The Feast of Longinus
Loginus Epularum
Where some Kindred look upon the Quadragesima with distaste for its dangerous antiquity, few frown upon the elective ritus that follows. After the Denial comes a single night of indulgence — the Feast of Longinus, called Longinus Epularum by the elders, and referred to simply as Feast Night in the vernacular.
Following the Quadragesima period of starvation and exile, the Testament shows that Longinus came to exalt the predatory Curse, and this night is the metaphorical expression of that transcendent moment. The Feast takes place on February 10. No Midnight Mass takes place on this night, even if the night falls on the requisite day. It begins after Vespers and continues until the first fingers of dawn streak the sky. The covenant holds no formal gatherings on this night, though some more informal celebrations pop up here and there. Unlike the Gran Ballo, nobody brings vessels to the Sanctified. No, the Kindred of the covenant are meant to embody the beastly predator within and hunt their own food. They’re not just expected to hunt, however — they’re expected to hunt well and hunt often. In that single span of night, each covenant member is told to pay tribute to the Dark Prophet by taking as much Vitae as she can. If that means gorging, then expending the Vitae on Disciplines or Healing Wounds, and then going out and finding more, then such is the Requiem of the deathless predator. Such acts are at the core of the Damned as defined by God.
Kindred walk a fine line this night. When the Damned go on an all-night hunt, the Masquerade is in extreme danger. If ever one night exists when the Masquerade suffers some regrettable fractures, it’s the Feast Night of the Sanctified. Still, the Kindred are required to maintain some semblance of hiding from mortal eyes — when a pride of lions or pack of wolves hunts, it does so efficiently and under the cover of night and tall grass.
Following the Quadragesima period of starvation and exile, the Testament shows that Longinus came to exalt the predatory Curse, and this night is the metaphorical expression of that transcendent moment. The Feast takes place on February 10. No Midnight Mass takes place on this night, even if the night falls on the requisite day. It begins after Vespers and continues until the first fingers of dawn streak the sky. The covenant holds no formal gatherings on this night, though some more informal celebrations pop up here and there. Unlike the Gran Ballo, nobody brings vessels to the Sanctified. No, the Kindred of the covenant are meant to embody the beastly predator within and hunt their own food. They’re not just expected to hunt, however — they’re expected to hunt well and hunt often. In that single span of night, each covenant member is told to pay tribute to the Dark Prophet by taking as much Vitae as she can. If that means gorging, then expending the Vitae on Disciplines or Healing Wounds, and then going out and finding more, then such is the Requiem of the deathless predator. Such acts are at the core of the Damned as defined by God.
Kindred walk a fine line this night. When the Damned go on an all-night hunt, the Masquerade is in extreme danger. If ever one night exists when the Masquerade suffers some regrettable fractures, it’s the Feast Night of the Sanctified. Still, the Kindred are required to maintain some semblance of hiding from mortal eyes — when a pride of lions or pack of wolves hunts, it does so efficiently and under the cover of night and tall grass.
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