Blood Scourge

Caught in the Blood Tribute, the man could only lie there, spasming in pain as his blood was drawn from his body. His flesh withered and clung to his bones, leaving him a blackened skeleton. But the poor soul would not get to rest for a red light shone in his sunken eyes. He had fallen under the vixen's control, a Blood Scourge, no more than a soulless slave.

— Tales of the Blood Fox

The Đakrsinja and its bloodline transfered Krsiljudi have an innate ability for the forbidden magic of blood control. Needing to conduct a Blood Tribute to sustain themselves, these creatures will absorb the blood of any living creature and in doing so, place a curse on them, maintaining their feeble body with magic and turning them into a slave.
After the annihilation of the Kingdom of Krsi and the genocide of the Krsiljudi, the number of cases of Blood Scourge has decreased in Rhaheddica. But for those that went through the Blood Scourge Wars, this is the most fearsome condition that still haunts their nightmares.

Causes

When a person's blood is sucked out during a Blood Tribute, the innate magic of the Đakrsinja or Krsiljudi activates, applying a curse on the victim and turning their body into a slave.

by MagpieShrike

Symptoms

A creature that becomes a Blood Scourge is no longer able to think or feel. Essentially, the mind dies while the body lives, controlled by another. All that's left is a blackened skeleton, a shell of what they once were.

Treatment

There is no way to cure a Blood Scourge. They are just a living shell; there is no life to be returned. Even if there were some way to restore their mind and soul, their body would die without the support of the blood magic.

Prevention

Some hydromancers and seiramancers are able to escape the blood tribute by stopping the flow of blood. This, however, is a difficult feat as they are up against beings with an innate ability in blood control, a forbidden magic that they do not know. Other than these rare cases, there is no known method of prevention other than quickly fleeing as soon as you catch a glimpse of a blood fox.

History

The Blood Scourge War

When the Kingdom of Krsi grew greedy, wanting more power and land, they began to take whole villages of the surrounding kingdom's as Blood Tributes, creating vast armies of Blood Scourges in the process. With an army of unfeeling soldiers constantly growing, the Krsiljudi quickly took control of Rhaheddica, until only a few small kingdoms in the North and the Kingdom of Rhedya in the South were still standing.

The Kingdom of Rhedya sought help and Baralj, Njirralde, and Čéarku allied with them against the Kingdom of Krsi and the war was won.

The Krsiljudi Genocide

With the destruction of the Kingdom of Krsi, the international community agreed upon the genocide of the Krsiljudi to prevent such an incident from happening again. Although the species is believed to be wiped out, it is unknown whether or not their bloodline continues, passed down through the males who resemble normal human.

Cultural Reception

Blood Scourges are immediately destroyed on sight. It is hard to tell who or what the victim was before they became a Blood Scourge as all that is left is their skeleton. Thus, nobody feels any remorse when destroying them because if they hadn't done so, it is like that they would be the ones killed instead.

— A Blood Tribute

Type

Magical

Origin

Magical

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Extremely Rare

I saw one of the blasted things once. A harmless little bird...or, well, it was. Anyways, I burnt that thing to ash. But that just shows that they're still out there, those demon foxes.

— A villager in Kurmithan