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Narrative: The Blood Coven's Background


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Drusala's Blood Coven

This is the story of my force and the first of its two leaders, Drusala.

 

The mission

Drusala, Dark-Talon was the Khailebron adjunct to Selendti Llyr Xiss, Morathi’s Ambassador to Hammerhal. Drusala and her warhost, the Blood Coven, were secreted beneath Hammerhal Aqsha. Along with Drusala’s personal guard of Blood Sisters her Coven comprised the Cauldron Guard of the Hag Queen, Maka Khelt.

During the early years of the Daughters reintegration into the Mortal Realms, Drusala's coven hid under Cinderfall’s Rift Market quater. Their numbers were split between Maka’s Blood Sisters who performed feats of gladiatorial combat in makeshift arenas and Drusala’s Scáthborn who patrolled the under-city scouring its depths for the Slanneshi sorcerer, Lord Redomir, and his minions.

During the Time of Tribulations while Drusala and her Blood Coven were deployed to Shyish, and after the necroquake rocked the Realms. Drusala and her war coven told the Stormcast and Freeguild commanders that their orders were to pursue a band of Nighthaunt raiders, into the Land of Living Bone but their true mission was far darker.

Legend has reached Morathi’s ears that a forgotten temple to Khaine has been unearthed on a blighted isle in the Shyishian sea known as the Gullet. She has sent Drusala and Maka there to investigate it and to eliminate anyone else with knowledge of it.

 

The Story of Drusala Dark Talon

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Although the Blood Cult's leadership was shared between Maka and Drusala, neither of the she-aelves trusted or even liked the other. Maka Khelt was a great Warrior Princess of the Witch Aelves of Ulgu, renowned amongst her sisters for her beauty and her bloodlust. A highborn daughter of one of the many Aelven Princes of Druciroth. Maka had always lived a pampered and privelaged life, and for that Drusala hated her.

The story of Drusala's life was a litany of suffering. Before becoming a Khainite she  had been a Courtesan in the pleasure quarter aboard the Eternity of Torment, a Black Ark under the command of the nefarious and notorious Fleetmaster Zarkland Zenthe. Captured and forced to labour for the flesh masters there she had been born to Azyrite Wanders in the wilds of Ghur. For years she and her parents lived as nomads moving between the human, duardin and aelf settlements in Ghur. They were outcasts even within the Wanderers tribes. Her father’s people were followers of Araloth, a little known divinity outside the Aelven community but his worship was considered taboo even within it. He was a lost god and his followers a lost people.

For their faith Drusala’s parents had made many sacrifices, foremost among them was a pledge to live in poverty. As Drusala grew-up she came to resent this impoverishment and useless faith. She had no home, no belongings and as she matured she realized the depth of her parent's sacrifices. It was custom amongst the aelves of Ghur for the father of the bride to pay a dowry for marriage, but Drusala had none. And therefore no respectable lover would ever court her despite her beauty, intelligence and talents.

One night the family arrived in a settlement not far from Izalend. There a dashing Aelf caught Drusala eye. He was handsome and strong and bore the tattoos of a Privateer, his name was Lokhir. For three days and three nights they became locked in a star-crossed tryst, and on the dawn of the fourth day she awoke to find a knife at her throat. They had been attacked by pirates and Lokhir was dead. Assassins hired by Zarkland Zenthe had murdered him and stole Drusala away into servitude on the Black Ark. There she was given to the flesh masters who made her into a Courtesan for their seedy business. Until one day the Khainite Priestess Vhorskaya came looking for sacrifices to Khaine. The Priestess noticed something ferocious in Drusala eyes and decided to take her, but to train her as a Witch Elf rather than an offering to the Bloody-handed God.

The years passed and Drusala grew more beautiful and more paranoid. Her innate skills as warrior bought her fame and glory. Eventually she was sent as part of a warrior tithe back to Ulgu. There she was inducted into the Khailebron sect. And her abilities as a mistress of espionage and deceit were honed.

As her fame and prowess in battle grew Drusala was set to rise to power as a Slaughter Queen but one day at a conclave of Priestesses she questioned a decision of the Demigoddess herself. It was a fleeting moment, little more than a quip, but Morathi knows no forgiveness. Inviting the young Witch Aelf to her side Morathi drew a blade across her own chest and pulled Drusala close, pushing the she-aelf's lips to the wound. As she did the tainted blood of the Shadow Queen fell into Drusala's moth. It coursed through her body, warping her, changing her, transforming her, until serpentine features burst from her body. Flesh, cloth and bone gave way to her new shape, simultaneously both exquisite and loathsome. With a terrible hiss Drusala called out in disgust and pain at her new shape. But Morathi wrapped her arms around her daughter and whispered a glamour spell into her ear. In the blink of an eye Drusala became more beautiful than she had ever been before. Taller, lither and stronger. But she knew this was merely an illusion. Every shadow she cast was serpentine, and her reflection monstrous.  This was her reward for questioning the High Oracle of Khaine and forever after she would remember that.

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