History Main / BloodMagic

* In the ''Literature/TortallUniverse'', many spells take a few drops of the spellcaster's blood.
** The Bazhir tribes in ''Literature/SongOfTheLioness'' have a spiritual leader known as the Voice of the Tribes, who all adults are magically linked to. Becoming the Voice involves mingling blood with the previous Voice by cutting both's arms and binding them together. Alanna also fuses her broken sword Lightning with Roger's crystal sword in a ritual that involves cutting her forearm, and muses that she's vain enough to not like acquiring fresh scars but has accepted that that's just going to be a part of her life.
** In the fourth book of ''Literature/TheImmortals'' Ozorne uses his own blood [[spoiler: to create BlobMonster spies known as darkings. If they had been created in the mortal realms they would have been innately loyal to him, but because he worked in the Divine Realms he keeps them in line through torture, and they start to turn on him after [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe Daine shows them kindness]]. When a pair try to help Daine in her final battle against him, though, he's able to turn them back into blood.]] Darkings as a species survive to be part of the ''Literature/TricksterDuology'' and ''Literature/TortallAndOtherLands''.

Frequently a part of any ritualistic BloodBath. When it's the blood itself doing the damage, you have BloodyMurder. When the magic is used to extend the user's lifespan, it's LifeDrinker. When it's used to create life, it's FertileBlood. When it's used to heal, it's HealItWithBlood. {{Sworn Brother}}s who mingle their blood and gain some kind of connection that way sometimes qualify.

Frequently a part of any ritualistic BloodBath. When it's the blood itself doing the damage, you have BloodyMurder. When the magic is used to extend the user's lifespan, it's LifeDrinker. When it's used to create life, it's FertileBlood. When it's used to heal, it's HealItWithBlood.

-->'''Kintaro:''' "I'm sorry, Ranma, but all the signs point to this being a blood spell of some kind, and spells cast with blood are not only nefarious and unscrupulous in the extreme, but very hard to break."\\
'''Ranma:''' "A blood spell? What the heck is that?"\\
'''Kintaro:''' "Just what it sounds like. A spell cast with the blood of a living creature. The more powerful the creature, the more powerful the spell. From what I can see in your aura, I would guess that the blood used was at least human, or possibly even that of a magical animal or spirit beast."

* In Andy Hoare's Literature/WhiteScars novel ''Hunt for Voldorius'', the Alpha Legion uses it. The White Scars find bodies drained of blood.

** In Creator/JamesSwallow's Literature/BloodAngels novels ([[OurVampiresAreDifferent double of course]]):

* In the ''Series/GameOfThrones'' fanfic ''Fanfic/ThereAndBackAgain'', The Stranger explains to Jon Snow that everyone has magic in their blood; most normally have enough to keep them alive, but Jon, as the Prince who was Promised, is imbued with much more power, which was siphoned away from him by Bloodraven to Bran Stark and Daenerys Targaryen. Consequently, the ritual that Daenerys enacted to hatch her dragons does not require a HumanSacrifice; Jon needs only to cut his hand and spread the blood over the eggs as they sit over a fire to hatch the dragons. Contrast with Daenerys who had to sacrifice Mirri Maz Duur to hatch her dragons in canon.

* Anthony Ryan's ''Literature/DraconisMemoria'' plays with this trope using Dragon blood. While the spilling of the blood isn't significant in itself (aside from the rather adverse effects of coming into contact with it), certain individuals can partake in the blood to gain superhuman abilities. Drinking blood directly can be dangerous, but grant the strongest abilities, and each type of drake blood gives different abilities.. A product distilled from pure blood is produced that gives the powers without the slight risk of insanity. Drinking blood directly from the heart is lethal even to the so-called bloodblessed.
** Blood from the black drake gives the bloodblessed powerful telekinetic abilities.
** Blood from the green drake heightens the bloodblessed's abilities to superhuman levels and stimulates the healing process. Normal humans can drink small doses as medicine.
** Blood from the blue drake puts the bloodblessed in a state known as bluetrance, which can be used to view ones memories with photographical perfection and converse with other bloodblessed over any distance.
** Blood from the red drake gives the bloodblessed pyrokinesis, and has been used as a substitute for coal.
** [[spoiler:Drinking the blood of a white drake allows glimpses of the future, and seemingly works on non-bloodblessed as well]].

* Anthony Ryan's ''Draconis Memoria'' plays with this trope using Dragon blood. While the spilling of the blood isn't significant in itself (aside from the rather adverse effects of coming into contact with it), certain individuals can partake in the blood to gain superhuman abilities. Drinking blood directly can be dangerous, but grant the strongest abilities, and each type of drake blood gives different abilities.. A product distilled from pure blood is produced that gives the powers without the slight risk of insanity. Drinking blood directly from the heart is lethal even to the so-called bloodblessed.

[[caption-width-right:350:Not hard to learn, but it can cost you [[AnArmAndALeg an arm and a leg.]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Not hard to learn, but it can cost you an arm and a leg.]]

* ''Literature/ShatterTheSky'': Maren is bonded with the old mother dragon Naava through drinking her blood with her own shed into a fire near her.

* ''VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSinII'': Several {{Necromancer}} skills [[ElementalBaggage create]] or take effect through [[GeoEffects blood surfaces]], such as a RainOfBlood that inflicts massive NonElemental damage and [[StatusInflictionAttack status ailments]], ghostly hands that do the same to any enemy standing in blood, and a spell that heals the target by absorbing nearby blood.

** ''Anime/InuYashaTheMovieFireOnTheMysticIsland'': The [[BigBadEnsemble Four War Gods]] create a [[CloningBlues clone]] of Kikyo using a sample of her blood.