The Curse of Blood

Long ago during the early ages of Moxie, there was a farmhand by the name of Arthur Cross. He was a Clown who lived life fast and loose, getting his cheap thrills wherever he could. A Moxie user among Marks, he'd use his otherworldly powers to get out of work whilst tricking the Marks he worked with games of chance, obviously rigged in favors.

But one day, Arthur crossed the wrong Clown...Pun only slightly intended...

Preying upon what he perceived as a naive Mark who immigrated from parts unknown, he paid the ultimate price. In a fit of anger once she had realized what he had done, she showed herself to be a Moxie user as well. But unlike Arthur, she had powers beyond extreme sleight of hand maneuvers and minor mind reading abilities.

In her psionic grasp, the world turned black around them and her voice echoed like thunder. As her words boomed across the plains, she had placed a curse upon Arthur and all future Cross family members. A madness that would eat him alive if he didn't slay another Clown and absorb their blood.

Laughing it off as some kind of scare tactic to make him stop with the pranks, Arthur didn't buy into it at all, even boasting to the old hag that he'd continue his swindling till the day he died.

But Arthur would find out the hard way that the hag wasn't pulling his leg.

Over the coming weeks he'd have strong headaches, notable bouts of anger and violent tendencies like getting into fights and even assaulting a fellow farm hand during a fit of rage. Was that old hag right? Had Arthur been cursed? Surely it must've been a coincidence...Maybe a changing of the seasons was affecting him? It had to be...Right?

But then, it happened.

Walking home from the pub with a friend who he'd work with on the fields, Arthur felt...off. Something was brewing within him and it felt like it was ready to burst. And just as he made it home, everything went dark.

The next morning, Arthur had awoken to a horrible sight: His friend Samuel, violently slain before him, with Sam's blood stained onto his clothes.

Arthur thought he was in a nightmare, but the event was very real as flashes of what had happened the night before came to him. Angrily charging at Samuel like a beast, beating him to death with his bare hands like the wild animal he had become.

Standing in the aftermath of carnage, Arthur had no other option: He would hide the grizzly fate of his friend and accept his new reality. And it would have to start further with disposing of Samuel's remains. Hiding the ravaged body far out into the fields under the cover of the following night, Samuel's corpse was found at sunrise the following day.

Arthur might've gotten away Scot free, but his mind was plagued with thoughts about the future.

As the weeks passed, the violent tendencies Arthur had been feeling in the lead up to Samuel's killing had ceased. But for how long? When will the urges return? Who will be his next victim? If he killed someone sooner rather than later, can he stave off this urge for longer? Was this his own madness, or the urge speaking to him?

With the voices and intrusive thoughts rising, Arthur ultimately choose his fate. To embrace the dark side. The real catalyst of this decision was the realization he had. While this might've been a divine punishment for his misdeeds in life, was it really his fault?

He grew up poor with a bad hand dealt to him every step of the way. Bad parents. Bad friends. Bad mentors. Bad jobs. In the grand scheme of things, he only did what he had to do to survive.

So if he has to kill to keep himself from going mad...Well. That's just how it's going to be.

The Generational Effect

Eventually Arthur would marry, raising a child later in life. And as they were born into this now cursed bloodline, they too would experience the bloodlust later in life with the cycle repeating generation after generation. And much like natural evolution of Clownkind and the world around them, the curse would change as time passed. Sometimes it would be a permanent evolution, others would be limited to one or two generations of the Cursed. Some of these mutations include, but are NOT limited to: The Bloodlust activating on full moons like a Werewolf's transformation and most rare of all, the Bloodlust SKIPPING a generation.

But the biggest change came in the early 19th century, and the Mutation created by the then most recent bearer of the Curse, Monty Cross.

By that point the Cross family had been known in the underground for their Cursed lineage and were common amongst their fellow assassins and hired guns, albeit far from the standing they would have later in life. Monty was among them, or at least he would be in due time. A brilliant mind and adept, he found out about his fate from his dying father at a young age. Aware of the Curse that's waiting to activate within and the power of Moxie, Monty had a theory:

If Moxie was essentially one's life energy weaponized, could he do the same for the Curse?

Through vigorous mental/physical training, studying multiple martial art disciplines and letting his body temporarily succumb to the full effects of the madness, Monty did it.

By using his Moxie to manipulate the aura generated by the Bloodlust, Monty was able to apply the aura to his blood! And by using his Moxie to manipulate it further, he was able to not only weaponize the Curse, Monty was now capable of holding back the Bloodlust further and could even draw out Moxie from his victims, should they be a user themselves of course.

Now with his theory proven, he could finalize his next master work. Taking his knowledge of combat and killing techniques, Monty created his own martial art that can only be used with the Cursed Blood: The Cross Family Killing Arts. Techniques and maneuvers that, true to its name, are used primarily for killing one's opponent, or at least leaving them viciously maimed and is meant for the eyes of the Cross family.

Armed with his killer knowledge and fighting acumen, Monty elevated the Cross family name from tragic killers to Deities among men.

The Curse Today

As it stands, the Curse is still active within the family, the most prominent bearer being Maximilian.

A former assassin who later found success in life as an entrepreneur, Maximilian had the Curse activated in him at an early age by his father, the late Bishop Cross. His training began at age 10 with the next eight years dedicated to learning the family's murderous ways. Max would also be the youngest member to kill, having slain his first target at age 14. For reference sake, the Curse usually activates in one's later teenage years.

At one point, Maximilian attempted to go straight for the sake of his then wife Aline, a former assassin from Armenia who left her previous life for a career in acting. For a while it looked as if Max would be able to keep his word. But urges kicked in again and it wouldn't be long until he found himself embracing the violence yet again.

It's also worth noting that Max has a son, Brennan. And much like Bishop before him, Maximilian planned to activate the Curse while he was young. But Aline was able to stop him before he could act upon it. She had a very public divorce with Max and managed to win custody of Brennan in the proceedings. Max has had no contact with Brennan since and it's unknown if he's bearing the Curse. There's always that chance that it skipped him after all.

Elsewhere in the family tree is Simon Cross. Simon is a simple, happy-go-lucky sort who detests violence and would rather spend him time as a dancing foul. Unfortunately, the Curse is active in him and he's fully aware of it, having succumbed to the urges in a manner not too dissimilar to Arthur all those generations ago. Having left his home of Van Nuys, California, he's currently living on the East Coast of the United States. He hopes that a change of scenery might help with whatever this is, all under the supervision of his uncle: Maximilian Cross.

Certainly his dear old Uncle can help quell the beast inside him. Right?