The Bloodletting
The Bloodletting is one of the most important ceremonies in Exaran culture. It is a coming-of-age rite that signals a young adult's commitment to Auros, as well as their self-control and dueling ability.
Execution
At the beginning of each match, two participants will enter at opposite ends of the arena, bow, and pray together with the chief umbra. Then, the duel begins.
The goal of the Bloodletting is, as the name suggests, to bleed your opponent as much as possible, without killing them. Killing or maiming during the Bloodletting is punishable by immediate exile. Instead, contestants aim to score hits that bleed deeply or are painful. The match ends with surrender or fainting by one side - surrender is considered less honorable than fighting until collapse.
After the end, umbras rush onto the field to heal the participants. Due to the sympathetic nature of darkness magic, this can be a grueling ordeal for the umbras. If not enough umbras are available or if they become too weak to continue, the Bloodletting is paused until future fighters can be healed safely.
At the end of the Bloodletting, all participants, winners or losers, are deemed full adults in Exaran society.
Components and tools
The most important piece of equipment for the Bloodletting is the ritual sword, the needle.
The needle is an impractical weapon, designed to inflict pain without killing, on the wielder as well as the target. The blade is two and a half feet long, and cross-shaped, with four edges that flare out near the base but taper to a sharp point at the end. The hilt is a short length of metal, unprotected from the blade itself - it is very easy for one's hand to slip and cut yourself. The design of the blade makes it difficult to cut deeply or inflict killing blows, and also difficult to parry or block without marring the edges. Thus, fights with needles are characterized by close-range attacks followed by dodges and escapes, ending in a multitude of long, short cuts.
The second ceremonial aspect is the arena itself. The only standard requirement is that the arena be unpaved or floored, leaving the contestants barefoot on the black soil of Exar. Traditionally, the arena is as small as practical, built of black stone, with seating above the main arena looking down. Poorer or more remote villages may build wooden arenas, which are sometimes wider and more open.
Observance
The Bloodletting is an annual tournament held of the darkest night of the year, the first new moon of the month of Olauromo.
Every sixteen-year-old who has not previously participated is required to join the ranks. It is not a true tournament, since there is no final winner. Every participant is paired up with the participant closest in age, and in the event of an odd number of sixteen-year-olds, the youngest participant will be the first participant of next year's tournamnet.
Every town with more than two eligible sixteen-year-olds has the option of staging its own tournament, or joining the rolls of a nearby tournament. This leads to drawn-out, multi-day affairs in the larger cities like Hellmouth, while smaller villages can be done in a few hours.
Comments