Properties and theories of Blood
by Se-Heun Suh
with help from Austrian Academy of Higher Magic Research and Creation Institution

During the War of Austrian Succession, there were many mages who participated in the behalf of the Archduke. One such group of mages were the Blood Worshippers of God, a heretical mage association deep in their arms into research of blood magic. They promised the archduke the most standardized blood magic that no one else can bring, and even then, all of the effects of blood magic were so widely different that the Archduke ousted them for tricking him.

However, from the standpoint of other mages under him, the Blood Worshippers had indeed brought the Archduke the most standardized delivery of blood magic spells. So then why were the effects so different with each mage?

Properties of blood has always been debated upon by magic researchers due to its non-static properties for centuries. It matters not what mage uses blood magic, the end result is always different.

For example, in the 1930's, research carried out by the esteemed Professor Quintin Sevrally of Yale University has shown that while the effect of blood magic performed by a single person will remain same as long as applied conditions were same, it was not so when another mage performed under the same applied conditions. Professor Sevrally set up the condition as so: a drop of blood and a magic circle inscribed on papyrus paper to make blue light upon absorbing magic from blood. When the professor himself did it, the magic circle brought about a blue light upon contact with his blood. When his aid, to-be-professor Benten John Steward dropped his own magic upon a new circle, the blue light was much more intensified.

Upon weighing the quantity of magic possessed by each drop of blood, it was shown that Benten John Steward had lower units of prana (units of magical power) than Professor Sevrally.

Professor Sevrally went on to write the famous Theory of Blood.

In it, he suggested that blood magic could not be standardized nor generalized for the whole of wizardkind. In fact, he goes as far as to suggest that blood magic was a magic inherent in all creatures, but one suppressed due to its equally inherent danger. It is well known that blood magic has a rebound that happens much more often and much more unfavorably than any other magic. It was Professor Sevrally's theory that this is because blood magic uses the core of magic that each creature possess. Bigger the power, stronger the connection, steeper the fall.

And this is why he believes that blood magic could not standardized nor generalized; it is a magic too closely related to a being that it was more of a personification of a being's magic rather than magic conforming to the being's logic, reason, and environment.

However, the method to safely research and use blood magic within the ethical bounds has yet to be found. Perhaps it would remain that way forward.

Nevertheless, there have been countless experiments that humankind have done, many within and many outside of the ethical common senses.

Experiments carried out by Erovale de Cyiburois was particularly violent and cruel, and yet one of the most successful blood magic projects ever to date. In his journal, Erovale stated that blood magic could be made to bend to the will of the being and that will of another can force blood magic of another to subjugate the victim's own blood magic. He carried this experiment by kidnapping young children and elders, the group of people who do not in general have strong will. He would then break them down mentally, many times through torture and some times through simple things like not allowing the victim the company of another person.

Then once they were broken down enough, he would activate his own blood magic, one he described in his journal as "Bottled Kingship." While it has not been confirmed, he described his magic as something that can "bottle" another's magic, and if he was within a certain distance of the bottled magic, he could drain them to empower himself. It has been speculated that it was through this magic that he powered his infamous Bottle Wards, a special kind of wards that only he could produce and existed only around his house and domain. To touch the Bottle Wards was to fight your own blood, for magic reacted violently against it. Many would describe the experience of touching the hostile ward as "being thrown backward except your own body was in the way."

Nasty experience, indeed.

There were more than three thousand bottle that were found after his death, all of them meticulously engraved with runes associated to magic storage.

It was a depressing experience for the Enforcers, Aurors, and Keepers who raided the house, indeed.

However, Professor Sevrally's theory has been countered by his Chinese counterpart in the 1945, just before the end of World War II. Now, it must be noted that Chinese magical world was far different from the mundane world. Whereas the mundane world of China was under attack, being helped, fighting each other, and all sorts of things from all sides with no exception, the magical world of China was prosperous, more than before. In fact, they had become so prosperous that they had established the third ever magical empire known to the world, first being Atlantis, and second being the Court of Camelot, which was famous for its fame and short-lived life.

When World War II broke out, the magical China used it to their advantage and declared war upon the Japanese magical community, one that had direct ties to the Tenno of Japan. Yes, the Tennos are all magicals. They decimated the magical Japanese community until they surrendered, becoming a client state of Chinese magical community. The Korean magical community, fearing for its independence, created a sphere of power... one that was powered by blood magic.

It was through studying this blood magic that Professor Luzhi Song of Suzhou-Han Mofa Hanlin Yuan, the Suzhou-Han Magic Imperial Academy, concluded that blood magic was very much like what Professor Sevrally had stated with one exception.

Professor Song declared that blood magic was a soul magic. His theory was that properly handling blood magic required three things. The first was a conduit, a.k.a. the body, that could withstand it. The second was a will that could tame the "fire of a soul." The third was a soul strong and big enough.

The conduit was easy enough to be explained and understood; after all, there were many other examples of conduits or vessels of magic needing to be strong enough to withstand magic. One could not store magic in the scale of tens of thousands of pranas ... in a bucket. If one tried such a thing, the bucket would shatter. If the shrapnel did not kill you, the explosive force of a pressurized magic would.

The second part was confusing. Professor Song described the "Fire of a Soul" as something that was abstract as a soul from the perspective of the mundane. One could not touch the soul without magic, after all. He did describe it further as it being something that fuels the existence of the soul.

In the words of other Soul Wizards, this was called the Catalyst, a piece of a soul that was said to be the subconscious part of it, much like the subconscious that existed in our brain as memories, feelings, and such.

The third part is still debated. Ever since Professor Song died, his students have split up his work, and began to debate over what a strong soul was.

One party would ask how does one measure? It could not be measured by phenotypes or the behavior of an individual.

Another would state that one did not measure a soul, for it grows and fluctuates.

And yet another would said "fuck you both" and denounce both of them stating that they were all idiots for not knowing what a soul was: soul was their consciousness given form by magic.

Debate continues, obviously. Ask your friends and give them all three points; it is sure to ruin some friendships.

The Song Theory and the Sevrally Theory have been at it for years, for 58 years to be precise.

However, it has been agreed by supporters of both sides and those watching that blood magic, whatever its mechanic and origin, was tested human moral and laws too much. It was for this reason that the Law of Blood was drawn up by most of the nations, to prevent the spread of knowledge of blood magic. Korean, Swiss, and Norwegian magical communities have yet to sign up. It is for this reason that schools, universities, and academies do not have a shred of knowledge on blood magic outside the most restricted of sections or the personal library of a trusted and licensed knowledge keeper.

Usage of blood magic itself is simple, though.

It requires three ingre .. an.. 1. ... od ... un ...

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