The Ordo Dracul claims to
follow the teachings of Vladislaus Tepes, Dracula himself. Dracula became a
Vampire in 1476 near Bucharest. He claimed to have no sire, but to have been
struck by God Himself with undeath for his abuse of faith.
The Rites of the Dragon
describes his experiences following his embrace. It mentions interactions with
the Invictus, learning the sorceries of the Lancea Sanctum and the Circle of the
Crone, and embracing at least one of his brides, Mara.
During the 16th century,
Dracula and his three brides set down the original laws, terminology and
structure of the Ordo Dracul. The three Sworn factions were created at this
time, with each of the brides acting as leader of one of the orders. At this
early stage, membership probably numbered less than a dozen Kindred, despite
later claims.
While most of the terms and
practices of the Ordo Dracul were in place by 1600, the Ordo Dracul only emerged
as a potent and legitimate covenant in the 19th century. Shortly after codifying
the Ordo Dracul, Dracula fell into torpor, leaving the Ordo in the hands of his
brides.
Covenant histories from the
17th century suggest that some sort of schism occurred within the Ordo Dracul
during this time, pitting the various factions of the Sworn against one another.
The brides who controlled the Sworn, of course, had wildly different views on
the nature of God and the purpose of the Coils. With Dracula gone, this conflict
apparently escalated.
One account suggests that
Anoushka and her followers in the Dying Light were accused by Mara and the Axe
of exploiting their judicial authority by taking a moral high road that was
inappropriate for the covenant. Covenant histories from the 17th century are
wildly skewed in favor of one branch of the Sworn or the other. Some indicate
that either Mara or Anoushka ruled that many members of the other two factions
were unfit to learn the Coils and should be destroyed.
When the covenant descended
into infighting, the Sworn of the Mysteries stood above the fray, keeping their
attention on the survival of the Ordo Dracul.
During this early period,
the Ordo Dracul, as an upstart faction, was persecuted by the other covenants,
especially the Invictus and Lancea Sanctum. This led some domains at this time
to foster very close relations with the Circle of the Crone. Rumors of Vampire
"witches" possessing the secrets of both the Coils of the Dragon and Cruac which
arose at this time have not been credibly established outside of a few very rare
cases.
The early Ordo Dracul also
suffered from a lack of focus. Many members joined purely to learn the secrets
of the Order, without interest in its broader agenda of transcendence. Before
the scientific method became prevalent, work on the Coils was haphazard and
extremely dangerous. Record keeping and communication were also sporadic or
encoded so obscurely as to be near useless even a generation
later.
As the teachings of the
Order slowly spread, they became farther removed from the three brides.
Differences of opinion and practice inevitably arose. Most were minor and easily
dealt with, but some resulted in deadlocks that could not be reconciled. These
differences were codified into various Rites by which the Covenant could
organize itself. During this period, the Damascene (1719) and Palatine (1738)
Rites were created. In reaction, the Wallachian (1782) Rite was formalized, in
an attempt to restore Orthodoxy to the Covenant's teachings.
Beginning around 1820, the
Ordo Dracul experienced a large surge in membership. While there's no single
reason for this, a few reasons have been identified. The Industrial Revolution,
coming to fruition at this time, seems to have jolted the Dragons to adopt the
scientific method. This opened up vast new horizons for the Ordo Dracul, and the
new approach sparked a renaissance in Ordo thought.
In 1837, the Ordo Dracul
largely withdrew from society, becoming a secret society similar to the
Freemasons. During the sixty years that followed this withdrawal, many Dragons
claimed membership in one of the other covenants. The Ordo also adopted many of
the trappings and ceremonies of a secret society during this time, which
continue to this day.
The rise of spiritualism
also brought new members into the fold. Spiritualists often had the right
temperament and ability to think outside the box needed prized by the Dragons.
By turning the scientific method on mediums, they were also able to discover
those psychics and mediums with true power, and either enlist them or destroy
them.
In fact, many of the
western methodologies used by Dragons today originate in the nineteenth century.
Where earlier Dragons relied primarily on Alchemy and Ritual, this was the age
in which Theosophy, Mesmerism and Spiritualism mixed with Science and older
occult traditions in Ordo Dracul Academies.
In 1897, Bram Stoker
published Dracula. Memory of the long-hidden covenant led to "investigations"
that flushed out the hidden Dragons, leading the Ordo Dracul to openly declare
itself as a covenant. During this period of unrest, many of the Dragons who had
held joint membership in the Ordo Dracul were killed, and others withdrew, and
began the modern tradition of the Kogaion.
