The Laws of the Vampires
ONE
That each coven must have its leader and only he might order
the working of the Dark trick upon a mortal, seeing that the
methods and the rituals were properly observed.
TWO
That the Dark Gifts must never be given to the crippled, the
maimed, or to children, or to those who cannot, even with the
Dark Powers survive on their own. Be it further understood that
all mortals who would recieve the Dark Gifts should be
beautiful in person so that the insult to God might be greater
when the trick is done.
THREE
That never should an old vampire work this magic lest the blood
of the fledgling be too strong. For all our gifts increase
naturally with age and the old ones have too much strength to
pass on. Injury, burning -- these catastrophes, if they do not
destroy the Child of Satan will only increase his powers when
he is healed. Yet Satan guards the flock from the powers of
old ones, for almost all, without exception go mad.
In this particular, let Armand observe that there was no
vampire then living who was more than 300 years old. No one
alive then could remember the first Roman coven. The devil
frequently calls his vampires home.
But let Armand understand here also that the effect of the
Dark Trick is unpredictable, even when passed on by the very
young vampire and with all due care. For reasons no one knows,
some mortals when Born to Darkness become as powerful as Titans,
others may be no more than corpses that move. That is why
mortals must be chosen with skill. Those with great passion and
indominatable will should be avoided as well as those who have
none.
FOUR
That no vampire may ever destroy another vampire, except that
the coven master has the power of life and death over all of
his flock. And it is further his obligation to lead the old
ones and the mad ones into the fire when they can no longer
serve Satan as they should. It is his obligation to destroy
all vampires who are not properly made. It is his obligation
to destroy all those who are so badly wounded that they cannot
survive on their own. And it is his obligation finally to seek
the destruction of all outcasts and all those who have
broken these laws.
FIVE
That no vampire shall ever reveal his true nature to a mortal
and let the mortal live. No vampire must ever reveal the history
of the vampires to a mortal and let the mortal live. No vampire
must commit to writing the history of the vampires or any true
knowledge of vampires lest such a history be found by mortals
and believed. And a vampire's name must never be known to
mortals, save from his tombstone, and never must any vampire
reveal to mortals the location of his or any other vampire's
lair.
Taken from "The Vampire Lestat"
(c) Anne Rice
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