The Creed of the Bloodsworn
“By blood shed and bonds broken, I swear: I shall not rest, nor shall I fall, until I stand again beside those I’ve lost.”
Overview
The
Creed of the Bloodsworn is a sacred and tragic path, followed only by those whose hearts have been shattered by unbearable loss. Widowers, orphans, and lone survivors of massacred kin often take the Bloodsworn Vow, forging their sorrow into a blade they carry into legend.
These knights do not ride for gold, nor for glory—but for the faintest hope that, by becoming truly worthy, they may one day pierce the veil between life and death, and find their lost loved ones once more.
Their reward is not promised in life—but in myth.
Core Tenets
1. The Dead Do Not Forget the Bloodsworn
Bloodsworn believe that legendary deeds echo into the realms beyond death. If one’s name becomes great enough, beloved souls beyond the veil will hear it—and respond.
2. Worthiness Must Be Earned in Flesh and Flame
The path is not for the devout of word, but the devout of deed. Each wound, each impossible challenge overcome, is a mark of passage on the soul. Only those forged in suffering may approach the boundary of the afterlife.
3. The Oath Is Sealed in Loss
None may take the Bloodsworn Vow without first enduring a loss that severs the soul: a fallen lover, a slaughtered family, a ruined home. Mourning becomes purpose. The blood of the past fuels the fires of the future.
4. No Worthy Challenge Refused
The Bloodsworn are oathbound to accept quests of grief, justice, and redemption—no matter the odds. To refuse a righteous plea is to break the creed.
5. Death Is Not the Goal
To die meaninglessly is to fail the path. The Bloodsworn must survive, again and again, until their deeds are undeniable. Only then might the veil shift.
The Final Reward: Transcendence
Those who complete a feat so great that their name is etched into history may become
Transcendent—a being whose soul lingers in story and spirit. Some say the Transcendent walk among the grieving, appearing in dreams, guiding the dying, or guarding the forgotten roads between life and death.
Symbols & Marks
The Bloodshard Circlet:
A jagged circlet of blood-dark iron, worn across the brow or built into armor. Forged from the remnants of what was lost—be it a lover’s sword, a brother’s helm, or a child’s keepsake.
The Mourner’s Tether:
A black cloth, torn from a fallen one’s garments, wrapped around the wrist, blade, or worn over the heart.
The Seal of the Unyielding Path:
A burned or etched mark upon the palm or back of the hand. A vow carved into flesh—never to turn away from the road of pain.
Sayings of the Bloodsworn
“I do not bleed for pain. I bleed for passage.”
“Let my deeds echo louder than my death.”
“Grief is my chain; worth is my key.”
“The road ends at their side, or not at all.”
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