The Blood-Bound Pact

"A voice that whispered in my ear for so long that, in time, things once contrary to my very nature became natural. "

The Blood-Bound Pact is a system that gives birth to some of the most powerful beings in the world of Whirlpool. The surviving writings most often speak of its use during the battles of False Heaven, and of the events that followed in their wake. In most cases, at least two participants are required to seize such power: one who knows the words that must be chanted, and another willing to let their blood flow without pause, for an unknown length of time, until the union is complete. The moment the flow of blood is broken, so too is the binding process. The rite itself also requires a cauldron into which the blood is poured, as well as as much material as can be gathered. For the inescapable gift of these weapons is this: whatever resistance to breaking — whatever hardness — the weapon is granted, its wielder receives the exact strength needed to shatter it with a single blow, should they unleash all their power at once. The process, known as the Blood-Bounding, can be performed more than once, allowing the weapons to be strengthened further and further. Yet the weapons themselves serve as more than instruments of war. They become a bond between the chanter and the wielder. Some accounts even speak of a third voice — one that answers from somewhere beyond them both.