The Butterflies
Structure
Butterflies form families consisting of vampires, ghouls, and mortal friends, lovers, blood dolls, and Touchstones. Different families have different internal hierarchies, but all are loosely tied together by Joseph and his band of senior ghouls.
The Butterflies live in homes with their chosen families. These shared havens are often of considerable size. A few family members are fledglings, but their ranks include a surprising number of elders, mostly those who become jaded with the politics of vampire society, though some join in the hope of finding a means of avoiding the Beckoning or dodging Final Death.
Butterflies treat all members of their household with respect. Within the family unit, these vampires adopt the titles of “mother,” “grandfather,” “uncle,” and so on, to imply position within the cult. When a visitor encounters the vampires in their family home, the visible affectation of mortal behavior is swiftly discernible, as mother’s always baking something, daughter’s arranging a date, and dad’s fixing the car in the garage. They greet everyone with sweet smiles and the pretense of familial unity. Liaison between different households is light and carried out by Joseph and his band of senior ghouls. They enjoy massive respect throughout the Butterfly community and are welcome in any household they visit. A visit from Joseph himself is a great honor. Butterflies go to great lengths to ensure he has all he needs and to provide suitable entertainment. The other senior ghouls are hand-picked by Joseph and thus enjoy almost as much respect as he does. They liaise closely and any who disobey Joseph disappear, leaving only their domitor and family members to mourn them.
Butterflies treat all members of their household with respect. Within the family unit, these vampires adopt the titles of “mother,” “grandfather,” “uncle,” and so on, to imply position within the cult. When a visitor encounters the vampires in their family home, the visible affectation of mortal behavior is swiftly discernible, as mother’s always baking something, daughter’s arranging a date, and dad’s fixing the car in the garage. They greet everyone with sweet smiles and the pretense of familial unity. Liaison between different households is light and carried out by Joseph and his band of senior ghouls. They enjoy massive respect throughout the Butterfly community and are welcome in any household they visit. A visit from Joseph himself is a great honor. Butterflies go to great lengths to ensure he has all he needs and to provide suitable entertainment. The other senior ghouls are hand-picked by Joseph and thus enjoy almost as much respect as he does. They liaise closely and any who disobey Joseph disappear, leaving only their domitor and family members to mourn them.
Culture
In memory of blessed Blanca and her Rapture, Butterflies today strive to act exactly as they did when mortal. More so, perhaps, as they spend a lot of time studying modern human behavior. While many on the path to Golconda strive for moral superiority, the Butterflies strive to be perfectly ordinary. Unnervingly so. They study human society through art as well as life. While the
nightlife of others of their kind revolves around high art in galleries and theatres or exclusive nightclubs catering to the fringes of society, the Butterflies take roles behind the scenes on reality shows, beauty contests, and community plays. These, they believe, show humans as they are: ordinary people, not edgy clubbers or refined artistes. They model their unlives and relationships on these examples.
The Butterflies hold their ghouls in high regard, not just as useful servants, but as an important key to understanding the nature of humanity. These beings are a halfway state between the Kindred and true mortality. Joseph is still among them and enjoys deep respect as the one closest to Blanca. He continues to be greatly influential and receives sustenance from the most senior Butterflies, not necessarily the oldest among them or the lowest in generation, but those closest to the Rapture.
The Butterflies hold their ghouls in high regard, not just as useful servants, but as an important key to understanding the nature of humanity. These beings are a halfway state between the Kindred and true mortality. Joseph is still among them and enjoys deep respect as the one closest to Blanca. He continues to be greatly influential and receives sustenance from the most senior Butterflies, not necessarily the oldest among them or the lowest in generation, but those closest to the Rapture.
History
A 19th century Diva named Blanca believed that by observing and following the ways of humankind, she could rid herself of the curse of vampirism. Although she was aware that others believed the way to Golconda was through good works and saintly behavior, Blanca disagreed. She noted that few mortals are saintly; even those devoted to good works expect something, even if it was only admiration, in return.
In emulation of the women Blanca followed, she faithfully adopted their fashions, sitting up at night with her friends and followers poring over model books and discussing how best to replicate the dresses, skirts, and accessories they found within. She read all the popular newspapers and went out, clad in her latest creations, to attend shows in music halls. She delighted in trashy novels, crying Blood tears over tales of women abandoned. She adopted large-eyed puppies and kittens and mourned their demise when she proved incapable of looking after them properly. She wanted to appear more human than human.
Blanca set out upon this course on July 13th, 1854. Together, Blanca and her ghoul Joseph assembled a family of followers: some Kindred, some mortals, and a handful of ghouls. They all loved and supported Blanca who was, by all accounts, an exceptionally charismatic individual. Precisely 60 years from when she started her quest, she found the Rapture — a state of being the Butterflies call “transcending undeath.”
Joseph reported Blanca’s Rapture to her friends and followers. He gave a detailed account of her walk into the sunrise. They wept when Joseph explained why, regretfully, Blanca could no longer visit them. To do so, he said, would risk her losing touch with her new-found mortality. Joseph conveyed Blanca’s regrets; she was, of course, as devastated as they were about this separation, though she was also excited by her new life. Horace, one of Blanca’s closest friends in the coterie immediately volunteered to become Joseph’s domitor as Blanca, being mortal, could no longer provide him with sustenance. Joseph claimedto be in close touch with Blanca, reporting back to her coterie on her progress.
Naturally, nobody knows if anything Joseph claimed was true, but the important thing was that they believed.
The Great War disrupted the work of Blanca’s coterie, though it provided them with opportunities to observe blessed mortals and the ways in which those beautiful beings dealt with tragedy. They passed many a sad evening reading the works of the war poets aloud to one another and relating tales of the loss of beloved sons, lovers, fathers, and husbands in the horrible trenches on the battlefields. The coterie and friends later experienced a tragedy of their own when, in 1923, Joseph reported Blanca herself had passed away, following a short battle with cancer. She hadn’t been seen in some time anyhow, so nobody investigated the news thoroughly, though an obituary in her name was reported in the Times newspaper.
In emulation of the women Blanca followed, she faithfully adopted their fashions, sitting up at night with her friends and followers poring over model books and discussing how best to replicate the dresses, skirts, and accessories they found within. She read all the popular newspapers and went out, clad in her latest creations, to attend shows in music halls. She delighted in trashy novels, crying Blood tears over tales of women abandoned. She adopted large-eyed puppies and kittens and mourned their demise when she proved incapable of looking after them properly. She wanted to appear more human than human.
Blanca set out upon this course on July 13th, 1854. Together, Blanca and her ghoul Joseph assembled a family of followers: some Kindred, some mortals, and a handful of ghouls. They all loved and supported Blanca who was, by all accounts, an exceptionally charismatic individual. Precisely 60 years from when she started her quest, she found the Rapture — a state of being the Butterflies call “transcending undeath.”
Joseph reported Blanca’s Rapture to her friends and followers. He gave a detailed account of her walk into the sunrise. They wept when Joseph explained why, regretfully, Blanca could no longer visit them. To do so, he said, would risk her losing touch with her new-found mortality. Joseph conveyed Blanca’s regrets; she was, of course, as devastated as they were about this separation, though she was also excited by her new life. Horace, one of Blanca’s closest friends in the coterie immediately volunteered to become Joseph’s domitor as Blanca, being mortal, could no longer provide him with sustenance. Joseph claimedto be in close touch with Blanca, reporting back to her coterie on her progress.
Naturally, nobody knows if anything Joseph claimed was true, but the important thing was that they believed.
The Great War disrupted the work of Blanca’s coterie, though it provided them with opportunities to observe blessed mortals and the ways in which those beautiful beings dealt with tragedy. They passed many a sad evening reading the works of the war poets aloud to one another and relating tales of the loss of beloved sons, lovers, fathers, and husbands in the horrible trenches on the battlefields. The coterie and friends later experienced a tragedy of their own when, in 1923, Joseph reported Blanca herself had passed away, following a short battle with cancer. She hadn’t been seen in some time anyhow, so nobody investigated the news thoroughly, though an obituary in her name was reported in the Times newspaper.
Tenets of Faith
Always strive to change your rigid, crystalline nature
We evolve from caterpillar to chrysalis, and only when our rigid natures break down internally can we return to life and achieve the Rapture.
Never feed without consent
If the household cannot provide, the family brings us willing mortals.
Never allow the Beast to take over
We feed enough to prevent our Beast from taking us over; no more.
Always submit to whatever forfeit the household sees fit to impose
When we fail in our tasks, whether great or small, our household imposes forfeits and punishments upon us commensurate with our failures or our fault. We submit to these with gratitude as we know our household loves us and wishes only to lead us to the Rapture.
Worship
Initiation: If a chrysalis or, for that matter, a mortal, wishes to join a household, they need an introduction from Joseph or a member of his circle. After this, if the household to which the senior ghoul introduces them is willing, the candidate lives in the haven as a guest for a probationary period. This is usually a span of three months, though it can be shorter if the candidate shows themself to be
totally unsuitable. The established household then holds meeting to decide whether to welcome the candidate as a member of the family. If they opt to invite the probationary member to the family, the household throws a big party to celebrate. If the
candidate is mortal, this is when they learn the true nature of their new family.
It is rare for a Butterfly to create a ghoul without Joseph’s request. No being should be forced to leavethe cycle against their will, so ghoul creation goes against their core beliefs. Sometimes, though, one of the mortals in the family pleads for the granting of this form of sacrifice and service. If they are sincere in their desire, it may happen. Joseph is more likely to grant this dispensation in cases when the caterpillar craving this favor is mortally ill.
Similarly, Butterflies do not often Embrace and, when they do, they chose their childe from their own household in consultation with Joseph himself, as one worthy to undergo the next stage in transformation. Sacraments: Joseph or, in his absence, one of the senior ghouls he recruited to assist him, decides when a chrysalis is ready to metamorphosize and when a vampire is ready for the Rapture. The entire household celebrate all night long, saying their joyful and tearful farewells to the chosen chrysalis. The ghoul then watches the chosen one as he or she walks into the sunrise.
Mostly, the watcher returns to the household the following evening and, weeping tears of joy, reports that the Butterfly has flown. This retainer remains the sole channel of communication between the household and the member taken by the Rapture until the new imago slips off their mortal coil. But occasionally, tragically, the beloved was not ready for the Rapture. In this case, the retainer brings their ashes back to the household for the weeping survivors to mourn or allows them to drift away on the wind. Beliefs: Butterflies believe the vampiric state is intermediary between the mortal state and the Rapture. Mortals (never “kine”) are known as caterpillars. Ugly and crude in some ways, but divinely fitted to their function and containing great potential. The vampiric state is known as the chrysalis, something apparently dead but undergoing great changes beneath the surface. Only with the Rapture does the true form, the imago, break free. Although the chrysalis is closer in time to the Rapture, Butterflies of aphilosophical bent consider it to be a state lacking in that wonderful vitality that the caterpillars and imago have in common. Ghouls are outside this process and sacrifice their own metamorphosis to assist the Butterflies in their emergence from the chrysalis state. Having made this sacrifice, they are worthy of the greatest respect.
It is rare for a Butterfly to create a ghoul without Joseph’s request. No being should be forced to leavethe cycle against their will, so ghoul creation goes against their core beliefs. Sometimes, though, one of the mortals in the family pleads for the granting of this form of sacrifice and service. If they are sincere in their desire, it may happen. Joseph is more likely to grant this dispensation in cases when the caterpillar craving this favor is mortally ill.
Similarly, Butterflies do not often Embrace and, when they do, they chose their childe from their own household in consultation with Joseph himself, as one worthy to undergo the next stage in transformation. Sacraments: Joseph or, in his absence, one of the senior ghouls he recruited to assist him, decides when a chrysalis is ready to metamorphosize and when a vampire is ready for the Rapture. The entire household celebrate all night long, saying their joyful and tearful farewells to the chosen chrysalis. The ghoul then watches the chosen one as he or she walks into the sunrise.
Mostly, the watcher returns to the household the following evening and, weeping tears of joy, reports that the Butterfly has flown. This retainer remains the sole channel of communication between the household and the member taken by the Rapture until the new imago slips off their mortal coil. But occasionally, tragically, the beloved was not ready for the Rapture. In this case, the retainer brings their ashes back to the household for the weeping survivors to mourn or allows them to drift away on the wind. Beliefs: Butterflies believe the vampiric state is intermediary between the mortal state and the Rapture. Mortals (never “kine”) are known as caterpillars. Ugly and crude in some ways, but divinely fitted to their function and containing great potential. The vampiric state is known as the chrysalis, something apparently dead but undergoing great changes beneath the surface. Only with the Rapture does the true form, the imago, break free. Although the chrysalis is closer in time to the Rapture, Butterflies of aphilosophical bent consider it to be a state lacking in that wonderful vitality that the caterpillars and imago have in common. Ghouls are outside this process and sacrifice their own metamorphosis to assist the Butterflies in their emergence from the chrysalis state. Having made this sacrifice, they are worthy of the greatest respect.
Type
Religious, Cult
Notable Members
Comments