Itztli

"There is power in sacrifice."

-Tezcatlipoca, the Smoking Mirror

Itztli, sometimes referred to as the Red Gift, but most frequently known simply as Blood Magic, is a sorcerous art that works magic through pain and bloodshed. Many mortal cultures have inadvertently employed its properties by giving blood sacrifice to various deities, though more advanced uses of Itztli find their origins within the Abyss, and the mind of Tartarus, its ruler. Considering the necessities of its use, Itztli is among the most feared forms of sorcery within creation, and its practitioners are quite understandably viewed with apprehension and mistrust in many circles.

Mechanics
Itztli draws largely upon the Vital Energy present within living creatures for its power. Blood, and the heart which spreads it through the body, is the most concentrated source of this energy, and contains the unique flavors of an individual's life force. Any Itztli user (properly known as a ko'tal) is able to use a subject's blood, flesh, bone, or other body part that contains their essence in order to work all manner of effects that target them. For this reason, allowing a blood mage access to one's blood is almost universally looked on as a terrible idea.

Itztli also works upon the interplay between life force and the rest of the soul. Using this connection, ko'tals are able to draw upon energy from inflicting pain, suffering and death, and for this reason many blood magic rituals involve cutting and burning flesh, mutilating bodies, and death.