Yes, weapons can too be evil! Or at least, I can do my best to make them sound that way. In many ways, blood chains are the original antagonist of the book as their placement on Jura’s father is the catalyst of the series. In this scene, Jura contemplates everything she knows about the beautiful and dangerous creation:
Photo Credit: Igor Morski
Blood chains were created hundreds of years ago by Gregor the Great, or Terrible, depending on which history book you read. The man was responsible for several battles and the start of the Border Wars. The Border Wars were a series of battles over the borders of Kitoi and the seven kingdoms of the Sand Sea. Though none of the books explained how, they all agreed that Gregor originally developed the blood chains for his soldiers. He discovered that a soldier wearing a blood chain did not tire and kept toward his goal with a single-minded obsession. They followed their masters orders to the word. Generals could be hundred of miles away and the soldiers would follow their every command. He soon had an army of unstoppable soldiers. Gregor’s reign of domination lasted for forty-three years before he was killed by Josper the Usurper, Jura’s own great-grandfather.
Ignited, Chapter 13
As you can imagine, blood chains are better left destroyed but when one shows up on her father, Jura has little choice but to go on a quest to discover who is behind her father’s entrapment.
One of the elements I enjoyed most about the blood chains was that they don’t appear dangerous. In fact, they are simple things meant to go unnoticed. The danger lies in the fact that a blood chain could be placed on any one at any time.
This image was too pretty not to use! By the talented Raivis Draka.
Without meaning to, her eyes fell down to the delicate gold chain that dangled from his wrist. It was as beautiful as it was deadly.
Ignited, Chapter Three
A blood chain, a relic from more dangerous times. Once attached to its captive, the tiny chain used some sort of magic to render its captive under its complete control. The person controlling the chain controlled the person who wore it er father was nothing more than someone’s puppet and Jura was determined to find out who his puppet master.
So now you see how this tiny little bracelet started everything. Jura’s father is the leader of the most powerful nation on the continent and his actions are now controlled by a mysterious someone with a dark purpose.
This how I pictured the blood chain while writing it. What do you think? Did you picture it differently? Who do you think put one on Jura’s father? Share your thoughts in the comments below!