The Holy Blood and its Children

by A'mahn Assur, Lore Adept at Rod'Ven'Gul

Preface:

Ahk'ha'ma, known to many as Akuma, is the god of vampires.   However, this breaks with that of other Arkendrosian gods.  While all other gods are the gods of aspects and powers, Ahk'ha'ma is the god of the Vampire*. Many enemies of the Church of Ahk'ha'ma and its children would have you believe that Ahk'ha'ma is not a god and instead some powerful demon or beast. These beliefs most likely derive from a place of fear and propaganda.  No doubt powerful royals and nobles in opposition to the Alliance of the Holy Blood wish only to fracture a long standing belief structure in a desperate attempt to weaken their enemies. Using loosely formulated theories in comparison to other Churches of Akrendrose and the use of ancient and poorly deciphered scrolls found in a supposed-ancient Rowan outpost are little more than a child's attempt at grasping at straws.

*Through my research and readings it has come to my understanding that Vampires outside of Arkendrose are undead.  In this respect as a scholar I must explain the key differences between the vampires that exist beyond Arkendorse and those within.  Vampires of Arkendrose are not undead but rather a creation of The Gift.  They consider themselves blessed by Ahk'ha'ma with their existence.  The Arkendrosian Vampire requires blood as its sustenance and has abilities that can manifest in various ways.  

The following is a comprehensive explanation on The Holy Blood and its Children. Throughout these writrtings, I, A'mahn Assur, will explain the nature and collective knowledge of the Ahk'ha'man Faith and its offspring, the Vampire.

Ahk'ha'ma:

As the coven stories tell us, Ahk'ha'ma appeared in the sky during a blood moon before the fledgling tribes of human kind, a creation of Reena and Fonel, and presented them a gift, the Holy Blood.  Should they take it, they would be the first true children of Ahk'ha'ma.  They would be gifted power and eternal life should they take the Holy Blood upon themselves.  They would no longer suffer as the hunted but would become the hunter for in these days before written histories, the World of Akendrose was said to be a bestial and primal place filled with great monsters which hunted the lesser beings that wandered it.

If some of the tribes that were presented the Gift of the Holy Blood had denied it, these people are not remembered.  What is known is that the Gift was accepted and the First Vampires of Arkendrose were born as the first "True" children of Ahk'ha'ma; the New Blood of Akendrose.  Ahk'ha'ma asked only that those who accepted the gift and their tribes accept them as their lord and savior, their god and thus the first Vampire Covens were born.

The Ah'bas'sis:

As mentioned above, Vampires were the first "True" children of Ahk'ha'ma but there was another, lesser race, that claimed linage to Ahk'ha'ma, the Ah'bas'sis.  Accounts differ even among their own people but it is believed by the Ah'bas'sis that they were the first children of Ahk'ha'ma yet they were imperfect and therefor cast aside for the Vampire.  However, even with this belief the Ah'bas'sis worship Ahk'ha'ma.

First Vampire War:

After receiving the Gift, the Vampire Covens of a primitive and more tribal Akendrose, indulged in their new found power.  When night fell, the Covens would roam and raid camps, villages and hamlets and drink their fill until after the witching hour before melting back into the shadows to rest until the Moons were once again in the sky.  Those without the Gift, however, were locked in another struggle for their very survival in these days before written history.

The Tyrillian dragons had conquered and enslaved the world and used the smaller humanoid tribes as workers an slaves to built their great palaces and as food to satiate their appetites.  The Tyrillians took their fill only during the day however and thus the Vampire Covens were spared their wroth.  The other races of Arkendrose, including lesser dragons and dragon kind, rose up in rebellion in a long struggle to shake off the chains of their masters and bring an end of Tyrillian rule.   As the spoken traditions tell us, this war lasted thousands of years.  Of course, spoken traditions and sung sagas are no basis for true and factual histories and thus we must take these stories of old together with an understanding of how oral traditions are spread.

The Vampires tell us that during the Second Tyrillian War the races of man embarked on a mission of genocide.  The Covens, although small, were powerful but they, over time, were no match for numbers and determination of the races of man. The First Vampire war, as it is commonly referred to in the texts, lasted generations until the last of the Vampire Covens melted into the shadows of lands less opposed to their existence.   It was there, in these lands, that the Covens evolved into noble houses where they slowly made their mark on the faith and people in the regions they lived.

The Council of the Gift:

Known to many outside of the lands under the red-drip banner as the Vampire Council, the Council of the Gift is a secretive order who oversee the use and regulations concerning the Gift of Vampirism.  Only one member of the Council is known outside of private secular and religious circles, Lyrik (Lie -Rick) who shares the distinction of being the first Vampire according to accepted Church sources.  Beyond that, the authority of the Council is felt but not seen as few who possess the Gift have ever dared go against their codes of use and implementation.

It is also believed that the Council of the Gift is made up of the ancient Vampires of old only although this can not be confirmed.

Order of the Holy Blood:

Known to many as simply the Blood Cult, the Order of the Holy Blood are a selective and private religious order who are believed to take their direction form the Council of the Gift.  However, as the Council of the Gift is secretive so too is it difficult to determine the true relation between both the Council of the Gift and the Order of the Holy Blood.

The Order of the Holy Blood are denoted by their darkly dyed cloaks and gloved hands. The order travels in groups and often carry staffs and or one-handed weapons.  All members of the Order of the Holy Blood are in some way magically gifted.  Together, they bind themselves to abominations known as Blood Dragons who's creation is a mater of debate.  The Order of the Holy Blood often support military operations of nations who hold Ahk'ha'ma as one of their primary deities.  A Blood Dragon will often accompany the Order on their missions.

Church of Ahk'ha'ma:

The Order of the Holy Blood serve as a monastic order and as missionaries in service to Ahk'ha'ma.  The first written histories make mention of their existence in lands such as Lorace, Ancient Row, the Byzantar and even as far as the Lands of the East Gate.  The Order of the Holy Blood in connection with the Council of the Gift forged the Church of Ahk'ha'ma.  The first of which appeared in the Empire of Row.  Between Lorace and the Byzantar temples were constructed and the faith was tolerated by the empire.

As the Church grew, so too did opposition to it.  Fear of what the Vampires could do to the Empire of Row should they wish harm or control was spread by councilors who wished to keep their positions of power. However, the Vampire Houses always appeared to support the Empire and often helped them to win key battles around Arkendrose which aided in the continued conquests of Row.  So too was the support strong for the Vampire Houses and the strength they brought to the Empire and as such the Emperors never supported a ban of the Faith of Ahk'ha'ma.

The Church of Ahk'ha'ma grew and grew in the domains of the Empire and even survived it during its slow decline and eventual collapse.  At the Empire's height the Faith of Ahk'ha'ma was seen as an equal to the other faiths of the various imperial provinces throughout the Empire.  The Church of Ahk'ha'ma boasts two High Temples of the Faith, one in a nation now known as the Order of Florence in the city now known as Blood Moon and one behind a veil in the capital of the Kingdom of Lorace, Baath.  The temple in Blood Moon is called the High Temple of Ahk'ha'ma while the other is known simply as the Blood Temple.

The Blood Temple is the home of the Order of the Holy Blood.  The High Temple of Ahk'ha'ma serves as Arkendrose's primary house of the faith.

Rise of the New Aristocracy:

After the Collapse of the Empire of Row, the Vampire Houses slowly helped the old noble families to rebuild the provinces of the shattered empire into sovereign nations.  The Kingdom of Lorace, the small but proud lands of Row, Grerkly, Iptia and the Byzantar all rose from the ashes under the union of the races of man and the Vampire Houses.  The lands of Lorace were the first to crown a vampire king and his name was Lyrik (Lie-Rick), the First Vampire.  Scrolls from the centuries that followed the Rowan Collapse state that Row and the Byzantar were the only two prior Imperial provinces which held onto the structures of the old empire and in those structures vampires held seats in their respective councils.

As the generations passed, Lorace, Grerkly, Row, Iptia and the Byzantar all began to host those with the Gift in positions of rule.  Noble families with the Gift rose slowly over time in power, importance and influence.  The speed in which the New Aristocracy would rise was stunted only by the Desecration of Ahk'ha'ma which all believed impossible.

Desecration of Ahk'ha'ma:

As is known by the faithful, the Gods are led by the Council of the Spirit Realm which is overseen by the First Councilor, often called the King of the Gods, Jena (Gen-nah), by the simpler folk of Arkendrose.  As the High Temple of Ahk'ha'ma tells us, the Council had been angered by Ahk'ha'ma and chose to take action.  A Council of Man was formed after the High Priests of many other Gods of Akendrose decreed a holy war against, what they called, the heretic abominations.  This Council of Man sought to seek the destruction of Vampire kind.

Although the holy war had been declared by many leaders of the gods, little action was noticeable on a secular level.  The Kingdoms and Empires of Arkendrose at the time desired peace and or had other ambitions elsewhere.  This did not stop the faithful from answering the call in lands where their gods held sway against the Children of Ahk'ha'ma where they hunted and killed Vampires when they were found.  These hunts delivered but minor blows against vampire kind as few faithful dared entered the lands where the Vampires held more sway and influence.  The fighters of the holy war turned to their High Priests for aid and aid they did receive.

A Holy Quest was given and blessed by the High Priests of those who hunted.  Scrolls, blessed by the leaders of the faith, were given to the champions of the Faith.  The scrolls detailed the plan and method of the Desecration of Ahk'ha'ma.  Their hope was that if they could desecrate Ahk'ha'ma then they could end what they saw as the Vampire threat.  This "quest" was carried out in secret and the details of the scrolls have been lost to history.  One thing is known for certain, the hunters were successful, at least to an extent.

Ahk'ha'ma was indeed desecrated but not destroyed entirely.  The High Temple of Ahk'ha'ma and the Blood Temple both agreed that gods cannot die and thus Ahk'ha'ma lived though in a bound and broken state imposed by the will of the Council of the Spirit Realm and the High Temples of the Faith.  Although the Council and High Temples were not successful in destroying Ahk'ha'ma, they were successful in stunting the growth of the Church of Ahk'ha'ma and the influence and power of the Vampire Houses within the realms they held the most sway.

The Continued Rise of the New Aristocracy and the High Priests of the Resurrection:

For the better part of the next several centuries, the slowed rise of the New Vampire Aristocracy continued. Though progress was slower, the Vampire Houses continued their work only this time with renewed purpose: vengeance.

By this time, Beckhorone was firmly under dominion of House Damian and the New Aristocracy had begun to make inroads into the Islands of the Mists in the Far South West and Syconia in the Far North West.  Even the ancient Kingdom of Jar'gon had been rumored to have a deeply rooted Vampire Aristocracy in spite of the many races that called the vast lands of Jar'gon their home.   With their influence and control deepening, the Council of the Gift in conjunction with the Order of the Holy Blood and the High Temple of Ahk'ha'ma formed a new religious order dedicated to the revival of Akh'he'ma, the High Priests of the Resurrection.

The High Priests of the Resurrection were chosen from among the clergy and the order, if not from the Councilors of the Gift themselves but that has yet to be proven, and were given a pyramid in Iptia as their temple. There, they worked on collecting the information, knowledge and power needed to force the revival of their god.

The Resurrection of Ahk'ha'ma:

The process of the Resurrection is a mater of secrecy but the final acts of the revival are known.  The Kingdom of Lorace, the Republic of Row, the City-States of Grerkly, the Fury Lands of Iptia, the Order of Florence and even the Kingdom of Jar'gon sent armies to defend the island of Keta who's center was a volcano believed to be a direct opening to the 27 Gates of The Retribution (the prisons of the condemned and dammed).  On the mountain the High Priests of the Resurrection and the Order of the Holy Blood prepared for the Resurrection.

The mass movement of armies did not go unnoticed for some such as the Kingdom of Jar'gon had long sea voyages to make before reaching the Island of Keta.  The King of Celtica (a nearby island nation who had been rapidly expanding for the past generation') Arnok called his allies to prevent what he feared to be the rise of a new threat to the newly formed Alliance of the Star.  The inclusion of the Republic of Row was especially problematic as less than two decades earlier, when King Arnok was just a young man, it had been conquered by Celtica and was part of her domains.

King Arnok's allies answered his call even before his fears had been confirmed by a series of dreams he and ten others had received presumably from the Gods themselves.  These dreams detailed various potential future events, all of which were dark in nature.   As fast as could be mustered, the Alliance of the Star sent its armies and champions to the Island of Keta to stop the new threat before it could begin.  The High Priests of the Faith blessed their quest.

The combined might of the Alliance of the Star could not break the lines of what would later be called the Alliance of the Holy Blood or simply the New Blood Alliance and their champions could not prevent the High Priests of the Resurrection from performing their sacred duty.  Ahk'ha'ma rose from the mouth of the Volcano, returned and brilliant.  The resulting wave of energy left few alive on Keta killing much of the armies of both sides and many people throughout Arkendrose were reported to have suddenly turned pale and collapsed to the ground, dead and cold.

Ahk'ha'ma had risen and the Alliance of the Holy Blood rejoiced.  The lore keepers at Rod'ven'gul have named the events leading up to the revival and the revival itself as the Resurrection of Ahk'ha'ma.

Second Vampire War and the Alliance of the Holy Blood:

As the dark banners of a gules drip on a sable field unfurled to hang next to those of the Kingdoms of the alliance, armies marched on the Lands that championed the Gods who had desecrated theirs. This initial invasion of nations throughout Arkendrose sparked a war known as the Second Vampire War.

In the first years of the war, the new alliance suffered many defeats.   In The Empire of Coastaar's East Coastaar, the invasion suffered a defeat that sent the alliance back to their ships.  Until war ended between the Empire of Coastaar and the Alliance of the Holy Blood, East Coastaar would not be invaded again by the alliance.   In the Trade City of Cal'mar, the Jar'gonian generals failed to execute an effective plan and their armies were repelled by the city's defenses.  It is a matter of fact that the initial invasions were all repelled.

The Alliance of the Holy Blood would not be swayed by these defeats and instead chose to learn from them.  It was during this time that the structure and unity of the Alliance members was fully established and confirmed.   Three organizations would lead the alliance into the future; the Lords, the Church and the Council of the Gift.

The Lords were the noble lines of all lands within the alliance and their leader would be selected from the greatest houses among them. That leader would lead the alliance and was known as the Lord Director.  The Church was made up of the accepted faiths within alliance lands and was led by the recognized High Priests of each represented God.  The Council of the Gift governed the use of the Gift and was represented by their only public member, Ly'rik the King of Lorace.

The High Priest of Sect Joins The Church:

The faith of Sect began to be accepted within the lands of the alliance after the ascension of Sect.  Once Dar'loth, the High Priest of Sect, was accepted into The Church, he began to work with the other High Priests represented in The Church to bring about an end to the war with the Empire of Coastaar as, with the ascension of Sect, the faiths should be united in opposition of the Council of the Spirit Realm.  This would eventually result in an end to all hostilities between the Empire and the Alliance of the Holy Blood culminating in a non-aggression packed between the two powers.

Peace and The Ishtikarr War:

With peace between the Empire of Coastaar and the Alliance of the Holy Blood, the Alliance halted all external campaigns for two decades allowing their nations to recuperate from the years of war that preceded the peace.  The Lord Director during this period was the King of Jar'gon who worked to prevent hostilities against the lands of the Alliance of the Holy Blood.  Although this was not a popular move among many of the Vampire Houses, especially those who descended more directly from the First Vampires, it was a necessary evil.  The Alliance had taken too much damage in the thirteen long years of war and it needed to heal.

While the Lord Director struggled to rebuild the alliance, he combated a growing resentment against his rule. Peace was not wished by The Church but it was tolerated due to continued support from the Council of the Gift.  Some lore keepers would claim the decision of the Council to be greatly influenced by its speaker and representative, King Ly'rik who's armies had been crushed during the Second Battle of Trister and who's lands had been sacked and raided following that crippling defeat.

Once Lorace and the rest of the alliance had recovered, support for the Lord Director's peace began to weaken.  The voice of the High Priests of Sect and Ignyon (Ig-nee-on) continued to stoke the people's passion for war. The Vampire Houses still desired vengeance and soon they were demanding it. And thus, the Council of the Gift no longer could hold onto their position and the Lord Director was overruled.  War would begin anew.

In the year 1034 AA, the alliance began to actively support the Empire of Coastaar and the Kingdom of Sect in their campaigns against Alliance of the Star. The Kingdom of the Ishtikar (Ish'tea'car) was then invaded by Syconia in the spring of 1041AA.

The war with Ishtikarr, or Ishstarr as some call it, moved swiftly at first.  The defenses that had been established in Western Ishtikarr were not large enough to stop a large invading force but they served to both slow the invaders and to inform the rest of the kingdom of the army that marched steadily North East.  Syconia wished primarily to take as much territory as possible before they had to fight a pitched battle.  The goal was to avoid open battle until the Syconian army was in a position to lay siege to the Fortress of Pol'lahr.

The Fortress of Pol'lahr served as the main defense of Pol'lahria (the western province of the Ishtikarr).  It also stood between Syconia and the capital of Ishtikarr, CrestGrath*.  Having become more cautious in the years after the start of the Second Vampire War, Emperor Bazavier of Sycon sent only one army to invade the Ishtikarr.  It was the task of another alliance member, the Kingdom of Rigen (Rye-gen) to occupy the Alliance of the Star kingdoms of White Mountain and Shimabora in the East of the Ishtikarrian continent.  With White Mountian and Shimabora fighting to the South in Bri (B-rye), their ability to respond to calls for aid from their trade partner in the Kingdom of the Ishtikarr was limited.  Rigen prevented it entirely by deploying forces to harass the boarder regions of both Kingdoms.

*It has come to the attention of the Lore Keepers of Rod'ven'gul that another town just beyond the Gate in the Forest of Voy shares the same name as the capital of the Ishtikarr.   Upon further research, it was learned that the names of both settlements received their names for different reasons.   The Town of CrestGrath through the Gate was named after the River Crest and the Creathorne town of Grath whereas the CrestGrath in Arkendrose was named after the Kingdom's founding heroes as told in the oral histories, Cresious and Grathis.   In conclusion the two locations share no relation save for a cosmic circumstance.

The efforts of Rigen tied up both White Mountain and Shimabora long enough for Syconia to lay siege to the massive fortress of Pol'lahr.  Ishtikarr's armies were once known as weak by the standards of the powers within Arkendrose but those days were now in the past.  The Ishtikarrian army had received steady founding, supply, armor, weapons and training from their trade partners within the Alliance of the Star and the Eastern Alliance respectively.  By the time of the invasion, the Ishtikarrian armies were modern and battle tested against the rebels of Xon.

Knowing this, Emperor Bazavier had called for the aid of Lord Diago of Beckhorone, and the King of the Islands of the Mists to send further aid while the siege was underway.  While reinforcements sailed up from the South, Bazavier maintained the siege with the hope that his allies would arrive before a relief force from the Ishtikarr did.   In this crucial moment when the aging King Kell needed his third army most, the Trade City of Pandole (Pan-dole) rose in rebellion killing its governor and declaring for the grandson of the famed Lord Newhouse.

Due to the rebellion on the Island of Pandole, the army that was so desperately needed never came.  Faced with a near impossible situation, old king Kell marched South from his capital to face the invaders head on in Pol'lahria.  Scouting reports and even the king's own seer had told him that Beckhorone and the soldiers of the Mists had landed and would reach the Fortress of Pol'lahr in less than a week.  The king hoped to unite his strength to that of the Pol'lahrian army and together smash Syconia.   Indeed such a success would likely have been enough to send the Mists and Beckhorone home without a fight and Kel could turn to dealing with the rebellion.

King Kell never made it to that battlefield however.  While his army camped just a day's march from the Fortress of Pol'lahr, he was assassinated in his tent.   The King's Seer may have even seen his death before it happened but she too was found dead at her divining table by her servants back in CrestGrath likely killed to stop her from reporting the danger.  With the King dead, the army did not march the next morning.  It instead remained camped for three days while the generals argued among themselves about what their next steps would be and even accusing one another of high treason and regicide.

On the third day, scouting reports brought news that the Army of the Mists would reach the siege soon while the Kingdom of Beckhorone was traveling North toward the capital. This put the Royal Army directly in the path of Beckhorone's steady march North.  With the numbers and odds counted, possibly against the Royal Army, they chose to abandon the relief efforts in Pol'lahria and instead returned to the capital.

The Royal generals had expected that Beckhorone would follow them but they did not.  Instead, Beckhorone stopped their march and set up camp where the Ishtikarrian army had previously been.  With the Ishtikarr cliffs at the back of the Royal Army and Beckhorone in front of it, no relief could be sent to Pol'lahria without first offering battle.

Once all alliance armies were in place and or engaged, Emperor Bazavier offered terms of surrender to the defenders of Pol'lahria.   If they threw down their weapons and opened their gates, no harm would come to the average soldier.  Any nobles present would be taken into custody but would otherwise go unharmed. When the general of Ishtikarr's second army and defender of the fortress asked how he would know if the situation was as dire as was claimed, Emperor Bazavier permitted the general to send his own scouts out unmolested to see for himself.   The Ishtikarrian general took the Emperor up on his offer and sent out riders to judge the situation for themselves.

When most returned a week later they all sung the same tale.  The second army was alone and no help was coming.  The general ordered the surrender of the Fortress of Pol'lahr the next morning.  True to his word, no soldiers were harmed but their weapons and armor were taken and their officers and nobles put in chains.  The Army of the Mists then took over the garrison of the fortress and the care of most of the prisoners while the Syconian and Beckhorone armies marched North to the capital.

At the capital the combined might of both Sycon and Beckhorone posed the greatest military threat the ancient city had seen since the days when Ishtikarr was the predominant power in Arkendrose.  The city had not been under siege or sacked in hundreds of years.  The older Imperial line who's senators were permitted during the King's reign to sit in council with him, usurped the throne declaring Ishtikarr an Empire once again and naming one of their own Emperor.   When Emperor Bazavier of Sycon reached the city, the new Emperor of the Ishtikarr, Cresius the 13th, requested a parley and was granted one.

Cresius offered the surrender of the city and the Empire of Ishtikarr if he would be permitted to rule it as its Emperor.  Emperor Bazavier agreed under the condition that Sycon remain in Ishtikar to ensure a peaceful transition into a potential member state of the Alliance of the Holy Blood.  Syconia would also insure that Cresius and his senate remained loyal to the cause by replacing two councilors with Syconian lords.  Cresius accepted and surrendered the city and with it the lands of the Ishtikarr.

The State of the Alliance:

Currently, Syconia, Beckhorone and the Islands of the Mists are busy crushing rebellions that rise up in the Ishtikarr and working to prepare the population to accept their current regime.  In the East the Kingdom of Jar'gon has taken over lost territories but is otherwise spending their time maintaining the security and stability of the region.  In the heart of the Alliance, the focus is on supporting an ongoing civil war in the island of Tengoku instigated by Shimarbora and Queen Ikana.

The alliance as a whole is now openly trading with the Empire of Coastaar and the Kingdom of Sect.  Syconia has made peace with the Kingdom of Sect as well.  Relations with the great Northern Imperial Houses of Coastaar have improved in recent years as well culminating in the allowance of Syconian forces within the Forest of Voy which is primarily on the Coastaarian side of the border.  All together, the Alliance of the Holy Blood is in a good position and its people have recovered from the darker days in recent past.