The Coven of Blood

As with all Covens, the Coven of Blood resembles a large house. Aside from its dreary, chipped exterior, it is also identified by a turquoise roof and the fact that it lives painfully far from the village. As its structure implies, the interior of this building is very much a house, with rooms, stairwells, and utilities. Instead of flesh and bone, this house is decorated in elegant displays and intricate interior design. Tomes, statues, and other sacred objects line the walls of all rooms. Candles and lanterns set the rooms with an unsettling glow. Furniture is placed everywhere, especially seating areas, as discussion is the cult's primary pastime. In the upstairs rooms are simple beds for guests and students. The downstairs floor even features a small kitchen, although it is currently utilized for experimental alchemy.

The Coven's practices take place in its basement, which expands its space through an intricate mile of caverns and tunnels. This may be entered through a simple hatch locked by magic and only accessible to its members. Large runes and strange objects make up these underground chambers, specially fortified for delving into dangerous magics. This network also leads to a dungeon of sorts which is said to be the culprit of occasional disappearances of those too curious to know better.

The Coven of Blood is the youngest pinnacle of power to grace the hive. While all animastic houses work with arcanic power, the Coven of Blood works with its source much more intimately through pacts with creatures of the Abyss itself rather than by proxy. The creation of this coven began in necessity, and though it was proposed and beheld by Malmarax himself, some consider it too dangerous to practice.

## Motives

The Coven of Blood represents temptation. More specifically, temptation for power and all it entails. Malmarax Cultists know this well as a prominent philosophic element of their doctrine. As such, this coven strives to satisfy the temptation of power while preserving the virtue of the mind. . Their Coven Curse is much crueler than others.

## Personalities

Blood Cultists are especially strong-willed and clever. They are more likely to try than to ask. Some may even describe them as demonic, as they share many attributes with the Abyssal creatures they work with. They are also particularly devout to their deity; it is most often these cultists who are seen completing trials and sacraments. Because the Abyss tempts them, they compensate by putting Malmarax at the forefront of their daily lives so that their devotion may save them from the throws of temptation. The chief herself is a member of this cult.

## Exports

**Hyriak Pits:** Free of their confinement, Hyriaks inhabit the territory around the old village and its neighboring forest. These demons are wild, however, they are drawn to the village because of its residual arcana and the underground which they inhabit.They can also be found trapped in the new Coven's dungeon.

**Old Village Dungeon:** Located in the back of the Coven's basement, this is a dangerous hotpot of captured creatures which wander tunnels and crevices. It is common to see Hyriaks around this are, as this is where they once called home.

**Wild Lessers:** The coven occasionally spawns accidental Lessers during their practices. These are wild demons which are scattered in various locations, but are most often found in the prison or other points of misery near their spawn point.

**Runes:** A centuries old practice that advanced the Hive by eons.

**Mark Arcana:** This is an advanced type of rune-making in which a user is so fluent or attuned to the Abyss that they are able to create new or modified runes on objects for specific purposes. These runes are primarily utilized in systematic structures throughout the village, such as special locks or illumination.They are also used in body modification much like Enchantments, allowing things such as sight or voice.

**Portways:** This coven's magic is responsible for the creation of portways, which are public-access rune portals for everyday travel. The village's portway is located close to the Coven of Blood and resembles a simple field, leveled and adorned with different circles for different established locations. The runes are modified for round-trip teleports so that when a Methathurge activates the rune, its travelers will be able to return from their designated location.

**Glyphs**: A revolutionary use for runes harnessed shortly before the addition of Metathurgy to Three Rock.