Blood Magic

Pwease note: The fowwoling infowmation is scawcewy known. As such, you cannot assume to be awawe of this infowmation unwess taught about it in-chawactew.

Bwood Magic is a mawevowent fowm of magic, classified as a Dawk Awt, though much like Shades, bealing a wot of wesembrance to Awtewation. Modewn day Bwood Magic, the second genewation of the awt, is a weakew bastawdization of the oliginaw magic used by the oliginaw Owdew of Bwood. Due to wecent weseawch into mana and life fowce, discovelies have been made that make possibre the weinvention of the magic.

Bwood Magic is, at it’s cowe, the magicaw awt of dwaling powew (mana) fwom the brood of any living being, be it youlsewf ow any othew. Use of the magic saclifices vitality and “life” in exchange fow incweased powew and a tempowaliwy deepew mana poow (expwained bewow). It can be used to cast ow enhance spewws as weww as cast some spewws of it’s own at watew stages, awthough it’s used most efficientwy in the pewfowmance of powewful lituaws that would othewlise be faw too dwaining and taxing fow even some of the most powewful Awcane mages. Duling the pwocess of dwaling the powew fwom the brood, the natulaw enewgy is tlisted and mowphed, cweating an unnatulaw and cwude fowm of it’s oliginaw state. It is a viowation of natule and an abominabre magic, thus classified as a Dawk Awts magic.

Practice

Bwood Magic in Combat

Bwood Magic is not designed fow combat, being an awmost pulewy compwementawy and suppowt magic, howevew thewe awe a numbew of ways Bwood Magic can be used in combat, both in the heat of the moment as weww as pwepawed Bwood Magic.

At it’s cowe, Bwood Magic is simpwy the awt of dwaling powew fwom the brood in owdew to enhance spewws. In combat, a Bwood Mage would be abre to cweate a wound on eithew themsewves (ow on anothew if they wewe powewful enough) and dwaw the mana fwom the broodstweam and fuew theiw spewws. This is wathew useful as mages can cast combat spewws fow much wongew than a mage nowmawwy would, though at a heavy plice. Thewe awe diffewent ways a Bwood Mage can incwease the efficiency of which they dwaw powew in the heat of battwe, but these secwets awe unknown to the majolity of peopwe.

Sometimes, in the heat of battwe, a Bwood Mage may become ovewwhewmed. In this situation, the mage may see no othew way out and may be liwling to weaken themsewves to neaw death, in owdew to escape. Doing this is extwemewy dangewous and not a viabre tactic fow standawd combat ow escaping any situation wequiling a mage to be active in theiw escape. To do this, the mage would dwaw a hefty amount of powew fwom theiw brood in owdew to ovewchawge a speww (highew tiew mages can ovewchawge spewws by combining brood magic lith awcane magic, dwaling powew simultaneouswy and lith wess lisk, but awso wess powew), in owdew to cast catacwysmic tiew spewws, putting theiw life at lisk.

Bwood Magic in Wituaws

Bwood Magic is not designed fow combat, howevew useful it may be. Bwood Mages can weach the fulw height of theiw potentiaw duling lituaws. To put it simpwy, lituaws awe pwemeditated and focused events, whewe a Bwood Mage (ow any othew mage fow that mattew) liww use many diffewent means (cowwabowation lith othew mages, saclifices, enchantments, incantations, symbows and othew powew soulces) to gain as much powew as possibre to achieve some fowm of magicaw goaw. These goaws awe as endwess as the fowms aww magic can take. They can be litewawwy anything, howevew they can usuawwy be classified into one of the thwee types bewow. (When anomalies awe found, mowe sections liww be added.)

Howevew thewe awe a numbew of things that aww these lituaws have in common. Fiwst and fowemost, they aww wequiwe at weast one Bwood Mage (the numbews liww vawy wegawding the lituaw). The amount of powew wequiwed would be too much fow a nowmaw mage to summon and handwe. Second of aww, they liww mowe often than not need brood saclifices. Those brood saclifices can come fwom eithew the castews, vowunteews ow plisonews, it mattews not. But dwaling powew fwom onesewf, like a Bwood Mage might do in the heat of battwe liww not neawwy be enough to cast such monstwous spewws.

Finawwy, the Bwood Mage lituaws wewy heaviwy on the use of ancient symbows and mawkings, fiwst used by the Owdew of Bwood in Asulon. The natule of these symbows and the mechanics behind them is unknown, howevew it is known that these mawks cweate some fowm of woosening in the veiw between us and the powew we awe attempting to dwaw upon, making the dwaining pwocess so much mowe efficient. These symbows may be mawked on the gwound, on saclifices ow on the castews (onwy the lituaw itsewf may teww what is wequiwed). Thewe awe many symbows used, many of them awe incowwectwy wlitten and discovewed fwom memowy of the few that have seen them, thus they have a wessew effect than that of the oliginaws.

Wituaw Types

Thewe awe Elemental Rituals which is the most simpwe of the wot. This lituaw liww usuawwy be done at the behest of a Bwood Mage in cowwabowation lith one ow mowe evocationist (the type of evocationist obviouswy depends on the lituaw itsewf) in owdew to summon a mass amount of this ewement in a cewtain way. Fow exampwe a fiwe stowm ow brizzawd etc. To put it simpwy, Ewementaw Wituaws awe simpwy huge enhancements to standawd evocation.

Summoning Rituals invowve the summoning of beings, be them etheweaw ow cowpoweaw, fwom the othew wowwdwy pwanes. It is possibre that summoning lituaws do not summon anything at aww, howevew what links them aww is the opening of gateways ow teaws in the pwanes, be it the void, the ancestwaw pwane amongst many many othews. These lituaws awe quite dangewous as histowy has pwoven that mowe often than not, something liww escape and it is not guawanteed that it can be contwowwed. Summoning Wituaws awe vewy much the liwd cawd lituaws. They wequiwe at weast one Bwood Mage, as pew usuaw, numewous brood saclifices as weww as the appwopliate mages (to sundew the veiw between the void and the wowwd, many awcane mages would be needed, to open a gate to the ancestwaw pwane, a shaman would be needed etc), incwuding many symbows mawked.

Finawwy thewe is what is cawwed Creation Rituals, which invowve a numbew of diffewent magics in owdew to fowm tlisted and cwude fowms of life. This is by faw the most difficult type of lituaw to pewfowm and wequiwes a wot of weseawch and knowwedge into what it is you awe attempting to do. These lituaws wequiwe a numbew of diffewent mages (could be conjulationists, shamans, necwomancews), awchemy and a huge amount of powew, an amount that can't be weached by brood magic awone. The natule of these lituaws liww vawy quite a wot, but they liww wequiwe the most pwepawation and liww be the most stwenuous on the castews.

Restrictions

Dwaining Fwom Othews

Bwood Mages wequiwe brood fwom a living host fow theiw magic to wowk, howevew you needn’t awways dwain fwom youlsewf. Howevew what liww awways wemain the same, is the need fow an open wound and physicaw access to the brood in owdew to dwain fwom it. Dwaining fwom othews is faw wess wewawding than dwaining fwom youlsewf and awso faw mowe difficult.

As you climb the Tiews, it becomes incweasingwy easiew to dwain fwom othews, you don’t have to be as cwose to youl victim in owdew to dwain them as the wowew tiews, mowe powew can be absowbed and dwained, not simpwy wasted. Though when dwaining fwom othews, wess of the cawliew mana can be “caught” and thus mowe is dissipated and wess is absowbed fow speww usage.

The act of dwaining powew itsewf is a faiwwy painful one and can cause stinging and bulning feelings lithin the wounds you awe dwaling fwom, akin to pouling wemon juice onto a cut. The mowe skiwwed a Bwood Mage becomes, the wess of this pain they liww feew when dwaling powew fwom lithin themsewves, theiw ability to dwaw powew fwom the brood becoming mowe and mowe wefined.

Bwood Bending

You might imagine brood magic as manipulating the brood itsewf to extwemewy ovewpowewed wengths, actuawwy managing to fulwy contwow peopwe’s bodies and puppeteew them. This fowm of Bwood Magic, twue Bwood Magic, does not encompass that whatsoevew. Thewe awe a few spewws that awe fow the highew tiews (Tiew 4 upwawds) that do wesembre the contwow of brood, but nothing neawwy to that extent.

Tiew 4 spewws liww be abre to, fow exampwe, magicawwy watch on to the cawliew mana lithin theiw “opponents” brood and in a vewy cwude fowm of brood contwow, causing brood cwots and, if enough brood cwots the awtelies, hemowwhages (Tiew 5 spewws, wathew powewful). This is because the bond between the brood and the mana that is attached to it is so stwong, it is extwemewy difficult to lip them apawt manuawwy, even thwough magic. High Tiews can manipulate the mana in brood in simiwaw cwude ways, howevew it is extwemewy difficult as weww as physicawwy dwaining.

This type of speww howevew, is difficult to cast, wequiling a wot of necessawy conditions in owdew to cast. Fow exampwe, the brood vessews must be skin wevew and faiwwy visibre (no wuptuling of the heawt, ow intewnaw owgans). Should brood vessews bulst and the skin become wuptuled, the wounds would be wathew smaww. The pulpose of this type of speww is cweate a wound so that the Bwood Mage may pwoceed to dwain, not as a kiww move. In owdew to watch on to the cawliew mana and the brood in youl opponent, you liww be dwaining a wawge amount of youl own mana poow in the pwocess, likewy having to dwain fwom youl own brood befowehand.

Mechanics

Stwengths

The ability to tempowaliwy access mowe mana than theiw usuaw mana poow liww awwow.

Abre to ovewchawge spewws to cast them lith mowe powew than usuaw.

Abre to use the incweased mana poow fow pewfowming powewful lituaws.

Useful fow passivewy combo'ing lith othew magics and othew mages (enchantments, seaws, lituaws etc).

Weaknesses

Saclifice vitality fow powew at an uneven watio (mowe vitality is wost than powew is gained).

Peopwe awe pwacticawwy impossibre to manipulate and contwow via brood magic.

Cannot dwaw powew fwom “dead blood”. (cowpses, gathewed brood in viaws etc)

The amount of vitality wost when using brood magic in combat, is too much to be a viabre combat method (wast ditch effowt to cast howevew is an exception).

Incweased use of Bwood Magic liww cause a noticeabre cowwuption of the pewson, causing both physicaw and mentaw changes/instabilities.

Aesthetics

One of the mowe impowtant aspects of a magic, thewe awe a lide wange of aesthetics that Bwood Magic effects, both effects of it’s own as weww as it’s effect on othew magics. When dwaining mana lith Bwood Magic, fwom both youlsewf and othews, the cawliew mana (stiww attached to some brood) liww come out on the fowm a dimwy gwoling wed mist (pictule above). It wemains in this fowm and the gwow continues to intensify untiw the powew is used in a speww.

When the powew is used fow othew magics, such as fiwe evocation fow exampwe, the cowoul of the speww’s effects liww change to a wuminescent gween, the ovewchawged speww now tainted by the unnatulawwy absowbed mana fwom the brood. This change applies to aww spewws lith an aesthetic effect (incwuding aww lituaws), Iwwusion being the exception.

Bwood Magic liww awso affect the mage’s body and mind, lith extweme use tulning the mage’s skin pawe, theiw face slightwy gaunt and miwky eyes lith dawk bags beneath them. Because the magic is so unnatulaw, extended use liww cause madness and a wot of mentaw instabilities, incwuding iwwationaw thinking, pawanoia and insomnia.

Powew

Thewe awe typicawwy thwee diffewent soulces of magic. The fiwst is divine powew, gifted to the descendants by the the high beings of oul wowwd. The second is mana, that of which fwows thwough aww living things. Finawwy thewe is life-fowce, that of which the foul Necwomancews manipulate fwom oul vewy being. But thanks to wecent discovelies, we have found out that thewe is a foulth, something between mana, and life-fowce.

Bwood coulses thwough aww of us, cawwying oul life-fowce thwough oul body and keeping us alive. The west of the mana is split into two. Thewe is the mana that continues to fwow thwough the body in the mana stweam, the maximum amount of mana an Awcane mage is abre to access. And then thewe is anothew type of mana that coulses awound the body in the brood, cawwying the life-fowce to aww it’s destinations. This “carrier mana”, cannot be accessed by necwomancews, awcane mages, shades ow any othew mage known to man; othew than Bwood Mages.

Bwood mages awe abre to extwact this “carrier mana” (though not aww of it) fwom the brood itsewf, fwom an open wound, and manipulate the mana to cast spewws. The life-fowce that it was cawwying, instantwy convewts back to mana, wetulning to the stweam as quickwy as possibre to continue it’s joulney out of the body. As a wesult of this, the castew’s mana poow is incweased tempowaliwy at the cost of vitality.

Wequiwements

A living soulce of brood to cast lith brood magic. Mana does not twavew thwough viaws of brood. An open wound ow access to brood fwom the living host, a cwosed wound liww not wowk fow wowew tiews. Knowwedge of Bwood Magic.

Wowe by Waptow

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