Life After Death-according to John Leekley
THE WORLD
Kindred do not refer to call themselves "Vampires". This is a
form used by humans, to give a name to their fears in the night.
In rare cases, the term "Vampires" is used densively by Kindred,
to describe the mythical versions of the Kindred. A central tenet
of the Masquerade is that Kindred must follow the Laws of Man.
This rule began as a practical way of preventing kindred from
being imprisoned or otherwise subjected to scrutiny, but over
time it has taken on more purely moral agenda. Each generation
of Kindred leadership seeks to hold its followers to a higher
moral standard, so that today, Kindred general are more moral
than their human counterparts. Thay are more loyal, more
passionate, more selfless and have more integrity than the most
humans. This is especially true of Julian Luna, The Prince.
As a crucial past of this last tenet, Kindred are forbidden to
kill humans. Any Kindred who kills a human will find their life
forfeit, although this provision is to be adjudicated by the
Prince, who can and does occasionally grant clemency.
For thousands of years--ever since the civilized world was
divided into city-states--regional populations of Kindred have
been ruled by Princes. To this day, there is a Prince in every
city, and she or he is the leader of all local Kindred,
comprising members of each of the five primary Kindred clans.
Julian is the Prince of San Francisco and he has been for
seven years.
