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In Emma Törzs's Ink Blood Sister Scribe, the first word of the title plays an important role: By mixing blood with herbs, people can make ink with magical properties. In the real world, writing has been done with a variety of materials throughout history — including, from time to time, blood.

Evidence points to ink first being used in Egypt circa 3200 BCE, and in China around the same time. These inks were often carbon-based, created by mixing soot with binding agents like acacia gum. Iron gall ink, which was common in medieval and early modern Europe, is a mixture that ...