About the 'Elohim Fragment' - translated and compiled by Aristotle de Laurent, Sapientis Mnemosyne, Schologium Eternis. Inspect the Elohim fragment   In 1996, the Kindred academic and political world was shocked by the publication of Aristotle de Laurent's excellent edition of The Book of Nod, the vampire Bible of history, prophecy and lore. De Laurent is a member of the Mnemosyne bloodline, a line which shares our Order's passion for knowledge, although they are driven by a passion in their very blood. His original edition was only intended for a small print run in a small and secret publishing house, for the enlightenment of a few kindred scholars and Elders. But by accident or design, and to the horror of all concerned, his manuscript was copied, and thousands of editions in their distinctive black faux-leather binding became available in shops across the world. Fortunately, the Book was ignored except as a curiosity for a relatively small group of obsessive kine, and despite the scandal it caused, it never became a serious breach of the Masquerade. Despite this, De Laurent has been shunned and hounded from most European, as many Princes considered calling a blood-hunt upon him as a dangerous individual. For the last two years he has been working in hiding, on this, his latest project.   The Fragment The Elohim Fragment is his latest work, a lost cycle of the Book of Nod which must have once seemed unimportant. It tells an incredible story - the story of Creation, and of the Origins of humanity. Though completed before publication of the less scholarly "Cycle of Lilith", it does not contradict but rather complements this other work. The story is in de Laurent's typically High Biblical style, it quite clearly tells the story of a race of beings of immense power, the Elohim - the Gods, the Shining Ones described in the earliest Genesis texts. These ethereal beings spun out of dead matter a living, breathing world, which later came to be threatened by what are described as the "Dark Ones" - creatures from a lower level of reality which can now be described as the Deep Umbra. This Garden, the early Paradise of the Elohim, was threatened, and so many of them took on a physical existence within their new world, to fight off the invading threat. However after the battle was won, they found that they were seduced by this incredible new world of physical sensations, of challenges, and became unwilling and unable to return to their former state. The challenge of Death gave meaning to their existence, and the longer they remained in their mortal form, the less able they were to return. As time passed, the Gauntlet was raised and their Garden - the Gaia Realm - finally became shut off from the higher universe. Their home realm, the Cielum, the universe of energy and thought, and the Umbra, the realm of subconscious thought, dreams, passion and rage, were now inextricably divided. That is, until the time of Gehenna, Algedra, or The Shattering, when the Gauntlet will finally shatter, the worlds will collide, mix, and flow, and reality as we know it will be washed away...   De Laurent's rich translation (which follows) is accompanied by a wealth of annotations, containing interesting snippets of history, background, notes on translation and his own pedantic academic comments which are as enlightening as they can be annoying. We recommend you read through the whole text first, then read it in conjunction with the notes.   Inspect the Elohim Fragment     All text written by Robert D How, (C) April 1998