Despite the pragamtic view most Lasombra have on Obtenebration, some eccentric vampires have figured out what their clan discipline really is: a window to the Abyss itself, that great and terrible unknown that lies at the center of creation. The Abyss gnaws at the heart of the underworld and the doubt in every question never answered. It is present in the absence of light and lurks in every shadow. Wraiths rightly fear its hunger, but they do not understand it. Demons call it Hell, and they only begin to comprehend. No Lasombra knows where it comes from or its purpose or even the purpose of its strange denizens, but the clan’s mystics know the Abyss is the ultimate source of their power.

Either from fear or distaste, Les Amies Noir follow a policy of ignoring mystics until times of great crisis. The Lasombra Antediluvian sometimes claimed that the Abyss was the state of all creation before an interfering God made light, and that as the perfect master of Obtenebration, the Antediluvian was the primordial essence on Earth. Whether it was right or not, study of the Abyss repays the diligent student.

Immersed in undying study of a force transcending and ultimately opposing all light and life, Abyss Mystics have little use for humanity or mortal precepts of right and wrong. Most adherents of this dark and heavily ritualized faith eventually gravitate to their own Road of the Abyss, a path which bears disturbing and striking similarity to the Road of Bones and Path of Death and the Soul.

The mystics of Clan Lasombra pry into the dark places in search of secrets, answers, and perhaps more questions. For these driven souls, conventional Obtenebration is only the beginning. By applying thaumaturgic principles to Obtenebration, Lasombra mystics of the Dark Ages developed rituals to unlock the hidden powers of shadow and summon the unnamed primordial horrors of the Abyss, thereby effectively extending Obtenebration into a form of blood sorcery. Though the word Obtenebration itself is sometimes used as the name of this blood sorcery, it is often called Abyss Mysticism as a reference to the school of thought which produced it.  The Abyss Mystics state that the reason they were able to expand Obtenebration into a form of blood sorcery is because the essence of the Abyss resides within every vampire's blood, as it is what gives vampires their thirst to feed on the living.  

RitualsEdit

For the list of rituals, see Obtenebration Rituals.

SourcesEdit

• Players Guide to the High Clans
• Clanbook: Lasombra Revised