Colonel Jim Curtiss

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> *"Such a thing... is it not unbecoming of an emperor?"*
>
>

- Jim to Peony

Prince Consort Colonel Jimothy Jadeite Curtiss (known more commonly as **Jim**), is a player character from the first campaign. He's a human cleric associated with Orcus, specializing in Necromancy.

## Pre-Campaign History

### Early Life

Jim grew up in the town of Keterburg, along with his sister Nephry, and childhood friends Saphir and Peony. He studied under his beloved teacher Gelda Nebilim along with the other children, all the while doing research into necromancy.

When he was around ten years old, Jim's parents were killed while traveling. He and six-year-old Nephry were bounced around foster families in Keterburg. During this time, he was extremely protective of his sister, as his mother's final words to him were 'take care of Nephry'.

Jim had a talent for magic, and learned quickly. So quickly, in fact, that it worried his teacher-- the professor urged him to take things slowly, and tried to keep his curiosity in check. Unfortunately for her, he had too many questions, and took it upon himself to try to answer them.

The concept of death was one he never quite understood (and to this day, insists that it's hard for him to grasp). After all, if a necromancer can just bring someone back from the dead, what does death matter? What *is* it? What does it feel like? What's the difference between an alive person and a dead one? The earliest memory that Nephry has of this is when Jim used magic to resurrect a family pet– a parakeet. She said that was the first time her brother ever *scared* her.

When Jim was 11, he and Saphir decided to ignore the professor’s warnings and attempt to use a necromancy spell to open a portal into the Astral Plane, just to see if they could. They set up shop in an abandoned house at the edge of town, and set everything up late at night. Their spell backfired massively, and Jim was burned horribly in the process– both boys would have died if the professor hadn’t showed up to save them from the resulting fire.

In her rescue attempt, Professor Nebilim herself was fatally injured. Saphir tried to get her to a healer, but Jim stopped him, saying it would be more efficient to let her die, and they could just bring her back to life with necromancy. That also backfired, as the True Resurrection spell was WAY above their skill level, and the attempt was unable to retrieve the professor’s soul. Instead, they created a horrible monster wearing the professor’s face, which fled into the mountains after wounding Jim.

After he had healed, Jim went back to Mt. Roneal, determined to find the monster. Though he did find and defeat her, he found himself unable to kill someone who looked so much like his beloved teacher. Instead, he sealed her in a cavern near the summit, so that more atrocities couldn't be committed in the professor's name (where she remains to this day). After that, he decided he was going to dedicate his life to finding a way to bring the Professor back to life.

When Jim was seventeen, he was recognized for his natural talent with necromancy and adopted into the wealthy Curtiss family, who valued him for his skill, and thought he would make a good heir to their military legacy. Though he was legally considered their son, he never grew close with his adopted parents. He enrolled in the Imperial Forces, where he'd undergo harsh training in preparation to become a soldier. The night before he was scheduled to leave home, he was approached by Peony, on a snowy night by the edge of town. Peony confessed he held romantic feelings for Jim, who admitted he was in love with Peony as well. Peony would soon become Emperor, and Jim a soldier, but the two were committed to supporting each other despite all they had ahead of them.

Jim endured tough training, yet excelled in his studies. He and Saphir were still working to bring the Professor back to life, even while they were attending the military academy. Eventually, one attempt to bring the Professor back went too far, as Jim used his own body to power the spell. He was nearly killed in the process, and was hospitalized with severe injuries. Peony, horrified, begged Jim to stop, telling him the professor was *gone*, and she wouldn’t have wanted him to keep doing this. It was Peony’s pleas that finally got through to him, and he gave up on resurrecting her. Together, the two of them placed more strict restrictions around necromancy in Malkuth, so that no one would ever be hurt as the Professor had been.

When Jim was on active duty, there were legends and rumors surrounding him– the most famous being that when he was around, he collected corpses off the field. Later, dead soldiers were seen roaming the battlefield, earning him the nickname "Jim the Necromancer". This reputation made him infamous, and feared by many.

### First World-Saving Journey

When Jim was 35, he was involved in a conflict between Malkuth and nearby kingdom Kimlasca. What initially began as a border skirmish became a long journey that caused him to further revise the laws against the type of necromancy he created.

## Relationships

### Emperor Peony Upala Curtiss-Malkuth IX

When Jim was 8, he found out the crown prince of the country was being housed in Keterburg, under heavy guard for his protection. Jim was curious, and along with his friend Saphir, snuck in to see him. Jim let Saphir take the fall with the guards, and used the chaos to sneak in to see Prince Peony, who hid him in his room until the guards left. The two spent the whole night talking, but Jim left still curious about the prince. He convinced Professor Nebilim to try to enlist Peony in their class at school, and since she felt the young prince must be lonely, she pulled some strings to make it happen. Peony latched on to Jim immediately, and the two soon became best friends (though for a long time, Jim had trouble understanding how he felt about the other boy.)

Through all they've been through, their bond remains strong (despite many attempts to have them broken up). Their relationship was strictly off-the-record for the majority of the time they've been together, only going public when they got engaged.

Jim has stated that Peony is his moral compass-- he's his true north, and would follow him anywhere. His first real understanding of death was when he realized that he would be sad if anything were to happen to Peony. He's vowed to never let any harm come to his husband, and is fiercely protective over the other's safety.

The two share an unbreakable bond that's lasted over 30 years, and they've been dating for over 20 years. Peony jokes that they've been an old married couple far longer than they've actually been married, since they work so well together. Peony even has a hidden tunnel built between Jim's office and his throne room, so that he can escape to see Jim, and avoid Guy.

Jim was told by Istus that Peony is his soulmate.

### Kay Curtiss-Malkuth

Kay is Jim's adopted daughter. They met when he and his party members saved her from a pack of ghouls in the Redbrand's hideout.

## Trivia

* Jim has the **Umbral Unmasking** Trait, meaning he gives off an evil aura, and doesn't cast a shadow. This can be off-putting, but can only really be noticed with a successful Perception roll.
* He used to play the violin, but the damage to his hands makes it nearly impossible for him to play now.
* He has an excellent singing voice, but doesn't like to sing in public, as he finds it embarrassing.
* Jim is allergic to most flowers, and rappig fur.
* Jim's favorite foods are tofu and salmon. He doesn't eat rappig meat because of Peony's love for the animals.
* Due to the injuries he sustained in the fire, his hands are horribly scarred, and he has no feeling in them. He can’t feel temperatures– if he was holding something that was burning him, he wouldn’t be able to tell until someone told him. This has resulted in a lot of injuries. Due to this, he also has a debilitating fear of fire.
* He doesn’t need his glasses to see. They’re a magic focus, to fine-tune the glyphs he put on his eyes to enhance his magical ability. (A very risky venture that could have blinded him.) The glyphs are also why his eyes changed from brown to red.
* Has an animated ostrich skeleton named Bessie that he’s rather fond of.

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