agree to the following:
That the thirteen most dangerous threats to the Camarilla shall be so named Anathema, and they shall be hunted until their Final Death.
That there shall be no more than thirteen Anathema hunted at any one time, regardless of location.
That these names shall be collectively referred to as the Red List.
That the Anathema are to be judged independently of Generation or clan, and are to be held accountable solely for their deeds.
That the names of new Anathema, along with a body of evidence proving their crimes, are to be brought by two Justicars before a specially-held conclave to be approved or denied.
That the hunters of the Anathema shall be appointed and managed by the Justicars, and they shall be called Alastors.
And, that the Red List, all Anathema, and Alastors shall be considered a matter of security to be discussed privately amongst members of the Inner Circle.
Signed,
Targin of Clan Brujah, Griga of Clan Gangrel, Lethe of Clan Malkavian, Anachriss of Clan Nosferatu, Lenore Braundice of Clan Toreador, Holtz of Clan Tremere, and Democritus of Clan Ventrue