Blood Tempering
"Blood tempering is a rarer art, mostly because of how niche the use of the resulting metals can be. And, well, you need blood for it, which limits production considerably... You're not likely to see anyone wearing everything blood tempered-- At least, I'd hope you aren't. If you do, be extremely worried, because they're going to be powerful... and possibly a little insane."
Method
The process itself doesn't differ that much from standard tempering practices, the only real difference between the two is the materials involved.Firstly, the process works best with specific metals. Iron, steel, brass, and bronze being the best, though they're typically considered less-than-ideal for use with magic. Copper alone also works reasonably well, though is typically kept to things like jewlery or accents worked into a larger item. The only other metal that's regarded as better is Wyrit. Though being exceedingly rare, Wyrit is limited mainly to the creation of 'artifact'-level items of power.
The other thing is the mixture the metal is to be cooled off in for the actual process of tempering. The obvious ingredient here is blood, but it isn't the only thing, nor does it always make up the bulk of the mixture. Rather the blood gets added alongside magically conductive minerals and extracts added to water or oil.
Though certain cultures, especially those that practice blood magic, may have blood make up the bulk of the mix. Blood magic, unsurprisingly, takes to blood tempered metal exceptionally well, so it doesn't matter as much who the blood came from.
Utility
"Blood tempering in this odd spot of just known enough that you're likely to hear about it in the right circles, and just limited in application enough that you'll have a hard time finding what you need to get it done, and get it done well. Though... Blood mages find it the most useful, too bad most of them are Fel'xan or work closely with them."Blood tempering stands among the best ways to enhance a metals' ability to take and channel magic... at least, for a specific person or bloodline. Generally this means it's limited to a specific person's magic, which is great for a powerful mage's focus or an enchanter trying to get every bit of effectiveness into their wares.
Unsurprisingly, it finds more utility among blood mage communities, who find that blood-tempering metal lends extremely well to channeling blood magic regardless of who the blood came from. Though it still lends best to the owner of the blood used in the tempering process.
There is another use, tied still to blood magic: Hunter weapons, tempered with the blood of their prey, and enchanted with blood magic for better effectiveness against them. Such weapons are prized tools for those who go after the more dangerous creatures across Zaikiri, but aquiring them often proves a particular challenge. As the more dangerous the creature, the harder to aquire it's blood... assuming it bleeds in the first place. Not to mention the locating of a smith, and a blood mage that knows the right enchantments to apply.
Access & Availability
Rare in most regions due to material cost and limited usage. Properly refined methods are extremely rare. Places where blood magic is a frequent practice are where it's most common.
Discovery
The discovery of blood tempering metals stemmed from the constant desire to improve enchanting methods. Though it has been re-discovered and refined a dozen times over by different people over the years. As such there's multiple methods of pulling it off, that all vary in effectiveness and cost.
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