Bloodstone

Excerpts taken from studies by the Citadel of Scholars dedicated to Our Lord Hamaskus, derived from historical studies of the First & Early Second Eras, as well as historical documents from the Midlandian Empire

Written by David_Ulph

After interviews conducted with travellers who have visited Hackleburg, as well as cross-referencing with prior heretical studies on druidic religion, I believe that the bloodstone material is the physical manifestation of a Seelie Mind still remaining on the Mortal Realm. Therefore I would suggest in this thesis that bloodstones are one and the same in the metaphysical power of Aether stars.
In conclusion, the bloodstone is much more powerful than we can currently comprehend without further thorough investigation and I would implore the society of this modern day to stop treating bloodstone as a trifling commodity to decorate their riches.

— Studies of Candlebishop Henrique of the Citadel of Scholars

Origin

The Sluagh and the Northern Lights are one in the same. Where the Mortal Realm meets the Aether, a level of Unseelie Spirits and Souls originating from the druidic pogroms of the Second and Third Eras writhe restlessly for eternity. This is the Sluagh. If untreated, they would ravage the northern hemisphere of the Mortal Realm claiming more Minds for their screeching horde during a Wild Hunt starting on the day of Samhain where the Winter season starts.

However, the Storm Hags were tasked by Throff the Great Hag to contain the Sluagh, who do battle with the Spirit horde during the month of Harvestend causing great hurricanes along the coasts of the Copper Sea and Northern Limit. The Northern Lights are the outcome of this battle seen all the way down on the Realm surface. If a Wild Hunt is successfully staved off for the year, the Storm Hags do battle with the Sluagh over all of Winter until their rage settles.

According to the natural law of The Grey, when a Body dies the Mind is supposed to pass on to the Aether and form a star, though research into the subject headed by Candlebishop Henrique of the Citadel of Scholars discovered that a form of currency conducted by Fiends in Mortis Realm originate from stolen or sworn Minds and therefore has precedent for a Seelie Mind passing on and not being trapped and turning into a Spirit, can still transform into something not a star. It has been theorised that when a Spirit of the Sluagh is defeated by a Storm Hag, it will fall down to the Mortal Realm and reform into the stone known as bloodstones.

Properties

Information lifted from studies by the University of Enchantment

Bloodstones are attributed with many latent magical powers and energies, though most of its power is not active for long after its creation and fallen to the ground below the Northern Lights. It is shown that by the time Winter ends on the day of Bealtain, all magical properties of bloodstones disappear entirely. Entities known as Oozes are created by unkept magical energy, and it has been recorded that stashes of bloodstone kept together during the Winter months can create Oozes, though will not for the rest of the year hence the theory all magical energy appears to die out completely.

It has also been discovered that the active magic of the material only arises when basking in the light of the Northern Lights, with the closer one is to the phenomenon the stronger the effect which it creates. These effects include a large number of manipulations of the Soul and Mind of a living person, influencing their Body to be populated with phenomenon known as "Wild Magic" which may sometimes run in the blood of descendants as a form of Sorcery. Tales surrounding Hackleburg suggest that if someone is in the immediate area of a bloodstone falling, they will develop "Second Sight".

Common Usage

Bloodstones in the region of the Mortal Realm East of the Silver Mountains which include the old Empire of Midland and current Holy See Territories are not treated as mystical magical materials, but are still viewed as being rarer and much more valuable that the region West.

Since its discovery by the Empire, bloodstones became a symbol of wealth and opulence due to its rarity and appealing aesthetic when magically merged together and polished. In the height of its power and riches, floors of villas and statues and temples were all built with or decorated with polished bloodstone resembling marble with the white replaced with black and black streaks replaced with red.

Since the fall, many of these rich wonders and displays of wealth were lost or destroyed somewhat and after the chaos of the warlord period and stability brought about by the Holy See, these artefacts were recovered and the nobility conducted a cultural renaissance in displaying these recovered statues of polished bloodstones to impress guests or display in museums.

Prompts Advent Calendar #9

WorldEmber Article #10

Type

Ore/Mineral

Color

Primarily black with sparks and speckles of red throughout

West of the Silver Mountains

Due to the material most commonly falling in the regions west of the Silver Mountains, it is not considered as lucrative or valuable. In the nation of Hackleburg, bloodstones are so available that common household items are made from it, especially for throwaway or one-use purposes due to it having such little value.

This was such a shock to explorers from the Midlandian Empire that they believed the tiny purely agricultural nation of Hackleburg on the outskirts of the Storm Coast to be potentially the richest people on the Mortal Realm. Due to this, a great amount of external care and attention was granted to the town by imperial officials in a hope they would share their bountiful riches with them.

Trade links and lifeline roads were built connecting Hackleburg to the trading ports of the Storm Coast, and imperial funds allowed for developing infrastructure to be built in the town's surrounding area. This turned the settlement from an unassuming town in the middle of nowhere to an important stop on major roads west of the Silver Mountains, connecting the Storm Coast to Zaral and Cerus which would then reconnect to Ardena and the Midlandian Empire.

Despite connection being lost after the fall of the Empire, Hackleburg still thrives from the early support from imperial upper classes hungry for bloodstone trade and is an active cultural hub in the centre of the Western Region as it is still known in the times of the Holy See. Missionaries have been sent, though none have returned successful due to the strong integration of the 'storm cults' into Hackleburg society.