Fateful Finds: Bloodstone of Tharkos

Tharkos of the Steel Eye is a minor baron of Hell's outer reaches.  He is the infernal patron of servility and slavery, and delights in the groveling self-abasement of other beings (which he encourages in any way possible). 

Among his many other devilish abilities, Tharkos possesses the unusual power of gifting his living heart to a mortal creature.  Such a gift always requires an exceptional favor, rendered in advance, though Tharkos will often demand additional services to be determined at a later time in order to keep that mortal under his power in an ongoing way.  Tharkos can gift his heart to a mortal no more than once every seven years, for it takes this long to regrow.

In order to create a Bloodstone of Tharkos, Tharkos must intone a vow or pledge to bind those who hold his heart, and then he pulls it from his chest, still pulsing with life.  Once the moon has risen over the heart three times, its surface solidifies and it becomes gem-like, with an amber sheen lit from within by a slowly pulsing blood-red radiance.  After the heart is ready, any mortal being holding the heart and reciting the same vow uttered by Tharkos at the stone's creation will be bound by that vow until the end of their days.  The stone inscribes a blood-red mark on the subject's shoulder that indicates the influence of Tharkos, and if the vow is ever broken the Mark will burn deeper into the flesh, seeking out the bearer's heart and burning it until he or she is dead, a process that takes only a matter of minutes. 

If the subject is subsequently restored to life in some manner, the mark of Tharkos will once again be in its original position.  There is no known method of permanently removing the Mark, other than permanent removal of both arms (if one is removed, the Mark will appear on the other shoulder the first time the moon rises).

Any number of beings can be bound by a single Bloodstone of Tharkos as long as it remains intact.  If it is ever destroyed, all those previously bound remain bound, but Tharkos will not replace it.