The Bahkra

The Mad King and the Bahkra

According to legend, the spirit of Mad King Aasha Maut covers the island of Aasharum and is forever looking for justice for the murder of his son, Prince Kiya Maut. When the King partook in the first Blood Dreaming and lost his sanity, it is said that his spirit was trapped between the shadowlands and the light. Unsettled and stricken with sorrow, the Mad King’s spirit hovered over the land and drove to insanity many of the once good people on Aasharum, now known to the common people as the Forbidden Lands.
To try and placate the spirit of the mad king, the sorcerers and witches of Aasha band together for a festival in the honor of the Mad King. This festival is called the Kaadash and at the climax of the celebration, the cult sacrifices one devoted follower of the King. The Cult of Aasha calls this person the Bahkra.

The Ritual

The ritual for the Bahkra begins with celebrations, cheers, drinking, and a meal. Thousands of followers of the Cult gather to dance long into the night until the blood moon rises high in the sky. When the High Sorcerer and the Blood Seer feel that the time has come, the Bahkra is summoned out of the audience and strapped to the Akhar, the cursed symbol of King Maut’s once-great empire.
It is here that the Blood Seer finishes the ritual. He takes the blood of the Prince and places a drop on the forehead of the Bahkra and begins to chant “Aasha di sini bahkra” or “king here is your justice” in the common tongue until the spirit of the King descends and takes the life of the one guilty of the blood of his son, the Bahkra.

Components and tools

The preserved blood of the dead Prince

Participants

The Blood Seer conducts the ritual while the High Sorcerer establishes the connection with the Mad King.

Observance

The ritual is performed on the anniversary of the death of the Prince when the moon is at its highest point in the sky.