64 KINDRED OF THE EAST

THE HOWL OF THE DEVIL-TIGER

VIRTUE: P’O
With rods do the farmers drive the bullocks,
You are the rod and the farmer and the ax and the fire.
Fine skin-lanterns shall be your sunlight
And corpse-dust shall be your perfume.
— The Songs of Hell
Some souls scream when they reach Yomi. Others enjoy
the trip and bring the torment back with them when they
return. To these souls, the Howl of the Devil-Tiger is a mantra
of hope. Pain is a cleansing thing to these vampires; it roots
out imperfections and applies the healing torch. In the
shriek that follows, a higher Truth appears.
According to The Blood Sutras, Xue discovered the
Mantra of Pain after the destruction of Mount Meru.
Weeping, he lashed himself with nettles and tore
gashes in his sides. As his blood poured to the ground,
it burst into flames. Xue ripped off his own face and threw
it into the flames. It was then that he became enlightened.
Despite misconceptions, the followers of this path are
not demon-worshippers. Oh, they appear to be, to the
unenlightened observer: Devil-Tiger temples crawl
with atrocities — from skewered babies to maimed
slaves — and ring with obscene chants and discor-
dant music. Unclean spirits frequent such places,
and the Chi that boils in Devil-Tiger dragon
nests is corrosive and foul. The outsiders miss the
point, however: Devil-Tigers do not worship
devils, they want to become devils. And that is
a far greater purpose than servitude.
To the Searing Wind (another name for
the Devil-Tiger sect), pain is instructive and
purifying. A devil, in the grand scheme of
things, is the doctor with a cauter-knife and
bone-saw. By cutting off the rotting limbs and burning
out infections, a devil makes creation healthy. It is Heaven’s
wish that the Devil-Tigers fulfill this task on Earth — both on others
and upon themselves.
These vampires epitomize sadomasochism; they enjoy tormenting other crea-
tures mentally, emotionally and physically, but revel in the same treatment, too. Each
tear is a new lesson, each cry a vision of truth. Just as a sudden flash of light
leaves a deeper darkness, so the lash of pain creates a greater calm.
Restraint comes from the fear of pain; hence, welcome pain and
banish restraint. Agony should be savored for the insights that it
brings — insights that turn to higher joys, if you understand
their meaning.
The Searing Wind tries to help others find those joys;
paradoxically, it also seeks to destroy people who under-
stand the truth too well. These devils are surgeons too, after
all, and destined by Heaven to cauterize disease. Like the
goddess Tien Mu, Devil-Tigers are the lightning that illumi-
nates the wicked; like Le Kung, they are the thunderbolt,
which strikes down sinners. The Sixth Age, so they say, will
be the brightest strike, the flash that will burn a wicked
creation to ashes. Like the lightning, the Devil-Tigers will
fade when their task is done, and a new, wiser creation will rise
from the embers of the old.
CHAPTER TWO: THE SECOND BREATH 65
It will be a grand game! And it has already begun.…
Training: Like tigers, the vampires of the Searing Wind TENETS
prefer magnificence to brutality. Such evil has a grace and 1: Ride the Demon, do not let it ride you.
power that simple carnage cannot match. Their lessons cut like 2: Glory in the fires of the flesh and the passions of the
razors — literally! — and their mantras flay one’s ears. Skill is soul.
a virtue, brutishness a waste. A Master abducts her future 3: Teach others to live joyfully through pain.
disciples, imposes horrific lessons on them, then has them
4: Throw fear into the flames and encourage others to do
meditate on the essence of their pain.
likewise.
The students themselves come from violent backgrounds.
5: Do not hesitate — act!
In their lives, they learned to live with pain. In time, they drew
strength from it and often died gruesome deaths. During their 6: Seek out the brightest embers and feed them until they
stay in Yomi, these souls had their weaknesses sliced away. become bonfires.
Now, with the Second Breath in their lungs, they strive to 7: Meditate upon the flash of passion, the dazzle of its
continue their training and to pass on the lesson to individuals afterglow and the darkness that follows.
who might appreciate it. 8: Be cultured in your passions and magnificent in your
Modern Devil-Tigers find the world a fascinating play- evil. Any imbecile can act like a madman; it takes true
ground. Never before has pain been so acceptable, so mass- wisdom to become a devil.
produced. At the same time, many people seem numb to
exquisite anguish. The challenge of the modern world is to
RIVAL PATHS
make it feel again — to apply the hot iron until creation’s eyes Resplendent Crane: Law is a bandage. I will rip it off and
fly open and behold the sight of Heaven. make you bleed.
Weakness: Even the wisest Devil-Tigers seem impulsive, Song of the Shadow: Cold as marble. Strike it hard and
a bit too quick to provoke a scream. The younger ones are it shatters.
clumsy tempters or raging killers, and their elders aren’t much Thousand Whispers: To shift between lives is an admi-
better. Subtlety is not this Dharma’s strong point. In the rable but cowardly way to learn Dharma. Are you
dawning of the Sixth Age, Devil-Tigers stand ready to claim studying creation or running from it?
the world and are none too humble about that privilege. They Thrashing Dragon: In the white furnace of passion, the
cultivate Bane-spirits in their gardens, but cannot quite hide line between life and death is turned to ashes.
the hunger in their eyes. Kindred: Oh, quit bitching! You enjoy what you are.
Auspicious Omens and Symbols: Tigers, thunderstorms, Now admit it and get on with your existence!
lightning strikes, huge fires, burning lotuses (often represented
by floating flower-candles)
Affiliations: Fire, the number 2, the color red and the
south direction
Concepts: Rebelsub kid, assassin, entertainer, prostitute,
smuggler, hired gun, torturer, enforcer, philosopher, bureau-
crat, wandering stranger

TRUST ME.