Here are two proposals for solutions to the issue of the collection of blood:
[1] PROPOSED RULE: The blood must be no more than a week old (one quarter of Aperio) when collected. For Sense Blood, it must be tasted within a week, but the memory lingers forever. For Blood Calls to Blood, the drop must have come from the subject within a week.
OR
[2] PROPOSED STORY: There was a major debacle involving collection of blood by Vals of Sarish millennia ago in the days of the Imperium of Men. (This occurred for reasons suggested in my previous post extrapolating on what val'Mehans might do.) The details of those events are still passed down in private as a warning amongst the val'Mehan, and outsiders have heard only rumors. At the conclusion of that debacle, the Imperator and the Imperial Assembly declared by law that the collection of blood without explicit permission of an indiviual is a crime treated equivalent to abduction or kidnapping and punishable by law. [Tasting discarded blood for Sense Blood is a misdemeanor since it's only slightly more than recognizing a person's face or voice.] The government was allowed to collect blood only with approval of magistrates with additional strict legal limitations in place. Moreover, the rulers gave stern warning to the Vals of Sarish that if they did not police their own, the law would be amended to include punishment of family members of the offender. In the early days of the Coryani Empire when the Emerald Society rediscovered partial copies of ancient First Imperial laws, this law was discovered. The val'Mehans voluntarily recommended that the law be instated in Coryan--with the exception of legally authorized collection by the government--because they feared another debacle that would stain their House's honor. Moreover, these days the val'Mehans are one of the two primary val families in the Mother Church's Inquisition, and cracking down on blood collection is a teriary function of which they remain aware under the auspices of ensuring that no infernal cult does malicious deeds with blood. Because the Coryani Empire once controlled much vaster territory and Coryni Law is the basis of law throughout eastern Onara, these laws still hold in the Known Lands from the Western Lands up through the Hinterlands and Canceri (though in Canceri it is again permitted for the government to collect blood within legal limitations). Because the Khitani Empire descended directly from the Imperium, it still follows the original laws. Since this is a story answer, it should probably not be used unless it has Henry's approval.
_________________ David Thomas Chappell Sestius Ovidius val'Mehan Comma and Khamat - psion patrician diplomatic legate and his Myrantian tutor Quintus Ovidius val'Mehan - patrician military tribune Amadi val'Abebi - Monk of Althares Talathos - choleric Kelekene dabbler
|