Not much is known when the Traversed began to appear in Infernis, all that the races of the Mortal Plane know is that the Traversed occasionally pop up across the lands. There are stories and rumors that one of the Demon Lords was defeated by a Traversed Hero around a thousand years ago. But those are just stories that lift the reputation of the Traversed.
When pulled in via the Soulway, the Traversed are granted magical attributes. The strength varies in each one, but all of them possess the unnatural potential to shift the Fate of the land they appear in. Traversed can choose to take a path they desire and they'll eventually become famous heroes that fight against the Demonic Forces.
But once in a while, a certain Traversed appears with a curse; a Calamity.
A Calamity is an overwhelmingly powerful magical attribute that grants the Traverse too much power. This results in the Calamity being too unstable and the Traverse gives into its power, becoming a vessel of destruction. Those Traversed that have Calamities are called the Cursed Ones. The reason for this is because the Traversed cannot control their Calamities, eventually becoming shunned and hunted down by the Mortal Races.
But Cursed Ones can be used for the gain of those who condition them; like in the case of Lucian. If the Calamity is not currently active, it can be essentially sealed and only a portion of its power is allowed to leak through. The Cursed One can then train to control and channel its power to a reasonable degree.
There are many types of Calamities; they are said to be the essence of many god-like entities that somehow ended up in the Soulway.
When dealing with a Calamity, the Traversed is usually killed when the power is burnt out, fresh out of the Soulway. But sometimes, they are fortunate enough to escape and they are hunted down. Not many Cursed Ones are killed, however, some join the Demonic Forces in exchange for more power while others seclude themselves in dark corners of the world.
Some are less fortunate and are forced to be enslaved by the Kingdoms of Infernis.
Lucian is one of the less fortunate.
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Lucian sat in the middle of several glowing circles that had runes on it, "What is this???" He said as several hooded figures stood around him
Lunaris looked at him as she sat across the room, "Oh this? The Sealing Ritual." She said with a smile, "I am fortunate, I caught myself a powerful Calamity that I could seal without issue. You are about to be hit with the 64 Seals of Infernis."
"The what??" Lucian exclaimed, "Can someone explain to me what the hell is going on?!"
The hooded figures began to chant as the circles glowed even brighter.
"Ah, it's starting. Soon, you'll be hit with excruciating pain." Lunaris said, "Every fiber of your being will feel like it's being ripped apart and stitched together as the Calamity inside you is molded and pushed deep within you. A minute per seal so we'll be here for an Hour and Four minutes. I am lucky to have this spell prepped ahead of time. I am quite the smart one."
Lucian widened his eyes, "W-What? Why are you doing this?!"
"You're a Cursed One." Lunaris tilted her head, "That's why."
"That doesn't explain anything!" Lucian exclaimed as he tried to move, "What is going on?! I want to go home!"
"There is no home for you, Lucian. You are Traversed." She continued, "Not just that, you bear a Calamity, making you a Cursed One. There is nowhere for you to go. Either you succumb to your Calamity and will forever be hunted down by the Kingdoms or the Demons, or you're forced to servitude to us, to Me."
Suddenly, Lucian felt a sharp spark in his midsection. He buckled over as he gagged for air, feeling nothing but pain as the chanting got louder. His entire body began to emit smoke as he felt a strong burning sensation all over, his bones rattling as they felt like they'd break. He had never felt such pain like this before and he wasn't sure if he remembered anything that was close to this.
"A-Aghhhh!!!" He shouted in pain
"Calamities are a dangerous power, even for Traversed." Lunaris said as she crossed her legs, "It pains me to see a soul be twisted with pain like this, but it is necessary. After the seals are done, I will nurture you into a formidable warrior. You'll learn to control your power and you will fight on our behalf, the Darklight Sect."
Lucian looked up as his face was distorted with pain, "G-Guhhh...." He managed, "W-What?!"
"I can explain the details to an extent, Lucian." She said, "You are Traversed, you were pulled in via the Soulway to our world. You were granted a rare magical attribute that grants you too much power to bear, making you a Cursed One. That said power could take over your potent body and soul and you'll eventually be distorted to a vicious entity of nothing but pain and destruction. To avoid that, I'll place 64 seals on you. These seals will contain your immense power and you'll learn to control it over time as you fight for me. Does that make sense now?"
"N-No!!!" Lucian said as his face was full of blue glowing cracks, "What the fuck?!"
Lucian's entire body began to shake violently, he felt his blood boiling intensely as his skin began to twist and crawl. He felt like every single cell in his body was being thrown into a blender with acid, it was incredibly painful.
The Hooded Figures chanted loudly, raising their hands in the air as the circles began to glow even brighter, blue and red sparks of magic power emitting from the runes as Lucian's body was focused by the surge of magic power.
"My superiors want a Calamity on our side, we're at War." Lunaris said as she looked at her nails, "But worry not, we're in the backside country of the Bull-Kingdom. The Bull-King has been quite generous, allowing our forces to search for Traversed to join us in the battles that'll come. But to think we have a Calamity now.....and a Dragon Calamity at that...."
"AGHHHHH!!!!" Lucian yelled in pain
"I don't like this one bit, not more than you." Lunaris said, "But it has to be done."
Lucian glared at the woman, who merely sat in her seat, "Y-YOU!!!!"
"I know, my dear." She said, "You'd hate me. But trust me, when you fully understand the magnitude of your Calamity, you'll thank me."
Lucian collapsed on the ground, feeling his insides be twisted and mangled as something deep within attempted to fight back.
His eyes began to turn black and blue, glowing brightly as his yells became distorted. Lunaris noticed that there were scales appearing on his forearms, dark silver scales as his hands became twisted and sprouted claws.
"Oh?" Lunaris said with an amused smile, "The Calamity is fighting back. A Dragon Calamity is among the rarest of powers.....quite amazing, capable of destroying everything in its path. We are lucky it didn't do more than a simple village....Oh, But it is too late."
"The seals are doing their job."