1 Soul Bound
1.2 Taking Control
1.2.2 An Awakening Epiphany
1.2.2.13 Bullseye
Olga: “Curses may affect spirits, bodies, places or items. They can be floating or seated, broken or removed, divine or mundane. The casting mage can follow the benedic path or the maledic. This much and more you could learn from a book in the mage tower, if you wished.”
Kafana: “A book, I think, cannot learn about a specific case and assess the odds of using different possible approaches. But please, if you will, start from the beginning. I know that Vittoria broke the letter of an agreement she’d been maliciously maneuvered into, for noble and altruistic reasons, while carrying an item giving a bonus to her attunement to the element of water, and now she bears a curse from Mor. Other than that, I know very little, not even the terminology I ought to have found time to research before coming here.”
Olga: “Mmph, well, you spent three days fighting devils in the Inferno, came back from perma-death, put on a concert to help the orphans in Basso, and just survived an assassination. And now you’re up against a deadline to save Ruffiana’s old apprentice. Stand up for yourself more, girl. You are Strength. Don’t forget it and don’t be ashamed of it. Underestimating your own worth can be as bad a mistake as over estimating it. Know yourself accurately, and you gain the confidence to stand your ground without fear that the plain truths you state will be mistaken as impolite boasting.”
Know herself, huh? The game seemed determined to keep unsubtly hitting her over the head with that message until she did something. Maybe take it literally? She brought up her character screen, and then looked at the large pulsing icon of the divine blessing.
Imprimatur of the Deities (DIVINE BLESSING)
The deities have accepted your offer to let them use you as a tool to enact their divine will.
You will glow with holy light, that all about you shall recognise that the deities approve of you and your actions.
+400% to reputation gains.
DURATION: Until you gain the confidence to stop trying to hide your light under a bushel.
Kafana groaned. This was going to be so embarrassing, going around with a big spotlight shining down upon her, like having a bullseye target painted on her back.
Kafana: “This glowing thing upon me. It says it is a blessing, but it's almost a curse.”
Olga: “And that’s the first lesson. The price paid to cast an unlimited duration blessing upon someone is identical to that paid to cast a similarly powered curse. Whether the effect is beneficial or harmful may depend upon a person’s perspective or even luck. And a malicious caster might put a blessing upon a rival to inspire others to envy and resent them, while a benevolent caster might put a curse upon a wayward criminal to reform them, strongly believing it will be for their eventual benefit.”
Kafana: “Sounds a bit like buffs and debuffs.”
Olga: “Very much so, except buffs are of limited duration and don’t have a completion condition, whereas curses are unlimited in duration, but must have at least one condition which, if met, will complete the curse.”
Kafana: “What can curses do?”
Olga: “Nearly anything. Cause blindness, insanity, memory alteration, stat penalties, bad luck, damage over time, shape shifting, many things. More complex curses can recognise locations, types of items, people, emotions, specific words, etc and set up conditions related to them such as ‘go blind for ten minutes every time you fail to give money to a beggar who asks it of you’.”
Kafana: “And you can set anything you want as the completion condition?”
Olga: “The condition has to be technically possible, even with the curse upon the person. So ‘gain the forgiveness of your wife’ would be allowed, even if your wife were dead, because technically a necromancer might put you in contact with her spirit, but ‘jump to Luna’ wouldn’t be.”
Kafana: “That’s frighteningly powerful. Why are they not more common?”
Olga: “Because there’s a price. To cast a buff, you sacrifice some of your mana. It is a temporary effect, and the sacrifice is only a temporary inconvenience. The mana will regenerate within the hour.”
Kafana nodded, to show she was following. It was interesting how each mentor she’d met had a different teaching style, and different expectations of their students and the mentor-student relationship.
Olga: “The stronger the effect, the harder it is to evade, the longer it is likely to last, the higher the price. Someone casting a curse may need to permanently sacrifice stat points, skill points, part of their remaining life-span, attunement. Or other things. They might have to give up their marriage, their hopes, their social status or all their wealth. The most powerful curses are death curses, which are powered by giving up everything.”
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Kafana: “Let me guess. That’s benedic-style. In maledic-style, the sacrifice is made not by the caster, but by a victim who falls into the caster’s clutches.”
Olga: “The victim has to be coerced into giving their consent, but yes. I see the distaste on your face. Good. The Seers of Torello have an informal pact by which we cooperate to detect maledic mages and send justice in their direction. Not every maledic act is necessarily evil, but such cursing is invariably so, in my experience.”
Kafana grinned in approval, not in the slightest bit worried by the veiled threat. She was glad Olga put fear into those tempted by power.
Kafana: “Let me know next time a hunt is on. I’ll send a hoard of high level adventurers, eager for maledic blood to back you up. Though perhaps, with that club over there, you need no aid?”
Olga: “That is Lorgmor. It is slow to swing, and takes much strength, but if the blow lands, it crushes the skull in a single hit and no magic impedes it. I respect it, but I’m not so foolish as to turn down aid in such matters. I will remember your pledge, and send word at need.”
*ding* [Your reputation with Olga has increased by 1000. You are now friends.]
Kafana: “Good. I intend that you do so. Now let us continue, for time grows short. How are curses set, and how are they broken or removed?”
Olga: “First the curse must be twisted. That takes a mage with enough skill, mana and attunement appropriate for the desired complexity and effect. For example, a curse turning the target into a frog would require a mage with high attunements in earth and shadow. The mage can specify the completion condition and the sacrifice offered, or can leave it up to the deities to pick something appropriate. The mage visualises what they want to happen, pours in their will or emotion, and provides the appropriate mana for the effect. If they succeed they have twisted the curse and can move onto the next stage. If they fail, they have a fizzle, and all they’ve lost is some mana, and whatever price the deities extract for wasting their time. Often part of twisting the curse is to link it temporarily to an item such as a pin, but that isn’t strictly necessary. You can even specify an activation word or method.”
Olga: “Then the curse must be seated, by forming a link between it and a target. That can be done in person, by for example sticking a pin into their finger. Or it can be done remotely, by for example sticking it into something representing the target like a doll containing a lock of the target’s hair, a drop of their blood, or just inscribed with their true name. The closer the link, the harder it is for the target to evade.”
Corolle spoke up for the first time. She had a low, husky voice. “That’s my speciality. I learned about curses on Divine Mountain, after someone destroyed my voice with one. I’m a doll maker. I make the most lifelike dolls you’ve ever seen.”
Kafana nodded slowly, acknowledging Corolle had spoken, but not sure what to make of the information.
Olga: “If someone realises a curse is being set upon them, they can sometimes use their willpower to fight it off, or even reflect it back upon the caster. It depends who is stronger willed, and more practised at using their will in these sorts of fights. Or they might futz the targeting by, for example, changing their name or redirecting the curse to hit a substitute that responds even more strongly to the targeting criteria. Once the link has been successfully made and the twisted curse is seated upon a target, things become much harder. First off, the curse activates, placing the effect upon the target, and simultaneously extracting the price from the caster.”
Olga: “At this point, curses usually stay in effect until broken by having the completion condition met, or the death of the target. Sometimes it requires the perma-death of the target, because some effects targeted upon spirits rather than bodies will carry over, if designed to.”
Kafana: “Usually, but there are alternatives?”
Olga: “With immense power, usually the blessing of the deities, a seated curse may be lifted to become free floating again, at which point you can re-try the battle to redirect it, reflect it or evade it.”
Olga: “You can drain a curse, by offering up to the deities a sacrifice at least as meaningful as the one paid by the caster. Acceptance isn’t automatic, and is likely related to your reputation, attunements, actions and the justice of your case compared to that of the caster.”
Olga: “Or you can use the forgiveness loophole. Unless the caster specifically decides against it, an additional completion condition is added to all curses. Mages can cancel curses that they themselves twisted. Most leave that condition, as a defence against the curse being reflected back onto them. Doesn’t usually help with death curses, of course, unless you know a good necromancer.”
Olga paused a while, letting Kafana process all the information, then continued.
Olga: “Of course, that’s all about mundane curses cast by mages. It doesn’t apply to divine curses.”
Kafana moaned piteously. Olga chuckled heartily.
Olga: “Deities don’t pay prices, don’t miss and don’t lose battles of willpower. They’re the ones who write the rules. If there’s a divine curse, the only course of action if you don’t want to carry on suffering it, is to talk to the relevant deity or ask a priest to do so on your behalf.”
Kafana: “What happens then?”
Olga: “That’s up to the deity. The only advice I have for the curse target is to know in advance what price they are willing to pay, to frame their actions according to that deity's mindset, and to be sincere. Oh, and don’t waste the deity’s time with too much bargaining. If they cursed you, they did it for a reason and they won’t remove it if they don’t think you’ve learned from the experience.”
Kafana: “Couldn’t you have said all that earlier?”
Olga admitted, without shame: “I could have. But that wouldn’t have helped you with Flavio.”
Kafana: “How did you kn..” she halted herself, and took a deep breath.
Kafana: “Oh, right. Seer.”
Olga bowed low, like a performer after a performance: “At your service, Twice-Born.”
[Quest completed "See the Seer".]
[Skill “Blessing” acquired. You know how to cast and remove permanent blessings and curses, if you’re willing to pay the price.]