A blood amalgam is an undead being created through ritual use of blood — specifically, large quantities drawn from living sources. The result is an entity of extraordinary power, substantially exceeding ordinary undead in capability and stability.
Blood amalgams are distinct from other powerful undead (vampires, liches) in their origin. They are constructed rather than transformed — assembled through ritual accumulation rather than infection or death-and-return. The ritual demands significant raw material.
Properties
Blood amalgams are substantially more powerful than standard undead, more stable (undead in De Novo are considered “at best unstable if not at worst pathological”), and capable of planning, long-term goals, and complex social behavior. They are products of intentional ritual construction — each one represents a deliberate act of creation.
Known Blood Amalgams
The Sanguine Sovereign — a blood amalgam of particular significance in the modern era of Wiege (Long Shot timeline, 20xx). Leader of a nation of undead.
The Cost
The blood amalgam sits at the intersection of several recurring questions in De Novo: what does it cost to reach across the boundary between life and death, between mortal and divine? The raw material is always lives. The question is always whether the goal justifies the method.