Alter Aeon The Great Library

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AABN:  16030
Title: An Overview of Hematology

An Overview of Hematology, the Study of Blood Magic

from the abridged writings of Gisco the Necromancer

The Blood is the conduit for a living creature's liveness and delivers that
animateness to every part of a creature's body.  Because of this special
nature, blood's life force can be controlled and re-purposed in unique and
useful manners.

The method of Phlebotomy, or the blood sacrifice, is the most basic of
sanguine magic, and the knowledge thereof is vital in order to learn more
advanced blood spells.

The corpse of a recently-living creature still contains much of its life
force, which slowly ekes away as the body decomposes.  This life force can
be extract from a dead body using a minimal amount of mana, which a
necromancer inserts into the corpse and uses it draw it back to himself. 
No incision is necessary if the blood can be extracted through one of the
cadaver's orifices, which is the case with most living creatures.

This energy can be drawn into the phlebotomist's body to bolster his own
health and mana or transmitted into a nearby host.  Note that animated or
undead servants cannot benefit from a blood sacrifice and any such offering
would be wasted. A special exception to this is vampires. Indeed, vampires
with their thirst for blood, are healed to a greater degree than living
creatures.

Once this skill is mastered, a necromancer can learn to safely offer his
own blood as a sacrifice.  This self-sacrifice can be utilized via a
variety of techniques.  Many of these spells are defensive.  A necromancer
in control of his own blood can conceal his scent, render his body
undesirable to predators, poison his blood in case he is bitten, induce a
deep, restful sleep or convert his blood into a deadly weapon.  A
necromancer well-versed in Phlebotomy can also learn to tap his own life
force and con vert it into mana or motility.  Well-practiced necromancers
can even apply their mana in such a way that they can strike out and attack
their enemies in battle using blood constructs.

Studious necromancers may note that when drawing power from the blood of
demons or angels, they may find their efforts rewarded with greater
returns. The magical nature of such entities is attributed to this boost,
similar to how dragon teeth have qualities above and beyond those of other
creatures.