To whom it may concern, be warned:       I have dedicated a majority of my existence, over several centuries, to the search and study of any and all things related to Caine and the Book of Nod. Despite the terrors I have experienced since my quest began, I am thankful that I pressed on. The following files are the english translation of what I have learned. This information has cost me more than you might imagine, including but not limited to the lives of hundreds of vampires, mortals, and other supernaturals. Those of us who have not lost our lives are on the brink of madness. My nightmares cause me to rötschrek every day, and my nightly paranoia has caused me to frenzy more times than I can count. To curse anyone with this knowledge would be more evil than the demons who threaten our world. But placing it here, sharing the secrets, it all makes me feel like a small amount of the burden has been lifted. Only I and my progeny know the password to these files. So be it, for now.

                                                                                Aristotle de Laurente

I dream of the first times
the longest memory
I speak of the first times
the oldest father
I sing of the first times
and the dawn of Darkness

In Nod, where the light of Paradise
lit up the night sky
and the tears of our
parents wet the ground

Each of us, in our own way
set about to live
and take sustenance from the land

And I, first-born Caine, I,
with sharp things,
planted the dark seeds
wet them in the earth
tended them, watched them grow

And Able, second-born Able
tended the animals
aided their bloody births
fed them, watched them grow

I loved him, my Brother
He was the brightest
The sweetest,
The strongest.
He was the first part
of all my joy.

Then one day
our Father said to us
Caine, Able
to Him Above you must make a sacrifice -
a gift of the first partof all you have

And I, first-born Caine, I
gathered the tender shoots
the brightest fruits
the sweetest grain

And Able, second-born, Able
slaughtered the youngest,
the strongest,
the sweetest of his animals

On the altar of our Father
we laid our sacrifices
and lit the fire under them
and watched the smoke carry them
up to the One Above

The sacrifice of Able, second-born,
smelled sweet to the One Above
and Able was blessed
And I, first-born Caine, I
was struck from beyond by
a harsh word and a curse,
for my sacrifice was unworthy

I looked at Abel's sacrifice,
still smoking, the flesh, the blood.
I cried, I held my eyes
I prayed in night and day

And when
Father said
the time for
Sacrifice
has come again

And Abel
led his youngest,
his sweetest,
his most beloved
to the sacrificial fire

I did not bring my
youngest,
my sweetest,
for I knew the
One Above
would not
want them

And my brother,
beloved Abel said to me
"Caine, you did not bring
a sacrifice,
a gift of the first
part of your joy,
to burn on the altar
of the One Above."

I cried tears of love as I,
with sharp things,
sacrificed that
which was the
first part of
my joy,
my brother.

And the Blood of Able
covered the altar
and smelled sweet as it burned

But my Father said
"Cursed are you, Caine,
who killed your brother.
As I was cast out
so shall you be."

And He exiled me to wander in Darkness,
the land of Nod.

I flew into the Darkness
I saw no source of light
and I was afraid.
And alone

The Coming of Lilith

I was alone in the Darkness
And I grew hungry
I was alone in the Darkness
And I grew cold
I was alone in the Darkness
And I cried

Then there came to me
a sweet voicea honey voice
Words of succor
Words of surcease

A woman dark and
lovely,with eyes that
pierced theDarkness
came to
me

"I know your story, Caine of Nod"
She said smiling,
"You are hungry. Come! I have food.
You are cold. Come! I have clothes.
You are sad. Come! I have comfort."

"Who would comfort one so Cursed as I?
Who would clothe me?
Who would feed me?"

"I am your father's first wife,
who disagreed with the One Above
and gained Freedom in the Darkness.
I am Lilith.

Once, I was cold, and there was no warmth
for me.
Once, I was hungry, and there was no food
for me.
Once, I was sad, and there was no comfort
for me."

She took me in, she fed me.
She clothed me.
In her arms, I found comfort.
I cried until blood
trickled from my eyes
and she kissed them away.

And I dwelt for a time
in the House of Lilith
and asked her
"Out of the Darkness,
how did you build this place?
How did you make clothes?
How did you grow food?"

And Lilith smiled and said,
"Unlike you, I am Awake.
I see the threads that spin
all around you. I make that
which I need out of Power."

"Awaken me, then, Lilith," I said.
I have need for this Power.
Then I can make my own
clothes,
make my own food,
make my own House."

Worry creased Lilith's brow.
"I do not know what the
Awakening will do for you,
for you are truly Cursed by
your Father.
You could die.
You could be forever changed."

Caine said, "Even so, a life without
Power
will not be worth living.
I would die without your gifts.
I will not live as your Thrall."

Lilith loved me, and I knew this.
Lilith would do what I asked,
though she did not wish it.

And so, Lilith, bright-eyed Lilith,
Awakened me.
She cut herself with a knife
bled for me into a bowl.
I drank deep. It was sweet.

And then I fell into the Abyss.
I fell forever, falling
into the deepest darkness.

And from the Darkness
came a bright shining light -
fire in the night.
And the archangel Micheal revealed himself
to me.
I was unafraid. I asked his business.

Micheal, General of Heaven,
wielder of the holy Flame
said unto me,"Son of Adam, Son of Eve, thy crime is great,
and yet the mercy of my Father is
also great.Will you not repent the evil that you
have done, and let his mercy wash you clean?"

And I said to Micheal,"Not by [the One Above]'s grace,
but mine own
will I live, in pride"

Micheal cursed me, saying
"then for as long as you walk this
earth, you and your children will
fear my living flame, and it will
bite deep and savor your flesh."

And on the morning Raphael came
on lambent wings,
light over the horizon
the driver of the Sun,
ward of the East

Raphael spoke, saying
"Caine, son of Adam,
son of Eve,
your brother Abel
forgives you your sin
will you not repent, and accept the
mercy of the
Almighty?"

And I said toRaphael
"Not by
Abel's
forgiveness
but mine
own,
will I be
forgiven.

"Raphael cursed
me, saying
"Then for as long
as you walk this earth,
you and your children
will fear the dawn,
and the sun's rays will seek
to burn you like fire
where ever you hide always.
Hide now for the Sun rises to take its wrath on you."

But I found a secret place in the earth
and hid from the burning light of the Sun.
Deep in the earth,
I slept until the
Light
of the World was hidden behind the
mountain
of Night.

When I awoke from my day of sleep,
I heard the sound of gentle rushing
wings
and I saw the black wings of Uriel
draped around me -
Uriel, reaper, angel of Death,
dark Uriel, who dwells in darkness.

Uriel spoke to me quietly, saying
"Son of Adam, Son of Eve, God
Almighty
has forgiven you your sin.
Will you accept his mercy and let me
take you to your reward, no longer
cursed?

And I said to dark-winged Uriel,
"Not by God's mercy, but my own, will
I live.
I am what I am, I did what I did,
and that will never change."

And then, through dread Uriel
God, Almighty cursed me, saying,
"Then for as long as you walk this
earth,
you and your children will cling to
Darkness
You will drink only blood
You will eat only ashes
You will be always as you were at death,
Never dying, living on.
You will walk forever in Darkness,
all you touch will crumble into nothing,
until the last days.

"I gave a cry of anguish
at this terrible curse and
tore at my flesh.

I wept blood.
I caught the tears in a cup
and drank them.

When I looked up from my drink ofsorrow,
the archangel Gabriel
gentle Gabriel
Gabriel, Lord of Mercy
appeared to me.

The archangel Gabriel said unto me,
"Son of Adam, Son of Eve.
Behold the mercy of the Father is
greater than you can ever know
for even now there is a path opened
a road of Mercy
and you shall call this road [Golconda].
And tell your children of it,
for by that road may they come
once again to dwell in the Light."

And with that, the darkness was lifted
like a veil
and the only light was
Lilith's bright eyes.

Looking around me, I knew
that I had Awakened.

When my energies first
surged through me
I discovered
how to move like lightning [Celerity]
how to borrow the strength
of the earth [Potence]
how to be as stone[Fortitude]
These were like
breathing unto me.

Lilith then showed me
how she hides herself from
hunters [Obfuscate]
how she commands
obedience [Dominate]
and how she demands
respect [Presence]

Then, Awakening myself further, I found
the way to alter forms [Protean]
the way to have dominion over animals [Animalism]
the way to make eyes see past sight [Auspex]

Then Lilith commanded me that I stop, saying
thatI had over-reached my bounds
That I had gone too far
That I threatened my very essence.

She used her powers and commanded me to
stop.
Because of her power I heeded her,
but deep within me a seed was planted
a seed of rebellion
and when she turned her face from me,
I opened myself up once more, to the Night,
and saw the infinite possibilities in the stars
and knew that a path of power, a path of Blood
was mine for the taking.
and so I awakened in me this Final Path,
from which all other paths would grow.

With this newest power, I broke the bonds
that the Lady of Night put on me
I left the Damned Queen that evening,
cloaking myself in shadows,
I fled the lands of Nodand came to a place
where not even her demons could find me.

Let me tell the tale of Zillah
first loved of Caine,
first wife of Caine,
the sweetest blood,
the softest skin,
the clearest eyes

Alone of Caine's newest childer,
did Caine desire Her.
and she was not mindful of his
desire, turning away from him.

Not gifts, not sacrifices,
not perfumes, not doves,
not beautiful dancers,
not singers, not oxen,
not sculpture, not beautiful clothes,
nothing would turn Zillah's heart
from stone to sweet fruit.

So Caine pulled at his beard
and tore at his hair
and took to roaming the wilderness
at night thinking of her
burning for her,
and one night Caine came upon
an old Crone singing to the moon

Caine said to the Crone,
"Why do you sing so?"
And the Crone replied,
"Because I yearn for
what I cannot have..."

Caine said to the  Crone,
"I yearn also, What can one do?"
The Crone smiled and said,
"Drink of my blood this night,
Caine, Father of Kindred,
and return tomorrow night.
Then, will I tell you the wisdom of the Moon."
Caine drank at the Crone's bare neck, and departed.

The next night, Caine found the Crone sleeping on a rock.
"Wake up, Crone," Caine said, "I have returned."
The Crone opened one eye and said,
"I dream of the solution for you
this night. Drink once more of me,
and then return tomorrow night.
Bring a bowl of clay.
Bring a sharp knife.
I will have your answer then."

Once again Caine took blood from the Crone,
who immediately fell back into a deep slumber.

When Caine returned the next night,
the Crone looked up at him and smiled,
"Greetings, Lord of the Beast," the Crone said.
"I have the wisdom you seek.
Take some of my blood, into the bowl you have,
and mix in these berries and these herbs,
and drink deep of the elixir."

"You will be irresistible.
You will be potent.
You will be masterful.
You will be ardent.
You will be glowing.
The heart of Zillah will melt
like the snows in spring."

And, so Caine drank from the Crone's elixir,
because he was so in love with Zillah,
and he so desired her love in return.

And the Crone laughed. The Crone laughed aloud.
She had tricked him! She had trapped him!
Caine was angry beyond compare.
Caine reached out with his powers,
to rend the Crone apart with his strength.

The Crone cackled and said, "Do not"
And Caine could do nothing against her.
The Crone chuckled and said, "Love me"
And Caine could do nothing but stare into her
ancient eyes, desire her leathery skin.
The Crone laughed and said, "Make me immortal."

And Caine Embraced her. She cackled again,
laughed with the pure ecstasy of the Embrace,
for it did not pain her.

"I have made you powerful, Caine of Enoch,
Caine of Nod, but you will forever be bound to me.
I have made you master of all,
but you will never forget me!
Your blood. potent as it is now,
will bond those who drink it,
as you did, once a night for three nights.
You will be the master.
They will be your thrall, as you are mine.
For though Zillah will love you, as you wanted,
you will love me, forever. Go now, and claim your
lovely bride. I will wait for you in the darkest
places, while I brew more potions for your health."

And so, heavy hearted,
Caine returned to Enoch.
And each night, for three nights,
Zillah drank from her Sire,
though she did not know it.
And, on the third night,
Caine announced he would marry
Zillah, his sweetest Childe, and she agreed.

For a year and a day
Caine labored in service
to a Crone, who with blood-wisdom
bound him as surely
as any prisoner.

She would visit him at night
force him to give up his blood
for her secret elixirs
and potent formulas

She would take his Chider's Childer
and they would never be heard from again.
But Caine was wise. He did not drink from her ever again.
And she did not ask him to, thinking that he was ever in her Thrall.

One night, Caine went to the Crone in the forest,
and told her of terrible dreams that he had during his sleep.

"I fear for my life, Crone.
I fear the prophesy of Uriel,
and my children's lust for my blood.
Tell me secret knowledge, that I might
be powerful against my own."

And the Crone went to a tree
made of gopher wood,
and broke off a limb.
She took a sharp knife
and sharpened the limb.

"Take this piece of living wood, sharp, strong,
peirce the heart of your wayward childe.
It will render him still, and yours to command.
Instead of feasting on your heart's blood,
he will feel the weight of your justice."

Caine said, "Thank you, Mother," and
With that, moving in quick movements,
Caine took the stake of gopher wood,
seized it and drove it
deep within the Crone's heart.

Because Caine, wise Caine
had fed not upon her for a year and a day
and because he forced his Will through
his hands, he broke the Bond she held
on him, and turned his fortune.

She laughed again, as blood welled up
and poured out of her mouth.
Her eyes poured out hate.

Caine kissed her
once, kissed her
cold, withered lips,
and left her there
to Raphael's gentile smile:
the sun that rises.

In the beginning there was only Caine
Caine who [sacrificed] his brother out of [love].
Caine who was cast out.
Caine who was cursed forever with immortality.
Caine who was cursed with the lust for blood.
It is Caine from whom we all come from.
Our Sire's Sire.

For the passing of an age he lived in [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 of his brother [Seth, third-born of Eve.]
and [Seth's children] had created.

He returned and was made welcome.
[For none would turn against him,
due to the Mark that was laid upon him]
The people saw his power and worshipped him.
[He grew powerful, and his power was strong.
His ways of awe and command were great.]

[And the Children of Seth made] him King
of their great City, the First City.

But Caine grew lonely in his Power.
Deep within him, the seed of loneliness blossomed and grew a dark flower.
He saw within his blood the potence of fertility.
By calling up demons and listening to whispered wisdom,
he learned the way to make a child for his own.
He came to know its power, and, doing so,
decided to Embrace one of those near him.

And, lo, Uriel, Dread Uriel, revealed himself to Caine
that very night and said to him.

"Caine, though powerful you are, and  marked of God,
know you this: that any Childe you make will
bear your curse, that any Progeny
will forever walk in the Land of Nod, and fear flame
and sun, drinking blood only and  eating ashes only.
And since they will carry their father's jealous seed,
they will forever plot and fight amongst themselves.
Doom not those of Adam's grandchildren who seek to
walk in righteousness. Caine!
Stay your dread Embrace!

Still, Caine knew what he must do, and a young man
named Enosh, who was the most beloved of Seth's kin,
begged to be made Son to the dark Father.
And Caine, mindful though he was of Uriel's words,
seized Enosh, and wrapped him in the dark Embrace.

And so it came to pass that Caine begat
Enoch, and, so doing, named the First City Enoch.
And, so doing, did Enoch beg for a brother,
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.

And these Kindred of Caine learned the ways
of making Progeny of their own, and
they Embraced more of Seth's kin, unthinking.
And then wise Caine said, "An end to this crime.
There shall be know more."
And as Caine's word 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 those not like him.
The [children of Seth] knew him
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 felt anger when his children fought.
He discovered deceit when he saw them make word-war.
He knew sadness when he saw them abuse [the children of Seth]

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, the children of Seth with it.

Again Caine fell into great sorrow and went into solitude.
And he left us, his Progeny, to our own ends.

We found him, after much searching, deep in the earth,
and he bade us go, saying that the flood was a punishment,
for his having returned to the world of life
And subverting the true law.
He asked us to go, so that he might sleep.

So we returned alone to find the children of Noah.
We announced that we were the new rulers.
Each created a Brood
In order to claim the glory of Caine.
Yet we did not have his wisdom or restraint.
A great war was waged, the Elders against
their Children, just as Uriel had said,
And the Children slew their parents.

They rose up.
Used fire and wood
Swords and claws
To destroy those who had created them.

The rebels then built a new city.
Out of the fallen Empire,
they had collected the Thirteen clans
that had been scattered by the Great War,
and brought them all together.

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 [Tzimisce],
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]

They made a beautiful city,
and the people worshipped them as gods.
They created new Progeny of their own,
the Fourth Generation of Cainites.

But they feared the Jyhad,
the Prophecy of Uriel,
and it was forbidden for these 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 us,
we did feel his careful eye watching us,
and we knew that he marked our movements
and our 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 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 hunted them down one by one,
Zillah the Beautiful, Irad the Strong,
and Enoch First-Ruler.
And we mourned them all, as we were all of a kind,
and all of the families of Caine's childer.

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.

For, as Uriel had said, the seed of Evil planted
blossomed as a blood-red rose.
and [Troile] the Child of his Child's Child
rose up and slew his Father, Brujah.
And ate of his flesh.
Then war wracked the city
And nothing could ever be as it was.

The Thirteen saw their city 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 time, 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 yet 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 crush 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.

And none will say when Caine will arise again,
from his sleep in the earth,
and call for the city Gehenna,
the Last City, the City of Judgment.
The Jyhad continues still.

Continue to the Chronicle of Shadows