Confessor

Vampire the Requiem - Covenant - Ordo Dracul

One of the oddest titles within The Ordo Dracul is that of Confessor. As the name implies, it is the role of the Confessor to provide moral and spiritual counsel to others. However, the Confessor is not responsible to the Academy as a whole, but is typically attached to a coterie or, in some cases, a particularly troubled, ranking Dragon. What’s more, even though the Confessor is technically a member of the covenant, she might not be a vampire, but rather a trusted ghoul or ordinary mortal. So long as the Dragon or Dragons are willing to entrust their darkest and most personal thoughts to the individual, her true nature is irrelevant. There are even tales of Dragons who claim to confess their troubles to the ghost of a relative or victim — comfort can come from almost anywhere. However, if it is a Dragon — and they usually are — the Confessor must be one who has forsaken the path of the Coils. Learning the Coils demands too much from a Dragon and is the primary reason for the need for Confessors in the first place. As such, a proper Confessor is either a Dragon who has never studied the Coils or one who has voluntarily quit further mastery. Abandoning the possibility of personal transcendence in order to tend to the needs of others still pursuing the Great Work is a sacrifice indeed, and, for this reason, Confessors, no matter who or what they are, are greatly respected insofar as they can be; no mortal Confessor is ever going to receiver greater respect than a true Dragon.
Kindred outside The Ordo Dracul who hear of the covenant’s Confessors are often confused. Most see it as evidence of a strong religious foundation upon which the Dragons have built their society, and some even argue that if this is true, it vindicates The Ordo Dracul of the worst accusations of deviltry. Others say it is merely another indication of the blasphemous nature of the secretive Dragons, who use the title only to parody The Lancea Sanctum. The truth is a little of both. The Dragons are concerned about their souls, and, even more importantly, are worried about their ability to continue pursuing their scholarly aims. If they too quickly fall prey to the Beast that nightly threatens to rise and undo all they have worked so hard to build, they may never know transcendence. The nature of their experiments and studies frequently calls into question their morality as well as the extent of their ethical boundaries. The more they cross those lines in order to effect some hoped-for scientific accomplishment, the more they risk demolishing what remains of their Humanity. By having a Confessor to watch for those dangers, counsel the Dragon how best to avoid them and be there to help her when things go south, the Dragon’s Requiem will be marked less by tragedy and more by achievement.
It is worth noting that Confessors have no official voice in the covenant aside from what they may already have by virtue of their other services to The Ordo Dracul and their mastery of The Coils of the Dragon, if any. Even unofficially, few Confessors enjoy any special respect beyond that given them by the Dragons they are attached to. The Requiem of a Confessor can be a thankless one, but for the right individual, it can be more fulfilling than even the Great Work.

Type

Consulting

Used By

• The Ordo Dracul