MAN OF BLOOD

Mortals are fickle. Gods are eager to be entertained. But the Rug that tells the story of the universe must be maintained. Only one man cares enough to fight for it. Despite his guilt, his murder-ridden past, his family, he knows trouble will come with or without his doing. Mateo Van Der Aeveris battles to find even ground in the prison of his own mind. The Heavens condemn him while the fate of his loved ones is written in Thread as shadow stirs within his own bloodline.

JAMPIRAKAI

(Jampirakai is plural)

Jampirakai are the most common race you will see in Man of Blood. The term 'vampire' is more of a human slur.
Officially the jampirak race originated from a distant world called Teruva. An unforgiving realm where humans are used for slaughter and work. On Earth, however, those ideals were long abandoned by the jampirakai who migrated there.
Jampirakai are dangerous beings when provoked. Mist unfurls from their skin and ripens the air. The vapor extended of their bodies is not to be scoffed at. Mist can tear flesh from bone and pass through solid material. Blood addiction runs in many generations, thus most have added sweets to their diets - as a form of distraction from their need to drink. Jampirakai have heightened senses, heightened strength, and even an dash of telepathy. However limited, their telepathy can be trained to extend beyond a simple brush of skin.

SIPLAMIA

Siplamia - the hybrid race of jampirak and kroza magic. They are a rare breed. Often families have the gene to bear a siplamia child but the chances of giving birth to one are slim.
The ability to siphon is what makes siplamia so feared. Their hands can glow red like a hot metal on command. If ever they sink their claws into your skin, they can drink away strength and magic from you. A siplamia's Mist is ever-vigilent. Siphons - pieces of their magic - are woven through the fog. They roam to taste the powers of other people to better determine what you are.

"Siphons lunged and latched into my skin. I winced as they drank and drank and drank, her aura filling through the veins of her little body until she sniffled quietly. Her wailing came to a stop."

Page 4, Man of Blood

The next most important thing in the story would obviously be it's characters - the people Mateo holds close to his heart. The friendships he's made are ancient and predate even the roots of the Van Der Aeveris line. These characters, some small, others powerful, are all essential with their own beautiful stories in need to be told.

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AUŠRA

'She who Pulls the Sun'

For many years, Aušra the raven, has been Mateo's trusted friend. Atimes she has been his only friend. She shares the name of the raven who helped the God of Instinct find food during the cold seasons. That same raven pulls the sun across the sky once every eleven years.
For Mateo, however, she delivers his letters and shares meals with him every day. That is good enough for the both of them.

"Misty magic glistened off her wings. Her hazy, solid figure bore an inquisitive red gaze. I always admired how she seemed like a blotch of water color - blended with my magic."

Page 28, Man of Blood

SAEVA BETTINA DESIDERIUS VAN DER AEVERIS

"Rosabella"

Saeva is the distant granddaughter of Mateo - the most recent siplamia-born child in the Van Der Aeveris family. He nannied her as he does for many newborn grandchildren he has, but he especially connected with Saeva. She is known for the yellow dress he bought her during a trip to Sicily. It was her favorite thing to wear as a young girl and she wore it every day until the dress no longer fit. Mateo stays by her side even beyond her younger years, becoming the father-figure she never had. Even though he has always provided and cared for her, Mateo allows Saeva's grandfather to assume the title of 'caretaker'.

Saeva is sent away by her grandfather, Vincenzo, to train far away. Mateo begrudgingly agrees with his grandson - for they both send her to live at a school that trains well-versed warriors. Mateo and Vincenzo fear that because she is a siplamia she will be targeted for violence, thus they want her to defend herself. Even though she is so far from home, Mateo sends her letters and visits his granddaughter as often as he can.
Saeva earns a life for herself over the course of her time at the school, Mortifo. She finds family among friends while never realizing she has relatives that yearn to see her - uncles, aunts, cousins. The older she grows, the more she realizes that there are lies spun about her. Hidden truths told by her grandfather...

VINCENZO AMBROGIO VIBIANUS VAN DER AEVERIS

Saeva's Grandfather and Representative of the Cobblestone City

Vincenzo was once a young boy, as Saeva was a young girl. He lived on a vineyard in Sicily where he picked grapes beside his older sister. Like Saeva, he would wait for his zio Mateo to come and visit. He, too, is a rare occurance in the Van Der Aeveris family - born a siplamia. He had been warned to be careful once he became a man and pursued interest in becoming a scholar within the Cobblestone City.

His life changed when war waged between human realms in the 1940's. Axis powers turned their eyes towards magic in order to better defeat the Allies. They searched for a way into the Cobblestone City. The City closed off its portals, sending factions of their army to defend the entrances. Soon enough they began to draft students. Vincenzo became drafted into the army. He learned from sorcerers (carovik) how to master kroza magic, thus becoming a staple ally for the City since he was one of the few siplamia alive.

He was sent to protect a portal in Europe which the Axis powers discovered. Vincenzo's faction fought for more than a month before Axis reinforcements arrived and wiped out most of the City soldiers. Vincenzo fought tooth and nail to maintain his position. It's said that he siphoned enough energy to melt the tanks that rolled in his path. He single-handedly protected the City until the World War ended. He returned, a war hero. He was even commended a lazdava for his bravery.

Not long after he received a lazdava, he ran for election to become a Representative for the jampirak and siplamia peoples. Two months after he was elected and settled into the castle, a baby wound up on his doorstep. For the only time Vincenzo ever laid with someone he managed to impregnate her. After he announced the arrival of his daughter, no one from the City nor his family ever heard of the girl until twenty years later when she died. He claimed that his daughter lived with him in the City under his protection. She died during childbirth, giving birth to a siplamia girl - Saeva.
But Vincenzo was not the same. Not after the war nor after the death of his daughter. Some members of the family even said he became cruel. He turned to blood for relief, killing humans bred for slaughter in jampirak pen houses. Rumor travelled in the City that he kept his daughter in the dungeons. But how could such things sprout from the sweet boy that lived on the vineyard? Of course, these are all rumors.