Blood Dust

Forum: Realms Of Black Lake - A thick, dark red dust, so thick it could easily be considered a paste and so dark it is almost black, produced from the bloody torture of a small elven, or human, child. This thick dust is a favorite among those who practice the black arts, and is one of the few known poisons to have an effect on the various vampyric races.

The child is suspended over an opening, and slowly bled to death, while being methodically, and quite sadistically, tortured by both physical and magical means. The blood drips down into a stone bowl positioned beneath the opening, a bowl blessed by dark forces and placed over a very low burning fire.

Powders made from the dried seeds of a few deadly plants, prepared well in advance and aged, along with the dried and ground flesh of blood beetles, and a few other poisonous insects found in dark caves, dungeons, and other underground havens, are added over time.

Once the child has died, the one preparing the dust will violate the child's body in whatever deviant manner suits their baser desires. They will then remove the eyes, dry them, grind them to a fine powder, and add them to the contents of the bowl. The entire mixture is carefully watched, and periodically stirred, during its cooking time, until the next new moon. The preparer will then divide the dust into small portions, placed in small leather pouches with a drawstring to tie each one shut.

The dust may be used in a variety of ways against those of the vampyric races. If rubbed on the skin, the poisoned being will experience an agonizing burning sensation, which will spread with contact. Thus, every time they attempt to scratch, or rub, the powder from their flesh they in fact help to spread it over more of their flesh. A club, or other blunt weapon, may also be coated with the dust and used to strike the being, achieving the same effect.

Treatment for this method of poisoning is to cleanse the area with blessed water; which usually delivers its own torments. However, once the flesh is free of blood dust, and is dried of the blessed water, the damage will be stopped and the pain will begin to subside.

If somehow ingested, the poisoned being will immediately fall to the ground in convulsions and begin vomiting up all the blood they have drunk, and will continue vomiting until they slip into a coma-like state; commonly known as torpor.

If an arrow is dipped into the poison, or a blade edge coated with it, the effect is nearly immediate. Once the flesh is pierced the poisoned being will cry out in agonizing pain, then fall to the ground, and wherever cut or pierced, begin to bleed uncontrollably, until they have no more blood to bleed and slip into torpor.

In the latter two methods, the poisoned being must be submerged in a blood pool within the hour, and remain their for at least a week. If this is not done, resurrection will be impossible and the being will no longer be undead, but in fact dead with no hope of rising.

Considering how dangerous this substance is to the vampyric races, it is no wonder many clans have placed a high bounty on the heads of any found to be producing and/or using it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Forum: Shadow Knights: Reign Of Blood - As above, except the child would be a humanoid child. There are no elves or humans on Sanguinary.