Max glanced up at the stack of documents before him as he began tattooing another rune on his other leg. Part of him wanted to dive into the wealth of information provided for him, but Darius was going to be able to see whatever he read from the documents. There was no harm in waiting. Edric would be able to provide copies whenever asked… But still…
Curiosity was getting the better of him.
There was a stack of names written on the tabs. M – that would be Max. Just as he was about to reach for his own file, the warning about his origin prompt appeared again. They must be copies of his application. The medical, the magic assessment, and Darius’s report; they should all be there. Perhaps another time when the prompt had been cancelled.
There was a tab for each Elder. He was sorely tempted to look at the one labelled N-E-Darius, he wouldn’t mind his past being checked, right? Tit for tat? Surely, he wouldn’t mind Max taking a look at Cy’s past either. Darius should be well versed in it anyway, so there would be no harm done.
After thinking about it, Max decided the order he was going to go in. Who knew how long he had to read the files before the sun came up, so there had to be a process. First, he was going to start with Cy before making his way through the Elders, prioritising Darius and Elder Aris above the others. That was it… And maybe a couple more if a person stood out in another file.
Content with his own plan, he pulled out Cy’s file and laid it out. It was looking a bit thin for details when considering it was written by Edric’s people. The pages must be a summary of relevant points. For a while, Max alternated between reading the document and checking his work before he became engrossed with what Edric had dug up.
Background
Name:
Cyrus Lumero Vanga
Previous Name:
Simon Lucero
Notable Nicknames:
Little Cyrus / Cy
Status:
Alive
Age:
23
Date of Birth:
21st of June, 1642
Birthplace:
Tapacli (Capital)
Current Residence:
Tsujuma
Occupation:
Magic User / Fortune Teller / Prophet / Vet (Temporarily - Unqualified)
Mother’s Name:
Nora Lucero
Occupation:
Domestic Servant / High Priestess
Status:
Deceased
Father’s Name:
Samuel Lucero
Occupation:
Tanner / High Priest
Status:
Deceased
Adoptive Father’s Name:
Darius Corduroy Vanga (N-E-Darius)
Occupation:
Elder
Status:
Alive
Nothing too unusual so far, apart from being a prophet at some time. There was a note about how he wasn’t qualified to be a vet, but there wasn’t an add on for prophet. Did that mean the writer thought he was good for the job? Max couldn’t help smirking at the idea. Speaking of the writer, Edric’s people must be working overtime getting everything up to date from his adventure at Max’s village.
Health
Notable Conditions
Heart Defect
Symptoms
- Risk of heart attacks under physical stress
- Heart palpitations
- Shortness of breath
- Swelling in legs, ankles, or feet
- Chest pain
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
- Anxiety
- Sudden, severe weakness
- Difficulty sleeping
- Dips in internal magic
Treatment
Regular checkups and spells from Elder Charaka (N-E-Charaka)
(twice a year – last session cost: six thousand gaeles / next approximate cost: ten thousand gaeles)
Ongoing self-medication through daily spells
(approximately 30-40% use of Cyrus’s internal magic)
Terminal?
Yes
Expected Lifespan
Treatment has prolonged expected lifespan by seventeen years. Treatments are becoming noticeably less effective with time.
Origin
Penalty from the system. Source: Niv (U-Niv).
… No wonder Darius was asking Max to clutch his pennies for Cy. Max found the report troubling as he reread the information. Cy had never given any indication about having a health problem. It was puzzling.
Just as he was about to brush the report away as inaccurate, Max suddenly remembered Cy’s odd behaviour around Noah’s smithy and the mayor’s house. Cy panicked around both places. They had magic neutralising spells engraved on objects… Max began piecing it together.
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Cy reacted strongly because if he had gotten too close the spells keeping the heart defect under control would dissolve.
The report was accurate.
Max put down the needle and began looking through the files until he found it, U-Niv. He had been one of them, but untagged. Not surprising once he saw the term ‘five-star story’ in his file. When tagged, all members were warned to strictly avoid three, four, and five-star stories without expressed permission.
He wasn’t too interested in the contents of the story. There was a brief section about how Edric failed to convert him so far, but it wasn’t interesting. There was only one part he was concerned in. Status: Deceased. Max clicked his tongue in annoyance. Cy was probably fucked.
Going back to Cy’s form, he continued to read on.
Background Summary
1642, June: Cyrus was born to Nora and Samuel. The family lived in poverty in the capital.
1644, July: Cyrus began naming people after colours. Nora and Samuel were called red. They were later clarified as scarlet. Neither parent suspected magic use.
1644, December: Samuel realised the colours were connected to people’s future. He began noting Cyrus’s observations.
1645, February: |The deep freeze| Tight on funds, Samuel used Cyrus to open a fortune telling booth. Nora learned about the colour trends.
1645, March: The parents learned scarlet fates were heavily connected to religion.
1645, April: The parents began propagating a religion using Cyrus’s fortune telling booth.
1645, May: The religion was named Children of Sight. The religion gained 10 followers.
1645, June: The religion gained 15 followers. Cyrus was declared as a prophet by his parents.
1645, July: The religion gained 4 followers. Cyrus began demanding sugar as an offering for each prediction.
1645, August: The religion gained 21 followers. The offering changed to toys after Cyrus got sick from consuming too much sugar.
1645, September: The religion gained 32 followers. The religion became corrupt.
1645, October: The religion gained 298 followers. The wave of followers were caused by Cyrus predicting an upcoming revolt in a neighbouring kingdom.
1645, November: The religion gained 328 followers. The Elders of Tsujuma noticed the movement.
1645, December: The Elders of Tsujuma forcibly removed Cyrus from his parent’s custody and rename him in case his followers tried looking for him. The religion fell apart. Cyrus struggled to bond with the other children in Tsujuma with his predictions being too intimidating. The Elders were hesitant in believing the accuracy of Cyrus’s predictions.
1646, January: Cyrus gained a friend, Lux (N-Lux), as he claimed Lux was likely to become a prophesized hero. Cyrus’s parents separate.
1646, December: Cyrus’s father passed away from alcoholism.
1648, June: Darius (N-E-Darius) and Niv (U-Niv) apply to join the community. The Elders were welcoming to the pair with their rare magic skills, soul seeing and conjuring respectively. Cyrus loudly shouted Niv was “a bad man,” “had a blood red fate,” and “is going to be a betrayer” whenever he saw him. Darius, who was from the same town as Niv, refuted Cyrus’s predictions. Elder Ji-min (N-E-Ji-min) also claimed Cyrus’s prediction was seen through “innocent eyes” and “his prediction was immature.”
1648, July: Cyrus became more frantic with his warnings. His accuracy waned with more predictions. This was largely due to revealing flexible fates. More people were distancing themselves from him. There were minor incidents of bullying occurring. Niv behaved like a model citizen within the community, making more magic users sceptical. Aris (N-E-Aris), Charon (N-Charon), and Elder Edric (E) studied conjuring magic under Niv.
1648, October: Aris became an Elder. Under his command, the children were divided into aggressive and passive magic type users. Aggressive users study under Elder Aris. Passive users study under Elder Obi (N-E-Obi). Cyrus began to train with Elder Obi.
1648, November: Under careful coaching by Elder Obi, Cyrus revealed Niv’s fate in more detail. He proclaimed, “Niv is going to die on the 15th of March. He doesn’t want to, so he’s going to kill everyone!” Most of the village rejected his prediction. In particular, Darius testified that Niv’s character did not reflect Cyrus’s prediction. Under the recommendation of Elder Aris, Lux distanced himself from Cyrus.
1648, December: The bullying experienced by Cyrus intensified. Cyrus’s mother passed away from sickness.
1649, January: Elder Obi discontinued mentoring Cyrus. She claimed Cyrus was affecting the mental welfare of the other children, causing them to panic from his predictions. The other Elders were unwilling to take him, so Elder Ji-min became his de facto mentor.
1649, February: Cyrus pleaded individually to each of the Elders (Ji-min, Obi, Edric, Charaka (N-E-Charaka), and Aris).
1649, 10-13th of March: In desperation, Cyrus approached Darius. Darius was reluctant to believe Cyrus’s claims. The boy insisted he read his soul. After several attempts over days, Darius was able to withstand the sickening side effects of fate reading and see some of Cyrus’s predictions.
1649, 13th of March: The pair plead with the Elders. Darius admitted to knowing Niv had a suspicious background, but didn’t say anything because of their friendship. Niv went missing.
1649, 14th of March: Cyrus went missing. It is unknown what happened during the 34 hours he was gone. Darius refused to comment on these hours.
1649, 15th of March. 06:14: |M-Day| A bruised Cyrus was discovered by Elder Aris on the outskirts of the community. Cyrus was reluctant to speak with him.
1649, 15th of March. 07:02: Brought back to the other Elders, Cyrus opened up. He explained how, “Niv isn’t actually a bad man. He was just acting this way because of a ‘sysdem.’ The ‘sysdem’ gave him a challenge and told him to kill everyone. It’s supposed to be for a story, but Niv wasn’t going to do it. He is going to change his fate.” Cyrus received a penalty for exposing the system to four unknowing people. Penalty: Heart Defect. Penalty severity: Medium.
1649, 15th of March. 07:15: Cyrus had a heart attack. Elder Charaka treated him.
1649, 15th of March. 07:16: Darius clarified Cyrus’s explanation by exposing his knowledge about the system and Niv’s past lives to the other Elders. He received no penalty because Cyrus already took the hit. He also expressed skepticism towards an attack not happening and asked the Elders to prepare for an attack.
1649, 15th of March. 07:34: The Elders prepared for an attack on the community.
1649, 15th of March. 10:34: Cyrus partially recovered from his heart attack. Once conscious, Cyrus quickly revealed everyone’s fates had reverted to his original prediction. With the help and encouragement of Darius, he warned the Elders about the fates of people around Tsujuma. This allowed them to build up a predicted strategy used by Niv.
1649, 15th of March. 14:07: The attack begins. Niv brought two others, Liam (T-30423) and Guy (U-Guy).
1649, 15th of March. 14:10: The Elders engage in combat with some of their disciples.
1649, 15th of March. 14:21: Elder Obi killed Liam.
1649, 15th of March. 14:28: Elder Ji-min killed Guy. Seeing his backup had already perished to the Elders, Niv tried to reason with Elder Aris.
1649, 15th of March. 14:29: Elder Aris killed Niv. Aligned with Cyrus’s initial prediction.
1649, 15th of March. 14:35: Treatment and body count commenced. 27 people were injured. 9 people were killed. Cyrus prediction: 3,342 killed and 3 survivors.
1649, 15th of March. 16:05: Cyrus had a heart attack. Revived by Elder Charaka.
1649, April: Cyrus had two heart attacks. Survivors’ guilt affected his recovery. Darius offered to look after Cyrus. His offer was rejected by the community.
1649, May: Cyrus had a heart attack. He struggled with socialising with the others. Darius offered to look after Cyrus. His offer was rejected by the community again.
1649, June: Cyrus began to recover. His memory of the situation grew foggier naturally with time. Elder Obi and Elder Charaka proposed clearing Cyrus’s mind of the abduction and what he learned about the system. Elder Aris was against the proposal but paid for the treatment. Subsequent treatment bills were split between Elder Ji-min, Elder Aris, and Darius. Darius offered to look after Cyrus. His offer was rejected by the community again.
1649, July: Cyrus’s mind was successfully tampered with by Elder Charaka. He had no knowledge about the system. Cyrus still struggled to socialise with the other children in Tsujuma, as many blame him for the attack. Darius offered to look after Cyrus. His offer was accepted by the community. Elder Ji-min was set to regularly check on Cyrus.
1649, August: Cyrus’s condition dramatically improved under Darius’s care.
1649, November: Intense physical activity ordered by Elder Aris caused another heart attack. Cyrus was forbidden from participating in exertive activities. Darius became Cyrus’s primary mentor.
1650, January: Bullying experienced by Cyrus increased. Lux pioneered most incidents.
1650, May: Cyrus had a heart attack.
1651, July: Cyrus had a heart attack.
1653, August: Cyrus had a heart attack.
1655, June: Darius legally adopted Cyrus.
1655, December: Darius became an Elder. Cyrus became his primary disciple.
1656, January: Other children label Cyrus with nepotism.
1656, October: Cyrus had a heart attack.
1659, August: Cyrus had a heart attack.
1660, April: Cyrus had a heart attack.
1663, December: Cyrus had a heart attack.
1664, June: Cyrus had a heart attack.
1664, November: Cyrus had a heart attack.
1665, March: Cyrus had a heart attack immediately after treatment from Elder Charaka.
1665, April: After further examination, Elder Charaka deemed his treatments were becoming less effective. Elder Edric confirmed. Elder Charaka was unwilling to continue treating Cyrus or attempt to develop more advanced treatments without significantly more funding. Elder Aris decided to limit the amount of funding he will provide from then on. While Elder Darius was consulting in the capital, Elder Ji-min decided to remove Cyrus from the community. Cyrus was told to either find a healer more capable than Elder Charaka, improve his own internal magic to be able to counteract his penalty, or find a ‘strange’ person. The term was mysterious to Cyrus, but there was little doubt Elder Ji-min was referring to someone under the system. The members of Tsujuma were told it was so Cyrus could “grow up with more experience” and “mature his magic.” Elder Darius was informed of the decision after Cyrus left the community.
1665, May: Cyrus travelled to the capital, and immediately got scammed of most of his money. He also discovered some old members of the Children of Sight, but they don’t recognise each other. His socialisation skills improved dramatically with visits to pubs and markets.
1665, June: Cyrus travelled South with his remaining funds. He regularly gave out fortune readings for petty cash. Cyrus learned to be more charming for extra tips.
1665, July: Cyrus met Max (M), and declared him as “fateless.” He posed as a vet at a farm to stay close to Max.
1665, August: After an outburst from the farm’s owner, Bessie (N-Bessie), Cyrus and Max leave the farm together.
1665, September: Cyrus and Max get a ride on a pirate ship, heading towards Tsujuma. They apply for Max to stay in the community.
Feeling a little numb from what he just read, Max realised Cy’s prompt had reappeared for a moment before vanishing again. The redacted parts had been filled in and another starting method was presented.
Story Name:
Finish What Others Began
Genre:
Battle Royal
Description:
Complete the five-stars story begun by Niv. Fix his mistakes, destroy Tsujuma, and end those who know about the system.
Goal:
Kill Darius and Cy and erase their presence from history.
Difficulty:
★★★★★
How to Start:
Cy learns about the system from you!
Or
Cy is cured of his illness!