Preservation of the Sanguine Heart
Ritual · Vampire · Level 4
Loyalty is an exceptionally rare commodity, and perhaps that is why so many are willing to rob others of their free will to secure it. Blood bonds are one of the oldest means of control and ensuring loyalty by the elders in vampire society. The Anarchs now utilize many of the same tactics that were once the tools of their oppression. The Sabbat have embraced what once terrified them in their own communal Vaulderie. Agents of the Camarilla often must disguise their allegiances while working undercover for the Ivory Tower in Anarch or Sabbat territory where proving loyalty is often as simple as sharing blood.
Clan Tremere developed this ritual to protect Archons and Sheriffs from blood bonds and the Vaulderie, even if only temporarily.
System
The thaumaturge must anoint the forehead of the target with a point of the caster’s vitae and then pass to her a prepared chalice with a drop of mercury. She must drink the metal and suffer one aggravated wound to her internal organs as the mercury covers her insides with a mystical barrier. Afterwards, the target is magically protected against being blood bound or the effects of the Vaulderie (including getting the Mark of the Betrayer for some Tremere antitribu) for one day per success achieved on the activation roll. This protection comes at a steep price. In addition to the aggravated wound, the target may not receive sustenance from blood without the target willingly canceling the ritual.
See also 4
Bestiary
- Archons vampire/creature/npc/archons
Clans & Bloodlines
- Tremere vampire/faction/clan/tremere