31. Bloodlines

The ceremony of marking done for the young warrior began shortly after the chief's appearance.

The young tigers shifted back into their human form and stood proudly unclothed before the whole tribe.

The chief stepped forward and commended them for there bravery and strength. There were all of mid black iron strength and it took great courage to face beasts that were mostly bronze and higher, as usually the only the babies and very young of those beasts were black iron rank.

After the chief's speech, he stepped aside as the elders came forward. They called down blessings from the ancestors of the tribe onto the youth.

Tuca brought forward two tied live beasts.

One a mutant deer, the blade horn deer which had short blade like horns but was small and cowardly with it's strength being low at mid black iron.

It was tied with tick vines and placed before the elders, it's cowardly nature causing it to play dead.

The other beast however was the opposite. Although bond very tightly, it struggled strongly and roared threateningly at all who were present in an angry manner, causing most to shudder in fear and some weak willed females to cry whilst the weak willed males tried to hide their shaking leg.

The tied beast was a feline common wild beast. It was a high tier almost silver rank captured by Toma himself. The beast was heavily wounded to keep it from escaping and wounding the tribesmen but that didn't keep it's venom filled mouth from roaring in defiance.

The two beasts were placed before one of the piles of pray mounds corresponding to their kind. Two of the male elders came forward and placed a stone bowl in front of the bond beasts, another two came forward and slashed the necks of the beasts, the blood collected into the bowls.

The bodies of the dead beasts were then placed on alter together. The alter which was placed behind the warriors. The chief covered the bodies with special wood and set fire to it.

Whilst that was being done, the only female elder was making a brush from short hair taken from each of the sacrificial beasts.

After that was made, she chanted in a loud voice whilst holding the two bowls of blood. The blood began to bubble as if boiling with a strenge mist rising from it.

She than fused the two bowls of blood together and stared it with the brush made from the hair. The blood though in the bowl together did not mix as one.

Tuca brought the ashes from the brunt bodies and added it to the blood bowl. The mixture finally fused but was now black.

It was the last part of the ceremony now. It was time to see what part lay before the young warriors. This part will show how strong their bloodline was and it's future strength.

The young warriors, 16 of them, lined up for their moment of truth.

The elders, chief and tribesmen watched in anticipation.

One by one they stepped forward. The elder raised her the brush and moved it across their forehead, underneat the eyes and across the heart.

Each of them trembled in pain as the black blood touches their skin but dear not make a sound. After the marking was done, they sat on the ground, enduring the pain, waiting for the bloodline mark to show.

The bloodline mark was a mark all beings were born with but had to usually be evoked when it came to Beastmen. The bloodlines were the same for all, there were seven of them.

They were the common, elite, rare, epic, totem, mythic and divine.

All beasts above rare were born with there bloodline mark showing on their bodies. An honor granted at birth but a curse of the Beastmen.

The river tiger tribe was a small tribe at the fringes of the continent and only knew of the common, elite and rare bloodlines and had never had members with higher bloodlines and very few with rare bloodline.

But even then the knew the beastman law, all born with bloodline marks must be killed when they reached their first year of life as it was a sin to kill newborns but marked ones brought calamity and were to be removed.

Nina of them in the small tribe knew when this law began and why nor have they seen or heard of the disasters caused by those born marked but they still followed this law.