Throughout the summer of 508 MA, the imperious Consanguine toiled away in search of greater power. Goaded on by the Progenitor, the Imperial Dominion sought control over ancient magic related to the four humours of blood, phlegm, and yellow and black biles. Though they mustered their all, they found themselves unable to handle the demands of such vile sorcery and soon reduced themselves to ash, smoke, and runny streams of frigid bile. Unwilling to watch the guild continue to make a mess of things, Abhorash offered sparse guidance on the topic, claiming that they would need to develop a greater focus for their spellcasting.

The Progenitor soon supplied the Dominion with an ancient incantation and instructed them to empower their ritual bloodstone with sanguine offerings. Claiming that the ritual edifice would not be strengthened by paltry prey, the Hegemonist instead directed the Consanguine to strike out against powerful opponents such as Belmith, Tolonar, Luzith, and the dreaded elder lava daemon. Without delay, the imperial warriors of the night swarmed across the land in the throes of a blood hunt, bringing back myriad mighty dead to their halls for the purpose of ceremonial sorcery. Initial attempts to empower their bloodstone proved to be a learning experience rife with mishaps and mistimed incantations, rendering entire attempts fruitless in the wake of minor mistakes. The Consanguine persevered and perfected their ritual process soon after and thus embarked upon an occult journey, its arcana writ in the blood of the fallen.

Throughout the next few weeks, many members of the Dominion would make repeated attempts at utilising the sorcery hinted at by the Hegemonist. Each time, they ran afoul of the same issue: a lack of refined control resulting in fatal catastrophe. Burning bile and sizzling hellscapes bloomed from the husks of those attempting to dabble with this dark power, proving that the Dominion had not yet achieved the mastery demanded of them by Abhorash. Finally, during the month of Lanosian, the cabal of vampires made headway in their quest for profane power.

Utilising the fully empowered bloodstone, the Consanguine's ritual scrying led them to the once-stronghold of Belladona. Braving the depths of the labyrinth beneath Fengard Keep, the Dominion soon found themselves beset by ghosts of the Queen's handmaidens. Determined to protect the secrets hidden within the crypt, the spirits pursued after the vampiric intruders, their chase aided by the activated security runes within the hallways. After several harrowing expeditions into the tunnels under the castle, the Dominion managed to reassemble the entirety of the broken tablet of Yrtez's Esoterica, granting them the necessary incantation to fully empower their bloodstone.

Rushing back to the sanguine edifice hidden away with their halls, the Dominion swiftly made an attempt at wielding their new powers. With all of the principles of the last five weeks now unified, the imperial Consanguine found themselves able to wield the ancient sorcery of the humourists. Armed with mastery over internal chemistry and the dark arcana of the Ankyrean traitor Yrtez, the profane pursuit of the Bloodborn once more returned to the lands of Sapience with explosive potential.

Penned by my hand on Kinsday, the 2nd of Niuran, in the year 508 MA.