Blood Magic

### Overview

Those who specialize in hemomancy, or as it is more commonly known, blood magic, sometimes also referred to as "the Mortal Magic", are called blood mages. Practitioners of hemomancy are scarce within the histories of Drevhall, due to the checkered history and nature of this eldritch magic, but in recent years, a couple have resurfaced. Blood magic and its users are often feared and respected, and are commonly regarded with suspicion or caution. Although the magic they bear is commonly considered dark magic by those unfamiliar with the intricacies of the arcane, blood mages come from varying moral backgrounds and often struggle against being defined by their magic.

### History

The history of hemomancy within Drevhall is not well known and has few credible sources attesting to it. What is known is based more on rumour and conjecture than fact. Historians speculate this stems from the art's secrecy and tendency to be passed down orally, as well as a number of incidents of records about the art being burned, and a number of tomes referring to the topic being "lost". Overall, the knowledge of hemomancy itself has been kept secret by countless generations of Blood Mages, both good and bad, for a multitude of reasons. This plus a not inconsiderable dose of popular stigma around the art has allowed the magic’s full inner workings to elude even the brightest magical minds throughout the eras. Rumours circulate that those who have made breakthroughs or solved the puzzle of Blood Magic with the intention of spreading that knowledge often turned up dead in mysterious circumstances. Fact or fiction, the shadow these stories cast over the prospect of researching Blood Magic add to the reasons it is not widely known.

Nearly as enduring as the mystery surrounding Blood Magic are the rumors and speculation about the magic and how it could theoretically work. Many such theories share common elements: How it relies on the use of a certain blood, how it can only be used on a full moon, how it could be used to manipulate the blood of others, how it could bestow immortality and youth, and so on. Such has been a matter of (mostly baseless) debate for countless years amongst scholars and magic users, many of whom have delved into the mysteries of hemomancy to no avail. Some even suspect that blood mages themselves spread these rumours, in an attempt to further conceal the truth of their magic.

Regarding the mages that practice this mysterious art themselves, history, unsurprisingly, has little to say. It is believed that in ancient Drevhall, they were more common and often enjoyed status affording them more respect than they often get these days. Some of the sparse records claim some blood mages used their magic for good purposes and to protect others. Of course the truly wicked ones do linger in memory longer and find a form of eternal life in the pages of history, as well. Many are the stories among the surviving stories of those who used this power for personal gain and dark purposes. One popular rumour is that those who use the magic become mad, crazed to the point of harming others. Other rumours state that all Blood Mages are claimed by evil, driven to shed blood for an unknown deity or demon. The superstitious public often associate Vampires with blood magic, but the credibility of those claims is unproven. What is beyond dispute is that eventually, the number of Blood Mages within Drevhall dwindled until virtually none were left. Thus, to most, both blood mages and hemomancy became stories, myths to scare the young into eating their vegetables, horror stories to tell around campfires, and some worked their way into a heroic tale or two ... most often as the villains who are struck down in the end.

#### Contemporary Age

In modern times, hemomancy has experienced something of a resurgence due to the appearance of two prominent Blood Mages, who worked at cross purposes on opposite sides of the second Nashar Invasion. It is from their stories most facts we know about blood magic today are drawn.

##### Terebus

The first Blood Mage was Terebus, right hand to Nashar and first general of the Nashar Legion during the second Nashar invasion, in which Nashar tried to conquer the entirety of Drevhall, but was repelled by a united coalition. It was his actions that led to the revelation that hemomancy was more than mere rumor. It was real. Terebus used a concoction known as ‘The Whisper’, and used what appeared to be blood circles throughout the Riverlands during the invasion. He used the Whisper as a means to communicate with his victims and allies telepathically, taunting them or giving them commands. The nature of his magic blood circles remained unknown until they were later deciphered by ClassyBritish. These blood circles were used to teleport Nashar's Legions about, allowing them to strike suddenly, unpredictably, and in force, and bypass the coalition's lines of defense. Terebus was ultimately slain by the Knights of the Withered Rose within Dunwall’s sewers, after his plot to bomb the auction about to take place above them was discovered ... though some claim that they saw him after his alleged death, very much alive, and theorize his magic may have enabled him to even cheat death.

##### Classy

The second Blood Mage was ClassyBritish, Alchemist and founder of Copper Lake. Classy’s use of hemomancy became apparent when she used the magic to protect her home from intruders, along with her small amount of knowledge about the magic as a whole. It was her who determined what the Whisper was and also determined that the blood circles were used for teleportation purposes. Unlike Terebus, she used the magic for good and to aid the people of Drevhall rather than to bring harm. However, her magical power with hemomancy is regarded as far weaker than Terebus'. After the war, she departed from the Riverlands, due to a hit being placed on her and her being pursued by assassins. She recently returned to Drevhall.

### On Blood Magic

Hemomancy is a rare form of magic that relies on the use of blood to channel magic, along with specific rituals.

There are a number of credible accounts from the second Nashar invasion that attribute blood magic with the power of telepathy and mass teleportation, and associate it with elaborate circular diagrams painted in blood.

Rumours persist that using blood magic requires sacrifice. Blood magic is generally regarded as black magic, a reputation owing to previous users of the magic and the overall seemingly dark nature of it. Outside of this information, little is known about hemomancy, due to generations of Blood Mages keeping this magic secret from those who may abuse it.

However, it is very common for individuals who aren’t even Blood Mages to claim that their magic or ‘unique skills’ are that of hemomancy - mostly to show off or make themselves appear powerful. This is not true and is often debunked by those who wield the magic or overall know how hemomancy works. The means of gaining the ability to learn hemomancy is unknown to the public, as it is one of the many well-kept secrets of the magic.

### Hemomancy Redlines

This section covers the requirements to utilize hemomancy in the development of your own characters and lore.

You cannot make any alterations or changes to Blood Magic lore without its owner (TheClassyBritish)'s permission. There is more to know about blood magic than is publicly known out of character or documented on this wiki, so check with the owner before making any changes or additions, lest you defy the secret canon.

Explicit permission from an administrator and the Blood Magic lore owner TheClassyBritish is required for your character to be allowed to learn hemomancy.

This magic cannot be gained in character backstories - meaning you cannot have a character who knew hemomancy in their backstory. You can mention having run-ins with a Blood Mage or researching the magic, an know the publicly available information about Blood Magic, but you cannot gain the ability to use hemomancy from your background without permission. It cannot be self-learned without permission either.

If your character does not know hemomancy, DO NOT use hemomancy as the explanation for how your character performs certain actions (Example: /TP, etc).

Blood Magic is focused on roleplay to benefit story arcs, and the magic is not intended to offer any direct advantages in player vs. player fights. Because of its power and the mechanics behind it, blood magic involves a heavy amount of trust that the number of rituals performed are moderated correctly and that the rules and restrictions of the magic are obeyed. This magic also can use roleplay signs to help set scenes and explain what your character sees, feels, hears, etc. These are not intended to be interpreted as actually being signs in the world in character. (Ex: [!] The air around you feels overwhelming [!])

Code red rules still apply to Blood Magic. If you are uncomfortable with participating in role playing Blood Magic (due to themes and elements such as: blood-letting, self harm, addictions, mental health issues, etc.) - PLEASE LET THE BLOOD MAGE KNOW out of character. Due to the themes involved and requirements to be a Blood Mage, all Blood Mage players should understand someone may be uncomfortable with roleplaying blood magic, and should be accommodating if you wish to remove yourself from a situation which makes you actually uncomfortable.

If a Blood Mage does use their rituals on someone, that player will be contacted out of character, and is expected to comply with the Blood Mage player's instructions about Blood Magic. If they see roleplay signs in their location about Blood Magic, players are expected heed these signs. Because the information about hemomancy is secret both in and to a slightly lesser extent, out of character, any players whose characters are affected by hemomancy will be given out of character explanations in Discord Direct Messages on what blood magic entails to help explain how they should roleplay the situation and clear up any confusion.

Players are expected not to metagame using any out of character explanations provided to them, and any such incidents will be taken up with the administration team. Not properly roleplaying out what the Blood Mage tells you or roleplaying traits not approved by the Blood Mage may be construed as powergaming and will be brought to the admins.

Access to Blood Magic will only be permitted to a character with permission from both the admins and lore owner (Classy). If you want to use Blood Magic, you must demonstrate you can roleplay correctly, that you can be trusted with this information and power, and your character must have committed to learning about this magic.

Blood magic is meant to be used to expand a character’s lore and used to aid in future arcs, not to be abused or to cause out of character issues on the server.