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1. DISCRETION
This lifestyle is private and sacred. Respect it as such. Use
discretion in who you reveal yourself to, and make certain that your
motives are to truly communicate about our culture and to engender
understanding. By no means should you talk to others about yourself
and our community when your motives are for selfish reasons such as
self-promotion, sensationalism, and attention-getting.
Do not hide from your nature, but never show it off to those who won't
understand.
2. DIVERSITY
Our paths are many, even though the journey we are on is
essentially the same. No single one of us has all the answers to who and
what we are. Respect everyone's personal views and practices. We cannot
let petty differences of ideology prevent us from maintaining a unified
community; there are enough who would attack us from the outside.
Our diversity is our strength. Let our differences in viewpoint enrich
us but never divide us upon ourselves.
3. SAFETY
Use sense when indulging your nature. Do not flaunt what you
are in public places. Feed in private and make certain your donors will
be discrete about what happens between you. Donors who create rumors and
gossip about us are more harm than they're worth. If you engage in
blood-letting, put safety and caution above all other things. Blood-borne
diseases are a very real thing, and we cannot risk endangering ourselves
or others through irresponsibility. Screen donors carefully, making
certain they are in good health both mentally and physically.
Never overindulge or get careless. The safety of the entire community
rests upon each member's caution.
4. CONTROL
We cannot and should not deny the darkness within. Yet we
should not allow it to control us. If our beast or shadow or darkside is
given too much sway, it clouds our judgment, making us a danger even to
those we love. Never indulge in pointless violence. Never bring willful
harm to those who sustain you. Never feed only for the sake of feeding,
and never give over to mindless bloodlust.
We are not monsters: we are capable of rational thought and
self-control. Celebrate the darkness and let it empower you, but never
let it enslave your will.
5. LIFESTYLE
Live your life as an example to others in the community. We
are privileged to be what we are, but power should be accompanied by
responsibility and dignity. Explore and make use of your vampire nature,
but keep it in balance with material demands. Remember: we may be
vampires, but we are still a part of this world. We must live lives like
everyone else here, holding jobs, keeping homes, and getting along with
our neighbors.
Being what we are is not an excuse to not participate in this reality.
Rather, it is an obligation to make it a better place for us to be.
6. FAMILY
We are, all of us, a family, and like all families, various
members will not always get along. However, respect the greater
community when having your disputes. Do not let your individual problems
bring emotional strife to the family as a whole. Settle your differences
quietly among one another, only seeking out an elder's aid in mediation
when no other solution seems possible. Never bring your private disputes
into public places and never draw other family members into the issue by
forcing them to take sides.
Like any normal family, we should always make an effort to present a
stable and unified face to the rest of the world even when things are
not perfect between us.
7. HAVENS
Our havens are safeplaces where everyone in the community can
come to socialize. There are also often public places where we are
likely to encounter people who don't understand our ways. We should
respect the patrons of these places as we should also respect the owners
of the establishments and always be discrete in our behavior. We should
never bring private disputes into a haven. We should never initiate
violence in a haven. And we should never do or bring anything illegal
into a haven, as this reflects badly upon the community as a whole.
The haven is the hub of the whole community, and we should respect it as
such, supporting it without business and working to improve its name in
the scene so that we can always call it home.
8. TERRITORY
The community is extensive and diverse. Every city has a
different way of doing things, and a different hierarchy of rule. When
entering a new city, you should familiarize yourself with the local
community. Seek out the local havens. Learn what households have sway
here. Get in touch with key members of the community, learn who is who,
and show proper respect where it is due. You should not expect to impose
your old way of doing things on this new scene. Rather you should adapt
to their rules and be glad of their acceptance.
Always be on your best behavior when coming to a new city either to
visit or to stay. We are all cautious and territorial by nature, and
only by making the most positive impression possible will you be
accepted and respected in a new community.
9. RESPONSIBILITY
This lifestyle is not for everyone. Take care in who you
choose to bring into it. Those who are mentally or emotionally unstable
have no place among us. They are dangerous and unreliable and may betray
us in the future. Make certain that those you choose to bring in are
mature enough for this burden. Teach them control and discretion, and
make certain that they respect our ways.
You will be responsible for their actions, and their behavior in the
community will be reflected back to you.
10. ELDERS
There are certain members of our community who have
established themselves as just and responsible leaders. These are the
people who helped establish local communities, who organize havens, and
who work to coordinate the networking of the scene. While their word
does not have to be law, they should nevertheless be respected. They
have greater experience than many others, and usually greater wisdom.
Seek these elders out to settle your disputes, to give you guidance and
instruction, and to help you establish yourself in the local scene.
Appreciate the elders for all they have given you: if it was not for
their dedication, the community would not exist as it does now.
11. DONORS
Without those who offer themselves body and soul to us, we
would be nothing. We cannot be other than what we are, but it is the
donors who sustain our nature. For this service, they should be
respected. Never mistreat your donors, physically or emotionally. They
are not to be manipulated or leeched off of for more than what they
freely offer. Never take them for granted. Appreciate them for the
companionship and acceptance which they offer us, which so many others
would refuse. This above all: appreciate the gift of their life. That
communion is sacred. Never fail to treat it as such.
12. LEADERSHIP
When you choose to take a position of authority in the
community, remember that you do not lead for yourself alone. Leadership
is a responsibility, not a privilege. A good leader must set an example
for everyone through his actions and behavior. His motives should be
selfless and pure, and he should put the interests of the whole
community before his own.
The best leaders are those who serve to better the community and whose
person and behavior gives no one -- even those outside of the community
-- a reason to criticize them.
13. IDEALS
Being a vampire is not just about feeding upon life. That is
what we do, but not necessarily what we are. It is our place to
represent darkness in a world blinded by light. We are about being
different and accepting that difference as something that empowers us
and makes us unique. We are about accepting the dark within ourselves
and embracing that darkness to make us whole beings. We are about
celebrating the thresholds: body and spirit, pleasure and pain, death
and life.
Our lives should be lived as a message to the world about the beauty of
accepting the whole self, of living without guilt and without shame, and
celebrating the unique and beautiful essence of every single soul.
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