Black Jewels
Blood Hierarchy/Castes & Jewels


Blood Hierarchy/Castes

Males
  • landen — non-Blood of any race
  • Blood male — a general term for all males of the Blood; also refers to any Blood male who doesn’t wear Jewels
  • Warlord — a Jeweled male equal in status to a witch
  • Prince — a Jeweled male equal in status to a Priestess or a Healer
  • Warlord Prince — a dangerous, extremely aggressive Jeweled male; in status, slightly lower than a Queen

Females
  • landen — non-Blood of any race
  • Blood female — a general term for all females of the Blood; mostly refers to any Blood female who doesn’t wear Jewels
  • witch — a Blood female who wears Jewels but isn’t one of the other hierarchical levels; also refers to any Jeweled female
  • Healer — a witch who heals physical wounds and illnesses; equal in status to a Priestess and a Prince
  • Priestess — a witch who cares for altars, Sanctuaries and Dark Altars; witnesses handfasts and marriages; performs offerings; equal in status to a Healer and a Prince
  • Black Widow — a witch who heals the mind; weaves the tangled webs of dreams and visions; is trained in illusions and poisons
  • Queen — a witch who rules the Blood; is considered to be the land’s heart and the Blood’s moral center; as such, she is the focal point of their society
Jewels

White
Yellow
Tiger Eye
Rose
Summer-sky
Purple Dusk
Opal*
Green
Sapphire
Red
Gray
Ebon-gray
Black

*Opal is the dividing line between lighter and darker Jewels because it can be either. 

When making the Offering to the Darkness, a person can descend a maximum of three ranks from his/her Birthright Jewel. 

Example: Birthright White could descend to Rose.



 

CrowbonesCrowbones, in paperback February 2023