Custom Blood Magic: Path

A cornerstone of many Afro-Caribbean religions is a focus on community. Civilizations rise and fall, but what holds communities together through it all is a reliance on agreements and oaths. To endorse such agreements, contracts and the like often take on an air of ritual under the auspices of Ayelala. As the Orisha of oaths and divination, some Wangateurs began the practice of invoking her name during negotiations, and over centuries the practice developed into Ayelala’s Accord.

Ayelala’s Accord is subtle art. Most who are subjected to its authority are never aware of the Orisha’s touch. Its use does not manifest in overt hand gestures or mystical phrases, and even supernatural attempts to detect its use must be made as contested challenges against the Wangateur.

Challenges relating to Ayelala’s Accord retest using the Occult ability.

• Ayelala’s Authority

Whether or not an oath is sealed in Ayelala’s name, the Orisha’s province of justice and judgment gives her the ability to see those connections as plain as day. Invoking this authority can verify whether or not such an oath exists.

System: Spend a Blood Trait and make a Static Mental Challenge. If successful, the caster learns the nature of any oaths, pacts, bonds, or spiritual ties (Blood Bonds, covenants, Infernal Bargains, etc.), current or broken, between the target and any other beings (note that this does not inherently reveal to whom such connections are to).

• • Straying from Trust

Agreements are the foundation of community. While it is possible to conceal the breaking of an ordinary covenant, the violation of an oath confirmed with Ayelala’s Accord never remains hidden for long.

System: Whenever an explicit agreement is made (either a promise, an oath, a deal, etc.), either verbal or written, you may spend 1 Willpower Trait to formalize it. The Wangateur is automatically made aware when a formalized agreement has been broken or violated, and they may make a Static Mental Challenge (difficulty determined by the Storyteller) to ascertain the details of the violation.

• • • Peer Through Truth

For those who invoke Ayelala’s domain to pursue her justice in the world, the oaths others make are like open books. A Wangateur skilled enough in Ayelala’s Accord can determine the specific terms of an agreement an individual has made, simply by studying their soul.

System: The caster spends 1 Blood Trait and makes a Static Mental Challenge against their victim. If successful, they learn the details of one of the target’s oaths (pacts, bonds, or spiritual ties). The caster must be aware of the oath's existence beforehand, either through Ayelala’s Authority or some other means (random guesses or rumors are not sufficient justification, and the Storyteller should be on the lookout to prevent such abuse).

• • • • Many Eyes of Ayelala

It is not unheard of for those who form unfavorable compacts to attempt an escape from their responsibilities. Fortunately, Ayelala’s mastery of divination enables her to locate those who have confirmed oaths in her name to ensure they pay their debts.

System: Many Eyes of Ayelala may only be performed upon a target who has engaged in an oath which the Wangateur has sealed with Straying from Trust. The caster spends 1 Blood Trait and makes a Static Mental Challenge. If successful, the caster gains intuitive knowledge of the oath swearer's exact location, and may engage in a second Mental Challenge against the target in order to remotely observe the individual and their surroundings for the duration of a scene. This power works even if the target is in another plane of existence.

• • • • • Fulfilling the Vow

The responsibility for fulfilling one’s promises lies with everyone. Sometimes people choose to run from their debts, and sometimes they simply cannot meet their obligations. Regardless of the reason, Ayelala is unrelenting in her demand for justice when it comes to the fulfillment of an oath. She has even been known to visit death upon those who make promises they are incapable of keeping.

System: The Wangateur spends 1 Willpower Trait and makes a Mental Challenge against their target. Success compels the target to complete the terms agreed upon under Straying from Trust, with all due haste and to the best of their ability. The target will take all possible precautions to avoid situations that might prevent them from the completion of their agreement (such as revealing their situation to sympathetic allies). In the event that a Kindred target has agreed to terms which they are incapable of fulfilling, they instead succumb to torpor which lasts the normal duration set by their Humanity or Path of Enlightenment rating. Should the victim be a non-Kindred, they instead suffer 5 unsoakable levels of aggravated damage which cannot be absorbed, negated, redirected, or otherwise affected, and which can only be healed at a rate of one health level per month regardless of any supernatural healing the victim may possess or seek out.