The first step requires the user to be exposed and have integrated the essence of bloodrend… [for] the second step, the blood of the user needs to be rapidly drained, prompting the awakening of the attunement and replenishment of new blood.
Quies read the words with rapt attention.
Practically, the user has to die.
'That's it!'
Ever since Quies had received the knowledge of bloodrend, he never knew how he even received it in the first place. He had tried to ask Valerie if she knew anything about the acquisition process of attunements, but her insights didn't necessarily apply to his bloodrend. So, he just assumed that the song had generously gifted him some forbidden attunement in order to change the world…
'Something like that.'
Yet, as it turns out, he had a natural affinity to bloodrend long before his encounter with that megalodaunt. He actually had inherited it from his parents; most likely his mother from the findings he made back at the family house.
When he was ambushed and nearly killed by the megalodaunt and rapidly bled out due to his hemophilia, that triggered his innate bloodrend. That was the reason why Valerie didn't have to extensively use healing mantras to revive him, if he remembered what she said correctly.
As for the dream, that was most likely just his brain trying to interpret the changes happening to his body and his soul. The symbolisms in the dream: the blood lanterns, the cathedral, the shattering of the lanterns… it was symbolic of Quies awakening his attunement.
At least, that was what he could infer. He didn't even know if the book's contents were factual or not
Yet, everything made too much sense for the contents of the book to not be false. The information inside fit in like a missing tie. Quies knew that all of these different occurrences had to have some sort of connection to each other.
'I get it now.'
He pondered for a bit longer, intermittently glancing at Valerie to make sure she would get suspicious about the book he was reading. He was still cautious, especially since he was reading this book in a crowded area.
"We'll be there soon."
Valerie remarked for the first time in a while. She had finished her kebab.
'What else could be in here.'
Quies lightly flipped the page to not make too much sound. The page behind finished the ideas which were presented in the page before.
By draining the body of its non-bloodrend attuned blood, the user will trigger one of the passive abilities of their innate attunement. This being the creation of a source element with the use of the song. This paints a similarity with, as stated before, how the base attunements are used. During this process, the user will expend a great sum of their ether, a form of energy that is used to bring out the song, potentially draining their reserves completely dry.
Even through the method of consumption, the acquisition of bloodrend still poses heavy risks. For example, the rapid rate of blood expenditure and demand for replacement poses the risk of organ failure and brain death due to the lack of blood and oxygen nourishing the cells. Even with successful cases of bloodrend acquisition, the user still has lingering signs of these issues. Though, with their new source element, they are able to repair the damages that were caused by this process. Compared to other attunements, the success rate of obtainment is not as high.
'I was lucky.'
Quies tried to remember the details of the day he had obtained bloodrend. He focused his blood enhancement on his mind. As he did, his thoughts felt clearer, and precise memories began to flow back to him.
'Ah… Okay, so, the meg attacked me, I died, valerie came… oh! She mentioned something about how she felt a noticeable presence of the song from my body.'
He was right. When Valerie stepped foot onto the island, she stated that she could feel a presence, a hymn of sorts. Then, she saw his blood moving back to his body.
'Wait. That's… not right.'
The book stated that the user must be drained of their old blood to be replaced with blood formed by their innate bloodrend. However, he knew from his own experience that it wasn't exactly the case. If it was, then why was his old blood trying to get back to him?
Perhaps the book had simply just gotten that part wrong. Quies couldn't really blame the author for any mistakes, though. There was barely any knowledge of this forbidden attunement circulating, after all. Taking this into account, Quies knew there were bound to be a couple errors or gaps in knowledge which he would be able to fill with his own experiences.
"We're almost here… Oh, didn't know you were such a reader."
Quies' heart skipped a beat. He glanced to make sure she couldn't read the title of the book.
"I was bored."
"Why not just have a conversation with me?"
"You mean banter?"
"Even better."
Quies shut the book softly and tucked it into his right armpit. He would have to finish this later.
They were almost at the designated location.
Having passed the interstice, the two now walked further away from the heart of the town. The lamps grew dimmer, and the chatter faded in with the breeze of night.
"The spot shouldn't be hard to get to. It's out of view from the palace, but still close enough if I need to get one of the palace guards instead."
Soon, Quies could see a break in the winding array of houses. The street ended a couple dozen paces in front of him. The light of the lanterns ceased, shrouding the rest of the path in darkness.
"Oh, and no piggyback ride. Turns out carrying another person with me took a heavier toll than I expected."