Forced Induction
There was so much to do, and all of it had to be put aside, for on this day arrived a being in Nilfel who eclipsed the whole Voyaging Realm, as does a supernova to the slightest of embers.
Letrizia's conjecture had been correct. The problem of platinum replacement thus had plagued them for some time. While there was enough circulating currency in the nation itself for commerce to continue, state platinum reserves were essentially depleted, consumed by Hunger's Cloak as a means of recharging its mystical well.
Adorie had agreed to the transaction without complaint, turning over countless tons of myth-infused coinage towards the Cloak's bottomless appetite, but her government was now essentially out of funds, unable to continue past the next fiscal month. That she'd agreed without so much as blinking spoke to the deep debt of gratitude between them, and her wholehearted commitment towards them.
It spoke also to her perhaps-misplaced faith in Hunger's party, that they would be both willing and capable of engineering a solution before the month was out. Hunger was of course entirely willing, never one to fail to reciprocate such a gesture; but whether he was able, was another story entirely.
At minimum, they had to replenish enough of Adorie's mythic platinum for her government to run itself for the next few years, until she could recoup lost reserves from tax revenue. This amount was well short of the full tonnage Adorie had donated; Augustine's conquests had left their coffers swollen with expropriated wealth, sufficient for decades of intense deficient spending.
Honor demanded that he instead return
all of what Adorie had given, but he had no idea of the timeframe required for such a task. Ideally they would stumble upon some means of generating arbitrary amounts of mythic platinum, but that was essentially a pipe dream. Perhaps Gisena might be able to do so with specialized Graces and a surfeit of time, but it was not a task even the Renaissance Woman could expect to complete within the year.
And yet, the entity standing before him could do so with the barest exertion, with an effort so minuscule it could not even be described as trifling. This he knew with irrevocable certainty, for time had stopped in Nilfel to mark the coming of the Accursed.
Hunger fell to a knee, genuflecting immediately. "Sir."
The Accursed shook his head. "No need for that. I'm here for your benefit. You've done well, but the Apocryphal Curse intends to put an end to that shortly."
"I will do as you command."
The Accursed raised an eyebrow. "A moment's freedom from Tyranny, and you've already become so obsequious. Raise your head, Lord Hunger. You are a Cursebearer, not a slave. Or did you believe such earnest fealty would see you free of the favor you owe me?"
Hunger scoffed, smiling, as he rose to his feet. "Never, sir. Nor would I desire such an outcome."
"You're about to owe another," the Accursed deadpanned.
"Gladly," Hunger said.
"Intervention from myself or other Cursebearers will always be limited," the Accursed began. "But the Crowning Curses embody extraordinary difficulties. Bearing such a thing, final death is almost invariably swift and inescapable. Several of your fellows have conspired to create an informal association for mutual support. The cost of doing so without provoking the Curses would not be trivial even for me. Given the circumstances, you will be inducted into this society. I'm confident you will prove worthy of the privilege."
Hunger blinked. "Truly... I don't know what to say. Thank you, sir."
"Mind your Tyrant's curse," the Accursed said, not without severity. "They are your fellows, but not your peers. Many are just as unreasonable as yourself. Take care that this opportunity does not become your doom."
---
You should really finish Fisher King sooner rather than later... You currently have an impressive
24 Arete!
Choose your
sponsor. This will be your primary point of contact with the Cursebearer's Association. You may purchase either the
basic or
committed level for each sponsor, except for Haeliel. A basic-level sponsor is corresponding with you because the Accursed told them to. A committed sponsor possesses some unusual level of affinity for Hunger, his mission, or his circumstances such that they are both willing and capable of going above and beyond to offer assistance, as well as being highly compatible from a personal standpoint. This is already the case at the basic level for Haeliel, else she would not offer assistance at all.
The Apocryphal Curse is the bane of heroes. Choose well, for aid of your fellows may be your only salvation.
[ ] Daylian Erranthus [Basic, 0 Arete] /
[ ] Daylian Erranthus [Committed, 7 Arete]
Type:
Progression
Primary Remittance: The Lazulite Sigil. Daylian has already expended all of his temporal reversions, but retains access to his well-honed control over Lazulite itself.
Curses: The Geas of Indenture [Mitigation Stage II], The Curse of Hubris [Mitigation Stage II]
"Halt, Universe Emperor! You've no further chance, for I! Am Here!"
Daylian's Geas mitigation allows him to travel between realms a small fraction of the time. He is roughly as powerful as Hunger, slightly stronger in some aspects, and entirely willing to help a fellow Cursebearer out! In fact, according to him it should be easy. Daylian has comprehensively outscaled his current Geas task but his Curse drives him onwards to seek ever-greater challenges, hence his willingness to volunteer his services for tasks of seemingly suicidal absurdity, such as sheltering the victims of the Apocryphal Curse.
A blonde man with eyes of blue limned in gold, and armor of matching color. Daylian is a peerless classical hero, affable and highly skilled, but his Curse contributes a monumental degree of delusional self-confidence which only his genial nature prevents from devolving into incomprehensible arrogance. He is pure of body and spirit, repulsing the foul and unholy by his very presence.
[The Azure Hero]: Daylian wields geokinesis and healing magics on a cosmic scale. He may summon, banish, create and manipulate the arcane substance Lazulite, an azure stone infused with powers from immortal myth, granting access to a fairly broad range of effects.
[Sharp Line]: He possesses a magic sword that is not far below the Forebear's Blade in current strength, though considerably more linear. He is an able swordfighter, blessed with supernal skill from birth married to unyielding diligence in practice. Those with ill intentions towards himself or those he cares about will suffer exponentially increasing penalties in his presence, though the range of this effect is somewhat limited. Though he offers much power and can theoretically progress at the same level as Hunger, he will often have to be saved from himself.
Sadly, he is nowhere near as good as he thinks he is. Daylian constantly believes himself to be one to three orders of magnitude more powerful than he currently is, and if not for a spectacular streak of luck near the beginning of his journey would surely have perished early on.
Committed: Daylian will use all of his Geas-free travel time to assist Hunger, allowing him to be present much more often. Without this, you can only expect him to be present for 1/3rd to 1/5th of Apocryphal procs.
Should you select Daylian to be your sponsor, it is extremely important to find a way to prevent him from getting himself killed. His current universe is safe enough, with few enemies remotely capable of threatening him, but even if he spends all his travel time with Hunger, his tendency to plunge headlong into danger without even the simplest of precautions can expose him to risks far beyond what any sane person would bear.
On the other hand, perhaps exposure to Hubris incarnate can help Hunger develop some perspective on his own habit of risk-taking...
[ ] Wolber Strobe [Basic, 7 Arete] / [ ] Wolber Strobe [Committed, 12 Arete]
Type: Combat
Primary Remittance: Admin Privileges
Curses: The Brand of the Wretched [Mitigation Stage II], The Affliction of Leprosy [Mitigation Stage I], The Mutilating Affliction [Mitigation Stage II], The Apocryphal Curse [Mitigation Stage III]
"Our patron possesses will beyond measure. If we mortals ever wish to approach his proficiency in the Work, we cannot hope to abide on grit alone. We are creatures of habit for whom environment trumps resolve. To pursue the Work effectively, abandon the idea that determination equals diligence. Instead, sculpt your life around it. Willpower is scarce and fleeting, but the habits of a lifetime will always endure."
Few humans born of Earth are as decisive, capable, cunning and wise as Mr. Strobe, but even fewer may lay eyes on him and perceive it, for his plainly unattractive visage and corpulent frame have been terribly amplified by his choice of Curses. Though once he resigned himself to a purely solitary existence of mental endeavor in which his crippling physical and social Curses would only be a substantial inconvenience, Wolber has reached a point in his development in which he seeks some measure of companionship.
His inherent suitability being rather low, Wolber had to take on a large number of Curses in order to become a Cursebearer at all. But he has seized that opportunity with the utmost commitment, and realized incredible power through the medium of the Praxis.
[The Work]: Mr. Strobe wields the Imperial Praxis with virtuosic efficiency, though given the nature of the Art is unable to offer much direct assistance in Hunger's development of the same. Still, he has access to a range of extremely potent offensive and defensive effects, as well as a modest variety of utility spells. At Hunger's current level, most of Wolber's spells are effectively agnostic as to the strength of their target, so he possesses effectively automatic scaling against most types of foes.
Wolber spends most of his time developing in the Praxis, so he will continue to improve in power and skill during your association. Though, being a Combat-type, it is almost inevitable that he will fall behind Hunger's level at some point.
[A Beautiful Mind]: Wolber is an excellent systems optimizer, scientist, tactician and strategist, easily capable of sharing the burden of rule with Hunger if necessary. Note that his Affliction of Leprosy effectively prevents him from developing superhuman parameters in any physical Attribute, and his Brand of the Wretched causes intense, instant dislike. Though his suggestions are sagely, it may be difficult for him to find a willing audience. He has put a heroic effort into mitigating his Apocryphal Curse, correctly identifying it as the greatest threat to his well-being, but is still frequently threatened by its manifestations.
Committed: Wolber will move to the Voyaging Ream / Human Sphere, departing his current universe to collaborate with Hunger. You will have to help him deal with his Apocryphal procs as he does yours. Hunger and other characters will be disinclined to listen to Wolber at first; especially Hunger, whose Tyrant's Doom interacts unfavorably with the Wretch's Brand.
[ ] The Seraph of Heroism, Haeliel [Basic, 50 Arete] / [ ] The Seraph of Heroism, Haeliel [Committed, 200 Arete]
Type:
Progression
Primary Remittance: The Regalia
Curses: The Geas of Indenture [Complete Mitigation], The Affliction of Slumber [Mitigation Stage VII], The Doom of the Martyr [Mitigation Stage VII], The Doom of Ineptitude [Mitigation Stage VII], The Apocryphal Curse [Mitigation Stage VII]
"Bane of Heroes! Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"
The Seraph of Heroism, the Vitalizing Flame, the Ever-Bright Sword, the Aspirant Ideal, All Creation's Oriflamme.
In time before reckoning she was maiden and magus; mastering the Ordinal Spiral, she achieved the Twenty-Sixth and final Ordinal. As Cursebearer she acquired the power [To Shatter Heaven], permitting her to retain Ordinal Purity through countless epochs of successive ascension. Now her Golden Path rings endlessly with Attainments beyond number, power beyond the furthermost reaches of mortal comprehension, exceeding the Spiral itself as the Heavens exceed the Earth.
Clumsy, vivacious, free-spirited and compassionate, Haeliel typically adopts her Herald appearance of a six-winged angel with hair the color of flame. It goes without saying that the transcendent glory of even this highly-circumscribed visage would instantly shatter ordinary minds. The Doom of Ineptitude makes it difficult for her to wield her powers with finesse; even now she still accidentally kills a few of the more fragile heroes she watches over (typically via traffic accident or falling piano), reincarnating them in more glorious worlds to compensate.
As a Seraph, Haeliel more-or-less embodies the classical virtues of temperance, chastity, diligence, charity, patience, humility and kindness. She is entirely capable of tolerating and working around Hunger's Doom of Tyranny; there is no chance she will intentionally kill him for mouthing off.
[High Cursebearer]: In this reality there are horrors beyond measure; realms cold and cruel devoid of purpose or hope, gods mad and ravening whose depredations stretch eons.
But also, there is good.
Where alights Haeliel, comes hope to even the dimmest corners of creation. For to stand against her Chosen, is to meet the fate of every untimely oppressor who has faced a plucky hero with more courage than sense. Tremble, O gods of gods. For the visitation of justice is nigh, and she carries a sword of flame.
Haeliel is a High Cursebearer, very nearly omnipotent in every facet of endeavor. She is perhaps the most powerful Ordinalist alive, certainly mightiest among those that would classically be described as "good." In her remit is power beyond logic, circumstance, sanity or reason; Heroism itself, which bursts through all limits and casts down all ills, virtue so bright as to outshine the infinite dark.
No enemy you encounter short of the Hidden Ones themselves will be capable of so much as inconveniencing her. However, she does not have an enormous amount of leeway to spare in directly aiding Hunger.
At the basic level, Haeliel may do three of the following:
*Once per Geas task, she may turn aside any foe that has attained an otherwise-insurmountable edge against Hunger, or any one negative circumstance that would otherwise overcome him.
*She may divert the attention of the Hidden Ones, allowing Hunger to resurrect one of his previous companions (including Catherine) without complication, should he possess the means.
*She may enormously empower the Hero or Chosen Hero(es) of any given realm, stupendously increasing their rate of growth and ultimate ceiling. There is a small chance she will accidentally kill them instead. Re-rolls cannot defend against this.
*She may utilize one of her Ordinals, once, to perform an effect no greater than that of a Lesser Wish; or, when directly countering the efforts of the Apocryphal Curse, no greater than that of a True Wish or that of her full capacity, whichever is lesser.
*She may give Hunger mundane advice, though without the aid of any of her Ordinals. As she is an Ordinal Purist this would consist of assistance that is entirely non-magical. This includes relationship advice, general life advice, Curse-mitigation advice, and instruction in the Ordinal Spiral for either Hunger or one of his party members. It is recommended to select a party member with high Intelligence and Wits. Haeliel will not always be available for consultation; her duties and challenges are commensurate to her might.
Committed: You have yet to unlock this level. Good thing, too, as some endeavors are too much of a stretch, even for Hunger...
---
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