So I was skimming The Invictus earlier today and came across a few paragraphs I thought would be worthwhile to share. We've had a couple of discussions about revealing of natures, especially in regards to crossover, which this could be applied to. Please note that while this is in a Covenant book, I think it's pretty relevant to all Kindred.
First: the Masquerade, Then: Everything Else
Although a great deal of the resources amassed and manipulated by the Invictus are put toward influencing Kindred and mortal society, the First Estate cherishes and protects the Masquerade. No failure, no incomplete plan, no misstep can bring ruin to the Invictus so long as they have the shield of the Masquerade. It is the wall around their city of secrecy. Within its protection, all other concerns can be managed and recovered with time, patience and ingenuity. As long as the Invictus have the cover of mortal ignorance, they can carry out all their other works with some measure of confidence. The overwhelming importance of the Masquerade is sometimes under-appreciated by neonates, and even some ancillae, within the covenant, who make the mistake of pursuing their goals and expanding their power bases at the cost of secrecy. They reveal themselves or their monstrous natures to the mortals they seek to influence, expecting fear to render their investments invincible. It’s a foolish mistake, and wise Invictus do everything they can to make sure their charges, vassals and childer avoid it.
Revealing the truth about the existence of the Damned to any but the most loyal and secure retainers only weakens the position of the Invictus, and indeed all Kindred. Worse, they come to think of themselves as powerful by extension. Eventually, such awareness leads to betrayal, breakdowns or perilous curiosity. One night, some mortal comes asking questions about the occult or the Blood, or he calls crying in the middle of the night, unable to deal with the lies and the blood anymore. One day, the mortals think they’ll take what they want from their undead masters and come with shotguns and crowbars into the haven of an Invictus who thought immortality made him invincible. The Invictus know better.
Several familiar Invictus proverbs remind all Kindred: nothing can be gained by breaking the Masquerade that cannot be gained some other way. Whenever the Masquerade is broken, the transgressor has surrendered a field to the mortal world. Mortals can only ultimately gain by knowing the truth. Kindred can only ultimately lose by revealing themselves. Though every vampire is sure to make “a mistake of the Masquerade” on some night of her Requiem, every Invictus should be ashamed when she does. Every mortal who knows the truth is a living defeat.
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