The Alchemist And The One Who Lives In Darkness

In the world of Blood Magic, on the north, north-east and eastern areas of the continent of Atlantis, is a realm called the Holy Empire or the Sacred Land by those who inhabit it, and Alchemist Provinces by everyone else.

In this sizable chunk of Atlantis, the Alchemists actually only form a small part of the population. Acording to these people, there are nineteen 'true' religions, almost, but not quite, similar to a pantheon. Everyone pays homage to one God, Goddess, Celestial Being or abstract philosophy in particular, although most have a healthy respect for at least a few of the others. Among them are the Alchemists, famed throughout Atlantis for their arcane bio-mechanical implants, worshippers of the Machine and the quest for the perfection of the mortal (Or immortal) body; the infamous Priestesses of the Mistress, who hail their Goddess and her sacred beast, a disturbing magical construct known as the Malificantrix, with heady intoxicants and sado-masochistic orgies; the followers of Kharan, the Beast God of Hearth and Harvest, whose druid-priests experiment with the breeding of stronger, meatier, faster, woolier creatures to better support the farmstead ideal; the Chosen of Nuhuila, God of Night, females who are born hairless, sightless and blue-albino, honing their other senses to preternatural intensity; and the Witches, more arcane and mystical than their counterparts in Argentom and paying homage to no one and nothing.

Drawing holy men and women from the Alchemist Provinces is always fun. Here, Canon Adion of the Alchemists and Prioress Kai Muhara of Nuhuila square off against some unknown enemy. It's probably human invadors. Bloody humans. They get everywhere.