Orphans of Enoch

The Orphans of Enoch will do everything they can to see this world burn away so another can stand in its place. Gehenna is here. They have seen and heard of the gardens that came and went. They ardently believe that only the worthy deserve to enter the world to come.

And who is more worthy than those who have seen the signs? They have wandered lands beyond the veil of death, weathered storms of howling glass, and survived persecution from those they once considered fellows. The Orphans of Enoch wish nothing more than to see the end of the world because they are confident that a better one lies just beyond it—a garden they will see grow once more, a city they will see rebuilt anew. The last step is to ensure that the world adheres to its right and proper path.

Overview

Those aware of the Orphans of Enoch’s existence aren’t quite sure where in the world they came from or how they originated. Most agree they formed when the Red Star shone in the night sky to those who could see it, during the events that more superstitious Kindred call the Week of Nightmares. They appeared in visions of Gehenna all over the world, each on a personal pilgrimage, engaging no one and disturbing nothing.

In the chaos that reigned after the turn of the millennium, the Orphans were able to slip silently and easily in and out of domains, pulled toward a destination, guided by the gravity of the crimson star called Wormwood.

If some Kindred were aware of and tracking such things, they would note that when the Red Star faded from the sky, every Orphan ceased their travels and made their haven wherever they found themselves. If you asked an Orphan about the event, they would tell you that this is where they would find a sign of the Final Nights—one that must be protected. That this is where the city would begin.

For obvious reasons, some Orphans cling to this belief more strongly than others (especially when multiple Orphans come into conflict over their beliefs), but it’s rarely a cause they abandon entirely.

Once entrenched in their domain, these Kindred, known as the Orphans Lost, or simply Lost, began to take root. Under the cover of the chaos of the time, they wended their way into the fabric of the areas in which they found themselves. Slowly, methodically, they used their considerable powers of the Blood to solve problems for the local Kindred—if there were any—racking up a web of boons.

Should it be a more remote area with no Cainite population, then each began to select the finest mortals available to serve as ghouls to act on their behalf. Entrenching themselves, hiding behind a web of favors and proxies, they burrowed deeper. The Lost always hide, always plan. They have no need for fame or status. Knowledge is what they crave. They know the end is upon all, so what need have they for more?

Even the Orphans Found—the Kindred disciples of the Lost who come to them out of a desperate need for belonging, insight, or through a hatred of the world around them—have a hard time gaining an audience and usually communicate through frighteningly loyal ghoul intermediaries after their initiation.

What the Found know is that each Lost claims to be old, and each one carries the dry, musty scent of a tomb. They are frightening and awesome in the old sense of the word: as daunting as they are amazing.

The Lost discourage the Found from asking about where they originated. If asked, they usually respond with, “We come from the First City to build the First City.” Those bold enough to press have returned to their fellows with horrific tales of experiencing panicked outbursts, blinding rage, or total emotional shutdown.

Some Found have claimed the Lost have screamed of fire and light and a horrible, howling wind. Found familiar with such things liken it to C-PTSD and lasting trauma. This information comes from Found who have been fortunate enough to return from asking such questions at all.

Culture

The Orphans are a secretive order obsessed with the signs and portents of Gehenna. They are voracious readers of every scrap of lore they can get their hands on, gluttons for any story or prophecy that speaks about the End of Days, and lovers of doomsayers.

Most Orphans, and certainly the Lost, possess copies or parts of the Book of Nod, the Revelations of the Dark Mother, the Erciyes Fragments, and other heretical and forbidden texts. They preserve anything that details how things might end so that they can protect and defend that knowledge.

The Orphans' Convictions

• Never turn away from a chance at prophecy. Find those who know it is the end and that Gehenna is real and alive. Those that feel that tension in their heart are worthy to stand safe in the First City. Find them, for they are a brick in the road to Enoch.
• Never abandon your territory. A Lost must not abandon their place of landing. They must interpret the signs. Bind the Orphans Found to act as your agents. Bind them in ritual and Blood. Protect them, for they are your eyes, ears, and hands.
• Never consider yourself lesser than other Kindred. All the Orphans, Lost and Found, have been chosen. Through fire, destruction, and tribulation, we were born and cast to the winds. Surviving and holding nothing back made us worthy. Should we prove unworthy, then our bones shall become the mortar of the Enoch to come, the Enoch that is, and the Enoch that has been.
• Always fulfill the prophecies of Gehenna. This world will fall. We come from the First City to build the First City. We hold in our dead hearts the knowledge of what is to come. Remove any impediments to Gehenna’s completion. Gehenna will happen. Gehenna is happening. It is inevitable. Do not seek to hasten it; simply ensure it.

Orphans believe that everything happens in cycles, that nothing ever truly dies, and that everything passes from one state to the next: plants, animals, souls, cities, ages. To hear a Lost speak of it in the rare meeting with a Found cell, it sounds like they know it. It sounds like they’ve seen it.

Most Found are deep believers that Gehenna is happening now. Gehenna is a process, a cycle. It does not happen in an instant. For the Orphans, they are living in a holy time.

Orphans see themselves as protectors of the end, whose task is to subtly and slowly stretch out their influence to make sure that the end comes to pass. As the caretakers of Gehenna, they will be blessed to stand tall when the next cycle begins. The Lost purport the First City has been and will come again. It’s up to them and to the Found to ensure its arrival.

Organization

The Orphans of Enoch live in cities all over the world. The Lost, whose numbers are few, are widely dispersed. Not all of them survived when the force that drove them called them to stop. Some were in transit between domains. Some could not handle what befell them before and died by suicide. Others are still out there in torpor, waiting for someone to dig them up.

There is even rumor of one that lies in the hold of a shipping barge, having ended up there when the Red Star faded.

The Lost are careful with whom they approach. They are likely to call upon the more mythically inclined members of Anarch and Camarilla communities to become Orphans Found. Many cells count young Tremere and Malkavians as members, though almost anyone with an interest in or understanding of prophecy and portent is welcome—save, strangely, any clan in possession of necromantic arts.

The Lost avoid Lasombra and Hecata. “We no longer grow our flowers in grave dirt,” they say. Some rare Found who have slowly managed to build closer relationships with the Lost swear that the Lost are nervous or saddened around those touched by Oblivion but couldn’t tell you what precisely left them with that impression or why that might be the case.

The Lost constantly seek signs of or contributors to Gehenna, which is why they turn to the Found, who act as the Lost’s agents around the world. Found are sworn to secrecy, Blood Bound, and trusted with the secret of the existence of the Lost. They command the Found to become part of the fabric of the city to ensure that they are properly positioned to anticipate how Gehenna will manifest there and that they have every advantage available to succeed in manifesting the end.

Lost watch potential Found for a very long time, like how a careful sire selects a childe. A cell of Orphans never numbers more than four, and four is a rare occurrence.

Lost do their research. They are used to interpreting prophecy and bear the weight of caretaking Gehenna itself. Finding one who shares their predilections for portents and power is child’s play. The Lost then reach out to those who share their zeal through any means that suit them best: a letter by the bedside, a clandestine and “chance” meeting in an old, familiar location, or simply appearing outside of the recruit’s haven.

Recruitment is deeply personal. A Lost, while distant, cares for the Found in their charge. The Lost do everything they can to aid the Found in their purpose, providing the Found has earned and deserves the assistance.

They never spoil Found, but knowledge earned—be it a copy of an obscure text or guidance in a Discipline—is never withheld.

References

VTM: Forbidden Religions, p. 57-61