The Blood Oath

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Introduction: One of the strangest properties of Cainite vitae is its ability to forge a link between the vampire and the drinker. This power is used to create ghoul servants, but it can also be used to bind other vampires to the Cainite's will. The strength of this bond depends on the n umber of times the victim has drunk the blood of the same Cainite, but after three such sups, the drinker is almost irrevocably bound. The person (living or undead) who comes under the bond, called the "blood oath", is known as the "thrall" while the Cainite holding power over them is the "regnant".

A fully bound thrall is utterly devoted to her regnant and cannot take action against her. In many cases this is like a mortal addiction or obsession. The thrall need not like her regnant (though many do), and she may even actively despise her, but she follows her orders nonetheless, even if she is dominated or otherwise manipulated by outside agencies. Many Cainites have described the oath as a compelling force, but it is not necessarily a compulsion to do exactly as the regnant says. Rather the thrall is honor-bound to demonstrate loyalty, to not disobey orders or the express wishes of the regnant. This distinction between compelled obedience and loyalty is a fine line, but it allows the thrall to demonstrate some flexibility. Invariably, however, the thrall follows her master's wishes, the of oath-bound loyalty in the Dark Medieval world for mortals and Cainites alike. Going against the master's wishes is simply unconscionable.

The power of the oath is not dependent on the regnant's generation. The blood of a 12th-generation neonate can bind an elder as readily as the elder binds others to her will. This is the only Cainite power that does not appear to degrade with generation. A Cainite may be fully oath-bound to only one regnant, but she may have several thralls and lesser bonds (those involving one or two drinks) herself.