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the-dye-stained-socialite · 3 months ago

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Elias' River-Blood

(sounds of whooping and cheering and excited hand slapping) So! Preemptively I will warn that this has spoilers for The Swan Bride ES! Also it gets put under a cut cause it's gonna be Long! I'm gonna sort this into 3 sections: How it Happened, How it's Maintained, and How it Affects Them!

How it Happened:

In the ES you help out the Swan Bride, and discover how and why she is what she is. You learn she was married to a second city Priestess in a poisoned pool in the Sere Palace, and bound to her and the rivers of the canals forever. There you have the option to allow the Bride her marriage to the Priestess, and to make the same sort of bargain the previous Gonfalonier made, and allow the Priestess to open your veins, and let the waters of the river Persephone flow through you. Your character dies and ends up going to a poison river instead of the slow river, and this is where the process happens, and you end up with the water (and specifically also the poison) of the Persephone running through your blood!! This also makes it much easier for you to win the race against the old Gonfalonier. I think it's implied that the reason the PC isn't bound to the canals like the Bride was is because the Priestess has the Bride now and is happy and content with that but... i like my blorbos possessive and this includes rivers, so. Also some parts of this ES were a touch confusing and hard to understand and I apparently didn't record all of it in my echos sadly!!!!

There's also parts where you can discover some of the lore and traditions of the Locks and it talks about guild members getting symbolically married to the waters!

(Okay so. this is the start of my oc specific speculation, meaning any of this can shift or change as I develop and thing of things further!)

How I interpret this for Elias is that they now are tied and married to the River Persephone itself, and with her waters flowing through them, they are bound to her. Not as strongly as the Bride, who was unable to leave, because i think the River knows Elias can't be contained and restrained, but it is more than nothing.

They were good at the Viol beforehand, but the Bride taught them much about it, and now it's one of their favorite forms of music.

Additionally, Elias was not nearly so KatTox focused before this. They had their work with the camera and developing chemicals on the Surface, but not much of the intimate knowledge. After I have them sort of taking her place a bit though, they have much more knowledge then before. This is when they went from esoteric ideas about the Neathbow, to actually studying its chemical properties and compositions, and becoming a pigment and dye-chemist! Before this they would mostly do field research, but had very little idea on what to actually do with that knowledge! This is when Elias got their dyes started!

How it's Maintained: Elias pretty much always feels the pull of the river, but it's akin to gravity. Most days they're pretty used to it, but some days it gets heavy and strong, and can't be ignored. The further they get, and the longer it's been since a visit, the stronger the pulls becomes, and the worse their symptoms can become (which i'll cover below). Elias must actually be upon the river for the pulling and tugging and Symptoms to subside, so just hangin' around the Locks without actually saying hello to their lovely spouse isn't going to work! They'll also often just. put their hands. in the poison waters. I think the river itself is already a bit thicker than normal water, probably being water, blood, and poison in equal measure. So most people would Not put their hands in that, especially because not wanting to risk the poison hurting them! (but also a little bit because of the whole blood thing.) Elias does this anyways because the poison doesn't affect them in the same way, because it's good bonding time with their spouse, they're a bit of a blood freak, and also they can do Fun Spooky Shit!

How it Affects them: okay fun stuff time!

So! Notably, Elias' blood is thinner than it should be! It is, in fact, nearly the same consistency as the River herself, because, well, it is! Just with a bit more blood in the ratio. About 50% blood, 25% water and 25% poison.

Having thin, watered down blood causes many issues! Notably:

Their blood does not clot easily, and when they're cut they bleed profusely and quickly. A lot of the time when Elias' wounds are high it's because they got injured and ended up very nearly bleeding out. They also lose... more blood than expected. If they were meant to have about 14 pints of blood normally, they can bleed out about 20 pints. This doesn't mean they *have* those 20 pints, moreso that the river is bleeding out a bit as well, and they are an open wound in the river.

Elias gets cold very easily, and their base body temperature already sits a little too cold for a human anyways. Luckily, moving water doesn't freeze as easily as still water, but the cold (and discordance) is still dangerous for them.

They're very nosebleed prone. If their emotions get a bit too intense (which is a common occurrence) then they can quickly end up with a very very long nosebleed. 50% luck check on if one happens or not. Usually they last an hour, and leave Elias completely wiped out afterwards. They work very hard to keep their emotions stable.

Elias also deals with anemia. Simply put, there is not enough blood in their blood! This means that while they have *fantastic* circulation, they still deal with cold limbs, light-headedness, and tire-ing very easily.

They also bruise very easily, and they'll take longer to heal

artery blood

There's also a few other quirks

Based on text mentioning the poisoned areas having 'brackish' water, this would lead to their blood being more alkaline than usual. More along the basic, higher end side of the PH scale, like baking soda, seawater, or bleach. The Swan Bride's dress trails through waters as a few points, and hisses and burns away, so! their blood is also lightly caustic (again, like bleach).

Elias' blood is also Incredbly Poisonous (which. i feel like should come up more frequently in game than it actually does, which is to say: this item has no recorded uses ;-;). There's multiple lethal toxins in the water! However, since Elias is diluted river, i think that (unless you're like. straight up drinking their blood) there's only three or four that you'd have to actually worry about, since you wouldn't be able to get a lethal dose of the other eight or nine (or so). Still, it's still likely to kill you if it gets In You, whether entering through a cut, liking a knife, or Elias making Decisions. (I have this idea of them using their blood's lethality on purpose against someone).

Elias also metabolizes toxins incredibly well! What toxins enter their bloodstream, their body takes them and stores them, and keeps them, similar to how caterpillars will consume toxic plants, and become poisonous moths! In order to properly poison them, you'd need to have something their blood cannot store, cannot keep around, or something that skips the bloodstream entirely and targets something else, like, for example, their brain and nerves. This is hard to do though, because this means the poison won't be able to travel well, so it would need multiple applications in different spots. After that though, it'll be easier to target their heart, and from there have something enter their bloodstream.

So what does all of that mean? Well. Thick leather gloves are a great idea around Elias. Unless you're part (or all) Curator, or have some Incredibly High KatTox, you're not going to be able to handle their blood. (please imagine how terrifying it is for Elias to watch someone lick their blood... and then nothing happens. horrifying!!!)

The flow of their blood is tied to the flow of the river, and vice versa. When the river is swollen and rushing, they are fast and full and energetic, and bleeding is much more likely, and much more risky for them. When it is cold, and slow moving, they become lethargic. Crashes in the water and major backups become migraines, busy days have them feeling touch and pressure, which can be either reassuring or annoying. Their mood, in turn, reflects on the water. Anxiety and worry turn into spiraling eddies, anger of frustration or, most dangerous of all, fear, turn into rushing rapids that threaten to capsize boats and flood the locks, but a happy day will have a swift and steady river, cooperative in what needs done.

Yes, this means if you Fuck Up in Elias' river, they can feel it. They have a reputation at the Guild for showing up any and every time there is an accident. The Guild doesn't know Elias is part river, though they do know about them being married (only the superstitious realize it's more than ceremony), and they are aware that Elias' working garb bears striking resemblance to the former gowns and mask of the Swan Bride. No one knows how they're able to navigate while wearing a dress and veil with a massive train that drags in the water.

Elias cannot donate blood, but receiving blood is a bit easier, though not without risk. Donating blood, even to someone with high KatTox, is a challenge, with myriad side effects. First, there is the longing. That gravitational pull, heavy as Earth, injected into someone used to no pull at all. It's easier on Zailors though, for they are used to the pull of the Zee. An intense desire to return to the Persephone, and fling oneself into her currents to float happily. After that, however, is the Persephone recognizing where she is, what strange canals she's in now. You'd better hope she likes you. If not, she'll simply escape the confines, and probably take most of your blood with her. If you've survived all this though, you'll still end up highly sick. Human veins are not meant for corrosive poison, and without the proper death and death rites, your body won't be able to adjust itself or become accustomed to it. Getting blood into them is easier, but Elias does not tolerate the composition well, it diminishes who and what they are, and will put their body in shock. in a pinch though, it can be done, provided you can treat the shock and help them feel like themself again. The best way to give Elias a blood transfusion would be to take the back to the River where they can slowly heal, or, if it needs to be done quicker, to inject the river-water into them directly.

Elias does get some fun and nifty stuff out of it though! Mainly, their communication with, control of, and strength on the water.

Well, less control in the traditional sense.

When Elias opened their veins to her, it was not just a bargain. It was marriage, a bond, and a conversation. They shared their circulatory system with her, and the organ that is in charge of all of that: their heart. They have dedication to her, and devotion for her, and that deep bond. It's not romantic love, but it is love, and a promise. They love her, and care for her.

She asks they return to her once a month, and they do so willingly. Even when they are unhappy, they will return to her, for she cannot come to viisit them. They carry her happily in their blood. If Elias is unable to visit her for whatever reason however, their anemia symptoms with gradually worsen, and their strength will diminish. It is as if their lifeforce slowly leaves them. It is not out of malice that this is done however, it is simply that the bond needs to be renewed, vows upheld. She permits them as much freedom as they have, for she knows they cannot be contained, and it would sadden them to be so far from others. So they must visit her.

Often though, Elias will visit more than once a month anyways, because they adore her so. Thus, with this bond they share, and the part of their heart she occupies, the Persephone grants them something extra.

The previous Gonfalonier had the river in his veins, yes, but he did not give of his blood back. He did not want to risk a binding, and thus he had limited abilities with the River. He could navigate more easily than anyone else, and already he had great skill, and though he control and bend the waters to his will, and she was not happy, and his success was extremely limited.

With Elias and their heart, they can communicate with her. Navigation traditionally requires an oar, however... Elias can merely touch their hand to the water, and she will know their desires. They can ask her to swell, to slow, to speed them along, whatever their heart desires. When they do this though, if they attempt anything of intensity, it does cause their own blood to run in turn. Usually a nosebleed will come first, then it trickles from their mouth and tear ducts. It doesn't hurt, but it can exhaust them if they push themself too far. On the river herself though, Elias tends to feel more alive, and less lethargic. Their aches do not touch them as much here. Unfortunately, Elias will often overwork themself because of this, so excited to do things that they forget their disabilities are still there.

Elias also still doesn't know how to swim, and while they're great at navigating their gondola... this does not apply out at Zee. They can't feel the Zee, nor do they know how to communicate with it, and they're bad at navigating using a steering wheel instead of an oar.

Overall though, they take the good with the bad, and love her regardless. She provides them freedom, a way to navigate the waters and the Upper River, where they alone are in control of themself.

#cw needles #<- not really but close #cw blood #cw medical #<- not quite but close enough #elias leroux #es spoilers #fallen london #oc chatter #the swan bride es #ask to tag #chittering #fallen london ocs

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