The Blackblood Prophecy

Talon's sword engraved with the prophecy

> "*When the moon is aflame a Blackblood will summon the slayers of men to conquer and purge the oppressors of old.*"
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**The Blackblood Prophecy** is a series of events that tell of an impeding doom to the realm, also called The Green World. Because of the power of the Asterkinj and the fear of destruction, both The Three and the Prime Order hoped to avoid the fulfillment by murdering all of the Blackbloods. Their attempts did not hinder the prophecy, as although Talon became the sole survivor of her village, she also bore the Asterkinj, making her The One the prophecy foretells.

## Overview

The prophecy is held in the Blackbloods highest regards. It is what prompted Toru Magmoor and several others to commit genocide against the Blackblood people, to ensure the prophecy was never fulfilled. The Smith spent years studying the prophecy and studying with Loremasters to understand the true meaning of the prophecy. After learning everything he could, Smith waited for someone who could complete the prophecy. Upon meeting Talon, he proclaimed that the person he was waiting for was her. Once she was ready to handle the responsibilities that came with the Asterkinj, he presented her a sword containing an engraved version of the prophecy.

## Dred's Version

> "*When the Blackblood rises death and pestilence will fly over the land like ashes in the wind.*"
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When Everit Dred recited the prophecy, it was notably different from that of what The Smith recalled. His prophecy forewarned of death and destruction coming to the land if the Blackblood were to rise. This could be due to the Prime Order eliminating everyone who spoke Yindrian so they could interpret the prophecies to what best fits their needs. Dred and the Prime Order inspired fear in others to keep the prophecy from coming to pass.

## History

The Three hired Tiberion Shek and his group of mercenaries named The Bones commit genocide by wiping out the last Blackblood village in the realm. The appointed Everit Dred to oversee the demise and ensure the job was completed. A member of The Bones, a man named The Wolf, had spent his life with The Bones but still clung to a semblance of faith. During the genocide, The Wolf chased a young Blackblood girl into the tunnels and shot an arrow at her. She opened a portal that allowed a Lu-Qiri, Baphnoro, to intercept the arrow in his arm. The Wolf saw this as a sign and spared the girls life. He lied to his leaders that there were no living members of the village. He then left The Bones to create a new life in hopes of understanding what he saw that night. He collected dozens, if not hundreds, of books about the Blackblood people and their prophecies. He began to piece together what he had seen and decided to wait in the lowly Gallwood Outpost for Talon's arrival.

Talon grew up alone and became a jaded young woman who fought to survive a world that didn't want her in it. She sought revenge for the murder of her village and family. She traveled to Gallwood Outpost to find. The Smith became her mentor and passed on knowledge about her species, the Lu-Qiri, and the prophecy. Then when Talon is ready to face the wild Baphnoro and The Bones, Smith gives her a sword containing the prophecy. He died in her arms moments later.

After acquiring The Book of Names with the help of her friends, Talon meets Ilyin, the Dragman. Ilyin then hands her a Lu-Qiri name to summon. Once Ekkundi is brought out of the Plane of Ashes, he is followed by his master Rebb. Rebb then makes it her mission to acquire the Asterkinj from Talon to fulfill the Prophecy herself. Her plans are ruined with the arrival of her sworn enemies, Vikka and his master Zed. With Rebb dead, Talon's role as The One remains. Talon and Zed then travel to Vor-Anden for some more information about their people and to acquire a weapon against the Prime Order. However, Zed tries to manipulate Talon into doing his bidding, as he acquired a kinj that manipulated minds. Talon subsequently banished him back to the Plane of Ashes.

When the Prime Order attacks Gallwood, their first assault ends in failure, with many lives lost. Before their second assault can happen, Talon draws her sword and looks at the prophecy one more time. She realizes that the time is right for her to summon the Lu-Qiri from the Plane of Ashes and brings back Vikka and Zed. Zed then summons more Lu-Qiri to fight against the Prime Order, bringing victory to The Outpost. Afterward, Zed reveals that he once again betrays Talon, having brought the Blackfist through the portal.

Four months later, under the strict leadership of the Blackbloods, the human residents tried to make rescue Gwynn Calkussar, only to end in failure. In order for her friends to be spared, Talon summons the Blackblood priestess Yavalla to the Green World. From Yavalla it is discovered that Talon's role as the chosen one has yet to be completed, despite Talon believing the defeat of the Prime Order was her purpose. After discovering the hidden entrance to the Yindrian labyrinth underneath Talon's home, Talon, Yavalla, Wren, and Janzo travel underground to find the entombed Vortakinj. Yavalla quickly uses the power of the Vortakinj to create The Hive.

The Hive spreads throughout the Realm, infecting everyone as they become her puppets and fight those who refuse to join. Four months after the Blackblood cease of Gallwood, The Hive launches an assault of their own. Yavalla seemingly wins by infecting all but the Kinj-bearers and Queen Rosmund. Her victory is short-lived with the combined efforts of Talon and Rosmund, who had recently acquired the Terakinj from Talon's father Sai-vek Redwan. Rosmund sacrificed herself to save the Realm and free the infected. Meanwhile, the Vortakinj and Terakinj return to their rightful owners, powerful creatures who proclaim themselves Gods.

While the realm was transitioning with the Rule of Queen Falista Relman and her rule, Vorta kept sending visions to the kinj bearers. The loyalist kinj bearer Two, soughtout her and the rest of her kind to revive them. Only for Talon and Zed to follow her with Luna tagging along.

## The One

The One is a title given to the person who must fulfill the prophecy. While there has been conflict over who will fulfill the prophecy and why, Talon remains the Chosen One.

* **Talon:** The sole survivor of a Blackblood village annihilated by The Bones, Talon's fighting spirit is coupled with utter selflessness. She is brave and possesses many traits that make her an excellent leader, though her stubborn nature and inability to trust new people often hinders her chances. She learns about the prophecy from The Smith, who engraves it on a sword made specially for her. She believed she had completed the prophecy by summoning the Blackbloods and Lu-Qiri from the Plane of Ashes to defeat the Prime Order. However, she was informed months later by the high priestess Yavalla that the prophecy had not been completed. She possesses the Asterkinj, which was passed to her from her mother during the Blackblood slaughter.
* **Rebb:** A Blackblood warrior and member of the Blackfist, Rebb was a cruel and vindictive woman who sought to steal the Asterkinj from Talon to become The One. While Talon debated surrendering her kinj, she ultimately chose not too and killed Rebb with the help of Zed and Vikka.

## Notes and Trivia

* The prophecy initially was believed to foretell the downfall of the Prime Order and The Three, as both groups oppressed the realm for over a decade.
* There are many different ways to interpret the Prophecy, as seen with Dred's interpretations of Yindrian:
	+ When the Moon is Aflame could refer to the time when Talon first summoned Baphnoro as he was summoned during a blood moon, or it could refer to when she summons Vikka and Zed as the second wave of the Prime Order was about to comense at night.
	+ The Slayers of Men could be the Lu-Qiri, since when wild they can consume humans, or The Hive, as members slowly died from passing on their kinjes.
	+ Conquer and Purge the Oppressors of Old could refer to either the Prime Order, The Three, or The Seven, as each group were oppressors before their eventual destruction at the hands of The Chosen One, either by directly involved or by the choice of The Chosen one.
	+ Dred's interpretation also spoke of death and pestilence spreading across the realm, which did happen during The Hive outbreak.