Bloodchildren

The practice of magic requires the blood of children as its chief ingredient. It is outlawed in the Shai Aspect, but those who want power beyond that ordinarily achievable by mortals turn to the Black Council – a shadowy cult of mages operating outside Imperial law. Some of the magi are thought to be Atramari insurgents trying to keep the Shai Aspect in turmoil, destroying it from within.

In Atramar, however, magic is practiced openly. Many spells require only a small amount of blood. The most powerful spells demand all the blood one child’s body can provide – and sometimes more. The blood must come from a child no older than ten. Certain Atramari women are enslaved for the sole purpose of bearing bloodchildren. Bloodchildren who are “untapped” before the age of eleven are fed to the gluttonous dragons that supply magic to the realms of this world.