Some say that there exist evil gods and i would be led to believe this is true when talking about this one. Yet in the same vein many say that evil just comes from a point of view or upon certain revelations, yet i am not convinced. Evil is very real and no one can convince me of the opposite. Outside of this, Emehil is the goddess of bloodshed, murder and vengance. She is also known as the Mistress of Thorns, She who Reeks of Blood, the Cruel Rose and the Lady in Red and Gold. She is always depicted as a beautiful woman with blond flowing hair dressed in an deep crimson robe that leaves her torso visible along with the many sleek scales that cover it, carrying along a beautiful rapier and a large dagger while being surrounded by a myriad of roses. Her teachings are ones full of cruelty and brutality as the stories tell that her lessons are found in blood. Yours or others. This means that all the followers of Emehil are people full of murderous intent and posess a merciless mind. People to fear and avoid at all costs.
She who Reeks of Blood is part of a certain number of gods who anyone could consider evil, yet when reading those who have discussed the nature of the old pantheon many say that a balance must be necessary since the gods govern many aspects and facets of our world and minds. When i asked Aldera about this, she more or less gave me a nonanswer by telling me that none of the gods are evil no matter how we put it since it's all a matter of balance. I do not share this opinion yet perhaps my belief will be shaken when i learn more. Not much is written about her and her followers, but one can surmise that her gospel is one of pain and death as delivering her will is the greatest act of worship they can offer the Mistress of Thorns. Yet some have said that senseless murder is not how they act and only certain people are to be chosen for murder based on something nobody has ever discovered, only the extremely old tale that if one prays with grief, hate and vengance burning in their hearts, Emehil's gaze will be felt and her followers will act upon this prayer. Stories say that Emehil doesn't specially resonate with anyone yet she chooses those she gifts with her attention, oddly favouring women. She whispers to those that commit their first murder in promise of further bloodshed and some even say that they are tested, yet i only found conjecture in all of this. Like before, some treatises say that not everyone is chosen as the Mistress has her own way of choosing. Her sacred animal is the viper, her chosen gemstone is the garnet and her sigil is the Revenger's Rose.
On the subject of cults dedicated to the Cruel Rose, the only known ones are the Unseeing. Their dangerous and hermetic nature makes it extremely hard to know about their customs, rites and ideas with accuracy and rumors are the only thing that can be used to glean something about them. Despite everything being conjecture, one thing that is know for sure is that the Unseeing are far from unified and the cult is split into countless branches. Odd tales state that the followers of Emehil are extremely divided on their preferred method of killing, how the kill should be performed and some even say that they are too in their intended targets. But all of this is just rumor and conjecture that i managed to put together from different books. Out of all these cults, the one most recurrent are the Still Blooded. Another recurrent fact is that many say that the Unseeing appear to be the most unassuming people and they use this to their advantage. Yet they are easily recognizable because they are, obviously, blind. This is revealed by the blindfold they always wear, which also aids in making most people think they are helpless blind men and women when they are very skilled and lethal assasins despite their lack of vision.
The legends and fables about the Lady in Red and Gold are quite abundant and there is a lot of wealth of knowlegde about her and the relation she has with other gods. As stories say, she is the bride of Kherd since a very long time and their relation has been close yet many tales portray their relationship as strained and difficult since they are at odds while in other instances they are shown as a passionate and loving couple. She is always depicted as a cruel and very emotional woman, but always showing a great deal of elegance and flair which truly strikes as an oddity. It is amazing that despite her cruelty and mercilessness she shows a truly staggering amount of civility and elegance for someone so vicious. In the tale of “The Red and the Bold”, while being in charge of judging the performance of the Blooded Eight on a combat trial she elegantly praised the poise and technique of Naenia the white while gleefuly relishing the brutality that Garron the stone fisted unleashed against his opponents. It is bizarre to see such juxtaposition in behaviour and depiction. As well, while obviuosly reacting violently and enraged to the jesting or slights from other gods, she too acts with an unnatural amount of poise when she takes her revenge or when her anger is quelled, much like when Mialta slighted her by plucking the petals from several of her roses to make herself a beautiful bed and managed to please Emehil by gifting her the Blade of Bitter Elation. As a final note, it's important to say too that the Cruel Rose is sister with 2 other goddesses: Mailís and Cabtha.
The magic of the Cruel Rose is the power of the blooded, also known as the Lore of Vengance. I haven't found any reliable information on these powers save for a few tales here and there, so i will refrain on theorizing since the retellings are extremely varied. From people saying that it heals the user, allows blood manipulation through contact or even allows people to murder others simply by wishing it, which sounds absolutely preposterous.
Emehil surprisingly enough has a servant and children on top of her mortal followers. Her only servant is Gardner, the Lord of Edges, which is only known to be in charge of the upkeep of the realm of She Who reeks of Blood, the Sanguine Heath and guards its entrance, the Rosebush. Meanwhile, her children are widely unknown. Not even their name is known in records or where they may be or how they are called, just that they are an amalgamation of viper and human. Some believe that they are an integral part on the cult of the Unseeing as they judge the acolytes, train them, lead them through their worship or are in charge of grusome rites. Nobody might ever know.
If one is to join the ranks of the Unseeing and give themselves to the Cruel Rose, it is obvious that one has to give up their eyes. Yet nobody knows the extent of this since only the Unseeing know if one must remove their eyes, blind themselves or just cover their own eyes.
Note: Ever since Aldera told me she managed to kill one of the followers of She who Reeks of Blood i was very impressed, and the fact that she told me that her spirit lingers is even more surprising. I would be tempted for her to act as a mediator between her and me but the fact that this assasin hates me deters me from it. And i do not believe that Aldera is haunted by the spirit of a deceased murderess.