The Arsenal Curse

Transmission & Vectors

The Arsenal Curse is a horrible and traumatic curse to be bestowed upon, warping the mind and the spirit of those it affects. In order to obtain this ancient curse, one must kill the current carrier of the curse. Doing so will result in an inheriting of the curse as well as the arsenal from all previous carriers. Even if the carrier dies of a natural cause, the curse will manifest in a new host, whether a direct or indirect relation, or completely random. It has been theorized that the next murder directly after the passing of the Arsenal carrier inherits the curse.

Causes

Dating back to the inception of the curse, there is no rational cause for the curse, aside from it's formation centuries ago.

Symptoms

When beset by the curse, the carrier is immediately stricken comatose by the force of the psionic impact on their mind. They remain comatose util they have relived and seen every memory attached to the arsenal, then to awaken with a fractured and suffering psyche. They will struggle to discern which memories are their own and which belong to those in the arsenal without a great deal of mental fortitude and training. Due to the initial impact, their minds will never fully recover, always leaning away from social norms, unable to truly re assimilate again. When an arsenal carrier takes on the curse, their mind is bombarded with memories. These memories belong to the dead, slain by the previous arsenals. Within their minds, the arsenal carriers gain access to a sort of mental landscape, which takes on characteristics and aspects complimenting the current carrier's person; refereed to as the Garden. However, occupying the landscape is an innumerable number of weapons and items, connected to the previous arsenal carriers and their prey. When an arsenal carrier kills someone, that person's memories are attached to a weapon or item of some kind that was personal to them. As the killings continue, the garden grows until the carrier is killed themselves. At this point, the Garden the carrier has cultivated then transfers to their killer and the cycle continues in this way.

Treatment

There is no known treatment for this curse. No one even knows how to break it. The secret might lie in the memories of the original arsenals, but no arsenal has been able to delve that deep without subconsciously drowning or fracturing their minds even more.

Prognosis

The curse is not fatal, but it is mentally scaring. Damaging to the point that whosoever is affected by the curse ceases being the person they once were in a matter of time.

Sequela

With practice, the arsenal carriers are able to draw from the Garden and materialize items and weapons from it, embowering it with their own power and strength to fit their needs.

Hosts & Carriers

The Apeling, Bosun of the crew under the pirate Captain Dracen Needleteeth, Ling is the Green Arsenal The mysterious elven hunter, Tarquin is the Gold Arsenal The Tabaxi raider from the Hworen Highlands, Rook is the Red Arsenal The reclusive dwarf Kohler is the Orange Arsenal The Third son of the Emperor of the Elven Imperium, Midrian is the Purple Arsenal The Knight Commander of the Shadar Kai border guard Dust, Meglin Ironboard is the Blue Arsenal Yellow Arsenal Black Arsenal Silver Arsenal

Prevention

As simple as it may seem, the easiest way to not be affected by the curse or fall victim to it is to not kill anyone. However, as previously stated, there is no telling how the curse will react and find a new host, should the current pass away of natural causes.

History

Sometime in the midst of the third Era, a group of wizards and sorcerers gathered together to perform an experiment using charter magic. The point of the experiment was to equip this group of nine with the ability to call forth power, magically empowered weapons from within themselves. Doing so would transcend the current known spells to simply summon weapons, this would allow them to put their own magical power in the weapons itself, becoming more versatile and accessible. However, the experiment went horribly wrong when one of the mages involved mettle with the ritual, causing the charter magic to misinterpret the runes and incantation to result in the creation of the first arsenal carriers.The mages were all scattered to the winds for centuries to follow, passing on or killed, only to pass on the curse unknowingly. At one time, an arsenal carrier attempted to eradicate the curse by putting down the other carriers, thinking that in doing so would break the curse if they took it all on themself only to kill themselves at the end, taking the curse with them. As their eyes drew closed, they were graced with a final image of the multi-colored dust consuming their own cohorts and companions. The carriers have snice been fairly quiet in the world.

Cultural Reception

For the most part, this curse is not common knowledge or well known at all. Identifying arsenal carries can be difficult, since they look no different from the common man. Very little evidence is left behind by a carrier, either, the most recognizable being a sort of colored dust, but even it quickly fades into oblivion shortly after making contact with the ground, or by the command of the carrier.

Type

Magical

Origin

Magical

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Unique