As time progressed, the bonds were thought not to only be an aid in battle but a method of discerning whether one's partner was ever in trouble. It became increasingly common for individuals to become bonded with their siblings, children, and even closest friends.
The Imperium
Bloodbonds are thought to have been extremely common during the height of Cravvik Imperium hegemony, serving as both art-pieces themselves as well as a way of displaying one's closest relations. One theory proposes their origin to have been during a period of wartime in the early Imperium, the idea being that partners would get bloodbonds to be able to tell if the other had died in battle.
As time progressed, the bonds were thought not to only be an aid in battle but a method of discerning whether one's partner was ever in trouble. It became increasingly common for individuals to become bonded with their siblings, children, and even closest friends.
How it Works
Like most forms of biological arcanium usage, the exact process of physical bonding between the two individuals through the ink is unclear. The arcanium is thought to be minutely reactive on the nerves of the individuals, given that the main sensations transmitted through the bond are those of severe pain and pleasure. Emotional/psychiatric disturbances are felt about as strongly as physical ones are. This can make it difficult to differentiate between the two, and physical sensations are also heightened in the presence of emotional disturbances.
It's important to note that the bloodbond scarcely relays any contextual information regarding the sensations, often making it difficult to determine what sort of danger one's bonded partner might be in. The bloodbond even becomes more liability than asset in the event that both individuals are experiencing pain and/or disoriented.
A Delicate Skill
“Here’s how it goes.” Jezen was angled toward them again in that way that suggested she was seeing them despite there being a thick cloth covering her eyes. Eye-holes. Whichever it was under there. “We do a little bloodletting from the arm you’re not getting the ink done on. Pour it in the jar, mix it up real good. Poke at you for a few hours each, and then wrap ‘em up. Questions?”
Evander sat forward. “What if we have a reaction?”
“You won’t. You’re not an arcanist, and I’ve been doing this for almost a century.”
Bloodbonding is a particularly difficult skill for a blood arcanist to master. Yet it was still highly encouraged for blood arcanists in the Imperium to develop a basic grasp of the skill because bloodbonds, and tattoos in general, were so common. A skilled blood inkist was an astute artist as much as they were an arcanist, and bloodbonding in particular requires one of the
highest degrees of precision out of any arcanium uses.
Because bloodinking involves attuning the
ink into the lower dermis and bloodstream in a way that won't cause arcanic reaction, the actual tattooing process takes about twice as long as a traditional tattoo might. Thus, getting a bloodbond is somewhat of an endurance test for both the tattooist and recipients. An inkist will allot an entire day for two bloodbonded clients, with each tattoo taking several hours and a necessary rest period of one to three hours in between.
Several blood inkists hide within the winding alleys of the Loched Quarter, turning a hefty profit in the city of Mareve despite the criminalization of arcanium and arcanists. Bloodbonds are increasingly common within the army, and the government and police turn a blind eye at the practice, and even encourage it in some capacity, because of its usefulness.
Jezen Veskev is considered the most skilled blood inkist not only in the city but perhaps in all of the Confederacy. She draws even the highest nobility to her door - that is, if they know where to find her.
“Bah, you’ll still have some discoloration.” Jezen had slipped back through the curtain and slapped Ast’s arm on her way around the desk. “You deaf? I said don’t touch ‘em. He gets an infection and then it’ll be really noticeable.” Ast pulled his hand away and they both watched her arbitrary rearrangement of everything. She shifted the stack of papers, no neater than it was before, and then shoved the jars containing what was left of their blood into the cabinet without so much as labeling them by type.
A Bond Unto Death
A bloodbond's most crucial use is considered its most unfavorable. In the event that a bonded individual dies, the bloodbond of their partner scars. The partner's skin is forever thickened and marred, making a distortion of the tattoo itself. The skin can no longer be used for another bloodbond, meaning an individual can only become bloodbonded twice throughout their life.
“Can you feel it yet?”
“Feel what?” Ast asked dumbly.
“The pulse.” Evander set his arm down, having finished, and placed the rest of the wrappings on the desk. Ast knew what he meant, but there wasn’t any feeling from the skin other than the tenderness of it having been needled repeatedly for the past few hours. And during the process he’d felt the soft pass of his own blood through the vein that ran directly underneath, but that had faded at this point.
“Can you?” he asked. Evander flexed his wrist and cocked his head for a moment, then nodded.
“I think so. Very faintly. But it’s slower than mine, I think.”
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