And from the Darkness
came a bright shining light -
fire in the night.
And the archangel Micheal revealed himself
to me.
I was unafraid. I asked his business.

Micheal, General of Heaven,
wielder of the holy Flame
said unto me,
"Son of Adam, Son of Eve, thy crime is great,
and yet the mercy of my Father is
also great.
Will you not repent the evil that you
have done, and let his mercy wash you clean?"

And I said to Micheal,
"Not by [the One Above]'s grace, but mine own 
will I live, in pride"

Micheal cursed me, saying
"then for as long as you walk this
earth, you and your children will
fear my living flame, and it will
bite deep and savor your flesh."

And on the morning Raphael came
on lambent wings,
light over the horizon
the driver of the Sun, 
wad of the East

Raphael spoke, saying
"Caine, son of Adam,
son of Eve,
your brother Abel
forgives you your sin
will you not repent, and accept the
mercy of the
Almighty?"

And I said to
Raphael
"Not by
Abel's
forgiveness
but mine
own,
will I be
forgiven."

Raphael cursed 
me, saying
"Then for as long
as you walk this earth,
you and your children
will fear the dawn,
and the sun's rays will seek
to burn you like fire
where ever you hide always.
Hide now for the Sun rises to take 
its wrath on you."

But I found a secret place in the earth
and hid from the burning light of the 
Sun.
Deep in the earth, I slept until the
Light
of the World was hidden behind the
mountain
of Night.

When I awoke from my day of sleep,
I heard the sound of gentle rushing
wings
and I saw the black wings of Uriel
draped around me -
Uriel, reaper, angel of Death,
dark Uriel, who dwells in darkness.

Uriel spoke to me quietly, saying
"Son of Adam, Son of Eve, God
Almighty
has forgiven you your sin.
Will you accept his mercy and let me
take you to your reward, no longer
cursed?

And I said to dark-winged Uriel,
"Not by God's mercy, but my own, will
I live.
I am what I am, I did what I did,
and that will never change."

And then, through dread Uriel
God, Almighty cursed me, saying,
"Then for as long as you walk this
earth,
you and your children will cling to
Darkness
You will drink only blood
You will eat only ashes
You will be always as you were at death,
Never dying, living on.
You will walk forever in Darkness,
all you touch will crumble into 
nothing,
until the last days."

I gave a cry of anguish
at this terrible curse and
tore at my flesh.

I wept blood.
I caught the tears in a cup
and drank them.

When I looked up from my drink of
sorrow,
the archangel Gabriel
gentle Gabriel
Gabriel, Lord of Mercy
appeared to me.

The archangel Gabriel said unto me,
"Son of Adam, Son of Eve.
Behold the mercy of the Father is
greater 
than you can ever know
for even now there is a path opened
a road of Mercy
and you shall call this road [Golconda].
And tell your children of it,
for by that road may they come
once again to dwell in the Light."

And with that, the darkness 
was lifted
like a veil
and the only light was
Lilith's bright eyes.

Looking around me, I knew
that I had Awakened.

When my energies first
surged through me
I discovered
how to move like lightning 
[Celerity]
how to borrow the strength
of the earth [Potence]
how to be as stone
[Fortitude]
These were like 
breathing unto me.

Lilith then showed me 
how she hides herself from
hunters [Obfuscate]
how she commands
obedience [Dominate]
and how she demands 
respect [Presence]

Then, Awakening myself further, I found
the way to alter forms [Protean]
the way to have dominion over animals [Animalism]
the way to make eyes see past sight [Auspex]

Then Lilith commanded me that I stop, saying
that
I had over-reached my bounds
That I had gone too far
That I threatened my very essence.

She used her powers and commanded me to
stop.
Because of her power I heeded her,
but deep within me a seed was planted
a seed of rebellion
and when she turned her face from me,
I opened myself up once more, to the Night,
and saw the infinite possibilities in the stars
and knew that a path of power, a path of Blood
was mine for the taking.
and so I awakened in me this Final Path, 
from which all other paths would grow.

With this newest power, I broke the bonds
that the Lady of Night put on me
I left the Damned Queen that evening,
cloaking myself in shadows,
I fled the lands of Nod
and came to a place
where not even her demons could find me.

Let me tell the tale of Zillah
first loved of Caine,
first wife of Caine,
the sweetest blood,
the softest skin,
the clearest eyes

Alone of Caine's newest childer,
did Caine desire Her.
and she was not mindful of his
desire, turning away from him.

Not gifts, not sacrifices,
not perfumes, not doves,
not beautiful dancers,
not singers, not oxen,
not sculpture, not beautiful clothes,
nothing would turn Zillah's heart
from stone to sweet fruit.

So Caine pulled at his beard
and tore at his hair
and took to roaming the wilderness
at night thinking of her
burning for her,
and one night Caine came upon
an old Crone singing to the moon

Caine said to the
Crone,
"Why do you sing so?"
And the Crone replied,
"Because I yearn for
what I cannot have..."

Caine said to the 
Crone,
"I yearn also, What can
one do?"
The Crone smiled and
said,
"Drink of my blood
this night,
Caine, Father of
Kindred,
and return tomorrow
night.
Then, will I tell you
the wisdom
of the Moon."
Caine drank at the
Crone's bare neck,
and departed.

The next night, Caine
found the Crone
sleeping on a rock.
"Wake up, Crone,"
Caine said,
"I have returned."
The Crone opened one
eye and said,
"I dream of the
solution for you
this night. Drink once
more of me,
and then return
tomorrow night.
Bring a bowl of clay.
Bring a sharp knife.
I will have your answer 
then."

Once again Caine took blood from the
Crone,
who immediately fell back into a deep
slumber.

When Caine returned the next night,
the Crone looked up at him and smiled,
"Greetings, Lord of the Beast," the
Crone said.
"I have the wisdom you seek.
Take some of my blood,
into the bowl you have,
and mix in these berries
and these herbs,
and drink deep of the elixir."

"You will be irresistible.
You will be potent.
You will be masterful.
You will be ardent.
You will be glowing.
The heart of Zillah will melt
like the snows in spring."

And, so Caine drank from the Crone's
elixir,
because he was so in love with Zillah,
and he so desired her love in return.

And the Crone laughed. The Crone
laughed aloud.
She had tricked him! She had trapped
him!
Caine was angry beyond compare.
Caine reached out with his powers,
to rend the Crone apart with his
strength.

The Crone cackled and said, "Do not"
And Caine could do nothing against her.
The Crone chuckled and said, "Love
me"
And Caine could do nothing but stare 
into her
ancient eyes, desire her leathery skin.
The Crone laughed and said, "Make me
immortal."

And Caine Embraced her. She cackled 
again,
laughed with the pure ecstasy of the 
Embrace,
for it did not pain her.

"I have made you powerful, Caine of 
Enoch,
Caine of Nod,
but you will forever be bound to me.
I have made you master of all,
but you will never forget me!
Your blood. potent as it is now,
will bond those who drink it,
as you did, once a night
for three nights.
You will be the master.
They will be your thrall, as you are mine.
For though Zillah will love you, as you
wanted,
you will love me, forever. Go now, and
claim your
lovely bride. I will wait for you in the
darkest
places, while I brew more potions for
your health."

And so, heavy hearted,
Caine returned to Enoch.
And each night,
for three nights,
Zillah drank from her Sire,
though she did not know it.
And, on the third night,
Caine announced he would marry
Zillah, his sweetest Childe,
and she agreed.

For a year and a day
Caine labored in service
to a Crone, who with blood-wisdom
bound him as surely
as any prisoner.

She would visit him at night
force him to give up his blood
for her secret elixirs
and potent formulas

She would take his Chider's Childer
and they would never be heard from again.

But Caine was wise. He did not drink
from her ever again.
And she did not ask him to, thinking
that he was ever in her Thrall.

One night, Caine went to the Crone
in the forest,
and told her of terrible dreams
that he had during his sleep.

"I fear for my life, Crone.
I fear the prophesy of Uriel,
and my children's lust for my blood.
Tell me secret knowledge, that I might
be powerful against my own."

And the Crone went to a tree
made of gopher wood,
and broke off a limb.
She took a sharp knife
and sharpened the limb.

"Take this piece of living wood,
sharp, strong,
peirce the heart of your wayward childe.
It will render him still,
and yours to command.
Instead of feasting on your heart's blood,
he will feel the weight of your justice."

Caine said, "Thank you, Mother," and
With that, moving in quick movements,
Caine took the stake of gopher wood,
seized it and drove it
deep within the Crone's heart.

Because Caine, wise Caine
had fed not upon her for a year and a day
and because he forced his Will through
his hands, he broke the Bond she held
on him, and turned his fortune.

She laughed again, as blood welled up
and poured out of her mouth.
Her eyes poured out hate.

Caine 
kissed her 
once, kissed her
cold, withered lips,
and left her there
to Raphael's gentile smile:
the sun that rises.

In the beginning there was only Caine
Caine who [sacrificed] his brother out of
[love].
Caine who was cast out.
Caine who was cursed forever with immortality.
Caine who was cursed with the lust
for blood.
It is Caine from whom we all come from.
Our Sire's Sire.

For the passing of an age he lived in [the
land of Nod].
In loneliness and suffering.
For an eon he remained alone.
But the passing of memory drowned his
sorrow.
And so he returned to the world of mortals.
To the world of his brother [Seth, third-born
of Eve.]
and [Seth's children]
had created.

He returned and was made welcome.
[For none would turn against him,
due to the Mark that was laid upon him]
The people saw his power and worshipped
him.
[He grew powerful, and his power was
strong.
His ways of awe and command were great.]

[And the Children of Seth made] him King 
of their great City, the First City.

But Caine grew lonely in his Power.
Deep within him, the seed of loneliness
blossomed, and grew a dark flower.
He saw within his blood the potence
of fertility.
By calling up demons
and listening to whispered wisdom,
he learned the way to make a child for his
own.
He came to know its power, and, doing so,
decided to Embrace one of those near him.

And, lo, Uriel, Dread Uriel, revealed
himself to Caine
that very night
and said to him.

"Caine, though powerful you are, and 
marked of God,
know you this: that any Childe you make
will
bear your curse, that any Progeny
will forever walk in the Land of Nod, and
fear flame
and sun, drinking
blood only and 
eating ashes only.
And since
they will 
carry their 
father's
jealous
seed,
they will 
forever
plot
and fight
amongst 
themselves.
Doom not those of Adam's 
grandchildren who seek to
walk
in righteousness. Caine!
Stay your dread Embrace!

Still, Caine knew what he must do, and a
young man
named Enosh, who was the most beloved of 
Seth's kin,
begged to be made Son to the dark Father.
And Caine, mindful though he was of 
Uriel's words,
seized Enosh, and wrapped him in the dark
Embrace.

And so it came to pass that Caine begat
Enoch, and, so doing, named the First City
Enoch.
And, so doing, did Enoch beg for a brother,
a sister, and Caine, indulgent Father,
gave these to him, and their names were
Zillah, whose blood was most-favored of 
Caine,
and Irad, whose strength served Caine's arm.

And these Kindred of Caine learned the
ways
of making Progeny of their own, and
they Embraced more of Seth's kin, unthinking.

And then wise Caine said, "An end to this
crime.
There shall be know more."
And as Caine's word was the law, his Brood obeyed him.

The city stood for many ages,
And became the center of a mighty Empire.
Caine grew close to those not like him.
The [children of Seth] knew him
And he, in turn, knew them.

But the world grew dark with sin.
Caine's children wandered here and there,
indulging their dark ways

Caine felt anger when his children fought.
He discovered deceit when he saw them
make word-war.
He knew sadness when he saw them abuse
[the children of Seth]

Caine read the signs 
in the darkening sky,
but said nothing.


Then came the great Deluge, a great flood that washed over the world.
The City was destroyed,
the children of Seth with it.

Again Caine fell into great sorrow and went into solitude.
And he left us, his Progeny, to our own ends.


We found him, after much searching,
deep in the earth,
and he bade us go, saying
that the flood was a punishment,
for his having returned to the world of
life
And subverting the true law.
He asked us to go, so that he might sleep.

So we returned alone to find the
children of Noah.
We announced that we were the new
rulers.
Each created a Brood
In order to claim the glory of Caine.
Yet we did not have his wisdom or
restraint.
A great war was waged, the Elders against
their Children,
just as Uriel had said,
And the Children slew their parents.

They rose up.
Used fire and wood
Swords and claws
To destroy those who had created them.

The rebels then built a new city.
Out of the fallen Empire,
they had collected the Thirteen clans
that had been scattered by the Great War,
and brought them all together.

They brought in the Kingship Clan
[Ventrue],
the Clan of the Beast [Gangrel],
the Moon Clan [Malkavian],
the Clan of the Hidden [Nosferatu],
the Wanderer Clan [Ravnos],
the Clan of the Rose [Toreador],
the Night Clan [Lasombra],
the Clan of Shapers [Tzimisce],
the Snake Clan [Setites],
the Clan of Death [Giovanni],
the Healer's Clan [Saulot],
the Clan of the Hunt [Assamites],
and the Learned Clan [Brujah]

They made a beautiful city,
and the people worshipped them as gods.
They created new Progeny of their own,
the Fourth Generation of Cainites.

But they feared the Jyhad,
the Prophecy of Uriel,
and it was forbidden for these Children
To create others of their kind.
This power their Elders kept for
themselves.
When a Childe was created, it was
hunted down and killed,
and its Sire with it.

Although Caine was away from us,
we did feel his careful eye watching us,
and we knew that he marked our movements
and our ways.

He cursed [Malkav], when that one
defamed his image
and doomed him to insanity, forever.
When [Nosferatu] was found indulging
his tastes in foul ways with his own Children,
Caine laid his hand on [Nosferatu], 
and told him he would forever
wear his evil
and twisted his visage.
He cursed us all, for killing the first part
of his Children, the Second Generation,
As we hunted them down one by one,
Zillah the Beautiful, Irad the Strong, and
Enoch First-Ruler.
And we mourned them all, as we were all 
of a kind,
and all of the families of Caine's childer.

Though this city was as great as Caine's,
eventually
It grew old,
As do all living things, it slowly began to die.
The gods at first did not see the truth,
And when they at last looked about 
them it was too late.

For, as Uriel had said,
the seed of Evil planted
blossomed as a blood-red
rose.
and [Troile] the Child 
of his Child's Child
rose up and slew
his Father, Brujah.
And ate of his flesh.
Then war wracked the city
And nothing could ever be 
as it was.

The Thirteen saw their city
destroyed and their power
extinguished.
And they were forced
to flee, their Progeny along
with them.

But many were killed in
the flight, for they had 
grown weak.
With their authority gone, 
all were free to create their
own Broods.
And soon there were many new Kindred,
Who ruled across the face of the Earth,
But this could not last.

Over time, there came to be too many 
of the Kindred
And then there was war once again,
The Elders were already deep in hiding,
For they had learned caution.
But their Children had founded their 
own cities and Broods, 
And yet it is they who were killed in the
great wave of war.
There was war so total, that there are
none of that Generation
To speak of themselves any longer.
Waves of mortal flesh were sent across
continents
In order to crush and burn the cities of
the Kindred.
Mortals thought they were fighting their own wars.
But it is for us that they spilt their 
blood.

Once this war was over,
All of the Kindred hid from one another
And from the humans that surrounded
them.
In hiding we remain today,
For the Jyhad continues still.

And none will say when Caine will arise
again,
from his sleep in the earth,
and call for the city Gehenna,
the Last City, the City of Judgment.
The Jyhad continues still.