1¾«**,,,,,-The Origins of the Kindred Vampires supposedly were derived from Cain, whom some call The Third Mortal. Outcast from mortal society for the killing of his brother Abel, Cain was cursed with eternal life and a craving for blood. Vampires, his children, are the heirs to that curse, condemned to repeat his crime endlessly. Cain wandered in the wilderness until his name was all but forgotten. He returned among mortals and was able to establish himself as the ruler of a city, named Enoch, Uniech, Enkil or what you will. Many Kindred call it the First City. Here, Cain created three progeny - those whom are called the Second Generation. They in turn begat the Third Generation, who are numbered at nine, twenty-seven, one hundred or not at all, according to the source one reads. Cain forbade the creation of any further Kindred, perhaps having gained some understanding of what he had unleased upon the world. All was tranquil in Cain's domain until a great flood destroyed the city. Cain saw this as divine punishmentfor returning to the world of mortals, and resumed his wanderings, leaving his Progeny to their own devices. Though he forbade them to create any more, they ignored his imperative as each of his Progeny desired a Brood of their own. No more is heard of their ancestor, Cain. Some believe that he still lives, while others think he has since evolved or passed on on. It is said that Cain is rent with sorrow for having unleashed such misery and suffering upon the world. Once free of Cain's restrictions, the Second and Third Generations created a great multitude of Progeny. They ruled together briefly, but all was not calm between them. Eventually, the youngest Generations rose and slew their Sires, drinking their blood. This Fourth Generation built another great city ( Some sources hint that it might have been Babylon, while others suggest that it rests somewhere beneath the sands of Egypt ), which we know only as the Second City. The rule of these new Vampires was not untroubled, for a certain Kindred of the Third Generation still lived. Indeed, some say they were secretly behind the slayings of their Elders. It was made known that they alone reserved the right to beget Progeny, and any other of the Fourth Generation who disobeyed them were hunted down and killed, they and their Sires with them. Though the Fourth Generation lived in public, the Third Generation, which are known as the Antediluvians, lived in secret and revealed to no one the location of their Havens. For nearly two millenium ( Some say 23 centuries ), the Fourth Generation ruled the city, while the Third Generation ruled them. Eventually, the culture grew decadent and the city died. In a great uprising, the people rose up and killed all the Kindred they could find. When the Second City fell, its rulers fled. Scattered far and wide, they were too numerous and too widespread for the hidden elders of the Third Generation to threaten them, and thus was beget the Fifth Generation. The Kindred grew in numbers and settled in all parts of the world. Mortal history records a time, starting over two thousand years ago, of burgeoning empires locked in combat with one another - the time of the Persians, the Greeks and the Tartars. Thus did the Fifth Generation establish its own order. Meanwhile, the Antediluvians lay hidden and pursued their own mad schemes. This age of wars may even have been of their making, the beginning of their great Jyhad. Whatever the truth, there remains almost none to speak of it. It is said by some that near the end of this period, the Antediluvians emerged from their hiding places and sucked the blood of all my kind, each leaving but one Progeny of their line. Legend has it that this was the close of the Second Cycle, because the Antediluvian lust for blood was so great that they needed all of my race as their vessels. Those who believe in the Cycle legends predict a great Armageddon. They say that the Antediluvians are asleep now, but soon they will awake and then they will feed. The Third Cycle is coming to a close, and none but the Third Generation will remain alive at its conclusion. The believers say that each Cycle lasts 2300 years, and soon, very soon the time approaches. They call it Gehenna, and some Clans prepare for it fervently. Whatever the truth of the matter, it is known that Elders of the Fifth and older Generations are in complete seclusion. Those of the Inconnu fear one another that much. To have lived this long, they may be cunning and powerful, and they may be expected to cover their tracks as well. This leaves the Sixth Generation and its descendants as the bulk of visible Kindred. There are claims of a Thirteenth and Fourteenth Generation, but they must be very weak and close to mortality, for it is said that the Blood thins as it is passed from one Generation to the next. L E S T A T PRINCE OF DARKNESS create any more, they ignored his imperative as each of his Progeny desired a Brood of€*w*B€œxžxÎxÐx(x/xxx…x‡xfxhx£ x¥ xÇ xÉ xŸx¡xxx<½x¿xÿxxxxxu(u*s,shx£ x¥ xÇ xÉ xŸx¡xx<<<  Arialriefly, but all was not calm between them. Eventually, the youngest Generations rose and slew their Sires, drinking