Mage School: Bloodmancers

Home: unknown, though a large (~100) tower openly resides in Belhell (in Travenia)

Enrollment: unknown

Motto: "Blood Brings Power"

The Bloodmancers are an ancient school of magi, older than the formalization of mage schools, centered around the intrinsic arcane power of blood itself.

Membership

The original Bloodmancers, the Bloodmancers and their NeoBloodmancer cousins, form the backbone of this school. Membership is open to any who would bathe in blood--but for its power, not for lust of killing. Sorcerers of the Personal Blood or EldarBloodline lineages are often made welcome here.

From time to time, clerics of pantheons that find sacrifice and ritualistic infliction of pain will join a school, but often discover the goals are different--bloodmancers spill blood for power, not for pleasure. Assassins will join from time to time, often to learn more about the skills Bloodmancers possess, but are often viewed as partners and allies than true members. Fighters who spend too much time among Bloodmancers may eventually find themselves along the Blood Thrall martial path--whether they desired that or not.

Tendencies

Every so often, a bloodmancer spell will appear in the hands of someone unaffiliated with the school, and existing Bloodmancers will inevitably be drawn to the individual to find out what they do when they discover it. Those that continue its use are approached for membership--if they refuse, they are killed before they can bring witness against those that approached them. Those that stop the use of the bloodmancer spell are watched carefully, and possibly assassinated if they show too much interest in the spell's origins or history.

Connections

This school has been outlawed, it is said, since the time of the Eldar, and almost every nation has long-standing traditions of putting Bloodmancers to death on sight. However, the power of the blood cannot be denied, and the school maintains just enough secrecy and silence to continue to remain practicing.

For obvious reasons, bloodmancers are highly-sought allies and partners of those Rogues Guilds that are deeply versed in assassination. In return, those guilds often provide much of the cover for the Bloodmancer schools to study and practice--at least until the guild discovers the bloodmancers' love of blood sometimes strays into that of the guild itself....

Restricted Spells

Given the reputation of the Bloodmancers, possession of Bloodmancer spells are generally kept extremely quiet to avoid accusation and/or trial.