Path of Flesh
A Path on the Road of Lilith
Sobrequiet:
Some Bahari follow a different path, that of Flesh. These cultists do not memorize long and involved mythologies. Rather, they accept Lilith as an expression, metaphorical or otherwise, of the powerful aspect of the feminine principle, as an exploration of the dark side of sensuality. Lilith may or may not have existed, but the truth of the mythological cycles is irrelevant. She is an archetype and aspirational vision.
Adherents study legends of Lilith along with biblical and mythological apocrypha to explore her concept as an archetypal guide, one who has relevance to both vampires and humanity. Lilith, they say, is a representative figure of humanity's worst, chtonic urges. She is everything that society rejects. By rejecting society's rules in turn, a member adopts the urges attributed to the Mother and truly understands what it means to exist. Society brands so many things as sinful. It forbids cannibalism, but people have consumed the flesh of fallen enemies for centuries. Society forbids self-mutilation, but the soul can awaken by exploring that pain. Society attempts to control and channel sensual hungers, but abolishing them makes these experiences all the more tempting. Followers of this path claim that the curse of vampirism has within it the potential for utter experience. Immortal, possessed of heightened senses, almost indestructible... what better vehicle is there for exploring the dizzying heights of pleasure and pain? Denial, these cultists protest, defies vampire potential.
Advocates of the Path of Flesh seek to placate the Beast through their explorations. The Beast is merely the hunger that drives a vampire. By satiating that hunger and experimenting with new experiences, practitioners hope to keep their sanity intact, their senses sharp and their intellects vital.
Systems
Virtues of Flesh: Conviction and Self Control
Additional Ethics of Flesh
- Explore the sins of the flesh: Those that bring pleasure and those that bring pain.
- Use this extatic agony to open your soul to the truths of Lilith
Hierarchy of Sins Against Flesh
| Rating | Minimum Wrongdoing | Rationale |
| 10 | Not satisfying your physical desires | Excess invites the spirit of Lilith |
| 9 | Seeking wealth or temporal power | These are the tools of Lilith's enemies. |
| 8 | Not challenging the "false" scriptures of mortal religions or vampire Nodists | You must give others the opportunity to find the path. |
| 7 | Feeling remorse for the suffering you bring on others | Pain is a gift. |
| 6 | Not participating in a Bahari ritual | Ritual gives direction to your quest for enlightenment. |
| 5 | Showing fear of death or pain | Pain brings opportunity. |
| 4 | Murdering a mortal or vampire | The dead cannot be enlightened. |
| 3 | Not learning the teachings of Lilith | The ultimate truth is within your grasp. Why spurn it? |
| 2 | Not bringing pain and anguish to others | Do not deny others the gifts you have been given. |
| 1 | Shunning Pain | Pain is Lilith's gift, and will make you strong. |
