The Cursed Coins of Quelar

The Currency of the Devil Himself

It takes a devious mind to think of using magic in the name of subterfuge. It takes a nefarious mind to follow through it. The Cursed Coins of Quelar, as they quickly became known, are one of the only known relics from the Ageis Kingdom that falls into this category. It was an era when magic was used openly and for the good of the Kingdom, so long as it did not harm or scar the land that blessed them with its bounty. And it was this backdrop that made the perfect place to use magic with such nefarious purpose, as no one would ever think of using it in such a way.
And yet one did. And While these coins were but one of his many methods of controlling the King's court, they are probably the most influential, long after Agiea fell to calamity and vanished from the face of the earth.

Mechanics & Inner Workings

The Coins are imbued with Source magic, tainted with forbidden blood seals and warped to the whim of Quelar. In their 'inert' mode, the coins allow Quelar to subtly influence the holder's actions and thoughts, nudging them to say the wrong thing at the wrong time, or go somewhere they normally shouldn't. Great for subterfuge without being traced to a recognizable source. Everyone has money in their pocket, after all.
However, the magic in the coins can be directly activated, something perhaps even Quelar himself didn't anticipate. If activated, the Coins impress an 'image' of Quelar's personality on the holder. The holder then becomes extremely mentally unstable, with a penchant for murder and destruction. They are also extremely reluctant to let go of the coin in their possession, leading to it being removed by force before the holder dies of a heart attack from the stress.

Manufacturing process

While the coins are a generic Ageian make, they are imbued with a strange magic to grant them their cursed properties. It's not known what the exact process is, and even if it was the Keepers would not publish it for fear of someone trying to replicate the process. However, a small knife and a stone bowl were found in the workshop believed to be the origin point of the coins, lined with the remains of dried blood. There was also the remains of a leather pouch on the workbench that was found, but whatever had been in the pouch had long since crumbled to dust, as that was all that remained.

History

The Cursed Coins were created during the twilight years of the Ageis Kingdom. Their creator, the Vizar known only as Quelar  created them in order to have spies in the court without directly having to pay anyone. That being said, these coins are far more numerous than the one or two spies a man could reasonably need.
After the destruction of the kingdom's capital, Ageia , the coins were swiftly lost to history. Even if the kingdom's constituents had known the nature of the coins, they were far too concerned with other trivialities like their own survival to worry about a few coins that were no longer being controlled.
The coins began to circulate through the various currencies that emerged and fell throughout the centuries. They were just generic enough to pass for any known coin, making them easy to pass on as legitimate articles. Soon they were scattered throughout the entirety of the Mortal Lands.
The Coins and their nefarious nature were only discovered in the 1920s, when a group of adventurers discovered the Vizar's hidden lair under The Iverson Site. The coins sitting in the remains of a blood ritual hinted to their true nature, which was only revealed when one of the adventurers inadvertently directly activated the magic contained within the coin. The man was soon overwhelmed by a personality construct of the Vizar himself, and only careful timing and a forced removal of the coin from his palm spared him from a maddening fate.
When the coins and their magic signature were reported to the The Keepers of The Oath , the signature began to appear in markets all over the world. The Keepers soon had their hands full as it became clear how far-reaching the tainted grip of the coins had become.

Item type

Currency & Deeds

Current Location

The Iverson Site

Rarity

Unfortunately, these coins have been discovered to be far more common that the adventurers who first found them were led to believe. It's not currently known exactly how many are in existence, but the number is believed to extend into the thousands. Some have been lost to time, but others are very quickly appearing in markets both legal and shady across the Mortal Lands.

Weight

3 oz average

Raw materials & Components

The coins are made from a sturdy copper, that tarnishes well enough to easily disguise is true nature. Research into the creation of the coins indicates that blood magic was used to imbue them with their sinister nature, but there is no evidence of this on the coins themselves.