The Ordo Dracul believe that Dracula was cursed by God to unlife as a vampire. The members of this covenant wish to transcend vampirism like their supposed creator did - to this end they have developed powerful quasi-Disciplines which they call 'Coils' which serve to defeat the curse of vampirism, and depending on the nature of the particular flaw being overcome the coil is either of a permanent never fail effect to providing a modifier during a roll (frenzying, for example) to changing you for a short time (making the user look alive for a Scene.)
An Ordo Dracul Prince is known as a Master or Voivode.
History
The Ordo Dracul claims descent from Dracula, who, according to the Rites of the Dragon, had been cursed by God with immortality and thirst for blood, after he was cornered by assassins in 1476. The Rites of the Dragon state that Dracula and his three childer formed the Ordo Dracul, which was then placed under his childers' care. The early Covenant faced persecution within Kindred society, most vehemently from the Lancea et Sanctum, who would not tolerate the blasphemous experiments of the Dragons. Additionally, the Ordo had problems with continuing their founder's cause. Ordo Dracul historians theorize that until the scientific method became prevalent, the Dragons had to rely on incomplete notes, word of mouth, and sheer luck in experimenting with the Coils.
In the 19th century, the Ordo Dracul experienced its greatest boom in membership and progress, as well as its greatest threat. The covenant emerged in the new century confused and on the verge of collapse. Most Kindred of other covenants know little about the Ordo Dracul’s activities during much of the 19th century. For the Ordo, it was a time of rebirth. Surges in membership, innovations among mortals and a elaborate charade of rites mimicked after the Freemasons to keep the unworthy outside, the Order lived through the century in solitude and study, until Bram Stoker published his book.
Dracula popularized the vampire the Ordo claimed as their founder and soon they could not save themselves from prying vampires, who remembered that there had been a covenant that used this name. The Ordo Dracul realized that wasting energy hiding was no longer useful, so the Dragons simply declared their allegiance formally. Thus the Ordo Dracul transformed, in many domains, from a secret society within the hidden world of the Kindred into a covenant of its own.
The early years of the 20th century saw science progress faster than ever. In 1916, blood was first refrigerated for transfusion purposes. Meanwhile, the Great War in Europe brought with it advances of a different kind. New weapons and new tactics brought a body count of unprecedented proportions. When Hitler rose to power in Germany, the Ordo Dracul faced legal persecution, as all secret societies had been outlawed, and the Ordo was forced to abandon many of its Wyrm's Nests in the following war. After the war, the Ordo Dracul in Europe took to secrecy once again; while the members in the United States lived openly, claiming domain as any other vampire.
Organization
There is perhaps no covenant more tightly organized than the Ordo Dracul. With titles almost as elaborate as the Invictus and a hierarchy more rigid than the Lancea Sanctum, navigating the nuances of Dragon authority can be confusing and overwhelming. Internally, this is referred to as the Dragon's Tongue, a forked line of progression, through which covenant members progress as they learn more secrets and master greater aspects of their condition. While comprehension of the hierarchy by those outside the covenant is cloudy at best, it appears that all members follow a single path of progression up until a certain point, after which the member chooses a specialty to follow.
- White Wolf
