Valdemar Setting

[thequeensown]

~In a time long ago there was known the land of Velgarth, a continent strewn by the wars of sorcerers and magic. The peoples of this land were decimated under the magical wars and the land took back the powers it had bestowed upon its people; and so Velgarth returned the magic to its people.~

Velgarth is a continent of olden days, where technology is non-existent. Electricity is only capable through the use of magic, and horseback remains the typical form of transportation; or gryphonback, if you happen to know one. Clothing is made of linen, leather and typically held in place by rope belts or metal fastenings. If it were to be compared to history as we know it, one would say Medieval.

Castles and Queens. Stone work and thatched homes. Conspiracy and magic. Such is the world of Velgarth and its people.

MAP OF VELGARTH

Valdemar:
A place known for freedom of practice and fairness to its people. Haven is the captial city of Valdemar. It is tightly packed and most of the buildings have been built for room upwards instead of outwards. The roads are made in a circular manner so there is no direct way to the Royal Palace in the heart of the city. The walls that marked the limits of the city during its founding are still there now. The Royal Palace and the Collegiums sit within the heart of the city. Surrounding them are the houses of the rich and the noble families. The city is protected by the Guard.

Current Ruler
Queen Selenay

Religious Belief / God/Goddess name
The world of Velgarth is a world where magic is real and one might actually find themselves in an sit down conversation with a God or Goddess that has taken an interest in them. Deities are real and take an interest in the Velgarth setting; this interest can range from granting abilities to their priests to large-scale protection like the Iftel border and shielding of Iftel and Karse by Vkandis Sunlord and the Dhorisha Plain by Kal'enel after the Mage Wars and again during the Mage Storm trilogy.

Other, less proactive deities and their sects are occasionally mentioned in the stories. Most notable is the small sect of female mage-warriors to which Need belonged during her human life. Baron Valdemar prayed to "every deity he had heard of" in the Grove on the night the first Companions were born, which explains in part Valdemar's historical tolerance for all religions.

Location
Valdemar lies right beyond the Northern borders of Karse.

Uniform/ Style of Clothing
Dark Blue and Silver: The uniform of the Royal Guard.
Light Blue: Unaffiliated students at the Collegium, typically those that become inventors and scholars.
Green: The uniform worn by those in the Healers Collegium, trainees wearing a lighter hue.
Scarlet: The uniform worn by those in the Bardic Collegium, the trainees wearing a russet red.
Grey: The uniform worn by Heralds-in-training.
White: The uniform worn by Heralds once they have completed their training Circuit and achieved their full rank.

Karse:
Karse lies right beyond the Southern borders of Valdemar. It is difficult to pass into the border of Karse from Valdemar because most of the border is protected by mountains; this came in handy when Karse and Valdemar were at War with each other.

For a long time, evil Sun-Priests claimed that they were the "True rulers of Karse," known as the Sons of the Sun; Vkandis being the Sun. These False rulers would create "miracles" by way of mage gift to fool the onlookers in the crowd into believing them. They then made a new tradition, that of the annual Feast of the Children. This was when parents were ordered to take their children to the Temples and there they would be inspected by Sun-Priests. This began when a child was five and ended when he/she was thirteen. Some of these children who were "chosen" by the Priests were thrown into the Fires; others were taken for service to the SunLord. Regardless, the children who were taken were never permitted to see their parents again. The children that were taken were either extremely intelligent, or had the God-granted ability to use magic. If one of the children had witch-powers (like Mind-Magic) they were sacrificed. The others were taken to be trained as Black-Robed Priests; Or, the Demon-Summoners. The intelligent children would grow and study in places known as Children Cloisters until they were either chosen to be novices or were given duties as a servant. Now before the evil Priests had taken over, there was such a thing as Cleansing and the Feast of Children, but it was only meant as a Rite of Passage, not a feared place of sacrifice and abduction.

The long-time enemy of Karse was Valdemar. Valdemar was a supposedly a land full of DemonSpawn that rode on their White HellHorses (Heralds and Companions). Everyone in Karse believed this land and its people to be evil and they fought with the False rulers and the Demons that they summoned. This continued on for years until Vkandis Himself decided that it was enough. The False Son was struck down by lightning on a cloudless day during one of his fake rituals, with a lot of witnesses. Vkandis then possessed a golden statue that was a likeliness of Him and stepped towards the other Priests. He then took the large crown of prophecy off His head (which was quite impossible seeing that the crown was part of the statue), and the crown began to shrink. Once it shrunk to the size of a human's head, He placed it upon, not a man's, but a womans' head, declaring her for all to see as the True Son of the Sun and new ruler of Karse. Her name was Solaris. To further prove her worth, she was visited by a Firecat shortly thereafter. Solaris then declared all Fires to be extinguished forever and that Karse would be at peace with Valdemar.
• Avatars of Vkandis are called Firecats.
1. Firecats are about the size of a bobcat, they are catlike in appearance with cream-colored coats with red points on the ears and tail.
2. Firecats have the ability to Gate themselves and objects they carry in a method they call "Jumping."
3. Firecats are reincarnated former Sons of the Suns who advise those who need guidance in ruling the country.

Current Ruler
High Priestess Solaris, the True Son of the Sun

Religious Belief / God/Goddess name
God- Vkandis SunLord. - Followers are known as Sun Priests. Somewhere in the history of Karse (though everyone seems to have forgotten this), there is said to have been a female consort to Vkandis; Her name is/was the Goddess Kalanel. At one point or another, the Order of Priests and devotees that followed Her disappeared and her sacred statue was removed from its place besides Vkandis' statue in the Temple. It is unknown as to when and why this occurred.

Location
Karse lies right beyond the Southern borders of Valdemar. It is difficult to pass into the border of Karse from Valdemar because most of the border is protected by mountains; This probably came in very handy when Karse and Valdemar were at War with each other.

Uniform/ Style of Clothing
Guards: Flowing scarlet and gold uniforms, embroidered with sashes of rank and feathered turbans.
Sun Priests & Novices: All wear Vkandis-medals of round gold disks blazoned with a sun-in-glory hung on a gold chain. The Sun-Priests rank are shown by the color of their robes.
Black: The once-feared Demon-Summoners for the False rulers of Karse. Once the True ruler of Karse was chosen by Vkandis, Solaris declared all demon-summoning to be anathema. She declared that the black-robed priests would retain their rank, but do nothing more than a red-robed priest would do.
Red: Another high-ranking Priest, though not a demon-summoner like the black robes once were.

Holderkin:
Sensholding was the name of Talia's village.

The Holderkin are a puritanical group originally from Karse who live on the southeastern border of Valdemar. Holderkin society is patriarchal. Men are the heads of the family, their authority is absolute. Women are submissive in all aspects of life. Families are polygamous, with several wives to each husband. The First Wife is in charge of all the Underwives and the children. The widowed mother of the head of the household has a specially honored place in the family. At age 13, daughters are either married or sent to the temples to be devotees of the Goddess. The Holderkin also worship a patriarchal God.

Heralds:
The Monarch made the laws and the Heralds upheld them, dispensing them under the guidance of their Companions. They were, by nature, a self-sacrificing group and knew well that many Heralds would die in the line of duty. Heralds live and often die in the service of Valdemar, keeping it safe, honest, and well run.

Companions:
Baron Valdemar founded the country of Valdemar with his Followers long ago, when they fled from persecution in the Eastern Empire. The Baron was a good man and became a good king whose main concern was for his people. He knew that he had ruled wisely, and was certain that his son would rule equally well, but he worried that his descendants might not be fit rulers. The terrors of abusive government that had driven him to flee with his people and settle in Valdemar were clear in his mind as he prayed to all the benign Powers to find a solution to this dilemma. He was answered by a miracle—the appearance of the first Companions. These otherworldly Guardians, though they looked like white horses of the finest quality, were spirit beings who would ensure the continuation of a lineage of caring and competent rulers for Valdemar and justice and honor for Valdemar’s people. By Choosing people willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good of Valdemar, the Companions provided at class of incorruptible guardians for the country, from its rulers, who had to be Heralds to take the throne, to all the other Heralds who would serve the land as its dispensers of justice, its organizers of defenses in emergencies, and its messengers in times of peace as well as times of strife.

What a "Companion's Choice" is, isn't clear. It's a meeting of minds, and of the Companion being the person's bondmate for life. Various Choices have been described as "being weighed and measured," "falling into [the Companion's] blue eyes," and "finding something I didn't know I was missing". Companions are in a mutual relationship with their Herald, and the bond can affect both sides, both physically and mentally. The Companion becomes the Herald's best friend, offering support and help to his or her Herald. The joining makes the Herald's Gift's stronger (or wakes them up) and is known to especially augment Mindspeech.. The Choice is, mostly, permanent. It can be broken in the early stages, but it leaves the two broken, emotionally and physically. After the initial phase, the loss of Herald or Companion is followed by depression and almost always death. Companions only Choose those who understand duty (or can learn it), and are good people. They do tend to Choose those who will need to help Valdemar in some way in the future. Companions usually are 10 or older when they go out to Choose, but some can choose earlier, or later, if they wish so there is no set rhyme or reason.

Companions are the returned spirits of departed Heralds and Companions, as well as agents or 'avatars' of the gods (Monarch's Own Companions are the only ones who are Avatars or Agents). Companions try to show they are both fallible and mortal so that their Heralds won't depend on them to get them out of every scrape. When a Herald or Companion dies, he or she is given a rest. They can recover there from their past life. After a time they can choose to return as a Companion (with all memories intact), as a human baby (no memories) and become a Herald again, or to go on, into the next world. There are 'new souls' that the Companions can choose to join the Ranks of the Heralds. Companion's do not return to the world for quite a few lifetimes from their death, so that they don't feel they have to fix their loved one's lives. Companion's often use their human name (if they are a returned spirit), with different Spelling. Vanyel becomes Venyel, Alberich becomes Alberik, Savil becomes Sayvil.

Why Companions Choose the Way They Do:
1. The gender of the Herald has nothing to do with the gender of the Companion. The idea is that the two are best friends, not lovers, and there is nothing that says your best friend has to be of either sex.
2. The Companions don't care about orientation; it's a non-issue for them.
3. The Herald's personality is important. The Herald has to be someone that the Companion respects and can become friends with. If the Companion does not respect the person, that character won't be chosen to become a Herald.
4. The Companion is also looking for someone who is young and who can be trained to do the Herald's physically and emotionally demanding job.
5. The Companion is looking for someone who has a Gift or Gifts (usually Gifts manifest after the Herald is Chosen); there are many very nice, un-Gifted people in the world, and they can't become Heralds.
6. The Companions will only choose people who can be spared from their current life. A Companion won't choose the only possible heir for a farm, someone who has Bardic or Healer talent (and who is needed in those Schools), or someone who is the sole means of support for a family. In other words, if a person has a much-needed skill in another area or is needed by his/her family and/or fellow villagers (like the only blacksmith in a town), etc., then that person will not be Chosen.

Queen's Own:
The title of the Herald Chosen to become the closest friend and advisor of Valdemar's Ruler. Queen's Own for when a Queen is on the throne, and King's Own for when a King is on the Throne. The position has existed since the first days of the Herald-Companion relationships, and it is a position of such special trust that it requires an extraordinary Herald to fill it. A new Monarch's Own is Chosen by the Grove-Born Companion of the last Monarch's Own Herald to occupy that position, which is held for the Herald's lifetime. This Herald has authority and duties above other Heralds. Often, they possess the Gift of Empathy, which is useful for diplomacy. The Monarch's Own is also given a seat on the Council in Valdemar, and votes with them. The character strength and honesty of the Monarch's Own is the reason why Valdemar has suffered so little strife through the centuries, compared with its neighboring kingdoms. A monarch with such a trusted friend is much better able to withstand the stresses of ruling and steer a moral course in difficult times.

The Companion to the Monarch's Own Herald is always a Grove-Born Stallion, and is considered the leader of the Companions. The Grove Born Companions are called that because they come into this world fully grown and just appear one day in a Grove that lies within Companion's Field. They are also very different from regular Companions because they, unlike the others, were never human and are said to be Avatars (god/goddesses). The other Companions are all reincarnations of past Heralds that have died.

The Monarch's Own Herald is always chosen by a Grove Born Companion. Usually, he or she is the only Herald to have a Grove Born now-a-days but in The Mage Winds Trilogy it was discovered that Gwena, Elsepth's Companion, was indeed a Grove Born.

The Monarch's Own Companion is always a stallion (with the exception of Gwena) and never ages, though he can die just as easily as the rest of them can (which isn't that easy). Usually Grove Born Companions have higher Mindspeech abilities than most others, like Talia's Rolan does (though they cannot speak to each other). Grove Born Companions (Rolan specifically) are also VERY fertile and tend to leave a "present" whenever they are done mating.

Unlike other Companions, Grove Born have a different bond with their Heralds. For regular Companions, if the Herald dies, the Companion usually is right behind them... same the other way around. This is because the bond between them is so strong and loving that they can't bear to be without each other. Grove Born Companions share the same strength with their chosen Heralds but they do not necessarily die when the other does. If the Monarch's Own dies somehow, the Companion chooses another immediately. If the Companion dies, the Herald usually lives and another Grove born "pops" up from the grove to choose him/her.

Magic:
The magic of Velgarth is quite varied; from True magic to Divine magic and even Blood magics. It is most common in all of these that one’s powers usually manifest around the time of puberty though sometimes even with potential one's powers may never come about at all. The following is a list of most of the documented Gifts and magics.

Mind Magic
The form of magic most commonly used by the Heralds, referred to as 'Gifts'. This is not to be confused with 'True Magic' but is closer related to what we would know as psionics. Outside of Valdemar, Gifts aren't as well recognized (if at all) and are rarely trained to the degree that Valdemarens do if they are recognized. Gifts are accessed by sending energy through channels in the mind. These channels are dormant in most people; those who manifest Gifts have active or open channels. This is the same energy used by Mages, though those without the "Mage Gift" can only use the natural power within themselves except in rare cases where Companions can feed power from themselves to their Herald. Due to this limitation, those who over-use their Gift quickly collapse or die when they overspend their own natural energy.

However, those trained in Gift use are taught how to mesh together – someone Gifted with Farsight would often work with someone Gifted with Fetching, or more than one Gifted with Fetching, for optimal results (Krys and Dirk of the Arrows trilogy are good examples). Healing-meshes are also used when a Herald or Herald-Mage meshes with a Healer to provide them with extra energy for a Healing beyond that Healer’s strength (such as when Vanyel attempted suicide in the Temple in Magic’s Pawn).

The stronger a Gift is, the less common it is, and some Gifts are rare to begin with. It’s also very unusual for a Herald to have Healing or Bardic Gifts, and vice versa. Healing and Firestarting almost never show up as Gifts among the Heralds unless they are going to be badly needed.

*Shields*
• Mind-shields: These are formed by people with mind-gifts (thought-sensing, mindspeaking, empathy). They shield the thoughts and emotions of the creator from projecting and from the creator inadvertently receiving outside thoughts/emotions. Keep in mind that the strength of the Gift will affect the strength or effectiveness of the mind-shield
• Mage-shields: These are the shields that a mage forms to both control their Gift and to help defend against other magic. Once in place, these don't need any extra magic put into them unless they're being actively used to defend from other magic. This does not protect their thoughts. The strength and effectiveness of the mage-shields are affected by the strength of the mage's magic.
• Physical mage-shield: These shields are made by some mages to defend against physical attacks. This usually requires concentration to some degree, and is almost never used constantly due to the fact it needs more magic to fuel it.
• Magical mind-shields: These are not the same as regular mind-shields. They are made using magic specifically for the purpose of defending against mind-magic. More of a spell than anything, and not many mages know how to do it. They require magic to keep up.
• Natural mind-shields: Some non-Gifted have the rare ability to shield their minds - without even realizing it. This is highly unusual and the strength of the shield is usually equivalent to the person's natural strength of will.
Heraldic Gifts
Empathy:
Empathy is a Mind Magic that is the ability to feel the feelings of others, and in some cases to even control them. It is similar to some Bardic gifts that allow Bards to control their audience through their music and a FarSpeaker can hear words. An Empath can also ‘see’ if certain emotions are strongly connected to a person or event.

FarSight:
Also known as Looking or Seeing, it is a Heraldic Gift enabling the possessor to see people or events at a distance far beyond normal vision. Heralds who are not Mindspeakers are likely to be Farseers. Farseeing can be linked with Fetching to transport people or objects from a distance. Farseeing is a Mind Magic that is similar to a magic technique called Scrying. With farseeing, one can see a place of person far away from them. This can be useful to spy on enemy soldiers, or to survey the situation in faraway places. Combined with Fetching, Farseeing is particularly potent.

Fetching:
Fetching is a Mind Magic that is the ability to move objects without physically touching them, and often from a distance. Fetching can be used for a variety of reasons, from sending an important message home to the Monarch from circuit, to stealing the ball during a game of Kirball. It is especially potent when combined with Farseeing, as someone with the Fetching gift would be able to see exactly where they are sending something.

FireStarting:
Firestarting is a type of Mind Magic that is the ability to light things on fire. Most people gifted with firestarting will be able to do no more than light a candle, though there are a few exceptions. Those exceptions tend to arrive just before they are greatly needed, so to have an exceptional firestarting gift is almost a prelude to war. Firestarting is said to be very similar to Fetching, as it could be that the vibrations created before the fire comes is a form of moving an item very fast, in a miniscule way.

ForeSight:
Foresight is a type of Mind Magic that involves seeing into the possible future, and sometimes into the past. This can be useful, for example, in figuring out the tactics of a fight, or in stopping an assassination from happening before it does.
Foresight is not to be relied upon, and the images can sometimes be exact, sometimes representation, and can easily be misinterpreted because the future is always changing.

MindSpeech:
Mindspeech is one of the "Mind Magic" gifts that allows someone to communicate mind to mind. Like most Gifts this one can be inborn with varying degrees of strength. Some who possess this gift can mindspeak with animals, or the intelligent animal races like dyheli, while others can only speak to humans. Some of the intelligent animal races can only speak in this way. The majority of those with the skill form their strongest Mindspeaking bonds with their Companions.

Mindspeech provides more information that regular speech, coloring the speech with memories, emotions and experience that can be felt by the person receiving the mindspeech. It is nearly impossible to lie during mindspeech because of this. Also known as Mindspeech, the skill is closely related to the talents known as Mindtouching, Mindreaching, Mindcalling, and Farspeaking. There are also Two other aspects of this Gift. One is Thought-Sensing the other is Projecting. Thought-Sensing can enable the person to sense what another is thinking. They cannot read minds but they can delve into memories if the person is willing. Projecting is the ability to make people sense what you want them to.

Animal Mindspeech:
Animal Mindspeech is a form of Mind Magic very similar to regular Mindspeech. It is an ability that allows one to speak to animals through the mind, and be heard and understood.

True Magics
Magic of Velgarth
There are four types of magic in Velgarth. They are known as True Magic (otherwise known as the High Magics or Mage-Gift), Earth Magic (otherwise known as the Low or Lesser Magics), Divine Magic (also known as Shamanism), and Blood Magic. Of these, True Magic is what Herald-mages possess, Divine Magic is purely for priest or shaman characters of high standing, and Earth Magic is rare. No player in Arrows will be permitted a Blood Mage.
True Magic
The best known and understood of the four categories of magic in Velgarth, this can only be used by a person with Mage-Gift. Tapping into either the mage’s own personal energies or (at stronger levels) into ley lines and nodes, a mage can manipulate the energy to cast spells. Ley lines are invisible streams of power that criss-cross the land, some mere trickling ‘streams’ and others uncontrollable ‘rivers’. Nodes are where several ley-lines meet, causing deep ‘pools’ of energy. The Tayledras Heartstones are effectively mage-created super-nodes, where many ley-lines are directed and collect, causing a massive source of energy that the Tayledras then use to cleanse the land that was warped by that same magical energy. Also associated with True Magic is Mage Sense and Mage Sight, which permit mages to sense and/or see the magical energies they work with. Most mages have at least one focus stone that aids in magical works.

Mage Gift: A person with Mage Gift can manipulate the magical energy described in the previous paragraph. Every mage starts at the Apprentice level, and through training and tests, may be able to reach a higher 'level' if they have the potential for it. Attempts to do things beyond your current level of magical skill can lead to burning out, insanity, and death.
• Apprentice: One of the two most common types of High Mages, a person with Apprentice-level Mage-gift can only tap into their personal energies, which are restored after they rest for a long enough period. Often dismissed as being weak, those who cannot go beyond Apprentice level often develop the most efficient and useful spells, making up for lack of pure power with creativity.
• Journeyman: The other common type of Mage, Journeymen mages absorb power from leylines latently and store up reserves in themselves and items. This makes it difficult for them to be detected as when they cast spells, they draw on the reserves that they have absorbed, not on the leylines around them. However, the amount they can absorb limits the amount of magic that they can do.
• Master: Master mages can manipulate the leylines around them so that they can use the energy and cast a larger number of more powerful spells than a Journeyman. This helps them to conserve their personal energies, thus tiring less easily. Becoming a Master is difficult due to the level of studying necessary and the far-from-easy tests to earn the rank. (Uncommon)
• Adept: An Adept is capable of everything a Master mage is capable of, as well as capable of controlling and drawing on node-energies. They rarely need to use their own energy, thus tiring only when physically exhausted by the magic they’ve been doing. An Adept will always have an Adept Manifestation, a semi-physical form to their magic that is used almost primarily in mage duels – if an Adept challenges another Adept, it must be answered and whosoever loses gives up any rank they’ve earned. Becoming an Adept is difficult due to the level of studying necessary, and dangerous due to the tests one must go through to earn the rank. (Rare)
Weather-magic: The ability to manipulate or outright control the weather with an ease that a regular mage could never manage. This Gift always comes paired with Mage-Gift. (Rare)

Mage Sense: The ability for someone – be they Mage-talented or not – to sense the magical energies in the world around them. For most, it translates almost to a physical sensation, other than sight. Anyone with Mage-Gift has Mage Sense, and nearly every magically-created being does as well. There is no specific strength to Mage Sense unless there is something particularly abnormal about it. (Uncommon for non-mages)

Mage Sight: The ability to see leylines, nodes, and spells, to perceive Companions and magical constructs or beings according to their true nature, and to see the aura of a mage. Almost every Master or Adept mage has this ability, and some Apprentice and Journeymen have it as well. (Rare for non-mages)
Earth Magic
The ‘lesser’ magics, often not even acknowledged or known about. This is the magic connected to the land, and while the spells that can be worked with Earth Magic are ‘minor’, when well-used, they can be quite effective. This magic uses the natural world’s energies, so it is almost always connected to someone possessing Earth-sense. An Earth Mage is generally sensitive to harm done to the land, and a great deal of the magics they do are connected to restoring abused land to its healthy state. Rulers of Hardorn and Rethwellan are both bound to the land with an Earth Magic ritual, although they must have the Gift of Earth-sense for it to be successful – if it is, they’re able to sense trouble or strife within the boundaries of their country.

Earth Magic: Magic done using the natural world’s energies, used primarily to heal the land, but sometimes for minor spells that can be used for surprising effect. Not often recognized, it is currently best known in Hardorn, Rethwellan, and the Tayledras. (Rare)

Earth-sense: The ability to sense the condition of the land, and the natural energies it gives off. Someone with Earth-sense is likely to be vulnerable to harm done to the land they’re near. (Rare)

Divine Magic
The source of true miracles by priests and spells by shamans that work, Divine Magic doesn’t require any innate talent or skill. What it does require is devotion. Gods and powerful spirits are able to channel power from the spirit planes to those worshippers they deem devoted enough, and in enough need. Sometimes this is done through the worshippers, and sometimes it’s done with nothing needed from them except a prayer, or setting things up in a manner deemed necessary. Demons are also capable of doing much the same for those who serve them, but this is considered warped, unnatural, and evil.

Notably, the Son of the Sun in Karse and the Goddess-sworn Shin’a’in Oathbound (particularly those who serve Her as priests such as the Kal’enedral) are known to be able to do Divine Magic, as their Gods recognize the level of devotion they show.

Blood Magic
Those who follow this line of magic are called Blood-Path Mages, and are generally despised for the perversion of magic they practice. Taking power from the pain and suffering of others, they practice a corrupted form of magic that boosts their ‘level’ quite a bit higher. A mage who might never have been more than an Apprentice can do nearly Master level magics, if they learn how to gather the energy of their victims properly, and a Blood-path Adept is extremely powerful and very dangerous. The cost to this is very low, although to the ‘lesser’ and ‘weaker’ Blood mages, the rush of power and the pain of others becomes quite addictive. It also tends to leave a distinct taint to the magical aura they have, and in the magics they do, which can alert someone with Mage Sense or Sight to the nature of their foe.

Interestingly, there are magics practiced that are considered acceptable despite involving pain, blood and even death. The Dhorisha Plains were renewed by the willing sacrifice of one Elder or Shaman from every clan. Some mages use their own blood to bind spells or boost their energy. This is the exception, not the rule, leaving no taint on the user and generally not considered to be Blood Magic.