Little Red Book: The Code of Milan

From a sermon given by Azrael, Salubri antitribu Paladin:
Cultures have two ways to control their miscreant members: guilt and shame. Guilt is based on adherence to a moral code - ideas of salvation and sin, good and evil. Shame is fostered by a breach of ethics - deviation from accepted doctrine, creed or code of behavior. As predators, we have no room for morality - it is a mortal invention. Guilt falls to the Beast like a paper screen to a raging tiger.
Ethics are also an invention, but they are far more efficient in their function. One has only to look at the kine world to see the impossiblity of enforcing morality. The spiral of hypocrisy and rationalization, the chaos and madness that reign when morals fail. Ethics fail, too, much of the time, but they sometimes succeed and are clearer and less subject to justification and prevarication than is morality.
When one looks at the supreme ethical codes among mortals - the samurai of japan, the knights of Europe, the tablets of Hammurabi and the iron codes of draco - one sees a discipline, a purity, that is not subject to argument or erosion. Most fail to live up to these codes, but the failure is of the individual, not the code itself.
You have chosen such a cage, but for you it shall be an armor of sturdiest steel. You have gazed into the abyss. You know what lies there. We have dipped our pens into that abyss and written a code as encompassing as the night sky and as strong as black iron.
Is our path a lie? No. Will it last until the stars wink out and the moon spins into the void? perhaps not. Will we hold this code as our truth, as a spine and axis and axon of our existence, for howsoever long as our undeath sustains us? Yes.

The Code Of Milan

Like most things associated with Honorable Accord, the Code of Milan is simple. It's a three-part folio; when translated into English, it rarely exceeds 72 pages. The three chapters are the Tower of Duty, the Tower of Honor and the Tower of Courage. Symbolic links to the Tower card of the Tarot are obvious and intentional. The Tarot tower represents the great fall that one must undergo before rebuilding one's spirituality in a higher form. The links between this and a Path of Enlightenment are obvious.

The Tower Of Duty

The most straightforward chapter. It is a simple listing of various examples, creeds and rules of conduct governing such things as hunting kine, dealing with other Cainites and controlling frenzy. It is the most practical chapter, an "etiquette guide" rather than a spiritual tract. Still Sabbat templars and paladins learn its maxims by heart, quoting them as reflexive mantras in times of physical or spiritual crisis.

The Tower Of Honor

The central, spiritual part of the text. Written as a dialogue between student and teacher, this section imparts lessons through parable rather than through straightforward lecture. Six different stories - the Tale of Blood, the Tale of the Lone Wanderer, the Tale of the Midnight Court, the Tale of the Kine, the Tale of the Wolf and the Tale of Dawn - compose the chapter. Each story imparts a lesson by both logical and intuitive example.

The Tower Of Courage

The story of a knight who wanders through a dim valley, comes to a showy tower, and enters and confronts a monster within. Depending on the translation, the monster can be a dragon, a beast, a great wolf or some other horror. The story is convoluted - deliberately so - and allegorical.
There are hidden and coded messages within the text and certain letters, phrases and sentences can be recombined into other meanings altogether. Some of the suggestions uncovered in so doing are downright dreadful, and reading and comprehension of the story is designed to be a harrowing experience.
Knights are expected to keep a copy of the code with them at all times. Recently Embraced vampires with political inclinations occasionally jest about path followers' "little red books," but the knights take this precept exceedingly seriously.

Ethics Of Accord

The following are the learned ideals that are learned through the Towers:

One always keeps his word and honors his agreements.

One's word is one's personal Code of Milan. The first inroads of the Beast are through lies, both to one's self and to others. The next are through excusing either one's own or other Cainites' lapses. If one neither lies nor lapses, the Beast cannot gain a foothold.

Never show cowardice; overcome fears.

Ultimately, best intentions are useless if they cannot be acted upon. In some ways, fear is a knight's worst foe, for it is both a rationalization not to accomplish something and a blinding emotion. Fear is the currency of the Beast. It must be rejected at all costs.

Duty comes before personal matters.

Duty is inflexible, immutable; personal matters are subject to whim, to rationalization and thus to the Beast.

Treat fairly and equitably with those of station.

Conversely, the dishonorable are beneath contempt. As one does not lie to himself or fellow knights, so he does not lie to himself or fellow knights, so he does not lie to or exploit other noble Cainites. those who have taken pains to quell their own Beasts and to set examples for the Damned are to be respected and honored, even if they don't (yet) follow the code. Conversely, those who are clearly doomed, who wallow in their own shame and weakness, are to be avoided, placed out of sight, mind and soul. such creatures can corrupt all around them like a pestilence.

Always repay debts.

This tenet is central to the code. So long as debt or gratitude weighs on one's soul, there is an opening for the Beast to exploit. The ideal knight's mind and heart are on the code and only the code, not on matters owed to another Cainite. Debts must always be repaid promptly and in full.

Support comrades-in-arms in all things, except when they counsel treachery.

Only by being an example to all can one save others from their own weakness. Be a paragon to packmates, acting as a righteous exemplar and, if necessary, a punishing scourge.

"Tenets" of the Code

In V5, this is what breaks the code:

Never break your word or Oath.

Never show Cowardice.

Duty above personal, always. (Duty includes obey leaders & protect allies)

Statues

Hardcoded laws of the Code
I. The Sabbat shall remain united in its support of the sect's Regent. If necessary, a new Regent shall be elected. The Regent shall support relief from tyranny, granting all Sabbat freedom.
II. All Sabbat shall do their best to serve their leaders as long as said leaders serve the will of the Regent.
III. All Sabbat shall faithfully observe all the Auctoritas Ritae.
IV. All Sabbat shall keep their word of honor to one another.
V. All Sabbat shall treat their peers fairly and equally, upholding the strength and unity of the Sabbat. If necessary, they shall provide for the needs of their brethren.
VI. All Sabbat must put the good of the sect before their own personal needs, despite all costs.
VII. Those who are not honorable under this code will be considered less than equal and therefore unworthy of assistance.
VIII. As it has always been, so it shall always be. The Lex Talionis (Eye for an Eye) shall be the model for immortal justice by which all Sabbat shall abide.
IX. All Sabbat shall protect one another from the enemies of the Sect. Personal enemies shall remain personal responsibility, unless they undermine Sect security.
X. All sect members shall protect Sabbat territory from all other powers.
XI. The spirit of freedom shall be the fundamental principle of the Sect. All Sabbat shall expect and demand freedom from their leaders.
XII. The ritus of Monomacy (Trial by Combat) shall be used to settle disputes among all Sabbat.
XIII. All Sabbat shall support the Black Hand. (The commandos of the Sabbat)
Addenda Statutes added to the revised Code of Milan:
XIV. All Sabbat have the right to monitor the behavior and activities of their fellow Sect members in order to maintain freedom and security.
XV. All Sabbat possess the right to call a council of their peers and their immediate leaders.
XVI. All Sabbat shall act against Sect members who use the powers and authority the Sabbat has given them for personal gain at the expense of the Sabbat. Action shall be taken only through accepted means, approved by a quorum of Prisci.

Statues (As per Code of Chicago) 

Rewritten laws from above, to adapt to the joining into the Camarilla. 

• Magister: The highest authority of the Society in the world, they shadow the upper parts of the camarilla (archons, and above)
• Knight Errand: Handpicked protectors of the Magister. Can travel around cities and enact the will of a Magister. Watch over Keepers.
• Keeper: The highest authority of the Society in a given city, they shadow the praxis of each city (Prince and primogen council.)
• Knights: Handpicked protectors of the Keepers. Enact the will of a Keeper in the city. Watch over Acolyte coteries.
• Acolyte: Any member of the Society, bound by all rules equally.

I. The Society shall remain united in its support of the Magister. If necessary, a new Magister shall be elected by a quorum of Keepers. The Magister shall protect all Acolytes and ensure their safety among the Camarilla.
II. All Acolytes shall keep the existence of the Society and its members a secret; under penalty of final death.
III. All Acolytes shall do their best to serve their leaders as long as said leaders serve the will of the Magister.
IV. All Acolytes shall faithfully observe all the Auctoritas Ritae. (Revised & approved Ritae only)
V. All Acolytes shall keep their word of honor to one another.
VI. All Acolytes shall treat their peers fairly and equally, upholding the strength and unity of the Society. If necessary, they shall provide for the needs of their brethren.
VII. All Acolytes must put the good of the Society before their own personal needs, despite all costs.
VIII. Those who are not honorable under this code will be considered less than equal and therefore unworthy of assistance.
IX. All Acolytes shall abide themselves by the Traditions of the Camarilla, so far as they do not contradict the Code.
X. All Acolytes shall protect one another from enemies to the Society, from inside or outside the Camarilla. Personal enemies shall remain personal responsibility unless they undermine the security of the Society.
XI. The spirit of mutual protection and secrecy within the Camarilla shall be the fundamental principle of the Society. All Acolytes shall expect and demand these from their leaders.
XII. The ritus of Monomacy (Trial by Combat) shall be used to settle disputes among all Acolytes. (To keep with the traditions, final death will be avoided on the trial, but an acolyte not abiding by the results of a trial will face final death).
XIII. All Acolytes shall support any Knight Errand that enters a city lawfully.
XIV. All Acolytes have the right to monitor the behavior and activities of their fellow acolytes in other to maintain protection and secrecy.
XV. All Acolytes have the right to call a council of their peers and immediate leaders.
XVI. All Acolytes shall act against any Acolytes who use the powers and authority the Society has given them for personal gain at the expense of the Society. Action shall be taken only through accepted means, approved by a quorum of Knights.