Cult of Mithras
Contents
Introduction
The Cult of Mithras, also known as the Mithraic Mysteries, is a blood cult centered around the fourth-generation Ventrue Mithras.
History
Roman Era
The vampire Mithras took over the existing Persian cult, passing himself off as the physical incarnation of the warrior-god, and followed that cult westward to Rome. The cult spread rapidly among Rome's military, and from there to every corner of the Empire.
In 71 CE, Mithras arrived in Britain, tired of the political infighting of Rome. He joined in efforts to pacify the Celts, exterminate the Lhiannan, and drive the Picti and their Lupine allies north. His cult became one of the principle religions of Roman Britain, with Cainite and mortal worshipers alike. The cult, and Mithras' temporal rule, were centered at the Mithraeum in what is now called Walbrook, outside Londinium.
However, the growing influence of Christianity in the Empire gradually eroded the cult's influence, and the collapse of Roman rule over Britain in 409 further reduced its prominence. Mithras himself went into torpor at this time, in the mithraeum of Vercovicium, leaving the cult without their god and leader as Anglo-Saxons flooded into the British Isles. The cult persisted for some time without him, and even made some inroads among the newcomers. Mithras' childe Cretheus attempted to spread the cult in Byzantium, to little effect.
Dark Ages
The cult was revived in 1066, when Norman invaders awoke Mithras from torpor. Simply re-establishing the cult in Christian England was untenable, but Mithras slowly rebuilt his influence behind the scenes, and by 1154 he claimed Princedom of London and rule over the Baronies of Avalon.
The cult was key to Mithras' control of Avalon in the aftermath of the War of Princes. The Rose Treaty forbade him from raising or leading an army, except for his personal bodyguards; he maintained the loyalty of his barons through bargains, blood bonds, and faith. Many Kindred warriors, and a few mortals as well, observed the rites of the Lord of Ages in private while maintaining a public veneer of Christianity. James Mannerly, a priest in the cult, occupied Dover for some time, and took a hard line toward followers of the Cainite Heresy crossing into England from France.
The Mithraeum at Walbrook in London once again became the center of the cult at this time. Large numbers of cultists also inhabited the Barony of Carlisle, and Marcus Verus, the Baron of Chester and Mithras' childe, also actively recruited both mortals and Cainites to the faith. One of these is his childe, Arcadius, who ruled as Consul in the independent city of Bath; here he recruited spies and warriors to the Unconquered Guard. Meanwhile, Cretheus continued his attempts to keep the cult alive in Rome, the very heart of the Church, as part of his strange pursuit of Golconda.
Victorian Age
Upon returning to London from "the East" in 1885, Mithras established a new residence on The Strand, which doubled as a temple for the cult's rituals. The mithraeum at Walbrook remained the in use for the most important rituals, including the rebirth of the Unconquered Sun on Dec. 25.
By this time, Mithras could no longer survive on merely human blood, so the cult was a vehicle for recruiting vampires from which he could feed. This made it a target for London's Tremere, longtime rivals of Mithras, who sought to undermine the cult through other occult societies of the age. However, the Camarilla officially saw such societies as potential Masquerade breaches, forcing both Mithras and the Warlocks to be extremely circumspect about their recruitment and participation.
Modern Times
Mithras was eventually deposed by his former Seneschal Valerius, who claimed that the God-King of London had perished thanks to a bomb dropped on his haven during the German Blitz. The Cult rapidly shrank in influence in the wake of Mithras' "demise", with several devout Patres committing suicide by sunrise rather than exist in a world without their Immortal Sun. What remained of the Mithraics was tended to by Roger de Camden - Mithras' closest confidant and lover - up until nearly 50 years later. The partial diablerie of Mithras' by Montgomery Coven complicated his plans for a Mithraic resurgence, but did not stop them. At the turn of the 21st Century he and Mithras-Coven formulated a plan to "wipe the slate clean", destroying the Cult's enemies and restoring Mithras' full blood potency within his new body in one fell swoop.
By deliberately leaking several pieces of key intelligence to the Newburgh Group, the remnants of the Cult of Mithras jump-started events that would culminate in the Second Inquisition sterilizing London in 2013. Using the chaos as cover, De Camden tasked the Heralds of the Sun with acquiring various items of personal significance to Mithras, to serve as catalysts in the Ritual of Transferring the Soul. Meanwhile, loyal followers of the Immortal Sun were bade to flee London en-masse, establishing new cells in cities such as Edinburgh, Munich, and Milwaukee.
The fate of Mithras himself is largely unknown to the rest of his Cult, as is whether or not the Ritual was truly successful in restoring the methuselah to his full strength. Rumors range from the God-King having succumbed to the Beckoning, perishing at the hands of SO13, to simply lying in wait, awaiting the day when he calls his servants to reclaim his domain from those who have despoiled it.
Beliefs
The relationship of the vampire Mithras to the divinity at the center of the cult's worship was often contested; Crethus explicitly regarded his sire as a sort of avatar or emanation of the god, rather than the god himself[17] while others believe Mithras is a god coincidentally inhabiting a Cainite shell, or (more cynically) that the cult is the invention of a wily methuselah whose Disciplines let him counterfeit divinity.
An intricate hierarchy exists in Mithraic cults, with the Paters at the top, overseeing sacrifices and other rites. Just below the pater is the Heliodromus, a sort of war leader, and the Perses, who oversee rites involving bloodletting. These and other ranks are distinguished with both ceremonial garb and with brands impressed in the flesh of the faithful. While only male mortals were permitted knowledge of the Mithraic mysteries, Cainites of all genders are admitted to worship. Worship takes place in underground temples called mithraeums (plural mithraei or mithraea), and devout Cainites may rest there during the day. The ritual sacrifice of bulls — as well as humans and vampires — followed by communal blood-drinking is at the heart of Mithras' worship. This ritual bears a vague resemblance to the Sabbat's Vaulderie.
The cult promotes deference to one's sire, their line, and the line of Mithras, as well as martial discipline and courage. It may seem odd for vampires to worship a god called the Unconquered Sun, one whose symbols include fire, but overcoming Rötschreck is one of the greatest tests of courage a Cainite can face. Mithras' childer and their descendants are particularly resistant to the fear of fire.
