Description
Curseborne is the colloquial English term for people who are under the effects of a curse. There are many curseborne living in human society, though their condition often forces them to live in partial or complete secrecy.
Curses are a form of magic that permanently alter the victim's body and mind. They are categorized by a curseborne's ability to inflict other people with the same curse, making it one of the few kinds of magic that can be performed without first making contact with Anotherworld.
Strangely, some curses existed before the Anotherworld Event in 2005, with many of these "original curseborne" living hundreds of years prior to the discovery of traditional magic.
Examples
Vampires
The curse of vampirism creates a cannibalistic urge in the victim, seeking out the blood, bones, and organs of their species to feed themselves. Vampires that routinely give into this urge gain access to a wide range of supernatural abilities, most notably immortality, as long as they continue to feed. Vampires are often compared to witches for their versatility; coincidentally, there are several long-standing feuds between witches and vampires, with the two factions being (literally) at each other's throats for most of Anotherworld's history.
A vampire's power increases with age, as do their weaknesses. A twenty year old human vampire will have no response to sunlight and can avoid feeding without consequences. At one hundred years, feeding becomes a necessity and sunlight can cause serious burns within an hour. At two hundred years or more, they must feed daily and cannot be exposed to sunlight without being immolated. Most vampires live to about 150.
Therianthropes
More commonly known as therians, the victims of therianthropy are partially transformed into animals under certain conditions, usually once a month or in the presence of a particular trigger.
This is not to be confused with Modern Therianthropy, the phenomenon of people spiritually or psychologically identifying with animals, though the Anotherworld Event did lead to many Modern Therians becoming Curseborne Therians after being exposed to magical energy. It is also not to be confused with people who can transform into animals at will; these people would be classified as Mythics.
Even when not transformed, therians' bodies are subtly attuned to their curse's patron animal, giving them supernaturally strong senses and physical abilities.
