Ink in the veins
For high-born women elevated to the rank of Eva, tattoos are more than mere ornaments; they are proof of their lineage to Adam. The ink on their skin distinguishes them from other women, thanks to their knowledge of this age-old art and their rigorous religious education. Carried out with great pain, each symbol engraved in their flesh tells the story of their family's origins, and guides them in the weighty mission that falls to them. To be an Eva is to carry the weight of the family's past and the prosperity to come.
Origines
In the age of Fleeing Times, the sacred art of tattooing took root among the clans descended from Adam, our venerated father . It was Adam who imparted to his Eva and their offspring the divine command: carve into your flesh the teachings of God. These scarifications, afflicted with obedience, bear witness to their adoration of light. Over the centuries, the mastery of technique has been refined and perfected to the point of elevating tribal tattoos to an ancestral art form. Each royal house guarded a secret lore, their marks transforming into sigils of authority. The words of God were joined by heraldic designs unique to each family as a testament to their ordained legitimacy. This rite of ink fell to the women of these noble lines, who bore the title of Eva, a word that spoke to their roles as wives, mothers, and keepers of the sacred symbols.
It is said that with tender yet unyielding hands, the Evas inscribed the skin of their children, ensuring that the legacy of flesh-bound symbols endured. In the far-flung reaches of Klaes, however, the ink has all but faded. There, the tradition wanes, and scarification, the primal act of Adam's decree, still lingers, a faint echo of a once-universal devotion. Thus do the marks of the Evas endure, a living testament to a covenant with divinity, carried upon the flesh of the chosen few.
Symbolism
The tattoos bestowed by the Evas are said to awaken and magnify this sacred difference. These marks a ritualistic journey, a passage through the stages of life. The first marking occurs on the seventh day after birth, a sacred interval of time. It is the mother herself, an Eva, who inscribes the infant, or in her absence, another Eva bound by close kinship. This initial tattoo is known as the The Egg of Ascendant Metamorphosis , a symbol of unfulfilled potential and divine promise. Its forms are many : a perfect sphere, a coiled shell, an ancient rune, a spiral that twists endlessly inward...
On this day, the child is also named, their first earthly identity tied irrevocably to the sacred ink. If the child survives to their seventh month, a second rite is performed. Upon the tender flesh of their back, the Eva inscribes a single Verse of God, chosen from the family inheritance. This verse, it is said, shapes the very essence of their being, influencing their temperament and guiding them toward the fulfillment of their life’s purpose, the return of the Egg . At the age of seven, the child receives a new mark: the crest of their royal lineage.
Alongside this sigil, additional verses are etched upon their back, each a piece of divine wisdom bestowed to prepare them for the burdens of their heritage. Finally, at the age of seventeen, during a ceremony marking the passage to adulthood, when the young girl becomes a woman ready for marriage, her final tattoo will be opposed on her skin. Her body then becomes a finished tapestry, ready to unite with that of her future husband. This is the sacred duty of the Evas, to link the past and future of their heirs, for only from their blood are the kings of tomorrow born.
Craft of the Eternal Mark
The techniques of inscribing the flesh vary greatly across the lands, each region bound by tradition and the materials granted by the earth and sea. In the shores of Sympruosia, sharpened shells are steeped in a darkened elixir of soot and oil, their jagged edges pressed into the skin to etch divine patterns. The act is said to mimic the tides, as if the ink itself were carried by waves of pain and devotion. Within the kingdoms of Erzlygion and Oeviom, a more precise approach prevails. A single needle is guided by a skilled and trained hand to create glyphs that transcribe God's verse. To the east, in the rugged lands of Vielasyn, where three borders touch the sprawling domains of Klaes , the art of incision reigns supreme. Here, the skin is slashed with blades, and the meticulously inflicted wounds are filled with soot and charcoal, which act as ink, seeping deep under the skin. It's a painful method to undergo, especially for the very young. In the Mosyne highlands, needles cut from bone are dipped in pigment and pressed into the skin point by point. The pigments used are soot and charcoal for their deep blacks, indigo from Tyrinthius for blue tones, red ochre and purple clay for their warm tones, and even gold for the wealthiest families.
Funeral ritual
When the Evas die, their remains are flayed to recover the precious skin covered in sacred texts. After being treated to preserve them over time, they are collected, sewn and bound to form a religious canon specific to each royal family. It's best for an Eva to die young, around her fortieth year, to preserve her freshness. Similarly, for the same reasons, it is forbidden to beat an Eva, as this will mark and deface the work that her body represents. Each book is unique and possesses an inescapable value, carefully guarded and pampered against all external evil. During confrontations between rival families, skin books have been burned to erase the existence of certain families. The Evas are the pioneers of writing and alphabets, and from a common language dictated by Adam, they have kept the words whose original meaning they alone know. Languages have been diversified over the centuries, yet they remain the guardians of God's verses. Artists then become the masterpiece.
Well, this is mildy horrifying. Great worldbuilding.
Explore Etrea | Reading Challenge 2025
*mildly
Explore Etrea | Reading Challenge 2025
Thank you ! Indeed this is horrifying, their life is dictated since birth and these women know have to live knowing their fate