Curse of the Wyrmdrake

The **Curse of Wyrmdrake**, also known as the Mantle of Soul, and The Eldritch Dark. The curse was a seemingly-sentient, malevolent entity that spreads like a disease into the body and mind of its victims. It grants its host magical abilities, at the price of losing their sanity.

## History

### The Wyrmdrake Dagger

Also known as the Wyrmdrake dagger, the lesser godslayer dagger was the physical relic of the Mantle of the Soul. Enchanted in desperation by a vain man over 2,500 years ago, the Mantle of the Soul was designed to allow the wielder of the dagger to unlock the full power and nature of their immortal soul.

Initially this may have been the case, but as the Enchanter of the Dagger grew increasing hungry for power the more the Mantle of the Soul warped as his own soul warped in greed and lust. Brushing against the Eldritch Dark, a universe of endless darkness, eternal hellscape, and horrifying creatures. Fearing his own soul damned to this universe of brilliant darkness, the Enchanter fled to the desert south of the great Sea of Undici and placed the Dagger deep within a temple where he believed none would ever again find it.

### Gavin Gwyn

Nearly 1,800 years before the founding of the Collective, a platoon of mercenary soldiers in the Altum land of Alfmeri, lead by the Prince of Alfmeri and the Mercenary Lieutenant, Gavin of Clan Gwyn, traveled to a temple in the desert, uncovered by the winds unburying the ruins.

Within the temple the soldiers found much in the way of riches, and material wealth. Finding what they desired, the Prince ordered the mercenaries to leave the ruins. Gavin was called deeper into the Temple, to a dagger. The Dwarf mercenary picked up the knife, blacked out and awakened later, finding his soldiers and his Prince, laying dead around him.

Gavin Gwyn wept over the body of the Prince, and found slashes all over his body and concluded that he was the murderer. With strength he wasn't sure how he musted Gavin tied the Prince to his steed and rode back to the Capital of Alfmeri, where he turned himself in for royal murder, he was branded, and imprisoned. Though Gavin knew not why he was not given the headsman's axe.

The former Mercenary Lieutenant spent five years in an Alfmeri "prison", though for reasons beyond his understanding the King treated him as a political prisoner, he was provided 2 meals a day, reliably available water, any book from the royal library of his choice, and even a bottle of cheap wine to last him a month. This was his life for half a decade until the King summoned Gavin to the throne room, the first he heard from the King of Alfmeri in those five years.

An illness was spreading across his land, a Rot of the flesh that caused bright swollen pink sores, aptly named the Pink Rot. It struck noblemen, mercenaries, citizens, but not animals or slaves. So the King offered Gavin a deal, the rot had been identified as magical in origin by his warlocks but they have proven incapable of curing it. A village to the south has claimed responsibility for the curse and will not remove it until the King meets their demands. He asks Gavin to travel to this village, determine if they speak the truth, and kill whoever is casting the disease. In return the King will restore Gavin's freedom

Gavin only has a single question for the King, "Why did you not have me executed?" The King replies he will only answer the questions of a free dwarf. Intent on finding answers to his questions, he sought out the source of the disease. It turned out, the curse was coming from a magical coin found by a village's mayor, who was bitter towards the monarchy over taxation matters without aid from the Crown in return. The mayor didn't know how to turn the relic off after it was activated and feared what would happen next. In desperation, he sent the King the "demand" that the Queen of Alfmeri bare his child in order for his line to rule, hoping to figure out the coin's magic in the meantime. But alas, Gavin did find the mayor and his magic coin and destroying it was his first act of dark sorcery. In essence, Gavin absorbed the enchantment of the coin and willed the curse to lift.

When Gavin returned to the King, he was informed that the King had every intention of killing him, and that he wanted to use his own sword. However, seeing the tears in Gavin's eyes, the struggle the dwarf went through to bring the body back, he imparted some final words to the dwarf before commanding him to never return to this court," I know my son would never forgive me, mudering the man he loved before his time."