Darkblood Tieflings Ethnicity in Erisdaire | World Anvil

Darkblood Tieflings

"There are always those who wear the sin of their line openly, writ in the very flesh they live inside. Do not place your trust in them, and do not give them aid. If they are to atone for the sin of their ancestors, it must be by their own doing."
— High Speaker Tlah'Tolan

Darkblood tieflings are those who are of a greyscale hue of skin, starting at what is called "shale" and moving to what is called "soot". Invariably, there is distaste among other tieflings due to the shades of skin being associated with one of the more infamous ancestral figures. While there is often a talk of unity and common ground among tieflings, the Darkblood line is seen as an aberration at best and a vile being at worst. Those born within this series of hues are outcasts, often finding their way into cities of mixed racial composition so they can deal simply with the general reputation of tieflings instead. To have one born within the family also carries a stigma, as now the family is open to being viewed with some suspicion about them. One of the few ways to alleviate this suspicion is to simply disown the family member who had been born a Darkblood and sever all ties beyond public meeting and discourse.
For a Darkblood, acceptance is far harder to attain and might never truly be offered. This is why many choose to find a magical answer such as permanently changing their skintone through enchantment. With the notable expense and the potential for this to be noticed and exposed, many Darkbloods simply choose to embrace becoming outcasts. Most are said to become brigands along with being an outlaw, striking back at the society which expelled them. Others wind up serving non-tiefling masters, downplaying the cultural stigma or embracing it as the situation and their personality leads.

Culture

Historical figures

There is one major historical figure who was a Darkblood tiefling, and one of the cited reasons to believe all who bear the skin shades to be tainted. Flamecaller Aloh'Thila was known to serve darker forces from beyond the Veils, and it is routinely said she sought to enslave other tieflings to her will. A few examples have been found in old tomes and scrolls of such, along with the downfall of Aloh'Thila due to the intervention of adventurers. Rumors about who her master was, from the Torment of Chains to the Queen of Scales, but most of the specific and conclusive evidence has been lost over the generations. Her old citadel has also long been reduced to ruin, and lost amidst the hills of Helenic.

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