Path of Penitence

Name:	Via Penaculum
Translation:	Path of Penitence
Parent Road:	Via Caeli
Virtues:	Conscience, Self-Control

Via Penaculum, commonly referred to as the Path of Penitence, is a Path of Via Caeli found in Dark Ages: Vampire. Its adherents are often dubbed 'Penitents'.

Overview

Members the Path of Penitence believe they are damned by God and must atone for their sins. Their curse is a condition that both tests their faith and gives them an opportunity to show God their damned souls are not beyond hope.

Some Faithful grow so revolted by their accursed condition that they feel it must be God's punishment for a life of sin and impiety. These Noddists feel that only by spending their unlives in search of atonement may they once again know God's grace and eventual release from the torment of the Curse. These Penitents adhere to the same basic tenets of the parent road, but in addition to holding certain theosophical positions they further espouse a rigorous regimen of disciplines prayer and penance as fundamental to their belief systems.

Larger perhaps than the ideological difference between Penitents and other Faithful is the manner in which they practice those differences. Followers of this path are given to self-abuse in the name of atonement. Many practice blood-denial, sometimes going without nourishment for nights on end or engaging in extended fasts where they maintain a constant minimum of blood in their bodies. Penitents also follow other modes of piety, the most common of which are flagellation (self-inflicted beatings) and the taking of solemn vows before a Penitent ashen priest. Vows of poverty and silence predominate, but a number of Penitents, having acquired considerable power and wealth over the course of their protracted existences, prefer to see the glass as half-full and instead take vows of charity. These individuals are a prime example of how even ambitious and powerful Penitents wan remain true to both nature and path simultaneously.

Ethics

• Cainites are damned, filthy creatures by their very natures.
• Personal suffering leads to enlightenment, and ultimately to redemption.
• Removing the stain of sins past requires the performance of good deeds present.

Hierarchy of Sins
Rating	Moral Guideline	Rationale
10	Violating any of the ten Commandments	God's laws are the path to redemption.
9	Failing to speak out against corruption and sin	Spreading the Word is part of your penance.
8	Feeding to maximum capacity	Hunger is a reminder of one's sinful nature.
7	Failing to self-flagellate or otherwise suffer nightly	Returning to God's grace requires sacrifice.
6	Failing to administer charity to the needy	Good works help pave the way for atonement.
5	Feeding from an innocent without permission	Cainites must respect all children of God.
4	Blasphemous or Heretical acts	Denial of God leads only to damnation.
3	Allowing a crime or major sin to go unpunished	Sinners must be punished for their crimes.
2	The murder of innocents	Do not repeat the sin of Caine.
1	Aiding a demon or other supernatural agent of evil	Serve evil and you serve the Beast.

References

Dark Ages: Road of Heaven p.55, 65