The Nocturnal Nobility

[Tami]

The Dark Medieval night belongs to Cainites. They exist by their own rules, firm in their command of the time from dusk ‘til dawn. In the cities, the breathing head home or tot eh taverns and brothels to take refuge from the darkness and drink their fears away, leaving the streets vacant and quiet. Even nobles and knights refrain from stepping out into the cool night – allowing Cainites full run of the cities. In castles and royal palaces, Cainites gather and hold their own courts of blood once the mortal dignitaries have gone to sleep. The world of mortal kings and kingdoms fades, and Cainites become the nocturnal nobility, concerned with their own goals and intrigues. Princes and lords only care about mortal kings and queens when it concerns their immediate survival or plans. After all, a breathing monarch rules for no more than a few decades, making him almost insignificant in the eyes of the Cainite princes who have existed for centuries. Mortals – the Kine, to use the Cainite derogatory term – inhabit the world of day and vampires that of the night, and rarely do the two collide. Rarely, but not never. When they do, the results are usually violent and cataclysmic – flooding the streets with blood and filling the sky with ashes.

Even short of such pitched conflict, the schism between the Canite and mortal sphere is neither clean nor total. The relationship is akin to that between natural predators and their prey. Cainites do not control mortals any more than a wolf controls a herd of deer. Instead, the wolf reacts to the herd’s movements and influences and alters the flow of the herd in turn. The world of Cainite and kine exist on two separate levels, but both react and are influenced by each other. In time, this relationship may change, but for now, Cainites are confident in their supreme mastery, and they have developed their own form of feudalism to fill the nights with conflict and intrigue, just as do the rulers living by day.

Feudal Lextalionis


Cainite society has reached its feudal apex, creating a society of the night that is both complex and beautiful in its intricacy. Cainite feudalism, more commonly known as Feudal Lextalionis, is the heart of Cainite society and what drives the War of Princes. The system is closely tied to the teachings of the Road of Kings, whose members are concerned with the proper distribution of authority. Not all rulers are followers of the road, but most pay lip service to its precepts and have advisors who are schooled in its teachings.

The Cainite nobility is replete with ranks and titles. Some are ceremonial, and others tied directly to a vampire's status. Unlike the mortal nobility, gender does not divide Cainites; there are probably as many male princes as there are female ones. While some male Cainites might hold on to their mortal preconceptions about the "fairer" sex, only the truly foolish underestimate their female counterparts.

[Tami]

Monarchs

Monarchs stand above all others, they are regents of Cainite kingdoms who rule over courts that span across Europe and reach to the Holy Land. Most, if not all, are Methuselahs, ancient Cainites who remember the nights of Rome as clearly as most neonates remember their mortal lives. The monarchs were once lords themselves, exiles and survivors of Rome's fall, who grew powerful when Europe was still young and unknown. In the War of Princes, the monarchs goad their lords and princes to battle, trying to secure themselves for the uncertain future that unfolds with each passing night. Some fear that the age of Cainite dominance is coming to a close, and that they will eventually have to hide from humans and rule like lepers in the night. Others long for battle, centuries of absence making them thirst for conflict and strife.

The monarchs keep their physical locations well hidden, known only to their most loyal lords and attendants, and they don't claim domain over vulnerable cities that can burned down by Cainite rivals or zealous mortals. To exert their influence, the sponsor powerful lords (through force, coercion or powers of power), effectively claiming domain over them. Doing so provides a lord with the backing of a powerful Methuselah, and it grants the monarch agents in return with which to extend his influence, without having to expose or compromise himself outright. This last element is key, especially considering the fact that some monarchs have been in torpor for centuries and their power bases have eroded. Yet some monarchs, such as the Ventrue Mithras and Hardestadt or the Lasombra Montano, are very active in the War of Princes. They do not shy away from making a personal appearance or leading the occasional charge.

Lords and Ladies

Although they are no where near as powerful as the monarchs, the lords command vast domains and armies of loyal princes, barons and knights. Lords rule territories analogous to most Medieval kingdoms, which are divided in turn into a number of principalities held by vassal princes. Most lords hold their own courts once or twice per year, spending the rest of the time traveling to the courts of their vassals, settling disputes and attending ceremonies and tournaments.

Princes

The most active rank in the War of Princes, prince is a generic term for a vampire with domain over a significant, and strategically vital, territory and tied to the feudal system. This domain is usually of Europe's cities--which are growing in number--or large towns or even key castles. Princes who ruled their fiefdoms before the First Crusades are commonly called counts or dukes to distinguish themselves from younger princes. Although they are impressive titles that command much respect, count, duke or earl are normally honorific.

Barons and Baronesses

As aides-de-camp and companions of princes or lords, barons are the field commanders, sheriffs and chamberlains of the nocturnal nobility. Although most claim a domain of sorts (a hamlet, guild, bridge or even castle), the rank of baron is bequeathed in part because of the skills and talents of the vassal. From the title of baron, many Cainites eventually earn their own fiefdoms and becomes princes themselves. While princes and lords are the plotters and schemers of the War of Princes, barons (and the knights below them) are Cainites of action.

Knights

The lowest rank, but in many ways the most important, vampiric knights are usually neonates and ancillae who have proven themselves and sworn fealty to a baron or prince. Although it is a common rank, knight is a noble title and a privilege that puts the vampire above his kin and ties him to official vassalage. Knights are usually dispatched to rival courts as messengers and spies, or they are granted a small domain to test their worth and devotion to their prince, lord, and monarch. In the War of Princes, it is more often the ashes of knights and their squires that cover the battlefields, left to scatter with the morning winds. But it is also the neonate knights who stand to gain the most. Many inherit vast domains as spoils of war and become forces to be reckoned with in the War of Princes. Knights have little to fear. Most are too young to dread eternity, so they throw themselves into the fray with reckless abandon. Europe might belong to the lords and monarchs, but the battlefield belongs to the knights.

The Low Clans

The Low Clans are stigmatized under Feudal Lextalionis. Although individuals are rarely welcomed at court, their broods rarely receive the same treatment that a Lasombra or Ventrue's might. It is possible for a low-blooded vampire to rise into the nobility, but she must work twice as hard and face constant second-guessing. It is far more common for low-blooded vampires to be given a post at court without the noble rank that usually accompanies it. Malkavian mystics, Gangrel sergeants, Nosferatu spies, and Tremere sorcerers are becoming more and more frequent at court, but even being knighted for their service is a rare blessing.

The War of Princes, however, has begun to blur the lines separating the High and Low Clans. Many Low-Clan Cainites take to the battlefield under the banner of princes and lords, which has given them significant leverage in recent years. Their status grows with each battle, and some have even received domain as their rewards. And of course there are several low-blooded vampires who have simply claimed and defended domains, earning the title of prince without some high-blooded fool's approval.

[Tami]

Fealty

Fealty lies at the core of Feudal Lextalionis, as a network of oaths and alliances that tie the many courts of Europe to their lords, and through them, the monarchs who are the true powers of the Dark Medieval. From the knights to the monarchs, fealty is represented by oaths and vows that underpin the courts as social bonds and governing institutions. Whenever one Cainite acknowledges another as her superior, she is pledging her fealty in return for protection and support. The Feudal Lextalionis fosters ties from the lowest to the highest strata of the nocturnal nobility.

In swearing fealty, the vassal, be he knight, prince or lord, offers support and loyalty to his liege, both military and political. The vassal also vows never to attack her liege, though in the turbulent War of Princes, such is not always the case. In return, the liege usually, though not always, grants the vassal a domain, to rule as her own. The size of the fief depends on the rank and status of the vassal--knights are usually given taverns or small neighborhoods, barons larger estates or providence over a guild for example. Finally the liege also vows to protect the vassal on the battlefield and at court. The Traditions of Caine help institutionalize the act of swearing fealty, and thus, the feudal system as a whole. The Traditions of Domain, Progeny and Destruction cement the rule of the liege. They allow the liege to both protect and offer domain and other gifts (such as the right to create progeny) to vassals in return for their fealty. They also allow the liege to punish any transgressions.

At the bottom rung, a knight offers to protect the liege (usually a prince, but sometimes a baron or even a lord) and support his endeavors, by acting as emissaries or on the field of battle. In return, the prince (or baron or lord) grants the knight a domain and all its privileges, and he pledges to protect his vassal. Most princes require a tithe to be paid, usually a percentage of any income that the domain generates, or in times of war, to raise a troop of vampires or ghouls under the prince's banner.

Above the knight, princes bow to lords or monarchs, but the bonds of fealty are not as strict. Many princes hold their fiefdoms because those fiefdoms were bequeathed to them by a lord--or because the prince pays the lord enough tribute to prevent him from marching in and taking over. Even so, a goodly number of princes see themselves as autonomous, and they only ally themselves with a lord to present a united front against mutual enemies. The rival of a prince who is under the banner of a lord or monarch had better think twice about starting a war, at least without the backing of his own lord. Furthermore, for a lord to hold his domain, he must maintain the predominance of his vassal princes. Therefore, Feudal Lextalionis provides a system whereby a rival lord (or monarch) can usurp control by setting up his own “rival” princes or extracting feudal oaths (by force, coercion, etc) from vassals of the first lord.