Road of the Hive

Name:	Via Hyron
Translation:	Road of the Hive
Nickname:	Abelenes
Faction:	Baali (Order of Moloch)
Bearing:	Justice
Virtues:	Conviction, Instinct

Via Hyron, more commonly called Road of the Hive or Path of the Hive, is a minor Road that is followed almost exclusively by the Baali. It was first featured in Clanbook: Baali and then revised as a full Path of Enlightenment for the Final Nights in Chaining the Beast and The Black Hand: A Guide to the Tal'Mahe'Ra.

Adherents are called Abelenes.

Overview

The Road/Path preaches all-encompassing loyalty to the bloodline as a whole and to one's sire in particular. The main reason for this is that the Great Works that the Baali want to achieve cannot be claimed alone or when they interfere themselves with the works of others. The vampire had to let the voices of the Swarm inside his soul in order to understand the dreams of the beings of the Outer Darkness and keep them asleep. Apart from that, most other vampires would actively destroy a Baali if he would be foolish enough to show himself as a Baali. With the help of the road, the secrecy of the bloodline is maintained and the Beast is held at bay.

The Via Hyron was the original road that most Baali followed. But in time, many younger members of the bloodline devoted themselves to the teachings of the Via Diabolis, much to the dismay of their elders. The Via Hyron is not infernal, but seeks to turn profanity and evil against creation's enemies, by instrumentalizing them to keep the Sleepers from awakening. The Order of Moloch practiced the Path under the protection of the Tal'Mahe'Ra.

In the Final Nights, Tzimisce adepts of Kupala, who have reawakened as of 1998, have joined the Path, searching for Baali instructors to lull the demon back to sleep. Many of these are members of the "Old Clan" or have ties to the Oradea League. The members of the Old Clan revised the Path, adding knowledge about blood magic and tying it to an old myths preserved by the Tal'Mahe'Ra.

Mythos

Unlike most Paths, the Hive has a separate mythos about Cainite and the origin of vampirism, called the Abelene Heresy. When Caine struck Abel down, God cursed him and his progeny to gain no sustenance from the Earth without sacrificing joy for toil. Abel was revived as an angel of vengeance, tasked with culling the mortals from Caine's flock to reclaim the blood his brother had stolen from him. Instead of his pierced heart, God granted Abel a new heart, the one the Beast he had sacrificed to him. This sparked the rage of Lucifer, who cursed Abel to never stand in the light of the sun. Vampires were born of Abel, not of Caine, and their task is to stand between humanity and the forces of Hell.

Ethics

Original

• Combat the predations of the Beast to keep yourself ready to support your Nest
• Loyalty is all. First to your sire, then to your Nest and then to other followers of the Path.
• Keep the Sleepers dreaming by committing atrocities.

Revised

• Be the Angel of Vengeance. Exact the toll of Abel and retrieve his stolen blood from Caine's children, like a shepherd shearing his flock.
• Combat the authority of religion. Institutional worship and dogma are masks and forgeries for Lucifer's church, including the Book of Nod. Only the Abelene creed holds the truth. The Molochim are the shepherds.
• Always be within a Nest. The Nest within the swarm of the Hive is the means of salvation to counter the infernal and demonic.
• Vampires are shadows cast by the One Above. When the One Above shines into a pit of blackest gloom, shadows are the only darkness permitted to remain.
• The Sacred Mission of the Molochim is the sworn duty of all Abelenes. Keep the Sleepers in dreams at the expense of all else.
• Listen to your Beast. The one above bestowed the Beast to his angels for a reason. Heed its counsel and release its fury when enraged.

Hierarchy of Sins

Original

Via Hyron
Rating	Moral Guideline
10	Arguing with another follower of the Road or your Nest.
9	Joining forces with an outsider against a follower of the Road or your Nest.
8	Acting on impulse.
7	Actively working against a member of your Nest.
6	Betrayal of someone who could benefit the Nest.
5	Feeding from innocents with force.
4	Withholding knowledge from the Nest or betraying a member another Baali.
3	Acting for any cause that does not benefit the Nest.
2	Betraying an Elder of the Road.
1	Betraying your sire or one to whom you are bound.

Revised

Road of the Hive
Rating	Moral Guideline	Rationale
10	Failing to ride the wave in Frenzy.	The heart of Abel's prized Beast was given to him by the One Above. Its voice is sacred and unleashing its divinity protects his angels from assault.
9	Failing to staunch the influence of institutionalized religion.	Throughout history, the deceiver, Lucifer, has twisted faith and clothed the spread of ignorance, bigotry, delusion, greed, and mayhem in the hypocrisy of religion. It is the duty of the Molochim to shepherd Caine's flock.
8	Feeding on the Children of Seth.	Reclaim Abel's blood in vengeance from the builders, Caine's children. Those living in harmony with Creation in the wild are not subject to retribution from the One Above.
7	Not actively pursuing safe knowledge of sorcery and the demonic.	Know thy enemy. Ignorance is darkness, and darkness is where the infernal hides. Blood sorcery is the sacrament in the arsenal against atrocity.
6	Refusing an opportunity to convert those seeking redemption.	The larger the hive, the greater the swarm. Those who have faced the infernal are hornets without a Nest= waiting to be saved. Bind them through the blood and release them when they find shelter.
5	Refusing to sing a lullaby to the sleepers.	The sleepers' dreams are fueled by havoc and devastation visited upon Creation. Without fuel, the sleepers turn their attentions away from dreaming and seek to awaken.
4	Not being selective in a lullaby.	Undirected destruction that does not serve as fertilizer for new Creation to emerge is no better than an awoken sleeper. Shepherd Creation by strategic application of violence and suffering.
3	Failing to enslave or extinguish the demonic.	The One Above damned Lucifer and his children; their existence is forfeit.
2	Failing to cleanse the infernal.	Each utterance of a sleeper's name and soul lost to the demonic stirs the sleepers from dream.
1	Failing to Nest.	Independence is the gateway to the infernal; Lucifer preys first upon individuals alone. Unity is the of the hive, isolation weakens the swarm. If leaving a Nest, find another.

References

• VTDA: Clanbook: Baali
• VTM: Chaining the Beast, p. 102-103
• V20: The Black Hand: A Guide to the Tal'Mahe'Ra, p. 53-55