Blood Shards

In the isolated and crumbling remains of Nel'Akhiron, the decrepit wizards study their strange magicks and practice their ancient rites. When spellcasters of Zhak'raa reach the Master level of study, an elemental specialisation will be chosen, either by them or their superiors Azix'Nezar. 
Practitioners of Blood Magic (known as "Zheruba") predictably require blood for many of the spells they cast. This is usually siphoned straight from the caster or from a victim. However, for larger spells and for ease of use, the cloisters that study and utilise this particular type of Zhak'raa sorcery have developed a way to preserve and store blood without having to carry jars of the liquid that will inevitably go back and lose their potency.
Crystallised blood, or "blood shards", are a crystalline substance formed by magically siphoning the blood from a subject and performing a specific ritual that hardens and preserves the blood, rendering the fresh liquid into blood-red, opaque fragments with a texture like obsidian.

Properties

Material Characteristics

Blood shards retain their potency for years, however when they have been newly created, they will often retain the warm of the fresh blood used to create them. The substance appears as randomly-sized splinters of opaque, dark-red glass, which can be fractured further or ground into dust. Often (but not always) the shards will contain barely-visible veins or bubbles of lighter red in their surface.

Physical & Chemical Properties

When using spells that require blood to be present, or for it to be siphoned from a victim, a spellcaster only needs to clutch a blood shard for the crystal to shatter and for the blood to be discharged.

Type

Biomaterial

Odor

A strong metallic smell

Color

Dark red with lighter veins running through