Memory & Madness Second Half

Dash has a nightmare of being lynched by members of the Foot, then awakens to speak to Sash. The next day, they, along with a group of Esfarian Ravenkin hunters tasked with killing their brother -- including Stitch, Peeler, and the hound Pat -- enter the half-ruined city of Spires, where they speak to the leader of the Baylarian force providing for displaced individuals. Afterwards, they encounter Blake attempting to wheedle supplies and information regarding Erin's whereabouts from Baylarian bureaucrats. The young man is promptly captured.

Afterwards, Fink -- a Foxblood -- and Pine -- a Dolphinblood -- interrogate Blake under the orders of Peeler. After the arrival of a captured Erin, Fink tortures her while Pine manipulates Blake into revealing that Orvi is likely heading to Fort Vane. Erin then convinces their captors to not kill them by claiming she had planned to murder Orvi when they found him, due to a supposed belief that all Blooded are monsters and deserve to die. Blake is unsure whether she's telling the truth or not. Afterwards, he is visited by the Jackal, who mocks Blake while claiming she must depart for Fort Vane anyway.

That night, Sash secretly tests herself for Godsblood and finds that she comes up positive.

Amidst the corpses of the battle, Vin interrogates Andros, the leader of the Baylarian strike force, by offering drugs to salve the grievous pain the man is currently in. The Ravenblood hopes to confirm certain impressions. Afterwards, Vin consults with Tully, Rita, and Maddie -- who is apparently the renegade Head of Heltia after the family's fall -- who collectively decide to split their force in two to penetrate the Baylarian line. One will enter the Fox's forest, while the other -- bereft of any important figures -- will attempt to directly breach the Baylarian line in a hope their civilian status will give them reprieve.

After a discussion with the remaining refugees, Vin consoles the teenaged Taja, who had lost both his brother and sister in the battle, and invites him to travel with them. Later, Vin finds ivory growing from his body and conceals this change from Kit.

A week later, half of the group enters the Fox's forest. Kit struggles with the sensation of the wounds, and the group quickly finds themselves harangued by what seems to be the Fox. The Fox easily outmatches them as they retreat, with all of its wounds seemingly disappearing. After Vin's blood is exposed, Kit decapitates an uncaring Fox, and finds that they have been fighting a collection of hundreds of Foxes the entire battle. When a Fox offers the corpse of its fellow to Kit, Vin sacrifices Andros in a fit of sudden disgust for the man, and a refugee sacrifices her husband. Those remaining flee the forest.

When setting camp, Vin keeps watch the entire night, having found his need for sleep massively reduced. In the morning, the group attempts to track their other half and finds them beneath the centre of a large crater besieged by two distinct parties: Albright soldiers and a strange group with the ability to grow ivory spikes. As both parties fight, Vin and Tully disguise themselves to sneak into a series of abandoned caves beneath the crater, where they find the others. As they search for a way out they come across a river of blood beneath the earth. Upon accidentally spilling a drop of Vin's blood, the Aching begins.

Wil deliberately quaffs the bloodied river and promptly falls unconscious. Vin, carrying an unconscious Wil, and Ronnie attempt to find a way out large enough for their bodies while the rest of the group flees through narrower avenues. In the earth's shifting, Rita's spine is broken and before asking Vin to kill her, she reveals she knows him a Ravenblood. Vin executes her.

Ronnie and Vin -- who is forced to reveal his bone spikes to them -- widen a crack which allows them to flee the trembling earth. At Vin's behest, Ronnie carries Wil to safety while Vin delves deeper into the crater to find the others. He's quickly met with several strange individuals on the surface. One attacks him and is killed, but the other two parse Vin as the Ravenblood from the encounter. He flees to the remainder of the group and kills the Albrights harassing them. Tully chooses to stay upon the high vantage point at the centre of the crater to guide the others through the maze of falling stone. Vin leads the others out, then falls back to assist Gast and kills a nameless Albright soldier, who he takes unto him. Lacking the will to continue killing, Vin stops fighting, only for Tully's death and memories to spur him back into flight. They manage to flee the crater as the ground breaks apart, revealing eyes and limbs and sinew and tendons beneath the earth, and find the unknown group -- containing several 'Shrikebloods' -- departing without further harassment.

As the season falls to Frost, they set out on a transformed land. As they camp for the night, Vin finds himself capable of using an instrument and encounters what he dubs a 'ghost'.

Further into the season, Blake and Bhan perform menial tasks for their captors under the watch of Fink. Blake eavesdrops on the others and finds they plan to use the captives as bait for 'the Ravenblood', and that neither Stitch nor Jackson believed Orvi to have killed Maja in the Foot. After relaying this to an accepting Sash and a distraught Dash, he is attacked by an Oxblood, who Fink kills in his defence. Immediately afterwards, Erin returns from apparently slaughtering every other hunter and murders Fink.

Within Wil's childhood farmstead, the remainder of the group -- bereft of almost all refugees after several deaths and flight in the crater -- wait out Frost. When Vin vanishes, Kit and the rest of the group begin searching for him out of concern for his fracturing mental state. Kit finds him coated in ice, digging out the eyes that have grown across his body and smeared in black blood. Now revealed as a Ravenblood, Vin returns to the house and kills Wil in a spike of anxiety.

Weeks later, everyone -- with the exception of Jana and the children -- have departed early in a bid to get Vin to Fort Vane before his mind frays further. One night, Kit returns upon discovering Baylarian forces pursuing them and finds that Davian has betrayed them in a bid to exchange Maleen for the security of the others and his own personal return to Baylar: the family he was born to. After leaving him behind, the group flees Baylarian forces and breaks through a gathered army on the heels of Vin. When the Ravenblood freezes, the group finds he has grown a mouth in his back. Kit knocks him unconscious.

In Fort Vane, its leader -- the blind Owlblood Gale Vane -- speaks to the Jackal regarding his authority with the Baylarian forces. Upon noticing the approach of Vin & the others, he rushes to let them in and produces a conversion stone already keyed to Ravenbloods for use on Vin. Though suspicious, the rest of the group allow its use on Vin.

Vin dreams of the day Ma comprehended that he was a Ravenblood. He wakes to find himself severely weakened, and wanders into a hall of mirrors, where his reflection terrifies him. Upon meeting Gast & Gale, he assures the noble that he wishes for his Ravenblood to be removed. Gale informs him that the process requires using several distinct designs tailored to Vin and warns him that the process may lead to his death if not replaced by another type of Godsblood. Vin urges him to continue anyway. Later, upon sparring with Kit, Vin finds that Maja has left him and weeps.

Some time later, Gale attempts to visit his bedridden brother but finds his way barred by the Jackal and her daughter -- Kit. In a consultation with Vin -- who has lost more blood and Babs along with it -- he urges the man to consider taking Lizardblood into his veins when the process is finished, but Vin deflects. After Kit 'trains' Taja, Gast approaches Vin on behalf of the group and asks him to stop removing the Ravenblood. He refuses and flees to his room, where he rebandages his ruined arms and passes out. That night, in a diplomatic gathering, Vin barely manages to inform Tully's wife of the Spiderblood's death and encounters a large woman who introduces herself as Gaia and a Shrikeblood. When he reveals to Gale he has no intention of taking Lizardblood when his Ravenblood is removed and plans to die, Gale is rebuffed by Kit who believes the noble to be harming Vin. Vin flees to his room, where time passes for him in a fugue.

Earlier that day, Kit disposes a corpse on behalf of her mother, who reports that she herself is doing so for Gale. This is not the first time this has occurred. The encounter with Gale repeats, and when taking food to Gale's brother Kit finds the youth in question a mummified corpse. Kit sadistically trains Taja before Maddie interferes, and the group have a conversation about Vin's decline that the man himself is oblivious to. In the diplomatic procession that night, a Baylarian quietly expresses remorse before warning Maddie of a strange political game being played around her: one which she may yet survive by making herself an important piece. Afterwards, Kit realises Gale has assimilated Vin's lost Ravenblood which includes Maja, and is then attacked and threatened by the Ravenblood. The Jackal is also threatened. In response, Kit's mother leads her to Gast and demands she kill the Strain as proof of loyalty.

Despite Kit's interference, the Jackal grievously wounds Gast with Kit's own blade. Vin, sensing Gast dying, rushes to her to find Kit has slit Gast's throat. The Jackal leaves. Gast anoints Vin's forehead with her own blood and dies. Vin returns to the Fort to save those inside and finds several dead diplomats and the Ravenblood in an argument with the Fort's guards -- who have realised the Blooded's nature -- which ends with their death. Gaia rebukes the Ravenblood and leaves. Vin extracts Maleen and the two loot Gale Vane's room, finding several artefacts belonging to the Raven's fallen Cult detailing some of its philosophy. When they return to the others, Vin asks them for help killing the Ravenblood, which he has accepted as his responsibility. It is then revealed that Vin plans to die as well, with the other Ravenblood resolved to save Vin from himself.

The Ravenblood informs the Jackal that they must each deal with their own problems, which the Jackal accepts. When the two Ravenbloods meet, Vin addresses Maja and finds the Ravenblood responding. Kit faces the Jackal, who quickly debilitates the other and forces her daughter to fight her without aid. Both parties speak to one another as they fight. Eventually, though injured, Kit manages to fatally wound her mother and although the Jackal has an opportunity to kill her, allows the younger woman to live. Yet Vin loses an arm to his opponent and collapses, allowing the Ravenblood to incapacitate Maleen and Ronnie, leaving a severely wounded Kit and Taja to face it.

Vin emerges having regrown an arm to face the Ravenblood once more, but is too late to stop his counterpart from critically injuring Kit and beginning the process of (assimiliation?). Seeing no other alternative, he amputates Kit's arm, leaving the crippled swordswoman to cauterise it herself and commanding Taja to take the others to safety. As the two Ravenbloods fight, they move deeper into the Fort until both deal what should be immediately fatal wounds to the other. Instead of dying, they find their bodies regrowing in a shifting black substance. There, the Ravenblood explains that it believes the laws of Godsblood has necessitated Vin becoming another Raven. They fight once more and emerge in a maelstrom of ghosts, where Vin concludes that he cannot allow both Ravenbloods to die, for if they do his siblings will inherit the mantle of a god. As eyes and talking mouths sprout from his skin, the two Ravenbloods kill and die.

Blake, Erin, Bhan, and the twins arrive at Fort Vane to find Maddie, Ronnie, Taja and a confused Kit waiting outside. They exchange words and help each other inside, where they find at the top of the Fort a new god. Erin asks it for its assistance in committing deicide.

Dramatis Personae

This section will be filled according to comments (or left empty due to lack thereof). Other characters may be added if they are described. Credit will be given to those who contribute (unless they ask otherwise) and multiple descriptions may coexist within one character.

Wastes

Orvi:

Dash:

Sash:

Blake:

Erin:

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Jackson:

Maja:

Babs:

Stitch:

Heartlands

Vin:

Ronnie:

Kit:

Maleen/Maddie:

Taja:

Face Bhan:

Gaia:

Whip:

Davian:

Seoras:

Tully:

Wil:

Gast:

Valorie/the Jackal:

Gale Vane:

The other Ravenblood:

Glossary

The Wastes: An inhospitable wasteland unsuitable for life beyond a few small creatures and the monsters borne of the corpse of a dead god. Almost all of the aforementioned monsters have been killed by House Esfaria for the dual purposes of separating their Ravenblood from other types of Godsblood and ridding the world of Ravenblood.

The Foot: Made hospitable only by the oasis at its centre, the Foot is the only city in the Wastes. Previously left derelict by a combination of mass conscription and plague, the Foot has come under the banner of House Esfaria and experienced increased prosperity as a result. This in spite of the fact that four years ago, contact with the Lizard led to plague throughout the city.

Heartlands: A strange and alien environment where flora blooms crimson and harms itself constantly. Feeding blood to the ground yields grain in return, and a phenomena called 'the Aching' occurs frequently. The region is supposedly under the control of House Heltia, given to them by the Albrights in exchange for assistance a century ago. The Heartlands may or may not be another name for the body of the Shrike.

Speartrees: One of the most ubiquitous pieces of flora in the Heartlands, speartrees are tall, thin, pale, and -- like their namesake -- sharp. They are also incredibly tough. The titular spires within the city of Heltia are the largest speartrees in the Heartlands.

The Aching: A phenomena that used to occur regularly. 'The Aching' is a set of quakes which are accompanied by the rapid growth of flora within the Heartlands and a changing of the region's geography. This growth can be halted by layers of stone. Heartlanders rely on the Aching for much of their food. Usually, the Aching occurs every few years. After the death of the Raven, a decade absent of Achings led to great famine. The Heartlands has recently experienced another Aching after a drop of Vin's blood fell into an underground river of Godsblood.

'Sacrifice': Term used for blood fed to the ground in exchange for food. The worsening famine has led to the impoverished bleeding themselves. Some children, dubbed 'bloodbags', are kidnapped for this purpose.

Face: A Face functions as a bard, actor, and shaman; travelling from place to place and performing 'the Artful Divinity' -- usually shortened to just 'Divinity'. A Divinity is a ritualistic performance where the gods themselves, interpreted through the body of the Face, are the central characters. Each god has its own idiosyncrasies, however each Face plays them according to their preferences. Divinities are performed for crowds, who are expected to respond in certain ways -- saying certain phrases at its end and offering food or trinkets. They are also performed for supposed spirits, in an attempt to catch the spirits and prime them for reincarnation. This can apparently occur if the spirits become trapped within powerful blood and are then released in a bloodletting.

Strains: The mutated offspring of Blooded or Godkin (monsters). Both are usually mostly infertile, however Strains are occasionally born to chance or if the concentration of divinity within the Blooded is weak. Same-sex relationships amongst Blooded are encouraged for related reasons. Strains are warped in unique, unusual ways, and are regarded with disgust by the general population. They tend to possess a weak echo of their parent's powers. According to Davian, 'Strain' may also be a catch-all term applied to anyone born with visible deformities, even if their parents are unblooded.

Spires of Heltia: The home of House Heltia, Spires is built upon and around sixteen massive speartrees, hollowed out by immense labour and connected with gravity-defying bridges. It is surrounded by an immense body of refugees, who have travelled to Spires in an attempt to avoid starvation. A vital part of its infrastructure is bloodtech, which enables its bridges, elevators, plumbing, and everburning lanterns. Spires is the beating heart of bloodtech on the continent, even as its people strive to harvest the surrounding monster-ridden areas to avoid starvation. Devastated after an attack by the Ox and left under Baylarian control.

Bloodtech/Runes: Magic formations grasped by the minds of the Owlblooded, runes are specially carved and seem to obey specific rules. Bloodtech can be used to create anything from kitchen supplies to explosives, and represent the main source of technological progress on the continent. They require either an Owlblood or Godsblood to operate. After Godsblood is used to fuel bloodtech, the lost divinity returns to the Blooded who gave it away.

Conversion Stones: Bloodtech designed to extract a Blooded's Godsblood. Some attribute the flourishing of the Houses and humanity as a direct result of the invention of conversion stones three centuries ago, which allow the original Blooded to educate their successor. Blooded who use conversion stones inevitably have their lifespan reduced, though this information is well-guarded by the Houses. Before Gale Vane developed one, there were no conversion stones for Ravenbloods.

The Albright's Declaration: The Declaration officially rescinds the Albright's support of Heltia, due to charges of sheltering a Ravenblood and the unnatural ruling of a Blooded over humans. Most who speak of it believe there to be other motives.

The Terms: A collection of conditions for the conflict of Houses to avoid unnecessary civilian casualties. It was created a century ago by the Albrights, after they became the rulers of the continent.

Ichor: A rumoured substance supposedly found under the land which can supposedly fuel bloodtech in place of Godsblood. Heltia had put out a bounty for information regarding it. Part of House Heltia's desperation for Ichor was due to fuel requirements of running bloodtech. Ichor may be Shrikeblood.

Steel: A strong material that seemingly requires an Owlblood to smith, outmatching bronze or stone in utility.

Chits: Currency. Made of either wood or silver. Chits are held on strings.

Gods: Powerful entities regarded with great fear and disgust by humanity, gods are inscrutable and entirely unique to themselves. Seven are well-known, while a select few -- including Faces, for the sole purpose of subduing spirits -- are aware of an eighth. Gods tend to distort the world around them in ways unique to each god. Humanity has named each god after an animal, in addition to giving them their own names.

Godsblood: Blood from one of the gods, which alters those that incorporate it into themselves both mentally and physically. The divinity contained within Godsblood returns to its Blooded after being spilled, unless that Blooded is dead. Supposedly, it then 'fades'.

Blooded: Humans that have partaken in Godsblood. The strength of their powers and mental changes correspond to the amount of Godsblood partaken in. Past a certain point, the physical changes make a Blooded obvious.

Godkin: Also known as monsters, Godkin are creatures that have imbibed too much Godsblood, becoming dangerous in the process. Godkin have had their beings subsumed by the mental influence of Godsblood. It is more difficult for a human to become Godkin than an animal, but it remains possible.

Dure, the Lizard: Nomadic. Also known as 'the Plague', 'the Suffering', or the 'Ever-Dying'. A gargantuan entity, the Lizard is the carrier of innumerable parasites which constantly feast upon its body, and despite being in perpetual state of rot heals too fast for it to die. The danger the Lizard poses is almost entirely due to the parasites and plague its body holds, rather than any actual threat it poses. Dure draws small objects in its vicinity towards itself.

Lizardbloods: Humans or animals altered by Dure's blood. Lizardbloods have rapid regeneration. They are regarded as stupid by most. Lizardbloods also have strong wills. Notable Lizardbloods: Reagan.

Enn, the Ox: Nomadic. Also known as 'the Furious' and 'the Broken'. As large as a house, Enn is a skinless mass of muscle and fibre that can moves at unperceptible speeds and delivers immense force to whatever it hits, at the cost of breaking itself apart with each impact. After it screams, it must then put itself back together. Certain actions can anger it, for reasons unknown. The Ox draws nearby objects into its wake whenever it moves.

Oxbloods: Humans or animals altered by Enn's blood. Oxbloods are large, strong, and physically imposing. They are easy to enrage. Notable Oxbloods: General Maja, Jackson, Dervin.

Kani, the Fox: Sedentary. Also known as 'the Glutton' and 'the Ubiquitous'. Kani is rumoured to exist in several distinct locations simultaneously. In actuality, the Fox seems to exist in multiple different bodies. Whether they are distinct entities or the same spread over several bodies is unclear. Each 'Kani' is roughly human-sized and possesses overdeveloped sensory organs. The Fox is known to toy with its victims and their possessions. It enhances the senses of those around it to an unpleasant degree.

Foxbloods: Humans or animals altered by Kani's blood. Foxbloods are skilled combatants, with incredible kinaesthetic awareness and advanced senses making each possess superhuman athletic abilities. Often sadistic. Notable Foxbloods: Aston, Bab (monstrous), Fink.

Siik, the Spider: Sedentary. Known to dwell within a mountain it has claimed for itself.

Spiderbloods: Humans or animals altered by Siik's blood. Spiderbloods are capable of rapidly assessing situations, though they are often maligned as cowardly. Notable Spiderbloods: Tully, Peeler.

Wump, the Dolphin: Mostly sedentary. Lives in the northern seas of the continent, apparently enslaving those around it.

Dolphinbloods: Humans or animals altered by Wump's blood. Dolphinbloods are capable of manipulating the emotions of those around them. Dolphinbloods are thought to be arrogant. Notable Dolphinbloods: Representative Fedor, Serl, Holt, Pine.

Yoot, the Owl: Partially nomadic. An arcane entity thought to know much.

Owlbloods: Humans or animals altered by Yoot's blood. Owlbloods are capable of using magic, which manifests alongside purple light, and can comprehend, create, and fuel runes using their powers. Owlbloods are known to daydream or hyper-fixate. Notable Owlbloods: Captain Vernon, Odrin (weak), Neelam Heltia, Gale Vane.

Avri, the Raven: Was sedentary. Killed by humanity eight years before the bulk of the story, due to its Aspirants suddenly becoming murderous. Avri was worshipped by a cult, which held the Raven to be capable of 'saving' people and had its own theological beliefs and internal culture revolving around notions of heaven and hell. Avri had innumerable eyes and mouths, which gibbered madly.

Ravenbloods: Humans or animals altered by Avri's blood. Ravenbloods are capable of sensing the lifeforce of others, and can incorporate some aspect of the dying, so long as the dying's blood is smeared across their forehead. It is unclear what this aspect is or how it works. Ravenblood seems to be inactive before the Blooded undergoes this process once. Ravenbloods are known to be insane, and immensely dangerous. They also have perfect memory. Notable Ravenbloods: Vin/Orvi, Sash & Dash (latent), Gale-Maja.

The Shrike: Mentioned once. Little is known about the Shrike, besides that it strikes quickly, and disappears just as suddenly. Appears little, known by few. Individuals impaled upon speartrees are attributed to the Shrike, and held to be evidence of its existence. There are no Shrikebloods. The Shrike appears to either live under or be the Heartlands.

Shrikebloods: Humans or animals altered by the Shrike's blood. Shrikebloods are capable of growing ivory (or bone) from their body, which can be used either offensively or defensively. They tend to be large and muscular. It was believed there were no Shrikebloods, however they do seem to exist. Many Shrikebloods appear to be members of some secretive organisation. Little is known about them beyond this. Notable Shrikebloods: Erin, Seoras, Wil, Gaia.

Houses: Noble organisations/Families that control resources, territory and Blooded. Houses may pursue their own agendas and war amongst themselves, but are overseen by House Albright. Generally, it is believed Blooded are unfit to rule Houses.

Heads: The leaders of their respective Houses.

House Esfaria: A House known for its military might and loyalty, House Esfaria controls much of the territory around the Heartlands and the Wastes, including the nomad regions. These are not necessarily productive territories. A red eagle adorns their crest.

House Leyden: A House known for its subterfuge and chicanery. House Leyden was directly responsible for the death of the House Esfaria Representatives sent to the Foot.

House Heltia: One of the youngest Houses, House Heltia was led by Neelam Heltia for over a century, who is believed to be the only Blooded Head amongst the Houses. They control a single city. The Vanes are their only subsidiary nobles. House Heltia generated most of their resources via a mercenary army, which could operate neutrally due to the Albright's endorsement. Most are now dead, with Maddie/Maleen supposedly being its only remaining member. As such, she has become their Head by default, with her identity confirmed by a necklace. The Jackal, under instructions from House Baylar and Gale Vane, was responsible for the House's poisoning. Purple adorns their crest.

House Albright: The monarchs of the continent, who rose to their status a century ago.. House Albright has held an alliance with House Heltia since the younger House's inception, however has recently rescinded it. Gold is a colour exclusive to the Albrights, under pain of death. Albright forces fought an unknown organisation of Shrikebloods within a crater that led to Shrikeblood.

House Baylar: A House known mostly for its mercantile ways, it was nevertheless given leave to destroy House Heltia, seemingly by the Albrights.

House Andoras:

House Illico:

House Korla:

Heltian Conditions: A treaty between Houses for the purpose of killing the Raven and destroying its Cult.