The Tale of the First City
The earliest of the Kindred is said to be recorded in the legendary Book of Nod. Named for the land east of Eden where Caine first traveled, it chronicles the tumultuous birth of the bloodlines and the origins of the Jyhad.
In the beginning there was only Caine. Caine who murdered {sacraficed} his brother out of anger {love}. Caine who was cast out. Caine who was cursed forever wth imortality. Caine who was cursed with the lust for blood. It is Caine from whom we all come, Our Sire's Sire.
For the passing of a age he lived in solitude {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 his brother {Seth, third born of Eve} and his brother's children had created. He returned and was made welcome. The people saw his power and worshipped him {his powers of awe and command were great}, making him King of their great city. The first City, a place by the name of Enoch.
Though he became ruler of a mighty nation, he was still alone, for none were as he. His sorrow grew once again. Then he committed another great sin, for he begat Progeny, of which there were only three. First came Enosh, who was the most beloved of Seth's kin. Enosh begged for a brother and 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. But from them came more Progeny, his grandchildren, and Caine said, "An end to this crime. There shall be no more!" And as Caine's work 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 the children of Seth, They knew hime, 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 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, along with the children of Seth.
Again Caine fell into great sorrow and went into solitude, becoming as a dog amidst the wastes, and leaving his Progeny to their own ends. They came to him and begged him to return, to help them rebuild the City. But he would not come with them, Saying the flood had been sent as punishment for his having returned to the world of life and subverting the true law. So, they returned alone to find the children of Noah and announced that they were the new rulers.
Each created a Brood, in order to claim the glory of Caine, Yet they did not have his wisdom or restraint. A great war was waged, the Elders against their Children, and the Children slew their parents. The rebels then built a new city and brought to it thirteen clans. 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 {Tzmisces}, 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}. It was a beautiful city and its people worshipped them as gods. They created new progeny of their own, the fourth generation of Cainites. But they feared the Jyhad, and it was forbidden for those 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 them, they did feel this careful eye watching them. They knew that he marked their movements and their 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 that 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 had hunted them down one by one, Zillah the Beautiful, Irad the Strong, and Enosh First-Ruler.
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. Their city was 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 thime, 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 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 cursh 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.
This information was obtained from The Book of Nod & Vampire: The Masquerade resource book or players guide, a storytelling game of horror and from the Book of Nod by White Wolf, Inc.