the Branded
The Office of the Raykar of Kahdisteria is won by a magical duel and any sitting Raykar is likely to have to deal with many challenges.
Whether the incumbent wins or the challenger wins in the duel, the winner takes the scepter of the Raykar and uses it to magically brand the loser. The brand/scepter is supposedly crafted by Greymoria herself. By law, no one with the brand may attempt to challenge for Raykar again.
Symptoms
A visible brand with the elf rune for "Defeated" is prominently on the victim's forehead and cannot be magically removed or concealed.
Treatment
There is no known way to remove the mark of the brand and many have tried. One failed challenger opted to become a lich solely to lose the mark of the brand. After becoming a living skeleton and shedding his branded flesh, the mark of the brand magically reappeared on his skull.
Cultural Reception
While the Branded are losers in the technical sense, the Branded actually receive some status on the back end. Even though they lost, they fought the greatest arcane master on earth and lived to tell about it. Some Branded choose self-exile and leave Kahdisteria forever, but most actually opt to become the Raykar’s Champion. Ironically, Branded Champions are often paradoxically very loyal and trusted servants of the Raykar. This is not coincidental. If the winning of the Raykar's duel does not think that the defeated will be a good loser, the winning Raykar will probably slay the upstart and brand the corpse.
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