Blooding
The warriors stopped several paces away, every muscle taut.
“Tam.”
It was the older warrior, the healer, Madrig, who spoke. He was studying the two of them carefully, his sword held in a deceptively casual grip. Veray could feel the tension seeping from the men and women behind him like the heat of a fever. What were they…
Tam was pulling up his sleeve, his dagger already in hand. He scratched a thin red line next to the other and the tension released from their guards like a spent breath. Then their eyes turned to her.
Oh, for the love of all fates, hadn’t she bled enough?
The look she shot Tam must have been impressively disgusted for he actually grimaced. But the hand holding the dagger out to her didn’t waver.
The ritual of Blooding is much as it sounds, and is, so far as we know, unique within the kingdom of Varangia. On meeting a stranger, or even a friend who has been absent for some while, both parties are expected to cut their skin in order to prove that their blood still runs red.
This barbaric sounding act is an unfortunate necessity. For if their blood ran black, it would prove that they were in fact a changeling and no longer entirely human.
History
The Blooding ritual is a fairly recent phenomenon in Varangia, having come into existence only during the rule of the sorcerer Iscar. Previous to his age, changelings had been considered a myth, a bedtime story with which to frighten children. But under Iscar the inhabitants of Varangia learned quickly that such myths were very real. And deadly.
Execution
The execution of the practice is simplicity itself, and derived purely from the practicalities of survival.
On greeting, neither party approaches closer than is necessary to see the color of the other's blood. For changelings are faster and stronger than any human, Gifted or otherwise. Granted it is highly unlikely that any distance would be enough to allow you to escape from a changeling once it had you in its sight, particularly if you were facing it alone. But any hope of escape is better than none.
After stopping at a respectful distance, each party voluntarily uses their own dagger to make a small cut, preferably on the back of their hand or arm, and displays the trickle of blood to the other. This done, the Blooding is complete.
Should one refuse to undergo the ritual, it is far more likely that one will be met with a spear point or notched arrow rather than a welcome. In some cases, if the refusing party is outnumbered, they may be physically restrained while the Blooding is carried out for them, and that not always gently.
Observance
While the practice of Blooding is known throughout Varangia, it is not practiced by every inhabitant. Those who are loyal or resigned to Iscar's rule often refrain from the cutting ritual, lest they draw suspicion on themselves. For if they have nothing to hide they should have no reason to fear his creatures.
It is only those who openly oppose his rule, such as the inhabitants of Warding, who enforce the practice without fail. Having suffered enough at Iscar's hand, they are unwilling to open themselves to more.
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