The Nemites are a vampire cult who take their name from the ancient temple of Diana at Nemi. They believe that a vampire becomes purged of sin through service to others, which takes the form of an elaborate internal economy of favors.
Overview[]
While Nemites very rarely Embrace, they are happy to prey on vulnerable neonates from other covenants to fill out their numbers. According to Nemite theology, vampires are a kind of heat sink for all the evil in the world; this is why they frenzy and why the Beast exists. Nemite recruits are encouraged to cut ties with anyone they knew in their mortal life, and instead purge the evil in their souls by helping others--specifically, helping other Nemites. To their logic, two vampires who each feed from their own vessel are committing a sin, but if each vampire procures a vessel for the other, this act of generosity cancels out the sin of feeding.
Such tit-for-tat exchanges are the norm among vampires, but among Nemites this is dressed up in the illusion of love and companionship. The feelings induced by Dominate, Majesty and the blood bond are not mere imitations of love, according to the Nemites--in fact, they're better than the real thing, precisely because they are irrational and involuntary. To a neonate, especially one traumatized, guilt-ridden and isolated by their new condition, the combination of affection and salvation the Nemites offer can be awfully seductive.
Organization[]
The Nemites in a given domain are lead by the Rex Nemorensis, the King of the Grove (though, much like Prince, there is no indication this is a gender-restricted title). The title of Rex Nemorensis is passed on regularly in a gory ritual that involves the entire cult tearing the old Rex to pieces in search of a hidden token; the one who finds it is the new Rex Nemorensis and immediately diablerizes their predecessor.
The Rex is served (or managed) by a cadre of High Priests, who oversee all rituals and monitor the behavior of all cult members to ensure compliance with doctrine. Those who are considered insufficiently generous to their fellow cultists will be singled out by the High Priest and shunned for their sinfulness until they balance their books. Since the cult swiftly becomes the only social support system a vampire has, this is a viciously effective means of social control.