Born a Monster

352 252 – Sin of Wrath

There may be some confusion about the Black Hound, as the term applies to both a captain, whom I referenced earlier, and his ship.

“Where does the black wood come from?” Kismet asked.

“I would guess it is only a veneer, or a stain perhaps.” I said.

“Group up with me, and learn, young mortals.” Madonna said.

We grouped up, and she showed us the view through her reticule.

[Alignment: Demonic, Brass Sands, Vizier of Pain.]

[Primary Sin: Greed, twelve points, rating four effect.]

[Secondary Sins: Envy, rating three. Wrath, rating two. Vanity, rating one. Lust, rating one. Gluttony, level one.]

[Nexus of Taint: rating 1 Chaos.]

.....

“Behold the beauty.” Madonna told us.

“I will need boots.” I said. “And we will all need fresh hammocks and sheets.”

“I’ll go tell Gamilla. Are you sure we need THIS vessel?” Kismet said.

“It’s a major strike against them; ask her if we can find another.”

“Husband.” Madonna said, taking my arm in her own. “I keep telling you that Sins provide power, and Taint even more. Besides, the aura of the vessel will hide my own.”

“That... ship... has two sins at higher rating than myself.”

“Let me teach you sin magic.” she whispered. “At least the basics. Even a bawling idiot like you could master Gluttony.” She poked me in my stomach, which wasn’t all that extended.

It tickled slightly, and my intestines roared for food.

Madonna chuckled. “Your gut agrees with me. Come, go with your gut.”

“I don’t have...” I started to say. Damn you, Truthspeaker oath!

“You have the points. Do you have the nerve?”

If a devil over ten times my age wanted me to learn something, I was all but certain I didn’t want to know it.

“Let me get a new Resolve trait, first?”

“Stick in the Mud, perhaps? Ooh, Cowardly Watchfulness. You could split that off into Watchful, for the Perception sub-statistic.”

“I was thinking of Less Distracted, under my...”

Never be in a group with someone when they sweep their Reticule over you, not unless you are prepared for a cold review of yourself, through the lens of their priorities.

[Attention Deficit Disorder.] her System informed her. [Best sins to corrupt with: Wrath, Lust, Greed, Gluttony.]

My sin wheel ran a rating three Vanity, rating twos across most of the board, with ones in Envy, Greed and Sloth, and a flat zero in lust. My Sin armor was one against everything other than Sloth, which was somehow still at zero. Take that, Madonna’s stupid Sin Processor.

Or whatever that ability was called.

“Oh. Oh.” she chuckled. “Priceless. All of the insults and clever barbs I’ve devised, and it is the TRUTH that causes you emotional pain?”

She broke right into laughter, including slapping her leg.

I’m not certain I would have caught her if she’d been in danger of going over the railing. A quick dip in the ocean might have been good for her.

But I opened up my Attention Deficit Disorder within my System.

It seemed to me that I was always buying stuff, and never saving. [Less Distracted] seemed like it might help with that, and with how [Curious] seemed amplified by...

Laughing. Gods. I could amplify traits with each other.

There was even an entire Trait Synergy subsystem for a mere thirty points. Traits could modify more than one statistic! I grew excited.

Someone was drumming her fingers on the tip of my nose. Oh, right. I should probably focus on what Madonna was saying, since we were in the middle of a conversation.

[System Error. No such weakness found: Attention Deficit Disorder.]

Okay, System. But don’t think I’ve forgotten about that. I’ll be back later for that purchase.

“I am back.” I said.

“It would be better if you said you were sorry.” she said.

“I am a Truthspeaker, and literally cannot lie to you.”

Her smile rivaled that of Dimmihammas, only white rather than sun-gold. “I am glad that it was you, and not my planned wealthy Vernician admiral, who became my husband and pact-bonded. Whatever your flaws, it is never dull to be around you. Now, what your honored teacher was telling you was that while Resolve will help you with the sin ratings themselves, Sin Magic is still magic, a subset of the Occult, and thus you want Charisma with the sub-statistic Magical Aptitude if you are truly worried about controlling it and avoiding side effects.”

“Not Lore?” I asked. Dang it, I needed to boost Lore, too. It seemed I was always working on my stats, when I had the points, which was almost never.

“The magics I want to open to you are older than the Lore stat.” she said. “Why do you think both Eldritch and Occult fall outside of the Arcane-Divine divide?”

“So Song Magic is also that old?” I asked.

“Husband, I love how your mind chooses its own path, but FOCUS. The answer to that is both yes and no, and I’m not going to get into that right now.”

I tilted my head slightly, and she sighed.

“Fine.” she said, “but only the simple version. The Chorus, the power used by the deities, is older than Lore, perhaps older than Systems themselves. The Songs of Shaping predate Lore. Song Magic, as you’re likely to learn it, is younger than Lore. Bardic and Skaldic versions are absolutely after. Can we focus on sin magic now?”

Wait. Had I agreed to learn sin magic?

“We’re about to get into a rowboat.” I said. “What can be learned in that time?”

“Okay, you should have unlocked a cultivation method called Taint Lore.”

“It’s level one. Fourteen of thirty toward next level. Four points available.”

“Only level one? Husband, I thought you were born Curious. Anyway, do a query on Occult classes you can use those meager points toward. There should be one called Sin Adept.”

“Found it.” I said. “I’ve only a few points already invested in it, though.”

“That’s all right, husband. Find abilities of that class that interface with your existing class abilities. As it turns out, you may have instinctively unlocked one or more of them.”

“My time reduction abilities?” I asked. “How is efficiency related to Envy?”

“Later, husband! Vanity is your highest ranking sin. Find something ... aaah, you’ve found something. Something that interests you.”

“My aura strike power, Jaws of Wrath. It ... it can actually be enhanced by Wrath.”

“Most attack powers can.” she said.

“It’s fifteen points base, though.” I said. “That seems rather expensive.”

“You could step it back a level, to where it was only a plus one.”

“Wait. I’ve found it. If only when I’m actually angry...”

“Don’t!” she snapped. “That’s a trap! You only get back a third of the points, and I assure you even Kismet doesn’t spend that much time truly pissed off. Look, you can step it back to plus one. The cost is only five points, which means you only lose three by selling it back. It’s small enough that you can test it, see if it actually works for you.”

“And, if you REALLY like it, it’s only fifty points to buy that as an inherent for all your magics.”

I had a realization. “That’s what you do to your hellfire.” I said.

She shrugged. “Close enough. Look, I’d teach you a defensive magic, but those.”

“I have it.” I said. “I can’t afford it, but Better Than Your Curse is empowered by Vanity.”

She looked into my eyes, which resembled black grapes when reflected in hers.

“No. Or rather, later. One ability at a time. What is it you truly want?”

“What I truly want is to explore the world, to see everything it has to offer.” I said.

“Dolt. And don’t tell people that, especially since I know it is true. Sin magic. What do you want to harness sin magic to do?”

I blinked. “I can enhance my Resolve with my sin ratings. Other statistics as well.”

“That’s expensive, husband. You’re better off using normal traits until you pass human maximums.” she said.

Wait, was Madonna actually being helpful? Madonna?

It had happened, but only when she...

“What do you gain from me using sin magic?” I asked.

“What? How did your brain even get THERE? Why did it take you so long?”

She looked toward Yvettesport.

“I’m about to reveal a weakness. If you tell others, I’m...”

Go ahead, I almost said. “Your secrets are yours to keep.” I said instead.

“No. No, this one is yours, and you WILL help to carry it. I actually do like you, and I want you burning in hell beside me, just to keep you near. And... And I want you to want that, too. Not because I care about what you want, but because I want you to change to accommodate my desires. Do you understand?”

.....

“Not in the least.” I said.

“A romantic until the end. Look, your sins are just sitting there, unused. You are the spawn of Titans, and I think you’ve had enough time with Kraken brood to understand that.”

Somehow, she knew the instant I purchased the augment for Soulistics damage (for Jaws of Wrath).

“Excellent.” she took a step back, folded her arms across her chest. “Now. Husband. Let’s talk about why you even feel the need for an attack that can damage me. And why you kept it a secret.”