In a hidden cavern, not too far from New Humansville, a meeting was about to begin. The cavern was no natural thing. It was perfectly circular around the sides and the walls of the cavern were perfectly smooth and vertical. It was as if some huge cylinder had bored a hole straight into the rock. There were two passages which led out of the room, one on either end, perfectly opposite from one another, one facing North and the other facing South. The cavern stretched exactly ten Fathoms from one side to the other and two Fathoms tall. In the center of the room was a circle of stone which had eight cushions placed all around it. Upon those cushions sat a myriad of species, each wearing hooded robes. Some of the figures were tall and bipedal and some were shorter and quadrupedal.

A single, solemn figure strode out from the Northern hallway and into the room. The figure was hooded and covered from top to bottom. Its body was roughly a Fathom in length and it moved with sinewy grace. It leaped onto the table and stood in the center, slowly turning in place and looking every other participant in the eye.

When the figure finished the circuit a masculine voice emerged from within, "I see that the peace-mongers have decided to join us for this meeting." The figure's voice dripped with contempt, "I will allow you to stay for the moment. Speak."

The hooded figure being addressed pulled back his hood revealing an elderly Minotaur bull sporting a white goatee, "We have never given you insult Grand Magus. We ask that none be given to us. We conduct ourselves in peace and we ask the same in return."

The figure atop the stone table, the Grand Magus, growled quietly, "Cease your prattle, Stone, and say what you came to say."

Stone shook his head sadly, "I'm here to ask for you to settle. We can teach you how to hide, how to conduct your research without loss of life, without resorting to abduction, without the needless pain and suffering." Stone spread his arms wide, "This offer goes for all of you. Let us help you." He lowered his arms and turned to the Grand Magus, "The time is approaching when we will be revealed..."

"Ah yes, your death wish." The Grand Magus spoke.

Stone slammed his hands against the table and rose to his hooves, "You know full-well that is a lie! Blood Magic is a gift! It is a gift to be used openly..."

The Grand Magus threw back his hood revealing an Earth Pony's head covered with gray fur and speckled with pink scars which shown through the gray hairs, "Your doctrine is flawed to the core!" he spat, "We've all heard it before; the thought that Blood Magic works because the Natural Magic approves or created it, the 'yearning for peaceful, legal study', the IDIOTIC NOTION THAT YOU WON'T BE SLAUGHTERED FOR YOUR PRACTICES!" The Grand Magus snarled, spitting saliva as he bellowed, "The Balzak began this practice. They discovered Blood Magic. Nothing they ever did was good in any way, shape, or form. Do not attempt to change what we are. We perused our curiosity and for that we are hunted and hated. I say we embrace it. The rest of the world has already labeled all Bloodmages as villains of the worst sort," the Grand Magus lowered his head and stared into Stone Tongue's eyes, "Then let's give them something to fear."

"Our practices need not be at the expense of others." Stone replied evenly, "You could try asking for samples of blood to work with. Every Bloodmage in my hidden community uses their own blood so as to bring no harm to others. We wield magic almost as skillfully as Unicorns and not a single being is hurt by it. We've discovered healing rituals using our own blood, our scholars call it, 'Life For Life'."

Murmurs erupted from the gathered figures, "Could it work?" "Is there a chance?"

"Enough." The Grand Magus said quietly, a dangerous tone entering his voice, "We will not follow your example. Leave us."

Stone rose from his place, "We have already set events in motion to reveal ourselves peacefully."

The Grand Magus' right forehoof shot out toward Stone, a tiny sprinkle of blood splattered over Stone's cloak and threw him violently back into the wall behind him. He didn't fall though, the Blood Magic held him in place as the Grand Magus stepped off the stone table and slowly walked up to him, "You betray us?" He asked, stepping up to Stone, "Have our Minotaur neighbors really fallen so far?" He raised his head, regarding the hulking bull, "Speak quickly before I merge you into this wall." he ordered, eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Never." Stone grunted, "This is the last meeting any of us will attend. My community has wiped the memory of this place and from their minds with the Ritual Of Amnesia. Only I remember. As soon as I return, my memory will be erased with the same ritual as well. We were never your enemies, but you, all of you, have made yourselves the enemies of the entire world. We refuse to be a part of that. It is only our ancient oaths which prevent us from turning against you. We will share our knowledge to any and all who will listen, but we WILL NOT prey on the innocents of the world to attain our knowledge."

The Grand Magus peered into Stone's eyes, but could find no lie within their depths. He raised his right forehoof and reached beneath his cloak, withdrawing a small vial filled with blood. Silence reigned as everybody present look on in apprehension. Every member of the Magus Council swore an Oath Of Blood, a binding verbal contract. Their blood was placed into a single vial, to be used if the oath taker ever broke their oath. If the oath was broken, the breaking of the vial would complete the ritual and kill the oath breaker. The breaking of the vows and the vial was referred to as Breaking Blood.

"You gave of your blood freely Stone. Your life for the secret of Blood Magic. Do you relinquish your vow? Do you betray us?" The Grand Magus asked threateningly.

Stone stared at the vial, eyes hard, "I'm only relinquishing the despair that all of you have wrapped around yourselves. There is hope. There is a chance."

"NO! THERE ARE ONLY LIES FROM TRAITORS!" The Grand Magus screamed. His hoof raised into the air and smashed the vial into the stone just to the right of Stone's chest. Every being in the chamber silently waited for Stone to begin screaming as he died.

Those screams never came. Stone frowned down at the Grand Magus, "I never broke my vow." he spoke quietly, "It won't work. Breaking Blood only kills when a spoken vow has been broken. I have not, nor will I break that vow. As soon as I return I will be incapable of doing so anyway. I spoke true Grand Magus. None of us will betray you. We will spread our knowledge and perhaps even teach the world how to counter some of our magic, but we will never reveal any of you, which was the vow. The vow never states that we are restricted from spreading our knowledge, only from revealing other Bloodmages." Stone locked eyes with the Grand Magus defiantly, "You have no power over me."

Every being in attendance knew that Stone spoke truth. Holding anything the way the Grand Magus was, was extremely taxing. There was no way to hold anything for long without a full circle closed with a drop of blood.

The Grand Magus' lip curled in distaste, "Were I more prepared I would slaughter you and drain you to oblivion, traitor." He stepped back and let his hoof drop, "Begone. As Grand Magus I proclaim that any of your community who are ever seen again, are to be slain as traitors. Should this proclamation be defied, the perpetrator's blood will be forfeit, even unto his or her own veins."

The attendees were shocked beyond words. A Grand Magus only rarely declared a death proclamation, there had been two others in the history of organized Blood Magic. More than one concerned glance was shared around the stone table, but nobody had any interest in listening to Stone. He had been odd for decades, always speaking of peace instead of avenging his fallen predecessors like everyone else did. Making Normages pay for the imprisonment and deaths of their forebears was the foundation of the modern Bloodmage mentality. Nobody was truly sad to see Stone cast out, even if some of them were curious about the chance of continuing their experiments without being hunted.

Stone looked around the room sadly, "I know you're planning something and I won't be a part of it. I hope you all have the chance to learn just how mistaken you are."

Stone withdrew a small vial from the folds of his cloak and pulled the cork from the top, letting the blood pool in his palm. He withdrew a piece of chalk as he knelt down and drew a complete circle on the floor. He then tilted his hand and dripped a single drop of blood onto the chalk circle. The circle surrounded his body with plenty of room to spare. The chalk on the floor took on a dim crimson glow and within it, Stone extended his finger and began drawing on the ground using the blood as ink and his finger as the quill to direct the flow. The characters he wrote were Bloodscript for location coordinates.

He finished the inscription and stood up while the ritual finished forming the symbols he drew, and held up the empty vial, "This is the last time any of my community will ever use the blood of another. When I return I will destroy all other vials. We will no longer use the blood of others to fuel our magic. We will only use our own. This is the way it should be. Farewell friends in blood. May you find peace in the end." The circle flashed brilliant red and Stone was gone, teleported back to his community.

The Grand Magus spat on the ground where Stone had made his circle, "Good riddance." He turned back to the seven others at the stone table, "A cushion is empty so for once, I'm going to sit for the meeting."

Chuckles from around the table were the replies he received, "Heheh, now down to business. What was the final death toll from Gem Fount?"

"Diamond Dog city/state was annihilated. Not a single Dog survived." The voice spoke with an accent and a Diamond Dog bitch's muzzle poked out from beneath the hood.

The Grand Magus smiled, "Let that be a reminder of what happens to those who hunt us. The previous commander of the Peacemakers hailed from Gem Fount. That city will never again spawn another to stand against us." He turned toward one of the cloaked Ponies at the table, "What of this new species and their settlement?" His question garnered the complete attention of the others at the table. A new species with new blood to experiment with was a prize not to be overlooked, "What of these... Humans?"

The figure who responded pulled back her hood revealing an auburn Pegasus mare, "They are ignorant of us. They know nothing of the history of Bloodmages. Which is the height of irony considering their town is built on the ruins of the old Peacemaker base. They have a guard force of some sort, but they are weak and untrained. The E.P.U. Guard has no presence in the town and it does not appear on any maps we have found. The Princess still holds to her promise of silence it seems."

"Then they are ripe for the picking." The Grand Magus said with glee.

"Not quite Grand Magus. There are... complications." The mare said.

The Grand Magus narrowed his eyes, "What kinds of complications?"

The mare shuddered as she spoke, "There are Banebloods among them."

The Grand Magus chuckled, "There are almost always Banebloods in every city..."

"The Humans and Ponies know what they are and who they are. They walk about freely in the town and there are several more living with an outcast Human in the forest surrounding the town. The Banebloods are not hiding, nor are they persecuted. They have found some way to be accepted into a community." The mare said.

All Bloodmages knew about Banebloods. Most species called them Changelings, but to Bloodmages, the bugs were the bane of their magic practices. They were the only species in the world that was immune to Blood Magic. Ancient Bloodmages had captured and drained them dry, but to no avail. The Banebloods could not be touched with Blood Magic and their blood was useless for Blood Magic. The ancients had theorized the reason for the lack of usability was due to the Baneblood's unique magic. They didn't derive Thamaturgic Energy from food or water, but from love. The ancients believed that because of the use of love energy tainted their blood and rendered it unusable. Bloodmages despised Banebloods. They had hoped that the failed attempt by the Banebloods to take Canterlot a few years prior would have killed them off. Unfortunately that hope was not to be fulfilled. The Banebloods were weakened, but they were not gone yet.

"How many Banebloods dwell within the town?" The Grand Magus asked.

"Two at the moment." the mare said, "But as I said, there are more in the forest. We believe there are less than ten. Those small numbers would be problem enough, but there is one of special interest. It changed itself into the battle body and still lives. It is seeking entry into the town. If it is accepted we would be hard pressed to pacify it without significant losses of our already small numbers."

The Grand Magus glared angrily at the mare, "Is there any good news to hear?"

"Oh yes." The mare said with an evil grin, "The Arch Magister is in the town."

Different figures swiftly rose to standing positions all around the table. They all spoke, shouting over one another.

"She has the lost texts!"

"She's the only one who can counter us!"

"We can reclaim our manuscripts!"

"Does she have them with her?"

"Would she ever leave without them?"

"She must have them!"

"Her blood would be so powerful!"

"Her blood could bring down the world!"

"Her blood!"

"Her blood!"

"SILENCE!" the Grand Magus barked.

The entire room fell silent and everybody returned to their cushions, "The Arch Magister is not the only one who could counter our magic. The Alicorns can as well. And keep in mind that even an arrow could bring any one of us down if we are taken by surprise." He looked back to the Pegasus mare, "How do you know all this? You cannot be a resident, the risk would be too great."

The mare smiled evilly, "I have a thrall. One of the Ponies who lives in the town. It is this Pony who brought me..." The mare reached her head into he cloak and withdrew a corked, clear glass flask. Within the flask rested blood, "...This. Human blood. Our first sample. The flask has been enchanted by Unicorns to keep the blood contained within, fresh and usable. This is the only sample we can obtain without arousing suspicion from the Hospital where my thrall works." The mare placed the flask on the table, "With this we can take what we want from the city in one night and they will be powerless to stop us. But first... we need a Human to experiment with and I know just the one."

Might have missed several spelling errors. If so, please let me know where they are.