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When Amaterasu-o-mi-kami first emerged, the vampire remained hidden in the cave, creeping out as the gods dispersed. She descended to the earth, and began to cleanse the impure. At that time, vampires could walk in the sun without fear, because Amaterasu-o-mi-kami looked kindly upon her servants.

Thatdidnotlast.Vampiresfedonblood,andtheblood on their lips made them impure as it had Amaterasu-o- mi-kami. She had no choice but to turn her face from them, and the light of the sun began to burn vampires with a terrible flame. After that time, most vampires forgot their purpose, some even coming to believe that theyweredamned,butafewremembered,andcontinued to fulfill the role that the goddess had set for them.

History

The Amanotsukai distinguish the history of their faction fromthehistoryofKindredservicetoAmaterasu-o-mi-kami. They believe that vampires have always been her agents, butrecognizethatmosthavenotrecognizedthis,seeingthe sun as an enemy. The historians of the faction claim that the truth was remembered only in Japan, until the time of Ketsueki-hime, a Dutch Kindred who found herself in the trading enclave of Deshima in the late 18th century.

She had come with one of the trading ships, and the weakness resulting from blood loss was already rousing suspicion. Accordingly, she secretly left the enclave every night,huntinginthecityofNagasakiandusingherDisciplines to conceal her

ThenativeKindred took her to the shrine of anintruder,shewas

Sun. Staked, she faced the the open front of the rays of the rising sun

a black curtain seemed to of her, sparing her.

At sunset, the Japanese came and found her accordance with the will the goddess, they unstaked her, and taught her of the truth of the Kindred’s condition. At this time shetookthenameKetsueki hime,Blood-princess,to bolize what she had Ketsueki-hime studied Nagasaki for years, but eventuallyshefeltthat thegoddesswantedher

to leave, and bring the truth to the Kindred of of the world. Stowing ships, she made her way

West Coast of North America in the early 19th century.

Ketsueki-hime was charismatic and a powerful practitioner of Crúac, and she gathered a group of Kindred around herself. These vampires formed the basis of the contemporary Amanotsukai.

Soon after Japan opened to the world once more, Ketsueki-hime returned to Nagasaki to seek further teaching. She has yet to return.

The Nagasaki Shrine

Ketsueki-himeistheonlymemberoftheAmanotsukai tohavevisitedtheshrineinNagasaki.Fordecades,none of the other members had a sufficiently strong reason to make the hazardous journey. After the atomic bomb was dropped on the city, one vampire, Yakei, took the risk, in order to search for the founder of the group. He found no trace of Ketsueki-hime or the shrine, or, indeed, of any Japanese vampires.

Purity

The Amanotsukai believe that vampires were created by the sun goddess to purge impurity from the world, but that they were not properly made, and thus became impure themselves. This forced the sun to turn away from them, but they retain their role, and the sympathy of the sun. If a vampire could, somehow,

become pure, he could walk unharmed in the brightest sunlight.

is not the same as moral Rather,purityisameasure of someone’s relationworld. Many sins do, causeimpurity,butthey not the only possible

. Victims of disease, accidents or natural disasters also have a taintedconnectionto theworld,andthusare impure. Crimes render the victims impure, just as much as the perpetrators. Even

simple physical dirtiness form of impurity.

Removing impurity, then, likeabsolvingfroma Removing impurity is much more like cleaning up after a flood, or repairing a broken

gutter. It restores the between a person and its pristine form.

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Contact with blood and contact with death both cause impurity. Obviously, this puts vampires in an awkward posi- tion.AmanotsukaibelievethatAmaterasu-o-mi-kamimade a mistake when forming them from her blood, so that they weredeadandrequiredbloodtosurvive.Insomestories,the noisesfromoutsidethecavedistractedheratacrucialmoment. Whateverthecause,vampiresarealmostalwaysimpure.

The mandate of heaven does not specify how the Kindred should remove impurity. An Amanotsukai who preys on the homeless might organize a place where they can shower and bathe free of charge, for example. However,theAmanotsukaibelievethat,intheirimpure state, they can take a mortal’s impurity onto themselves bydrinkingsomeofthemortal’sblood.Thevampirethen undergoesthetraditionalritestopurgehisownimpurity. This is by far the most common means used.

Accordingly, Amanotsukai feed on victims who are impure in some way. Almost all mortals are impure most ofthetime,sothisisnotlimiting,butmostAmanotsukai specialize. One might feed on criminals, another on the victims of crime, yet another on the victims of accidents andothersuchill-fortune.Somefeedonothervampires, who are clearly impure. Members of the faction do not interfere with each others’ choices in these matters.

The Amanotsukai believe that some mortals are so impure that they can only be cleansed by draining all of theirblood,thuskillingthem.TheAmanotsukaibelieve that it is their sacred duty to kill such people. Opinions differ as to the point at which such extreme measures become necessary, but some cases are clear.

All Amanotsukai agree that a woman who has suffered a miscarriage is so tainted by the combination of blood, deathandfailedlifethatshecanonlybecleansedbybeing killed.Mostbelievethatthesameappliestowomenhaving abortions, but some feel that the voluntary nature of the operation, along with the sterile procedures, lessens the impurity significantly. Serial killers, the severely disabled, peoplewhohavelosttheirwholefamilyinanaturaldisaster: these are also strong candidates for final purification.

AMARANTH

Some of the Amanotsukai believe that, in committing diablerie on another vampire, the diablerist takes on all of the impurity of the victim. This is represented by the dark stains that appear in the diablerist’s aura; the time they last representsthetimethatittakesfortheadditional impurity to fade. The soul of the diablerized vampire, rendered pure, is able to stand before Amaterasu-o-mi-kami to receive its reward.

A few Kindred who believe this choose to commit suicide by being diablerized.

Most of the Amanotsukai believe that vampires are too impure to be purified even by this.

Creation Is Power

The faction believes strongly that Kindred should create to offset the mistake made in their creation. A few occult scholars seek ways to create less-flawed life themselves, although none have yet succeeded in producing more than a homunculus.

This energy is more commonly directed toward art. Three types are particularly common.

The first is the construction of Shinto-style shrines to Amaterasu-o-mi-kami.Themainhalloftheshrinefaces east, and is open. Within, the goddess is represented by a mirror. In a mortal shrine, food and alcohol are offered to the deity, but the Amanotsukai offer flowers instead. Blood, of course, is impure and cannot be offered. These shrines are always constructed so that the light of the risingsunfallson the mirror;thosethatareunderground or inside have windows facing the sunrise.

All Amanotsukai are expected to construct their own shrines quickly after joining the faction, but it is permissible for the shrine to be very small, or even portable. Portable shrines must be set up to face the sunrise every day,however.Manyvampirescontinueworkingontheir shrines for years.

A second popular choice is a garden, if possible surrounding the shrine. This garden is normally Japanesestyle, with pine trees a particularly common motif. Japanese maple is also popular, as the vivid red of the autumn leaves is reminiscent of blood. The best of these gardensmaybecomepartofElysium,andarecustomarily fine places from which to view the moon.

Finally, many Amanotsukai learn Japanese and shodo, Japanese calligraphy, and write haiku and tankain praise ofthesungoddessorreflectingontheircondition.These poems may be offered in the shrine in place of, or in addition to, flowers.

It is worth noting that Amanotsukai never have their havens at their shrines. In part, this is because the location of the shrine is often general knowledge. The main reason, however, is that the vampire is impure, and the shrine should not contain impure things.

Amanotsukai and Foreign Barbarians

For all the Japanese roots and trappings, the Amanotsukai are only known to exist outside Japan. The continued existenceofthegroupthatinitiatedKetsueki-himeisopen to doubt, and no other word has been heard from Japan.

On the other hand, the Amanotsukai are keen to recruit Kindred of Japanese origins, offering to put them back in touch with their roots. While some small groups are a bit Japanese, most know a great deal about the land of eight million gods, and it is very common for Amanotsukai to learn Japanese if they do not already

speak it. Those Amanotsukai who create progeny generally choose to Embrace mortals of Japanese descent.

The faction tends to regard itself as somewhat outside Kindred society. The other Kindred have forgotten their purpose, and wallow in their impurity. Even other Acolytesarelackinginatrueunderstandingoftheirpurpose, but they are closer than most.

Many other Kindred think that all members of the faction are insane; they worship the sun, for crying out loud. That does not stop other Kindred launching crusades against the Amanotsukai, and has reinforced the group’s isolationist tendencies.

Rituals

The Amanotsukai have a number of unique rituals and observances.AfewofthesehaveanassociatedCrúacritual, buttheritualsarepracticedevenbythoseKindredwhocannot back them up with mystical power. All Amanotsukai rituals are performed at a shrine, which is another reason most members of the faction construct their own.

Misogi

Misogi is the simplest purification ritual, one that Amanotsukai Kindred perform before entering their shrines to perform any other rituals. In preparation for misogi, the vampire must refrain from killing for three nights, and he must not feed between sunset and performing misogi. (Thus, misogi and other rituals are normally performed early in the night.)

Thevampiredressesinwhite,Japanese-styleclothesfor the ritual. Many wear a karate gi, but some have kimono, or even, in this age of Internet mail order, a full Shinto priest uniform. The vampire enters the shrine, and bows once to the mirror. Next, he washes his hands in cold water, before pouring a bucket full of cold water over his head. Finally, he bows twice more to the mirror.

This simple ritual makes the vampire sufficiently pure to perform further rituals, but there is no Crúac ritual corresponding to it.

Ritual Variation: Mononoke (Cheval, ••

Crúac Ritual)

This ritual is identical in its mechanics and effects to Cheval (see Vampire: The Requiem, p. 143). The ritualist need not be able to see the target when activating the ritual, but must have at least one Vitae from the target in his system.

The ritualist writes a symbolic name for the target in Vitae on a strip of paper. This may be the target’s actual name, or something that strikes the ritualist as appropriate.Hethenpraysoverthepaper,andhangsitbesidethe mirror in a shrine. The name fades over the duration of the ritual, so that when it finishes, the paper is blank. If the paper is removed from the shrine, the effect of the ritual ends immediately.

factions and bloodlines

Harai

Harai is a purification ritual performed on behalf of an impure mortal from whom the vampire has drunk. It cleanses the impurity from the Kindred’s blood, and thus from the mortal.

TheKindredstandsinfrontofthemainhalloftheshrine, and bows twice. He then cuts the palm of his hand with a sharp knife, and allows one Vitae to flow into a paper cup, which is set on a metal table, with a raised rim. The ritualist then recites a fixed prayer, in Japanese, calling on Amaterasu-o-mi-kami to purify the blood. He then lights thepapercup,sothatitburnsaway.Theritualistmustresist frenzy in order to successfully complete the ritual. The fire is only equivalent to lighting a cigarette, and is at a safe distance, so most ritualists can do this. Once the fire goes out, the ritualist bows twice more to end harai.

After that, the blood and ashes are cleaned from the altar. Drinking the Vitae would be deeply improper.

Harai (•• Crúac Ritual)

The target of the ritual, who must be a mortal (not a ghoul, vampire or other supernatural creature) from whom the Kindred has drunk since sunset the previous night, is mystically cleansed of his impurity. There are several forms of this ritual, almost identical in performance, but each applying to a different form of impurity, andhavingslightlydifferentwordingintheprayer.Inall cases, the ritual grants the target peace of mind.

The ritual can only be used once on a given source of impurity, and only once per night on a given target. Harai cannot be used if the Kindred has spent all of the Vitae he drew from the target.

Injury: The target heals two points of bashing damage or one point of lethal damage per success on the ritual.

Disease:Thetargetgetsanadditionalrolltoovercome the disease, with a number of bonus dice equal to the number of successes on the ritual.

Crime: The target may roll again to avoid Morality loss. If the re-roll is successful, the Morality point is regained. (This has no effect if the target did not lose Morality.) Successes on the ritual roll do not grant any bonus to this roll.

Other forms of the ritual may well exist where some Amanotsukai has wandered far both physically and philosophically.

If the Crúac ritual is performed, the offered blood is consumedinmagicalfire,leavingnoremnant.Theritual automatically fails if the flames provoke a frenzy in the ritualist, regardless of the number of successes gained on the Crúac roll.

Some Amanotsukai perform the Crúac version of the ritual even if they have killed the target. They claim that it helps purify the soul of the victim, but there is no evidence for that.

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O-Harai

O-harai, “great harai,” is a ritual designed to cleanse thevampirehimselfofhisimpurity.Thisritualcannever be fully effective, because the fundamental nature of the Kindred is impure. The ritual is particularly sacred, and a vampire must refrain from killing for at least one lunar monthbeforeperformingit.Asalways,theritualistmust perform misogi before entering the shrine where o-harai is to be carried out.

Atthebeginningoftheritual,theritualistdrainsallof theVitaehehasintoavessel,whichisnormallyair-tight to keep the smell of blood away from him. The ritual fails if the Kindred enters frenzy before finishing it. In principle, the vessel of blood should be placed outside the shrine, but many vampires are unwilling to take that risk, and keep the vessel to hand.

The vampire then bows twice to the mirror, pours water over himself three times and recites a fixed prayer to the sun goddess. This takes at least a minute, even for Kindred who have practiced repeatedly, and so the vampire can only succeed if he actually overcomes the frenzy. The ritual ends when the vampire bows twice more, and leaves the shrine. Most ritualists drink their own Vitae back again at this point.

This ritual must be performed after the vampire becomes particularly impure. Spending the day in a shrine, taking on the impurity of a particularly impure person by killing him and using a Crúac ritual without performing misogi first are the most common causes of such impurity.

TherearerumorsofaCrúacritualcorrespondingtothis ritual. It is said to make the vampire truly pure, and thus removetheneedfordrinkingbloodandthevulnerability to the sun. Some believe that Ketsueki-hime used that ritual in Nagasaki, and now watches over the faction.

Hi-no-mairi

This ritual’s name means “paying one’s respects to the sun.” It is very simple. The ritualist bows twice to the shrine mirror and repeats a fixed prayer while letting a Vitae flow from his arm to the floor, bowing twice more at the end. The whole ritual takes 12 seconds: one turn for the first two bows, two turns to repeat the prayer and one turn for the final two bows.

The ritual starts as the sun begins to rise.

Standard ritual clothing covers most of the vampire’s body, and facing the mirror means that he has his back to the sun. As a result, he loses only one Health point to aggravated damage every turn. All sensible ritualists establish somewhere to hide within the shrine; after performing this ritual, the vampire is worthy to sleep

withintheshrineforoneday.Ifthevampireentersfrenzy before completing the ritual, it fails. That requires him to undergo o-harai the following night, to purify himself and the shrine.

Anyvampirewhowantstotakeupaleadershipposition within the faction must perform this ritual at least once.

Hi-no-mon

The “Gate of the Sun” is a re-enactment of Ketsuekihime’s entry into the faction. The subject is staked in a shrine,facingeast,andlefttofacethesunrise.Thesubject and the ritualists must perform misogi on entering the shrine, but beyond that there are no common elements.

Avampirewhosurvivesthisritualisguaranteedadmissionintothefaction,havingbeenchosenbythesungoddess herself. If he was already a member, he is guaranteed a leadership position, almost certainly the leadership positionwithinthecity.Itisalmostimpossibleforanyone else to oppose the authority this ritual grants.

Of course, the subject takes one point of aggravated damage every turn as the sun rises. Ghouls, cameras and any other precautions that the ritualists can think of are takentopreventcheating,althoughcarefullystakingthe subject renders many possibilities moot. This ritual is effectively suicide, and most subjects see it as such.

However, the subject does, occasionally, survive. The survivor is invariably badly burned and without any memory of the day, but his Requiem continues. The Amanotsukai attribute this to the intervention of Amaterasu-o-mi-kami.

Hi-no-mon in Play

There are no rules for Hi-no-mon. Normally, the vampire is utterly destroyed within 30 seconds of sunrise. Sometimes, he is not. This is not a matter for game mechanics or dice pools. This is a chronicle-changing event that happens at the will of the Storyteller.

Survivors gain the following Merit:

Hi-no-ko (•••••)

The vampire has the equivalent of Status ••••• in the Amanotsukai and Status ••••• (at least) in the Circle of the Crone. This Status cannot be lost by any actions; no matter what the vampire does in the future, he was chosen by Amaterasu-o-mi-kami in the most spectacular way possible.

Players’ characters may choose to undergo the ritual. Players should expect such characters to burn in a gruesome Final Death, just like any other vampire who chooses to face the rising sun, unless the players know in advance that the Storyteller has other plans for them.

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TheDaughtersgetvery,evenviolently,offended if Kindred question their account of the earliest nights and the events since. More scholarly ones point out that the elders who laugh are members of the Invictus and Lancea Sanctum, with a clear interestintheprevailinglie,andremindpeopleof theeffectsoftheFogofEternity. The most careful neutralscholarsconcedethatitisjustpossiblethat the Daughters know a truth hidden from most Kindred. No scholars believe that to actually be the case, however.

Theory and Practice

The Daughters believe that all the ills of the world and the Kindred stem from the abandonment of the Goddess. If everyone would just worship the Goddess properly, then a peaceful, creative, egalitarian matriarchy would naturally arise, mortals would live in peace with each other and the natural world, and Kindred would no longer need to fight the Beast or maintain the Masquerade as they return to their appointed place in the order of things.

Thus, if that is not the case, it is evidence that the Goddess is not being properly worshiped, and so the Daughters take action to rectify the situation.

Men and Women

The Daughters that male and male matter

as much after Embrace as fore. They insist that men and women are equalinthe eyes of the

Goddess, but that the two sexes have different roles. Women are responsible for creation, nurture, guidance, leadership,wisdom,magic,punishmentanddestruction. Menareresponsibleforeverythingelse:repairinghavens, carrying out the wishes of the matriarchs, cleaning up, gathering materials and so on.

The leaders of the faction concede that men may, and indeed should, try their own hands at creation, as that is an important part of the worship of the Goddess. However,menfaceagreaterneedofpurificationthrough tribulation than women do, as a result of the centuries of history of patriarchy.

In addition, only women are taught the mysteries of Crúac. Mortal women are the ones who bleed; accordingly, among the Kindred, women should wield the secrets of blood magic. Men who know rituals may join the Daughters, but they must undergo severe blood purification, which culminates in imposed torpor. During torpor, their improper knowledge of Crúac falls from them, or so say the Daughters, rendering the men fit for their place in the scheme of things.

AllleadersoftheDaughtersarefemale,althoughsome have male assistants. There are male members of the faction, all of whom are firm believers in the importance of playing their role in the Goddess’s plan. Those men who come to doubt that belief generally try to leave the faction. Many high priestesses believe that such

is a sign of the need for blood purification, possibly the ultimate purification of the Oak King.

The Masquerade

The Daughters believe that the Masquerade should not be necessary, and that in the ideal state of society it is

.Wheneverythingisasitshouldbe, mortalsacceptKindredandtheirrolein order of things. Mortals volunteer their Vitae, and even their lives, to the Kindred who keep the mysteries of

the dark and of endings.

All Daughters, at least publicly, concede that the Masquerade is necessary, and cite this as clear evidence that the world is not in the ideal state yet. Princes who know the beliefs of the Daughters keep a eye on them, watching for Masquer-

breaches.

are some. The Daughters believe they should be able to integrate into of Goddess-worshipers, being as a normal part of the Triple God-

andparticularlyaschannelsforthe not that uncommon for a Daughter

to join a Wiccan coven or similar pagan group, keeping her nature hidden while she gains acceptance, planning to reveal her true place in the scheme of things later. Sometimes this revelation never happens, as the time never seems right, but more often it goes terribly wrong as the pagans recoil from the monster in their midst.

One thing that the Daughters never do is claim to be goddessesthemselves.Theydothinkthattheyarefavored and important servants of the Goddess, but at least in principle they acknowledge that a mortal priestess might be wiser and more suited to leadership than they are. However rare that might be, the relationship between Kindred and mortals is basically one of equality.

This attitude could lead to good relationships with mortals, and the Daughters believe that the world will not be made right again until Kindred and mortals live together in harmony, so Daughters are far more likely to have mortal contacts, or even friends, than other members of the Circle. These relationships are, ultimately, highly fragile, a circumstance that most blame on the fundamentalnatureofvampiresaspredatorsandmortals as prey, but that the Daughters say is merely one more sign that the world is out of joint.

The Beast

The Beast is not a product of patriarchy; it is a natural part of the Kindred condition. The Beast’s rage against the Man, however, is. The Daughters believe that the secretisplainforthosewhocansee.AslongastheBeast is opposed by the Man, it rages and seeks its freedom. OnceitisfacedwiththeWoman,itbecomescalm,docile and a boon rather than a burden.

TheDaughterssaythatthosewhohavetrulybecomethe Woman never enter frenzy, but that they can draw on the power of the Beast at will, becoming stronger and indomitable.IfaKindreddoesenterfrenzy,then,thisisasignthat she has yet to reach the natural state of all Kindred.

A few high priestesses claim to have reached this state, but most Daughters still believe that they have some way togo,andputthemselvesthroughbloodpurificationafter they frenzy. Many women among the Daughters believe that it is impossible for men to fully transform the Man intotheWoman,atleastinthecurrentstateofsociety,and that their progress is slow. This is often cited as another reason for not allowing men in leadership positions: the passions of their Beasts would distract them and prevent them from deciding wisely.

The Embrace

The creation of childer is an important part of the GoddesssplanforKindred,andthereforenotsomething that should be done lightly. Just as only women can give birth, so only women should sire new Kindred. Many Daughters believe that the Embrace should parallel pregnancy, with the future Kindred first made a ghoul,

and kept that way for nine months, meditating in darkness on her role in future service of the Goddess. Where this faction has some power, its members build special birthingtemples,symbolicwombswherethechosencan be prepared for the Embrace.

Asaconcessiontopoliticalnecessity,mostDaughtersseek permission from the Prince before beginning the process of the Embrace. However, they believe that the decision is actuallymadebytheGoddess,andtheyfollowherguidance in selecting their childer. If the Daughters believe that the Goddess has actually commanded them to Embrace someone,ratherthansimplygrantingthempermission,theyoften carry out their plan even if refused permission. This almost invariably makes it necessary to flee the city.

Daughters only Embrace those who are ready to serve the Goddess in a new capacity. The Requiem is neither a curse nor a blessing; it is merely another essential role in the Goddess s plan. Thus, the criteria have nothing to do with virtue or vice, and everything to do with being ready to play a particular role. As a result, the overwhelming majority of Kindred Embraced into the faction are priestesses in Goddess religions, and a substantialmajorityarepastmenopause,makingthemmore attuned to the Crone even before Embrace.

Christianity and the Sanctified

WhiletheDaughtersopposepatriarchyinallitsforms, they reserve particular venom for Christianity and its Kindred shadow, the Lancea Sanctum. The Christian persecution of Goddess-worshipers and the Sanctified’s persecution of the Acolytes are held up as examples of the worst crimes that patriarchy is capable of.

This means that the Daughters must keep a low profile in most domains, where the Lancea Sanctum holds significant power. Even there, they often mount guerrilla campaigns against the Sanctified, and against mortal churches. Where the Circle holds power, the DaughtersagitatetohavetheLanceaSanctumoutlawed completely, and use any excuse or none to hunt down and burn, at the stake, its members.

DISSENT

There is very little dissent within the Daughters of the Goddess. The high priestesses are vigilant for signs that their followers are falling away from the true path back to a tolerant, peaceful, egalitarian society, and use any means necessary to set them back upon it.

There is a certain amount of variation among domains, as is to be expected, but this variation is more cosmetic than for most factions.

In part, of course, this is a matter of definition; Kindred who do not hold these beliefs do not count as part of the faction. There are, however, a

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substantialnumberwhodoholdthesebeliefs,and the leaders of the faction put a strong emphasis on what, for want of a better word, can be called “orthodoxy.”

Rituals

The basic form of the rituals of the Daughters is fixed, described in the Book of Night, a text said to have been passed down hidden Kindred lineages for millennia. High priestesses are encouraged to improvise within that, however, so the details of the performance vary a great deal from one domain to another.

CRúAC RITUALS

DaughtersbelievethattheVitaespenttopower Crúacis symbolically thesameasmenstrualblood, and thus should be drawn from the same part of the body. The favored ritual tool for these purposes is a narrow dagger.

Oak Kings are expected to castrate themselves, inflicting a single point of lethal damage, to draw the blood.

Esbats

Esbatsaremonthly,heldonthenightofthenewmoon, whentheskyisdarkest.TheDaughtersgather,andrecite portions of the Liturgy of the Crone. The Daughters also haveliturgiescallingontheMaidenandtheMother,and recite portions of these as well, but the Crone dominates the proceedings.

A small majority of Daughters gather naked (“skyclad”) for esbats, but this and the brief liturgies to the Maiden and Mother are the only differences from the stereotypical Acolyte gathering. Daughters sounding out new recruits from within the Circle normally invite them to an esbat first.

Sabbats

Sabbats are holier than esbats, and are normally held twice a year, at Samhain and the Winter Solstice. The Samhain Sabbat is all but identical to the celebration found across the covenant, and Daughters are particularly enthusiastic in their celebration at this time. A largemajorityfeel thatnudityisappropriate forthisholy event, although a few still demur.

The Daughters’ version of the Winnowing is their holiest Sabbat. If there are only one or two Daughters in a domain, they hold it on the same day as the Winnowing, but if there are enough of them to hold a ceremony by themselves it is always held on the Winter Solstice. The purpose of the ceremony matches that of the Winnowing: Daughters contemplate their acts of creation

and destruction over the year. Virtually all Daughters agree that nudity is the only garb holy enough for this night, and the ritual must take place outside, in a place surrounded by trees.

A mortal man is brought, stripped and bound, and the Daughters gather round him. Instead of spilling their Vitaeontheground,theyforcehimtodrinkit.Whenall have done so, they contemplate in silence. Some listen for messages from the Goddess in the screams, pleas or moans of the bound man.

At a moment chosen by the high priestess, the man is releasedfromhisbondsandtoldtorun.Heisgivenafew moments’ lead before the Kindred pounce on him and tear him limb from limb. The celebrants are forbidden to drink his blood; instead, it must be allowed to soak into the ground.

The police normally find the dismembered body, but there is nothing to tie the crime to vampires, and so the risk to the Masquerade is judged to be slight.

In principle, the Daughters also celebrate Sabbats on the other quarter days. However, their doctrine requires that these Sabbats be led by living priestesses. There are rumors of covens that have recruited ghouls to serve as their priestesses for these rites, but if true, this is quite rare, as the priestess should really be a true mortal. Most Daughters believe that these Sabbats can only be celebrated properly once Kindred and mortals are once more united in front of the Goddess.

The King of the Oak

The King of the Oak is a male Kindred who plays an essential role in the celebration of the festivals, albeit one secondary to the high priestess. He is the only man allowed to learn Crúac, but he is entitled to be taught any rituals that a Daughter knows.

Any male Kindred may volunteer for the position, but it is normally restricted to neonates; the king is a young man, relying on the Crone for wisdom and power. The high priestess has absolute discretion to accept or reject a volunteer. Members of other covenants may take the position, but this means joining the Circle. This draws disapproval, but few covenant elders bother to take action.

This is because the King of the Oak reigns for a limited time. At some ceremony, which may be the day after he takes the position or may come decades later, the high priestess declares that his reign has ended. Traditionally, she makes the declaration in his presence, and the presence of other Acolytes, at a time when the King is fully free to move. Once the declaration is made, the other Acolytes must hunt down and destroy the King. It is said that this Final Death should be by diablerie, but the Daughters deny this every time it is brought up.

While the mortal victim of the Winnowing never escapes, the King of the Oak very occasionally does.