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As
revealed to Armand by Santino.
From The Vampire Lestat, by Anne Rice.
First
Law
That
each coven must have its leader and only he might order the
working of the Dark Trick upon a mortal, seeing that the methods
and the rituals were properly observed.
Second
Law
That
the Dark Gifts must never be given to the crippled, the maimed,
or to children, or to those who cannot, even with the Dark Powers,
survive on their own. Be it further understood that all mortals
who would receive the Dark Gifts should be beautiful in person
so that the insult to God might be greater when the trick is
done.
Third
Law
That
never should an old vampire work this magic lest the blood of
the fledgeling be too strong. For all our gifts increase naturally
with age, and the old ones have too much strength to pass on.
Injury, burning these catastrophes, if they do not destroy
the Child of Satan will only increase his powers when he is
healed. Yet Satan guards the flock from the powers of old ones,
for almost all, without exception, go mad.
Fourth
Law
That
no vampire may ever destroy another vampire, except the coven
master has the power of life and death over all of his flock.
And it is, further, his obligation to lead the old ones and
the mad ones into the fire when they can no longer serve Satan
as they should. It is his obligation to destroy all vampires
who are not properly made. It is his obligation to destroy those
who are so badly wounded that they cannot survive on their own.
And it is his obligation finally to seek the destruction of
all outcasts and all those who have broken these laws.
Fifth
Law
That
no vampire shall ever reveal his true nature to a mortal and
allow that mortal to live. No vampire must ever reveal the history
of the vampires to a mortal and let the mortal live. No vampire
must commit to writing the history of the vampires or any true
knowledge of vampires lest such a history be found by mortals
and believed. And a vampire's name must never be known to mortals,
save from his tombstone, and never must any vampire reveal to
mortals the location of his or any other vampire's lair.
Excerpt
from The Vampire Lestat © 1985 Anne O'Brien Rice.
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