Marken

Template:Info afflictions Marken, Soul Marked, God Marked or God Cursed, is an Alorian-based Affinity that has plagued rare individuals and even some families for centuries. Marken and the God Cursed have for centuries been hunted down and killed due to a lack of understanding about their condition, and fear over the violence and killing that usually goes in their wake. Marken are normally very mundane individuals who suffer a condition that causes them to violently change during certain specific conditions that may vary from person to person into enlarged, more beast-like versions of themselves. The reason why Marken are often also called God Marked or God Cursed is because this Affinity frequently occurs at the hands of a divine entity or some sort of God belonging to a religion. In recent centuries, Marken were victims of the Darkwald Order in the Regalian Empire, targeted for their similarities to Cahal, despite being an entirely distinct Affinity; some scholars have even indicated that Cahal may be an Exist-based imitation of the Marken. Understanding of the Marken has grown in recent times alongside a sense of sympathy, though wariness surrounding them has never diminished; the God Cursed pose a constant, considerable, and incurable risk to society that often incarcerates them for life.

Playing a Marken in Regalia

It should first of all be understood that it is incredibly illegal to be a Marken in Regalia, because the law of the land understands them as a threat to society. Historically speaking, Marken are often unable to control themselves, and when involuntarily transformed, attack everyone blindly around them, often also infecting others who survive the attack. Regalia does not consider Marken to be evil per-se, but still struggles with their violent outbursts and unpredictability. With that out of the way, there are several ways Marken are commonly portrayed in the world of Aloria, they all depend on how the individual was infected, but more importantly, how they choose to live with it. It is possible for Marken to become legal in Regalia, but this is a very difficult and arduous process of legal self-exposure. It involves a trial for Occult Reprieve (ironic because Marken are not Occult) to be granted freedom to be a Marken legally, but because such a trial would involve exposing one’s identity, the risk of being denied and arrested is too great for many.

Infection

Infection can occur in several ways. Infection from one Marken to another confers a Marken infection of that type, but players retain freedom to dictate what Marken type they become. It is important to note that Markenism is incurable. Finally, Markenism is mutually exclusive with Afflictions; this is to say that Marken cannot become Vampires or Cahal and, indeed, Marken infection is known to cure Vampirism and Cahalism. Geists are an exception, in that they cannot become Marken, and Marken cannot become Geists.

Bite Infection: A Bite infection occurs either from a bite or a scratch from another Marken in beast form. This is not a guaranteed infection, but poses a serious risk.
Born Infection: Any Marken automatically sires Marken children. Markenism then manifests when the child becomes of age, and is more likely to control it.
Cursed Infection: The Old Gods in particular are prolific at God Cursing those who would desecrate their holy temples and burials, cursing them with Markenism.
Blessed Infection: Some Old Gods bless their faithful with Markenism to reward their devotion, becoming Wolf or Bear Warriors to honor Halfvel or Asbjorn.
Dragon Magic: Some Custom Kits with Dragon Magic have Markenism included as an optional transformation for the power benefits of Markenism.
Cannibalism: For unknown reasons, Cannibalism (willing or unwilling) infects an individual with Markenism.

Markenism is defined by both physical and mental changes. Physical changes are also split into Infection Changes (applied to the body when Infected) and Marken Forms (what Marken look like while transformed). Many if not all of these bodily changes are optional and thematic, but not required; a character's design does not have to change on account of Markenism. Inversely, the changes applied by Markenism may be amplified if the player so wishes. Turning involuntarily into a Marken can occur through a variety of manners, including but not limited to: the sight or smell of blood, intense anger or grief, lunar phases, specific times of day, specific days of the week, being exposed to religious artifacts of their curse, overwhelming emotions, disgust of a specific person, loathing or self hate etc.

Infection Changes

Infection Changes are all optional, and can also be amplified if desired. It is acceptable to choose all, or some of them, or none of them.

Infection can cause an increase in muscle mass and broadness of the skeletal or muscular frame beyond even racial limitations.
Infection can cause an increase in facial and body hair, of any gender, or change hair bone-white or raven-black, or just darker.
Infection can cause a person to have a worsened temper, increased aggression and violent inclinations, or foul mood or loss of patience.
Infection can cause a person to become more sensitive to loud sounds or bright light, and experience lack of concentration or memory lapses.

Marken Forms

There are four very distinct Marken Forms defined by one animalistic appearance. Before discussing the individual Forms however, getting some of the common rules out of the way may be useful. Marken when transformed are furred from head to toe. Their torso will remain humanoid in form, but their limbs are usually larger or elongated, with the legs particularly taking on more animalistic qualities, such as a digitigrade bone structure. The color of Marken fur (or scales in the case of Drakken) directly correlates to the hair color of the humanoid form; for example, an Ailor with black, graying hair will have black, graying fur in their Marken form, although fur patterns not present in the humanoid form are known to occur. Marken iris colors are always a shade of purple, ranging from a pastel lavender to a dark tyrian, while their sclerae are always black or dark-gray. Halfvel Godborn are distinct, in that they retain their Godborn eyes.

Wolf Marken

The most common and obvious Marken is the Wolf Marken with the head of a wolf and a long furred tail. Their heads look like wild wolves, though with a longer snout and longer almost elf-like ears. Wolf Marken are considered the most vicious and strongest of the Marken Forms. The Wolf Marken is thematically linked to Old Gods. Wolf Marken are commonly found in Talahm Gall, where whole villages and tribes are Halfvel fanatics who have embraced Markenism as a blessing and part of their cultural identity. They can also be found in some of the dark forested regions of the Regalian heartlands, and the capital, where those infected by the curse seek the shelter and anonymity that the sparsely populated forests can offer. Wolf Markenism is also common among the God Cursed of Old Gods, particularly those who violated Old Gods religious sites, and are subsequently punished by Bard. Wolf Markenism is the most common form of bitten infection, purely because it is also the most common numerically.

Bear Marken

The Bear Marken is less common and has the head of a polar bear, though without a tail. Bear Marken have much beefier limbs and stubby legs, making them slower. Bear Marken are considered the most durable and high-stamina of the Marken Forms, capable of fighting for longer and taking more punishment. Bear Marken are thematically linked to Old Gods. Bear Marken are commonly found in the northern parts of Drixagh, but also in regions where the Aesir are prominently worshiped by the Old Gods Faithful. Bear Markenism in particular is seen as a blessing in disguise for some Asbjørn and Rand worshipers, and a common trope for Dreikar to bless his followers with if they are particularly pleasing to his carnage desires. Bear Markenism is often treated as a curse by Vanir other than Asbjørn. Bear Markenism is often used as punishment by Old Gods other than Bard.

Drakken Marken

The Drakken Marken is very rare, and has a scaled and much more sleek and athletic build than the Wolf or Bear marken. Drakken Marken appear somewhat like a mix between a canine, a feline, and a Dragon, with a very long spiked and scaled tail and large claws. Drakken Marken are considered the fastest and most agile of the Marken, capable of moving with great speed. Drakken Marken are thematically linked to Dragon Worship. Drakken Marken are rarely ever seen, with only scant rumors of some existing in Anglia and Kintyr, or other places with high concentrations of Dragon Temples. There are no known cases of Drakken godcursed Marken, the only Drakken Marken that supposedly exist belong to long lineages of temple protectors and Dragon worship guardians who function more like lone wolves. They are never part of larger organizations like the Dragon Wardens or Oranjen Knights, much preferring to apply their scale and claw justice to any issues faced by these local areas. There are rumors of Drakken Marken also being made by Dragons when asking them for a blessing of power to help in the fight against the Occult.

Claw Marken

The Claw Marken are somewhat uncommon, and appear like oversized feline Asha with more inhuman body proportions and a large shoulder frame. Claw Marken are considered the most clever of Marken, as even while completely unable to control themselves, Claw Marken are more prone to stalking and ambushing instead of thrashing prey with no subtlety. Claw Marken are relatively rare because sightings of them can easily be mistaken for overgrown Asha, and because Claw Marken usually go out of their way to avoid being seen, even while feral. Claw Marken are sometimes encountered in the deep forests of Daendroque and the Allorn Empire, particularly in the natural habitat of the Dawn Jungle Stalker, where the canopy is so thick that the brush is always covered in semi-darkness. Claw Marken are not known to thematically be related to any particular religion, though Khannar, the Ordial Cultist God, has some relevancy to them. Some of Khannar’s followers are Claw Marken, giving themselves to the bloodhunt of Elves, thus letting the power of their god channel through their Markenism. This, ironically, results in the majority of Claw Marken being Elves who have survived the attack.

Mental Changes

Markenism doesn't in and of itself bring about mental changes quite like Vampirism does besides the more obvious loss of patience, irritability and decreased temper. It is however important to understand the mental state a person with Markenism can be in, because it greatly affects how much they suffer from Markenism (or derive benefit from it). The distinctions of mentality are divided into three overarching categories.

Suffering Markenism, is when the person who is infected has no control over their condition, and is terrified of what they become and what they might do. This person cannot control when they transform, or what they do when they transform, and sees it wholly as something ruining their lives. They might seek to self-isolate to minimize the risk to others and the guilt, or desperately seek to cure themselves of the curse in whatever way possible. This is a common state of mind for those who were godcursed for violating a holy site, or those who were simply bitten. People who are Suffering Markenism can eventually transition into Tolerating Markenism, but only if they give up the search for a cure, or find some bigger meaning in it all that bites through the trauma of what they have done, or are capable of doing.
Tolerating Markenism, is when the person who is infected has some control over their condition but still routinely loses control. This person is able to both have transformations that they initiated on command and can control, but also involuntary transformations where they have no control. Those Tolerating Markenism are less likely to seek a cure, because it is often also related to their religion, and seen as their burden to bear, or simply something they have to live with if they have given up on the possibility of finding a cure. Tolerating Markenism is something seen frequently in those who are slowly transitioning to Harmonizing Markenism, particularly common among the faithful and those born with Markenism because of a parent.
Harmonizing Markenism, is when the person is fully in control of their condition and never lose control. This person is both able to initiate transformation on command, repress transformation, and control themselves completely while transformed. This is brought about by one of two things, either because they are devoutly religious and consider Markenism a gift from their god thus wholly giving into it, or because they are so vain and hungry for power that Markenism and its blessings becomes part of their identity, thus mastering it in the process by embracing it. Either way, they no longer seek a cure. It is important to note that they aren't 100% in control of transforming, they can still be provoked into transforming when they are stimulated to do so from the outside, but will be entirely in control when they do.

Mechanics

Mechanics describe the functions and specials of what Marken can do, and how their Marken Forms function. In general, Markenism doesn't actually confer any advantage to the infected, it is not an Affliction like Vampirism that warrants any kind of power boost, it is purely made up of Specials and Mechanics. Markenism should be chosen for the story potential and for the character aesthetics, not because it makes someone better in Combat Roleplay, because it does not.

Marken Form: Marken Form is when a person transforms into a Marken, either voluntarily or involuntarily. This is the term described when a person fully transforms to the fullest extent. When in Marken Form, a person is no longer able to speak in humanoid languages, only capable of howling or grunting (unless Halfvel Godborn), and cannot wield any weapon. Marken are still very capable of Unarmed Combat, possessing claws that count as and have the durability of steel weapons. This Transformation counts as a Disguise.
Halfmarken Form: Halfmarken Form is when a person transforms only part of their body (for example their head), or halfway transforms into a beast without the bodily proportions. This can best be described as "human body with animal head" or "animal body with animal head but human proportions", thus disregarding the more long-limbed monster proportions. No mechanical changes occur to the Marken in this Transformation besides appearance, though the Transformation does count as a Disguise.
Quartermarken Form: Quartermarken Form is when a person transforms only part of their body, but never into fully animalistic appearances. For example they might gain more aggressive body hair and claws, but never grow a tail, or change their head into that of a beast, they remain always distinguishable humanoid but with beastly features. No mechanical changes occur to the Marken in this Transformation besides appearance, and this Transformation does not count as a Disguise.
Marken Scent: Marken of the same type (for example Bear Marken on Bear Marken) are able to smell the Marken infection on another Marken while within 5 Blocks distance. It is not required to constantly Emote this at every encounter, there is a rough expectation of the burden on the person trying to identify another person as Marken to inform themselves if they are, and to also communicate OOC with the other person to ensure that discovery-RP is pleasant and satisfactory for both sides.
Marken Cursesworn: Marken, though some strange method of mind-control contrivance of the curse (that even applies to those who are immune to Control Powers or Mind Control), are never able to reveal the identity of other Marken either accidentally, or on purpose, or allude to them being Marken. Any attempt to do so is considered power-gaming, and bad for roleplay, as part of the success of Marken roleplay depends on only revealing the identity of Marken to specific people in controlled situations.

Deeplore

Deeplore sections on pages represent some hints towards potential areas where there is "more to discover" regarding the content of this page. This does not mean it is recommended to spam the Progression System with Progression Orders to very specifically hunt down these avenues, but more a reminder to keep an eye out when something hints in that direction, or something like this is used during an event, allowing your character to connect the dots.

There is an unusually large amount of Marken cults in Talahm Gall, a specific region of Gallovia where they still follow a pre-Old Gods religion of the Pagan Wolf Gods. This area is considered very dangerous, even for Imperial tax collectors, who avoid the coldest and deepest mountain valleys because of the known Marken population that does not look kindly on intruding outsiders.
It is speculated by some scholars that Cahalism originally started as a crude extrapolation of what Markenism was. The implication of this in comparison to specific Archon branches being made to combat the Occult that came about as an imitation of the Primal thing, is that Markenism is incredibly old, potentially dating as far back as the Seraph Era.
There exists old Gallovian Folklore of the Wanders, people who were able to form an intensely strong bond with their Marken significant other or relations, and were able to "see through the eyes of the beast" as it were. This folklore recounts many tales of Wanders transporting their mind into that of their beastly kin, using their wit to guide them in their rage.
The Pride Arken has an unusual interest, bordering on infatuation or obsession with the Marken. He has frequently been seen attempting to imitate or re-create the concept of a Marken through various iterations of Hellions or Pride Beasts, though there was always something off about them. The nature of his obsession is rumored to be related to the inherent prideful nature of Marken when they become Harmonious.

Trivia

Many people think a Bear Marken turns a person into an actual bear. Don’t be like that. It’s just a humanoid body with bear-like hands and feet, and a bear-head. It remains Humanoid in every other way.
Arken have in the past also given Arken Pacts, gifts, and curses to people that they called Marken or Marked. These have never been the same as actual Marken or God Cursed, and more often than not was just Arken being uncreative and mimicking pre-existing Afflictions.
Opiates and alcohol work as a depressant to a degree. Because many Marken involuntarily transform due to emotional distress or anger, opiates and alcohol are able to numb those preconditions. As a result, many Marken end up addicted to either substance to try and cope.

Accreditation

Writers	MonMarty
Processors	Scribbe

Last Editor	Birdsfoot violet on 01/9/2023.

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