Bloodstone
The Earth's Blood
The stone cracked underneath the pestle. An aged monk rolled the tool around the edge, twisting and crushing the arcane obsidian into fine powder, maroon dust rising from the bowl. Finely ground, he emptied the mortar into a canvas pouch. Routine. Natural. How many times had he paid the tribute? He couldn't count; less so the count of initiates given to the Broken God. At a certain point honor must have given way to nihilism, there is only so much blood one can bear, but age can assuage such challenges and memory erase. He caught himself staring into the vestry, paused half-step through the threshold of the sacristy, hands clutching a phantom bowl and musing his apathy. These sorts of thoughts are normal, he recited as he often did.
Once it was a comfort to him, to repeat phrases and words from an older, wiser master. But, as it became increasingly evident through the years, they only served to placate the guilt rather than answer for it. In any case, there was no answer from his god. There never truly had been. Only the Rites and The Strazhdan ("Suffering"). The suffering was a constant.
He shook himself free of his delusion. Closing the door to the storage and locking the sacristy behind him, he paced through the halls of the temple, down to the Garden of Draig. The light that kissed the sills, flashed black with his shadow, briefly blocking the dawning solar. Through stone arches, an array of beings, stood around an lectern atop a half-circle dais. One, clothed in blood-red robes adorning the steel frame of their plate, positioned behind the lectern in silent reverence. Four others, kneeling in the snow before the dais, swaddled in white furs.
"Brother Reynold."
"Sir Lionel."
"You have the Rite."
Stepping from the dais the knight, adorned in blood, knelt and offered his dagger to the monk. Without delay, Brother Reynold received the dagger, removed the pouch from his hip and emptied its contents into a slit in the lectern. He plunged the dagger into the depths of the lectern's open wound. The rose-color of the blade sliding into the stone leaving only a silvered hilt topped with flat, pointed pommel. Pressing a thumb into the pommel, the points pierced the skin, exposing the barest of crimson liquid and draining into a central well.
A word in Old Tongue. A raised hand, two fingers sworn. Dawn broke the plane and danced across the lectern, ridges, full of powdered blood, illuminated in the daylight. Crimson color evaporated from the carved face, moving as smoke, winding and wispy, up to unblemished violet. Casting through the smoke, stealing the blood from the air, the sun cast the temple behind them in red.
For a moment, there was wonder.
Properties
Material Characteristics
Bloodstone holds the appearance of obsidian, dotted with the color of its namesake throughout. Upon closer inspection, the entirety of the ore is a variety of shade of crimson. Naturally difficult to discover, the ore is found in veins underneath The KRVE. Furthering, they are centrally located throughout the valley, underneath the highest peaks where the Dwarves once made their home. Veins of the ore, run in streaks of crimson flecked with maroons and flame-like brilliance. Exposed ore is smooth, but internally marked by pocks and bubbles that form throughout.
Physical & Chemical Properties
Blood stone feels slick and smooth across its face. It can be melted in simple flames, bubbling and popping through its melting point. However, once removed from heat, it quickly returns to solid state without congealing or becoming plasma-like.
History & Usage
Everyday use
With ease, bloodstone may be utilized to staunch bleeding. By simply holding the ore to open wounds it may encourage rapid congealing and prevent further blood-flow. to utilize the stone for such purpose requires no prior medical or arcane knowledge, it is simply an active property of inert ore. However, it may not heal one's wound to the point of closure and does not return the vitae to the body. The Order uses inert stones to remedy most dangers and injuries within and without, preventing a need for generous medical training or supplies. Unfortunately for the Common Folk, bloodstone is too rare to obtain consistently and valued too highly by The People of Perth.
Cultural Significance and Usage
The Order utilizes bloodstone for a great many of their Rites. Upon first discovery, it was unearthed as a component for many divination magics and suitable for replacement for rarer or foreign materials unable to be found in the KRVE. Rationing its use, the Blooded have incorporated the magicks that consume it into their religious rituals, even in places where it may have not been used before. As it stands, it is a main component to ensure and conduct the Strazhdan. It also serves as a means to revere those lost in the Trials and release them from the echo-state they died in, freeing their minds and spirits from the illusion.
Manufacturing & Products
Those scholars who have created a stockpile of the material have theorized it has greater usage in production than its already notable arcane practice. However, as the only arcane masters lie within the Blooded, few common folk have the knowledge or experience to make necessary inroads. At best, they may work with Order Knights who have an interest in the material and serve as additional hands and minds to fuel the fires of invention. Although, there have been dwarves who have moved into human lands with curious tales of greater smiths...
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