Brassblooded

The simplest definition of a Brassblooded, is that of a warrior-aristocrat of the Desraki Dominion. To them go the greatest share of the empire’s spoils; newly conquered lands, loot and slaves are their rewards for spreading the Dominion’s Red Earth. They also have the greatest legal protections and benefits; none save the Brasslord, an Arbiter or another Brassblooded may spill their blood without due cause, while practically all others must rely on their own blade-strength to protect themselves from their lords.

Brassblooded are any who can trace their bloodline all the way back to the closest companions of Desraki Khrodes. However, this does not necessarily mean their family line; while birth is the easiest way to become part of a Brassblooded family (from the point of view of the child, anyway), what’s truly important is the blood. Thus there are rituals and laws that facilitate a simple adoption of anyone into a Brassblooded family.

So long as the Brasslord approves of the union, anyone can join a Brassblooded family. Once the adoption has been ratified, all that is left is for the two parties to exchange blood, traditionally done via slashing the palms of their hands and clasping them together. Brassblooded typically do this as a reward to their Recloak troops, or to win the loyalty of a rival’s subordinate.

Some families eschew the practices, citing that such wounds are difficult to mend and leave the participants severely debilitated. The more traditionalist families rejoin that that is precisely the point, as it is a way for both parties to show that they trust one another enough to weaken themselves so. Though a popular belief, there is no evidence that Desraki Khrodes intended that interpretation when he established the ritual.

Arbiters also perform this ritual when they finalise the training of their apprentices, making them the only family an Arbiter is officially meant to have. Their former wards are subsequently considered their children and legal heirs.

Due to the valuing of bloodlines over family, theoretically anyone can become Brassblooded. They can count species of all kinds among their aristocratic ranks; though they are mostly made up of humans, present still are aelves, duardin, and even Ogors. There are rumours that one Brassblooded family are even vampires or some other form of undead, though only the Brasslord knows the truth. Though even slaves could become Brassblooded, over the Dominion’s centuries-spanning history only seven have achieved that herculean leap of social standing. Street-preachers are still calling upon the eighth to come forth and inspire the Dominion to fresh conquests.

Brassblooded typically form the officers of the Dominion’s armies. Due to their high social standing, it is considered almost abhorrent if a Brassblooded reaches adulthood without having undertaken some kind of military service. If they have not spilled blood, can they be considered worthy of their Khorne-granted privileges?

A rare few Brassblooded reject such expectations and taken on a more civilian role in the Dominion, practicing the arts, learning the craft of weapons rather than war, or even learning the art of healing. Rarer still are those who last long in their chosen profession. While they technically retain all of their legal protections, most end up broken in body or mind by the hate of their former class. Traitors of blood are barely tolerated, even by their own family. It takes a particularly determined or lucky soul to survive in those conditions.