the blood

[thestewards]

“

Politely, one might choose to describe the Blood as emotionally intense. They are a race—for though they might come from same races as the landens, they are not the same; kin but not kind as they are fond of saying—gripped by the madness of feeling. They couch their madness in etiquette they sneeringly call Protocol, which they seem to pick up and put down as they choose. Social structure among their kind is fluid and ever-changing, and it would be best for wise men and women who value their lives to avoid them in their entirety. If they are not to be avoided, they are to be tolerated; and if they cannot be tolerated for their strangling hold and conceit, they are to be destroyed.

—Niall Berrenathy

CARETAKERS OF THE REALM
For as long as they have existed, the Blood have been the caretakers of the Realm in both a literal and political sense. While not all Blood are politicians or aristocrats, politicians and aristocrats have historically been Blood. With the Cataclysm, this has changed, and not all the Blood are pleased by that change. In the more literal sense, the power the Blood wield is part of what keeps the land alive. Without the Blood, the land is less fertile. It withers and dies—just as has happened in Terreille with the die off of the Blood.

More than the landens of the Realm's races, the Blood need to be in contact with the land. They need greenery and fields, forests and open plains. They need the raging winds that cut through the mountains, and they need the soft rain that waters the coasts.

The Blood as a whole are matriarchal and matrilineal, though men will sometimes take their male parent's surname. Throughout their history, Blood females have wielded more power in every sense of the word. Women have a deeper, darker power than Blood males, and part of the reason it is so imperative that Blood males serve is so that Blood females don't have to step onto a killing field because they are far, far less merciful.

JEWELS AND CASTE
Power among the Blood is a complicated dance of social standing, Jeweled power, and caste. The least important of these is social standing, though some would rather this be otherwise. A wealthy, aristo Opal Jeweled Warlord Prince should yield to a poor, Gray Jeweled witch because when push comes to shove, that Warlord Prince is a corpse.

THE JEWELS
The majority of the Blood wear one of thirteen Jewels. Power is described in terms of darkness. For the Blood, the mind is an abyss that reaches into the Darkness and is visualized as a chasm across which the mind stretches in the form of a web. The darker the power, the further into the Darkness the person in question can reach. Jewels are meant to be containers for the vast power of the Darkness that spills into the body of the wearer. Without a Jewel, this power would destroy the body.

From lightest (weakest) to darkest (strongest), the Jewels are:

White
Yellow
Tiger Eye
Rose
Summer-sky
Purple Dusk
Opal
Green
Sapphire
Red
Gray
Ebon-gray
Black

This hierarchy of power is immutable. There is no reality in which the Rose could ever overpower Summer-sky in a direct confrontation.

Opal is unique among the Jewels as it is the dividing line between the light and dark Jewels and can be considered either depending on the wearer. One witch may wear a "light" Opal, and one may wear a "dark" Opal. Though a spectrum of power exists within each Jewel, the only time that spectrum really matters is in determining whether someone wears a light or dark Opal.

The Opal is unique again for the purposes of the game because it is the place of Jeweled strength where one's canon powers are neither enhanced or limited. When a Stranger wears the Opal, they can use all their canon powers as they would in their home world. If they wear a Jewel lighter than Opal, they will find they need to expend more effort and energy to get less results. If they wear a Jewel darker than Opal, they won't need to use as much effort to get the same results as they would in canon, and can in fact stretch themselves further than they might be able to in canon.

Keep in mind that the hierarchy of Jewels trumps canon powers. For example, a Stranger with the Opal who can control another's body will find it difficult to exert that control on someone whose Jewel is darker than their own.

The Blood will wear two and only two Jewels over the course of their lives. Their first Jewel is called their Birthright Jewel and is obtained in childhood. The second Jewel is their Jewel of rank, obtained after they reach the age of majority and perform their Offering to the Darkness. A Jewel of rank is never more than three steps darker than the Birthright, meaning Birthright Purple Dusk can descend to Sapphire but never to Red. Not everyone descends three full ranks; some of the Blood walk away from their Offering with the same Jewel as their Birthright, but marginally darker.

Even the Strangers brought to Terreille by Queen Fayura have a Birthright Jewels, a physical manifestation of the Darkness inside them. They receive what the Blood call uncut Jewels, meaning the Jewels can be cut and polished by a jeweler into wearable jewelry. Each Jewel is large enough to be cut into a necklace and a ring (traditionally worn on the right hand). Some will opt to have their Jewels set in different ways, such as into cuff links or earrings.

THE CASTES
Every member of the Blood has a caste. This is determined by genetics and is often detectable within hours or days of a child's birth. Unlike the Jewels, a person's caste will never change.

While the Strangers Queen Fayura drew to Terreille wear the Jewels, none of them have a caste. This is an alarming thing to the Blood, who cannot conceive of wearing the Jewels without also having a caste. As Grand Master Niall has written, the Blood can be politely described as intense, and so understanding and respecting caste is imperative to survival among a people who have no law against murder. Antagonizing a Black Widow or Warlord Prince is a great way to send yourself to an early grave, and while the Blood can comprehend the ignorance of these Strangers, they will not tolerate it for long.

Blood females

BLOOD FEMALE A general term for all females of the Blood; mostly refers to any woman of the Blood who doesn't wear Jewels.

WITCH A Blood female who wears Jewels but isn't one of the othe other hierarchical levels; also refers to any Jeweled female. "Witches" is the caste-neutral catchall when talking about a group of Jeweled females. The proper term of address for a witch is Lady.

HEALER A witch who heals physical wounds and illnesses. A skilled Healer can bring a person back from the brink of death and mend life-threatening injuries with little scarring. Not all people capable of healing Craft are Healers, but the best are. Equal in rank to a Priestess and a Prince. The proper term of address for a Healer is Lady, unless she is working and then it is best to call her Healer [First Name].

PRIESTESS A witch who cares for altars, sanctuaries and Dark Altars; witnesses handfasts and marriages; and performs offerings. She often offers guidance or a kind shoulder to those in need. Her connection to the Darkness is unique among her kind. Equal in rank to a Healer and a Prince. The proper term of address for a Priestess is Lady, unless she is working and then it is best to call her Priestess [First Name].

BLACK WIDOW A witch who belongs to the larger Hourglass coven. Black Widows heal the mind; weave the tangled webs of dreams and visions; and are trained in illusions and poisons. As with Healers, not every illusionist or poisoner is a Black Widow, but all of the best are. Equal in status to a Warlord Prince. The proper term of address for a Black Widow is Lady. Black Widows are considered the second most dangerous female caste, and as such should be approached with a great deal of respect.

QUEEN A witch who rules the Blood. Queens are considered the land's heart and the Blood's moral center; as such, a Queen is the focal point of Blood society. Territory Queens are the most powerful of the Queens, followed by Province Queens and then District Queens. The proper term of address for a Queen is Lady; calling her "Queen" or "Your Majesty" will get you an odd look.

Blood males

BLOOD MALE A general term all males of the Blood; also refers to any Blood male who doesn't wear Jewels.

WARLORD A Jeweled male equal in status to a witch. The least territorial and aggressive of the male castes. Often considered the easiest to get along with and most congenial. The proper term of address for a Warlord is Lord.

PRINCE A Jeweled male equal in status to a Priestess or Healer. A moderately aggressive caste of males. The proper term of address for a Prince is Prince.

WARLORD PRINCE A dangerous, extremely aggressive Jeweled male. Warlord Princes crave service to a Queen and are not content in life without this relationship. Slightly lower in status than a Queen. The proper term of address for a Warlord Prince is Prince. As with Black Widows, it is imperative to approach Warlord Princes with a great deal of respect. Especially if you're particularly attached to your limbs in either an emotional or physical sense.

THE CRAFT
Among the Blood, the skilled application of power is called Craft. While the untrained can draw on the raw power of the Jewels to enforce their will on the world, it's messy, inefficient, and typically draining. Explosive blasts of power are effective in painting the walls red with someone's blood but will leave the attacker vulnerable. Training in Craft focuses the mind and the will, allowing for a more delicate and subtle use of power.

As the Jewels are a reservoir of power, if that power isn't used, it builds up and spills into the body. The build up of power in the body will consume fat and muscle quickly (more quickly if you wear a darker Jewel). For the dark Jeweled Blood, using Craft in casual ways every day is a necessity. While landen technology has made life easier for the lighter Jeweled Blood who have less power to spare, those with Jewels darker than Opal find no use for heaters or coolers when they can simply cast a spell to accomplish the same task.

The Strangers who have come to Hayll will find that they are able to use their Birthright Jewel as though they have been trained in Craft. Knowledge has been given to them so that they don't destroy themselves with their new power. Some may find the use of the Jewels easier than others, and some may find themselves drawn more to certain types of Craft. Players are welcome to be creative with the use of Craft.

Some canonical examples of Craft are given below.

BASIC CRAFT

WITCHLIGHT Little globes of light that function as lamps. Often used by the darker Jeweled Blood as a way to bleed off excess power.

WARMING & COOLING SPELLS An easy way to keep warm in cooler weather and cool in hotter weather. Blood homes typically don't have fireplaces because the residents can simply use Craft to stay warm.

SLEEPING SPELLS Less a "spell" and more of a suggestion dropped into the mind of the target. Fussy males who believe their ladies require rest will often utilize this kind of Craft. It is viewed as an irritation not a mental invasion, much the same way someone might be annoyed at their loved one insisting they wear a heavier coat after a cold.

PSYCHIC THREADS

Long-distance communication and private conversation between members of the Blood happen on what they call psychic threads. One mind reaches out to another (or many) and a connection is formed. This connection can be wide-reaching (any mind within an area), narrowed down a single gender, narrowed to a single Jewel, or narrowed to a person. Communication can only occur on the lightest level of the people involved. So if three people wearing the Opal, Sapphire, and Black want to chat, the conversation has to be on an Opal thread. The Blood can't use these psychic threads to communicate privately with landens or Blood children who do not wear a Jewel. The touch of a mind bonded to a Jewel destroys minds that aren't.

PSYCHIC STORAGE

Anyone with a Jewel has what amounts to a private, pocket dimension in which they can store items. The dimensions and carrying capacity of this space depends on Jewel. Someone who wears the White may only have space equal in size to that of a small suitcase, but someone who wears the Black may have enough space to store all the furniture that fits in a 3500 square foot home.

Similarly, the Blood can "call" and "vanish" objects—sometimes, items are called from this space and vanished into it, but often the Blood can call a personal item to them from anywhere nearby. Someone who wants their shoes from another room but doesn't want to truck up the stairs to get to that room can simply call those shoes into their hand. Likewise, if someone is wearing shoes, they can be vanished to that storage space and called back in later.

SHIELDS

PHYSICAL SHIELD A physical shield sits above the skin and protects from physical harm and blasts of power. These kinds of shields can be layered, so someone who wears Summer-sky and Opal may layer a shield of Summer-sky over Opal over Summer-sky again to add more layers of protection. Just make sure to leave a hole in the shield so you can breathe and another to take care of necessities.

SIGHT SHIELD If you want to remain unseen, wrap yourself in a sight shield. This kind of shield renders you invisible, even to those who wear a darker Jewel than you, but the darker Jeweled person will be able to sense your presence or notice the ripples of refracted light.

AURAL SHIELD An aural shield blocks sounds and keeps conversations private. If a conversation is private, it's polite for the darker Jeweled person to shield. When a darker Jeweled person senses a shielded conversation, it's possible for them to overhear but is, again, polite to either pretend they cannot hear or outright ignore the conversation.

PSYCHIC SHIELD Most Blood combine psychic and sight shields to be as unnoticeable as possible. A psychic shield prevents other Blood from detecting someone's unique psychic scent, the mental impression that uniquely identifies them. As with other shields, someone who wears a darker Jewel will be able to detect that something is off when someone near them is using a psychic shield.

TANGLED WEBS

While only women are born Black Widows and only Black Widows have an innate knowledge and understanding of how to weave the tangled webs of dreams and visions, anyone can learn. Once, this knowledge was monitored by the Hourglass coven, a collection of powerful and respected Black Widows. That is no longer true. Tangled webs can reveal potential futures and be used to create elaborate illusions that trap and damage the mind. They can also be used to heal the mind, as only Black Widows have the training that allows them to walk through madness, what the Blood called the Twisted Kingdom.

ON BREAKING
Power is in the mind, and the mind is a fragile thing. Any Blood male or female can be broken, meaning they are sealed off from the abyss and can no longer access their Jeweled strength. They maintain the ability to do most forms of basic Craft but will always feel less.

The easiest way to break one of the Blood is to rape them. Brutal trauma that causes the individual to turn into their own mind and plummet into the abyss (which is the Blood's source of comfort and strength) will often send them hurting through the web of their mind, breaking it. Rape is certainly not the only way to break one of the Blood, but it is the most common and is thus answered with execution when an offender is caught.

Traditionally, if a member of the Blood is to be broken as a form of punishment, someone who wears a darker Jewel takes the individual deeper into the abyss than they would otherwise be able to go. The power there tries to fill the vessel of the mind, but the mind cannot hold that darker power, and so the individual's power breaks without damaging their mind or their self.

Breaking is considered the punishment of last resort among the Blood.

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