Soulbinding

A magical union of two wills, wherein the participants willingly entwine portions of their souls through ritual, arcane vow, and emotional resonance. It is not mere marriage—it is a fusion, a pact, and sometimes a peril. Performed through ancient sigilcraft and mutual consent, a soulbinding forms a permanent link between two individuals across distance, planes, and even time itself.

History

Controversy:

• The Church of the Seven views soulbinding with great suspicion—blasphemous if performed without divine sanction, dangerous if used to skirt traditional family structures or divine law.
• The Magisterium, however, studies it with morbid fascination—an ultimate expression of magical intimacy and arcane trust.
• It is rare, complex, and legally unrecognized by the Senate—though its magical force is undeniable.

Execution

Known Properties of Soulbinding:

• Empathic Resonance: Soulbound individuals often sense one another's emotional states, even when separated.
• Shared Lifeforce (Partial): If one is wounded or dying, the other may feel the echo of it—or, in some cases, absorb a portion of the harm.
• Arcane Synchronicity: Spells cast in tandem become more potent; wards woven by one may be completed or channeled by the other.
• Death Consequence: If one dies violently or magically, the soulbound partner may suffer mental trauma, visions, or spiritual damage. In rare cases, they are haunted by fragments of the other’s essence.

Sanguina Viventis

"The living Blood Rite"

A step beyond traditional soulbinding is Sanguina Viventis.  It is performed with the intent to graft lineages and operates to alter magical bloodline traits.  It is an advanced, rarely performed augmentation and is prohibited without Magisterium sanction due to its spiritual risks and theological controversy.  in effect, The heir's arcane and biological signature (used in wards, scrying, and sigilwork) becomes nearly indistinguishable from that of the adopting noble family.  Magical traits that are blood-based — such as resistance to enchantments, innate explosive power, or blood-locked ancestral vaults — may become accessible to the heir.  As of current understanding, it is a secret kept by the death mages of House Kamose, and only officially performed by the Great and Greater Houses.

Controversly, the Church of the Seven vehemently opposes Sanguina Viventis, calling it “a theft of blood and divine intention.”  The Magisterium permits it only when no viable heir remains and a full family consensus is secured — including the reigning Duke or Archon's approval, if noble succession is involved.  In extreme historical cases, Sanguina Viventis was used to preserve dying lines — and at least one such heir rose to become a Duke of a minor province.

The heir may begin to physically resemble members of the bloodline, especially in magical aura, hair tone, eye sigils, or voice cadence.  However, the process risks spiritual destabilization, especially if the heir’s soul resists full submission.  In rare cases, this leads to arcane echoing — a condition where the heir experiences hallucinated memories, bleedover emotions, or ancestral echoes.  Some theologians within the Church also hypothesize that it could permenantly damage one's soul making it difficult, if not impossible, to raise the recipient from the dead or allow them to pass on into the next world through Alphleatay.