Blood Magic

Blood magic is an ancient art, that draws power from the user's own lifeforce, pain, and vitality, practiced long before the fall of humanity. Though throughout history, it has been shunned and looked down upon, seen as dark magic. It is rare to see practitioners of this magic outside of the Orders of Hunters, where blood hunters and blood clerics work together in the shadows to protect the world from monsters.

At some point, any Hunter who was trained in an order will have been told the story of how hemomancy came to be. Eons ago, long before the fall of mankind, a warrior sought to defend his home from a tide of monsters. In his search for the power to do so, he was visited by a celestial spirit, who opened his mind to the power of blood magic. He used this power to repel the monsters, and took on an apprentice. For generations both the power of blood magic, and the name of that warrior, were passed from master to apprentice, until one master broke tradition and formed an order of hunters. It's from this order that almost all others stem, having found new ways to use or enhance hemomancy.

### **The Story of Hemomancy**

Nobody knows the name of the first ever blood hunter. He was a warrior, from a small village in a far off land. This was not a peaceful time, monsters of all shapes and sizes roamed the world, and the worst of these were demons. Sent by Orcus, the Prince of Undeath, an army of demons were ravaging the countryside. Wherever they went, they left only ashen ruins, salted earth, and shambling corpses of those slain by the horde. This warrior knew his village would be next, and began to seek aid. The fortified towns would not help, they felt safe behind their walls and were happy to let the demons destroy the villages as long as they left them alone. There were no other villages he could go to for aid, so he looked higher. He sought divine help, for 3 days and 3 nights, he prayed and begged for the favour of the gods. But no answer came. But, on the fourth day, as he made ready to stand against the horde, alone, it is said a spirit appeared before him. A celestial, but not a god. Her name is unknown, but she is sometimes called The Mother of Blood. She blessed the warrior, and opened his mind to the powers of hemomancy.

With this power, he repelled the horde, and saved his town. But the people of his town did not see his heroics. All they saw was dark magic, blood curses, and evil. So they cast him out, to live on the outskirts of society, shunned by those he had saved. Over time he grew in his exile, learning and understanding more of this newfound power. Eventually, he took an apprentice, and taught her the ways of blood magic, even gave her his name, some say. And so she carried on this tradition. She taught an apprentice, and gave them the name, and they passed that name to their apprentice. For generations, there was only one name for our kind, though no one still living could tell you it.

Until one of these apprentices broke tradition. Foreseeing a great tragedy, he took more than a single student. Dozens of warriors came to learn under him, forming the first of what we would call an order, the Order of the Dawn. Despite this break from tradition, one of his students still took the name, and left this order to continue the ancient way, but they are not important to this story anymore. For years there was one large order of hemomancers, who battled against the creatures of the night, until the people turned on them. Having forgotten all that they had done for them, the people saw only the dark magic and, as had happened to the first of our kin, sought to push out these dark practitioners.

Cast out from their homeland, they came to the newly uninhabited continent of Ghamida, and began to lay down roots. Establishing themself in this fledgling land, they hid under the shadow of new empires and kingdoms, rebuilding so that they may defend this land in secret. It is from this Order of the Dawn, that the other three great orders were born. The Order of the Beast came first, seeing inspiration in the power of Lycanthropy. Then came the Order of the Chimera, seeking to further draw upon the tincture that created our kind. Most recently came the Order of the Eternal, drawn from the light by a timeless being of power.

### The Orders

There are four main Orders of Hunters, and countless minor/lesser orders. Most of the minor orders were formed by former members of the four main orders, who left for some reason or another. There are more orders than could be counted, and plenty of Hunters that operate or were trained outside the structure of orders, but these are some basic, established groups you can use for your own character, or as a starting point for creating your own.

#### The Order of the Dawn

The oldest order in Gharmidh, formed during the resettling of this continent. They train their hunters in the arts of Ghostslaying. With radiant rites, and etheral steps, they focus on the eradication of undeath. This distaste for undeath has lead to a strong base of worship of the Raven Queen within it's ranks. This order has it's headquarters in a squat fortress, called the Morningkeep, in southern Vershnila

#### The Order of the Beast

The first to break from the Order of the Dawn, the Order of the Beast drew inspiration from the oldest blood curse; Lycanthropy. They have studied it's workings, and use it to empower their Hunters. Due to this primal hunger to hunt and battle monstrous beings, many of these Hunters worship gods such as Gwaeron Windstrom, and other gods of hunting and the wild. Their headquarters, Castle Greyjaw, can be found on a small island off the northern coast of Vershnila.

#### The Order of the Chimera

Younger than the previous two orders, the Order of the Chimera sought to enhance the basis of what makes a Hunter. By drawing on and experimenting with variations of the Hunter's Bane, this order have learned ways to create potions and tinctures that interact with the bane in ways that enhance certain abilities, though they take their own price in return. Often called Mutants by other orders, they alter their bodies beyond what most other Hunters would care for. They have made their home in an underground fortress named The Warren, with entrances hidden throughout the Deadwood, in southern Avia.

#### The Order of the Eternal

The youngest and smallest of the great orders, the Order of the Eternal was formed by Hunters who discovered a ritual of undeath. Just as the Beasts saw power in Lycanthropy, the Eternals saw power in undeath. Using this ritual, they elevated one of their number to a state of half life, half death. Now but a spirit, unable to effect the world, but able to imbue Hunters with a fraction of his power. These Profane Souls use the power of their Undying leader to hunt and destroy monsters. They operate out of The Briarkeep, a castle hidden deep within the Evenwood, in eastern Lithosphere.