Prokrydo of the Searing Blood

The legend of Prokrydo is a tragic tale, depicting the story of a woman who was betrayed by her love and live a life of shame and pain. This story is told as a precautionary tale to people whose friends fear they are in an unfavorable relationship.

Prokrydo and the Demons
A priestess of Bastra, Prokrydo devoted her life to the banishment of evil and the destruction of demons. The burning magic she wielded in the name of Life granted her the favor of the Eternal of Cleansing. Prokrydo wandered the then wild lands of Risalt, seeking to secure lands safe for future settlements. Bearing the name the Sheltering Flame, driving away all evil that would do harm to Life and ensure that it would prosper wherever she left her mark.

Prokrydo traveled far and wide, coming across many different forms of Life. One in particular opposed her and her work: demons. Prokrydo was enraged by the demons as they dreamed of attaining Eternality, of attaining immortality, a concept that goes against the very nature of Life. To achieve immortality would be to bring stagnancy, which heralds disease and corruption, but still the demons reached for it.

The demons of Risalt schemed, trying to find ways to achieve their dream. They watched Prokrydo strike down their kind and their hatred for her flames grew. The cleverest and most handsome of the demons, Formungand, observed for years, trying to plot a way to bring about the Sheltering Flames' demise. As he took notice of her kindness and fondness of children, he was struck by insidious inspiration.

The Priestess' Fall
Prokrydo was returning from an arduous trek from a new settlement when she came across a village set ablaze with black flame. Recognizing the sign of demonic fire, she searched the burning wreckage, looking desperately for any survivors. Among the wreckage, she discovered a single survivor: a deeply injured man. She carried him to safety and tended to his injuries until he awoke.

When the man learned of the fate of his village, he cried openly, mourning the loss of his wife. Prokrydo comforted him in his time of need, offering him the chance to see parts of the world that few would ever dare to see. So the man, Gortun as he introduced himself,   expressed his desire to distance himself from the pain of knowing his love was dead. So the two traveled the world for years, ensuring Life would succeed in their wake.

Eventually, the Sheltering Flame fell in love with her companion. He was faithful to her cause and his love, but ultimately, love knows no bounds. She expressed her love to Gortun, and despite her fear of his rejection, pronounced her passion to him. Overcome with her proclamation, he comforted her for the night, feeling uneasy throughout it all.

In the morning, she had realized what she had in Wildness of Passion, and planned to beseech Bastra for advice on what to do. Before she could leave, however, a dire sickness befell her. Fevered and sweating, she pleaded to Gortun for help. Gortun, however, crowed with glee at her dilemma. He revealed himself to be the demon Formungand under a glammer, an illusion, and announced that whatever she was suffering from, it was from her patron, Bastra herself. She had turned away from her vows of celibacy and convinced a man to turn away from his true love's memory to indulge in her own selfish desires.

Prokrydo, now without the protection of the Eternal of Cleansing, grew pregnant with demon seed. Her belly swelled and her symptoms of pain and feverishness grew with every passing second. In pain and the presence of a demon, she gave birth to a child not of flesh and bone, but of fire and magic. The child was quickly dying in the cold air of the world around it. Determined to at least make one right amongst a series of wrongs, she used the remnants of her power to draw the child into herself, into her blood itself.

The child was saved, sheltered in the blistering heat of her blood, but Prokrydo had doomed herself to a life of misery and pain. With the child absorbing some of the heat that would have set her alight in a matter of minutes, Prokrydo survived. Unable to use her powers, however, she could only watch as the demons she had kept at bay destroyed and played their tricks upon the rest of life. People called upon the once savior, but she could only look away in shame. Outraged at the betrayal, some took arms against her, but whenever they drew blood, intense heat spilled forth and incinerated her aggressors and their weapons. Her title of the Sheltering Flame was forgotten, replaced with that of the Searing Blood.

Eventually, the Eternals took note of the havoc that was taking place in Risalt. Bastra herself arrived with curtains of flame and swells of water to rid the land of demons. She appeared in front of her once favored warrior and told her of the evil inside of her body. Enough time had passed that the demon would eventually overtake her and destroy her mind, but if the child were to be separated from the Searing Blood, both would die. Weeping at the loss of her child, demonic though it may have been, Prokrydo acknowledged her duty to Life and allowed Bastra to Cleanse her body and soul.

With the death of the Searing Blood and much of their kin, demon kind retreated into the shadows of the Darkness, hidden away from even the light of Bastra's fire. Demons grew to fear the strength of fire and water, refusing to even near an open flame or cross running water. To this day, to see a demon is incredibly rare, but some say they are merely biding their time until they can assure themselves of their Eternality. If they come, will Life be able to uphold their duty to live? Only time itself can tell.