The brides

Rites of the Dragon state that Dracula Embraced three times,
and that his three “brides” went on to help him found the
Ordo Dracul (with some persuasion). But this again raises
questions of lineage. If Dracula was clanless, what did that
make his brides? The Ordo Dracul upholds the following
four main theories as to the true nature of Dracula’s brides:
• Dracula belongs to a clan. Many Ordo Dracul scholars
believe that Dracula did, in fact, belong to one of the five
clans and that his perspicacity with various Disciplines was
simply indicative of his intelligence and supernatural ability.
If this were the case, then his brides could well have been his
childer, and likely have created childer of their own.
• Dracula belongs to no clan, and did not Embrace his
brides. This theory supposes that Dracula was cursed directly
by God, and was incapable of creating childer. That simply
means that his three brides were Kindred of other clans, who
came into Dracula’s service after their respective Embraces,
and came to follow him. It is also possible, if unlikely, that
Dracula Dominated these women into believing he was their
sire. Proponents of this theory have various beliefs about
which clans the brides belong to, which usually depends on
the clan of the theoretician in question.
• Dracula belongs to no clan, but could sire childer.
The weakest theory, but most popular among Rites of the
Dragon purists, is that Dracula Embraced his brides, but,
for whatever reason, they could not create childer of
their own. Some proponents of this theory spin elaborate
tales of the brides attempting to create childer and
watching in horror as these Kindred devolved into ash
and slime before the brides’ eyes. In any case, this theory
leaves many questions unanswered.
• Dracula was/is beyond clan. This theory posits that
Dracula was either Embraced into a given clan or cursed
directly by God, but Dracula’s mastery over his own blood
was such that he could Embrace childer into whichever
clan he chose. Dragons who specialize in the Coil of Blood
favor this theory, and strive to achieve this effect themselves.
Proponents of this theory go on to explain that
Dracula and his brides had such control over their own
Vitae as to render identifying them through their childer
or grandchilder impossible (proponents of other theories
point out exactly how convenient this notion is).
This chapter assumes only what is written in Rites of
the Dragon: that Dracula did not have a clan that he
knew of and that he Embraced his brides himself.