Atrocious Athame

All power require sacrifice, but it doesn't have to be mine.

Atrocious Athame are curved blades with a razor-sharp edge, enchanted to draw blood from the wounds it creates and empower the Blood magic of any spell that uses the blood. The Athame is a Focus - an artifact made to enhance a mage's potency. Almost every Blood magic spell requires blood to be spilled, from drops to oceans, and the Athame

Description

Athame are short, curved daggers enscribed with runes that drink any blood that touch it. Once fed, the runes glow - brighter as they feed more, dimming as its energies are expended. They've not made for combat, best used on victims rather than enemies, lacking any form of guard and tend to be fragile. No matter what material they're made from - bone, steel, bronze, and thorn-wood being the most popular - they cut deep and never fail to find a vein. Against armor or tough hide, their edge can fail and chip, losing some of its power until the damage is repaired.

Athame's are highly sought after by every kind of Blood Mage. They are particularly common in Ur, where the land's giant ruler use oversized athame's as weapons of terror as much as tools of magic.

The Athame enhances both the Power and Efficiency of Blood Magic - any spell cast requires less blood and its effects are enhanced. As with any focus, it does not make the mage any more skilled in his art, but allows them to use what they know to a greater degree. In the hands of a master, the Athame scythes blood from victims to drown the battlefield in suffering.

Blood that stain an Athame never fades, only dry into the dagger. Well-used Athames are caked in a layer of taint that almost dulls the blade.

Construction

As with any artifact of Blood Magic, the process of creation is unpleasant and bloody. Seven sacrificial victim must be slain across seven days, their blood collected and purified - a term with different meaning for different mages, usually involving some sort of refining through alchemy, moonlight, or other acts that imbues it with power. Once that is done and the weapon itself is forged, the blood is used to quench the blade - a task it is wholly unsuited for, contributing to the Athame's fragility. Still, it's usually enough for the task, and some mages go through the extra effort of enchanting the blade with Earth magic to make them as durable as any sword.
Such blades can be terrors on the battlefield, used as weapons where every blow that draws blood empowers its wielder to continue the slaughter.

Rarity

Lesser Enchantment

Magic Used

Blood

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Focus

A Focus (plural Foci) is a spell or artifact used by mages to enhance their spellcasting. With magic entering a whole new age with the death of the old world and the End of All Things, Foci are growing in complexity and power. Mages compete, building whole cathedrals dedicated to magnifying their powers to earth-shattering proportions.
Some Foci stray from the more common form and become more... Esoteric. A pact with a formerly divine being, a wasting disease that grows Deathly energy even as the flesh rots away, distilled potion of rare and potent ingredients are all possible Foci.

Among the Foci, the Elemental powers are the most easy to create, while Divine are beyond the reach but the most skilled crafter and the most powerful reagents.