Sea Curse

Content Warning

Body horror

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I assumed her to be a lost cause when I saw her dragged in. I had never—never seen wounds so horrific. A missing arm, torn off from the elbow, with the bone protruding nearly a hand’s width from the flesh. A rent open chest, too grotesque to even describe. And several other lacerations all over her body.
The doctors too told me not to bother with her, placing her squirming, subconscious body on an infirmary bed to try and comfort her as she passed.
And yet now she sat before me, very much alive. Tentacles had replaced her missing limb, and her open torso no longer bled. I’d say it was a miracle, had I not known that her life would be going to hell from that day on.

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-Ocea Twalk

Sea Curses are a mutation brought on by the effects of the eldritch sea within the Great Storm. Despite being fairly common—about 8% of the human population within the Great Storm has at least one—those who hold such blights on their bodies are rejected by many in society.

Causality

Most know that individuals can gain Sea Curses via dabbling in eldritch Deepspeaker magic. When a Deepspeaker—a ritual spellcaster—casts a spell through a glyph painted onto their body, they channel magical energy from the Abyss through their body. Unfortunately, that energy can become stuck inside the caster, mutating their body. Often, the mutation occurs where the glyph once was painted onto the caster.

Despite being the more common way of obtaining a Sea Curse, not many know that Sea Curses can also be obtained from injury. Specifically, when the blighted waters of the eldritch sea enter an open wound, the afflicted can sometimes develop a Sea Curse at the site of injury. The curse can even grow outwards to replace missing body parts in these instances. When this replacement occurs, the individual gains the ability to move and manipulate the appendage like a natural part of their body.

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It wasn’t easy to look at her. Nevermind the fact that her clothes were torn to shreds, inside her open chest tentacles squirmed and purple eyes stared. It took everything I had to not throw up.

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Appearance

Often, Sea Curses take on shapes of body parts from oceanic creatures. Patches of skin becoming covered in scales, a hand replaced by a crab claw, or an eye reforming like a fish’s are all common examples of what sea curses can appear as. Do note, though, that such features are merely physical manifestations of the curse—eldritch magic also flows inside of the afflicted’s body. This magic means that the individual can have the adverse effects of a Sea Curse even if they have no physical aspects from it.

Effects

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I had asked her earlier if she would mind answering a few questions I had. Seeing as she had little better to do, she agreed.
A lot of what she said matched up to what I had read: the tentacles were a part of her body—though sluggish, she could use them like an arm. She also reported a simultaneous lust for and fear of the sea. I’ll have to ask her more questions later.

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-Ocea Twalk

The effects of Sea Curses are not widely understood, in fact, they are barely understood at all. Even those with and they whom research the curses have a limited understanding of them and the effects they impart. The physical impacts—that is to say the oceanic mutations—are far easier to measure and understand than the apparent effects on the afflicted’s psychological state. Despite some Sea Curses improving underwater mobility and few even allowing for underwater breathing, most who have them hold a supernatural fear of the ocean, especially in deep waters.
Sea Curses also change how eldritch magic interacts with the afflicted. As their body already holds some measure of magic, it becomes more prone to mutation from further Sea Curses. This can sometimes prove beneficial, as Sea Curses can heal lingering and even mortal wounds. Those with many Sea Curses tend to be very difficult to kill due to this effect. Pirate queen Morgana was even rumored to have abused this effect, abandoning her humanity for the restorative power of the eldritch sea.

Type

Supernatural

Origin

Magical

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Uncommon

Treatment

Though difficult, it is possible to remove the physical manifestations of Sea Curses from the afflicted’s body. Doing so requires that the entire afflicted area be cut off, then to have the exposed flesh beneath be sterilized with pure alcohol. The alcohol kills some of the afflicted’s flesh, thus preventing regrowth.
Note that while sometimes successful, this procedure typically does more harm than good. Really, it should not be performed unless absolutely necessary.

Societal Views

Most on the inner islands fear those with Sea Curses. As eldritch activity is far less common on the islands closer to the Storm’s center, they are less used to the strange in inhuman, thus they avoid anyone who is touched by the eldritch unknown.
This fear, like in so many other case, can turn into malice. Bullying, lynching, and even murders against those discovered with Sea Curses are not abnormal. Especially as many think that Sea Curses can only be gained by those who dabble in magic, and not by injury, as is more often the case.
Another cause for the fear of sea curses is the (false) belief that by being near one with a Sea Curse, it is possible to “catch” the affliction. Sea Curses cannot spread like diseases, and one’s proximity to others who have them doesn’t not affect their chance of obtaining one.