Orgy of Blood
Practised by the Dark Elves, Orgies of Blood have been practised by female gladiators referred to as Brides of The Bloody Handed God. Carried out in specific gladiatorial arenas deep in their strongholds, it has been observed for countless generations, stretching back to their time in Svartalfheim.
History
After the Svart Alves were kicked out of Alfheim for giving up on the worship of the Vanir, a few took up the worship of a deity known to them as the Bllody Handed God. This god existed as long as the Elves existed, maybe before is a few scattered regions in the galaxy as a whole. Most worlds where the Elves had contact has at least one shrine to the Bloody Handed God, though for some reason the world of Earth is second only to Svartalfheim for full temples & gladiatorial arenas dedicated to bloodshed.
The god first appeared to them on the world of Svartalfhein, attracting a number of followers from the normally athiestic Black Elves. For some reason most the cult is made up of females, and so they are reffered to Brides. They control the cults and their practises, and when not practising in the training rooms or appearing in the arenas, they accompany Black Elf raids & warhosts. Used by many as shock troops, the sight alone can be intimidating.
Ritual murfder in all forms has now branched out into many different temples with each specialising in a unique method. That is not to say they don't have access to other forms, and many mix in some traits from other temples for additional flair. These temples are usually at the edge of Black Elf societies in general, taking a central role in the Dark Elf offshoot of the species, and are almost completely banned in all forms by Drow enclaves. The former don't really care too much for any religious devotion, and the latter are far too devoted to Lolth, though any Black Elf can feel a primal pull when they are in combat.
Speculation is that the Bloody Handed God is one of two primeval deities along with She Who Thirsts that predate the Elves but had some connection to them. Dwarves who encountered them initially in Svartalfheim speak that the Bloody Handed God is seen as a deity that belongs to a different era before the present universe was created. They do speculate that the Black Elves do not talk about this time. They also point to strange & advanced designs of armour & weapons used by the cultists in an almost ritualistic fashion, and after ecovering some after battles against these Elves show that both weapoms & armour contain materials that the Dwarves couldn't even understand how to replicate or where they came from. All have markings similar to Elvish but have unknown meaning. A few parts seem to show a level of technology as yet to fullt accessed by any and appear as magic.
Execution
The Dark Elves that follow this ritual swear to kill a certain amount of opponents in the arena or on the battlefield by a specific method. This they swear in front of a statue made of black obsidian in the temple with a knife in one hand and the other open & constantly dripping hot blood. A heart is placed & burned by each cultist in this hand and if the priest & cultist both hear a beating heart sound come from the statue, and heat being given off brom the left breast, then it is an auspicious sign. If not then the cultist needs to go above & beyond to prove themselves.
When fighting, the Bride has to take the heart, or at least the skull or equivalent, of the opponent and bring it back to the temple where it is stored. The more the cultist does, then they are usually given extra training in even more dangerous fighting styles. Those that exceed their number of kills, and / or killing a powerful enemy are marked as warleaders & regularly given the rank of Wife of Khaine. Nobody knows if this name (Khaine) is the deity itself or of some other important level.
Those of this rank lead the Brides and train them, and they pick the proven members as a personal retinue & unit leaders.
Components and tools
Blade weapond are favoured, especially knives & daggers of ornate & ancient design, along with light minimal armour made of dark flexible material. Each Bride decorates these with red material to represent blood especially the left hand, and weapon held in the left hand. Tridents, spiked nets, double bladed polearms, chain like swords and piosoned weapons are commonly seen. A number of pouches are usually carried too, mainly for carrying tools to sharpen and / or maintain both weapons & armour. Some are also used to bring back trophies especially hearts of enemies.
Participants
The average participant are Dark Elf Brides of the Bloody Handed God, along with the leaders the Wifes of Khaine. A priest of the Bloody Handed God usually is present as well, and given magic by their patron to bolster the Brides & to kill from a distance. The priest can act as warleader or observer of the gladiatorial games, though he or she will defer to the most experienced Wife of Khaine that is present.
Observance
The main Orgy of Blood takes place at least once a year itself usually at the Summer Equinox, with smaller Orgies of Blood taking place once a month at the first full moon. Five days before sacrifices of slaves are made with their hearts cut out while alive. Done in front of the obsidian statue at the centre of the temple, these are placed on the open left hand and burned after being left to long enough for blood to drip out.
The ashes are colected afterwards and mixed with any blood still pooling below the hand, and a Bride is randomly chosen. She is brought forward nude and adorned in the bloody ashes head to foot. Once there if the Bloody Handed God is appeased, the statue will move, reaching down to rip her still beating heart out. If not, then she has her heart cut out and burned on the hand. Her bloody body is hung above it and the blood let drip onto it. Prayers are spoken to appease the god, and awaken it's murderous spirit.
After the games or battle the Brides return to offer up their prizes for the god to judge. The priest and any Wives that are present then are given visions of who to rise up, and any that need punished for failing in their roles are dealt with. The latter is usually swift, harsh and bloody.
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