Curse

Curse is a troubled young magic user that is searching for answers from the Birthright Academy.

## Alba Maria Aisa

### Relatives

Sofia Aisa (mother - deceased), Maria Aisa (grandmother)

## Origin

Alba Maria Aisa was born in Buenos Aires; the only child of her single mother Sofia. Alba grew up surrounded by her mother's unusual fascination with magic and the otherworld. She made her way through life offering medium services; taking money from those wanting to contact lost loved ones. Although she had a connection with these altum sources; Sofia Aisa refused to make money from them - and the medium services were simply an illusion.

This perversion of altum did not go unnoticed by deeper powers however. One evening in their home, Sofia Aisa was dragged through a fiery doorway somewhere unknown; only witnessed by the distraught Alba. Traumatised by the violent loss of her mother, Alba was taken in by her grandmother to be raised.

## Rebirth

Alba's grandmother was the opposite of her mother. A deeply religious woman, Alba was now taught to respect the Catholic church and following their teachings. Still distraught from the attack; Alba took the teachings to heart in order to cleanse herself from the sins of her mother and her lifestyle before.

Alba flourished under her grandmother's care, become an excellent student and exemplar for their faith. Things began to change as Alba started questioning her own identity - first her sexuality and then her assigned gender. With the fear of her mother's death always in her mind, Alba decided to stick to the path of 'good' - quelling the thoughts that were starting to enter her mind.

## Upheaval

Pushing down these feelings would eventually have dramatic consequences. One evening, Alba burst into an explosion of unknown energy - almost destroying her grandmother's home in the process. The release of these powers felt like an awakening for Alba, who seemed to have clarity on the confusion she had locked inside.

The burst of energy caught the attention of SIN and their leader Cybele. She arrived and explained the explosion was caused by a build-up of unreleased altum energy; seemingly stored in Alba's body for many years. Alba's grandmother dismissed the strange woman - revealing the same thing had happened to her own daughter many years ago.

Betrayed by her grandmother hiding her mother's relationship with these altum abilities, Alba asked Cybele to teach her more. Cybele agreed, taking Alba to her base at Hemisphere House for training. Outside of usual time and space, Cybele allowed Alba time to actualise herself for the first time - finally transitioning.

Cybele revealed that Alba wasn't a traditional altum-user, but was in fact an ortuschild with a specific ability to channel & manipulate these energies. As such, she would be better suited back in 'regular' society and not limit herself to the dangerous world of SIN. Cybele took her to Nicholas York's new endeavour - a school for ortuschildren. Feeling dismissed yet again, Alba took on the name Curse at the Birthright Academy - still searching for answers about her abilities and history.

## Powers & Abilities

### Powers

Curse acts as a natural conduit & battery for altum energy; as a result she can channel and manipulate these energies through practice.

### Restrictions

With her powers active during her early years; she stored immense energy via her mother's interaction with altum sources and eventual disappearance. This has de-regulated her control over the powers.