Blood Sellers

Did you hear the news? Muriel... Yes, that Muriel has sunk all the way to being a disgusting little Blood Seller. So much for trying to compete with the Whitecrag business.

— A gossiper at an Iceren ball

Given how popular and, as such, expensive Ice Wine is among Fires, it should come at no surprise that there are Ice Elementals who make a career out of selling their blood to the companies that are so desperate to bottle it. Among the Ice it's considering a disgusting low to hit. The idea of being so poor that you'd sell your blood to those who would want to eat it for petty cash is a terrible thought. Even the job's name is actually slang that stuck around. The true title is Compensated Blood Donor. But absolutely no one uses that term, not even those in the profession themselves. Though, despite their terrible perception, Blood Sellers aren't paid by Ice standards. They are paid by businesses from Firina, who have a very different skew of how much someone for such a 'lowly' service should be paid.

Perhaps what the Ice hate the most is the fact that many Blood Sellers do rise from poverty often enough. Paid enough that the business people among them can get started with enough capital. Provided one can survive the stigma against them, it is probably the best way to get back on one's feet. Though, public perception is bad enough that if one does manage to do so, they will fight at nothing to keep how they got there covered up.

Qualifications

There is no required prior experience needed to become a blood seller. There are however a series of requirements for those that do choose to participate. Depending on the grade of Ice Wine being produced, they are held to a strict diet, and have to stick to strict health checkups. All of these are paid for by the company that pays for their blood, but failure to follow protocol could mean a missed pay cheque. Getting sick in this profession is dangerous for similar reasons. Which only furthers the isolation that the blood sellers face, but if you aren't allowed to attend parties because of your social standing, it also means you don't catch the cold.

Payment and Benefits

Every week, Blood Sellers are given 700 jewels if they attend to all seven of their blood drawing appointments. Each appointment produces enough blood to produce a bottle of Ice Wine. Plus their provisions, and their (required to be used) health benefits.

Hazards

Aside from being shunned by everyone you used to know, being a Blood Seller does come with other dangers. Mostly the risk of over drawing blood. Elementals heal quickly, and given their ability to survive and regrow entire limbs, it should come at no surprise that they can have their blood drawn much more frequently than a human can. However, Ice Elementals heal the slowest of all Elementals. The blood drawings are every single day, and any serious injury could push it over the line of safe.

There's also the slim chance of what would happen if a Fire was around when blood was drawn... But there is a reason that other Elementals are paid to work in the steed of the actual company's employees.