Classification: Global Quasi-Religious Governing Authority
The Cura Supernorum is the global (though centred in and most powerful within Argona) organization dedicated to regulating Peculiars and all things supernatural. Established in 2012, it functions as church, state security apparatus, and civil registry — a fusion of quasi-religious authority, intelligence agency, and bureaucratic control that governs nearly every dimension of Peculiar existence.
Its public mission is to protect society by regulating Peculiars, enforcing the Codex Argonis, and neutralizing supernatural threats like Dogmas through vigilance. The agency presents itself as an embodiment of Liyuen's will, caretakers of the supernatural and guardians of public safety in a transformative period marked by societal division and fear of the supernatural.
The Cura's secret objectives include: controlling Peculiars to prevent rebellion and maintain societal order, researching Venerite to harness its energy for advanced weaponry or further genetic enhancements, and weaponising Dogmas to create controlled supernatural threats and, if possible, leverage them for military purposes
The Cura operates as a quasi-religious, hierarchical institution with multiple divisions: The Praesidium Liyuen for teaching & training Peculiars. Regulatory Division oversees Peculiar registration and branding, conducted at Supernorum headquarters in Esrossa. Intelligence Division handles surveillance, data collection, and covert operations, including monitoring Peculiar communities in Altown and tracking unbranded or recusant individuals. The microchips in the Peculiar brand are a key tool for this division. Operations Division manages paramilitary activities, including PART, which handles supernatural threats.
The Cura's operations are partly funded by Siso Corp, ensuring access to advanced technology.
Cura Supernorum is led by Primarch Caius Ulyss, a utilitarian strategist who prioritizes power and control. Caius views Peculiars and Dogmas as tools for a greater agenda. Eliàna Korsakov, head of PART, oversees the team's missions and reports only to Caius.
The Cura's public image as a protector contrasts with its oppressive policies. Normies favour the Cura as a protector against Peculiar "threats" and Dogma attacks. The elite/Patricians in Balun sometimes host events and balls to fund and endorse the Cura, benefiting from its control over Peculiars and Venerite resources. Normies' fear of Peculiars aligns with the Cura's narrative, ensuring public support. Most Peculiars resent the Cura, viewing registration, branding, and suppressants as violations of their autonomy. Rogue Zero, an anti-Cura faction in the Underdistrict, actively opposes the agency, distributing propaganda, creating havoc or pranks to make a statement. However, some Peculiars choose to give in to the system as a path to legitimacy and safety.
The Cura leverages Magitech to maintain its authority and combat supernatural threats. Detonators are effective against Dogmas' rapid healing and resistance to conventional firearms. It's a standard for Cura operatives, especially PART. These include Venerite firearms like energy bullets, blades or explosives, amplifying Peculiar abilities in combat. InterCells are used to detect Peculiar brands under UV light or monitor Venerite exposure for efficient tracking and identification. These scanners are used during MAP Tests and field operations. V-Shots are ability suppressants used to weaken Peculiars when arrested or captured.
Beneath the Primarch sits the Quinque Sapientes (the Five Wise Men) — the five wealthiest families in Argona, each patriarch formally titled "Sapiens." It functions as a plutocratic advisory council whose wealth has been sacralized, quasi-clerical status within the Cura's governance structure. This fuses Argona's oligarchy and theocracy into effectively a single apparatus: capital and clergy operating as one indistinguishable system.
Beneath this leadership tier operate several distinct functional arms:
THE PRAESIDIUM LIYUEN
Praesidium Liyuen is a segregated academy in Argona, functioning as an academic-monastic sanctuary. It is ostensibly dedicated to teaching and training individuals afflicted with Peculiarity, a condition described as a "biological trauma" that grants extraordinary abilities or "gifts," but which is portrayed as a burdensome and potentially dangerous affliction. However, beneath its benevolent public image, the Praesidium operates as a mechanism for control, exploitation, and containment of these "Peculiars," effectively turning them into state-owned assets. The name "Praesidium" evokes protection or guardianship (from Latin roots meaning "fortress" or "defense"), while "Liyuen" ties it to the Goddess of Arcana, Liyuen. The institution is closely intertwined with Siso Corp and Cura Supernorum.
To fully understand the Praesidium, it's essential to distinguish between its carefully curated public narrative.
The Public Narrative: to the general public of Argona, Praesidium Liyuen is depicted as a "miracle of modern compassion." Through broadcasts and the Primarch's sermons, it is marketed as the "Great Sanctuary of the Second Chance." This framing positions the Praesidium as a humanitarian response to the dangers posed by Peculiarity, emphasizing safety, healing, and societal integration. Key elements of this narrative include:
- Treatment of Peculiarity as a Medical and Social Issue: Peculiarity is framed as a "biological trauma" that endangers both the afflicted individual and society at large. The Praesidium is presented as an academic-monastery where Peculiars are housed for their own protection. This removal is spun as an act of mercy, preventing self-harm or accidental harm to others due to unstable powers. Public messaging stresses that no one should bear this burden alone, aligning with themes of communal support and divine intervention from the Goddess Liyuen.
- Role of the "Model Minority": These Peculiars who have graduated from the Praesidium are publicly called the "Model Minority." Their graduations are a testimony to a successful attempt to tame or harness their traumatic abilities. This portrays them as essential contributors to society, rather than captives or tools for exploitation. The narrative avoids any mention of weaponization, focusing instead on how these model workers ensure the city's survival.
- Funding and Philanthropy: The institution is funded by Karver Sisori, the head of Siso Corp, who is depicted as a philanthropist. His contributions are labelled "Empowerment Grants," which provide access to resources such as Magitech that help Peculiars manage their volatile abilities and survive. This funding is marketed not as profit-driven exploitation but as a charitable investment in empowerment, ensuring even the most unstable individuals can lead productive lives under the Praesidium's care.
- The Motto and Promise of Liberty: The academy's motto, "From the Storm, Law. From Law, Liberty", reinforces the public image. To Normie families, it promises that Peculiars are being civilized and taught to become "law-abiding neighbours." The "Storm" represents the external chaos that birthed Peculiarity, "Law" signifies the structured control imposed by the Cura Supernorum, and "Liberty" implies eventual freedom through re-integration into society. However, the narrative conveniently omits that Peculiars rarely, if ever, leave the state's service, suggesting this "liberty" is illusory and conditional.
These public narratives are disseminated through media, religious teachings, and everyday symbolism, fostering a sense of gratitude and security among citizens.
The Sigil of Liyuen: Central to the Praesidium's identity is the "Sigil of Liyuen," also known as the "Arcane Eye," which serves as both a religious emblem and a tool of control. This symbol is ubiquitous in Argona, appearing on Cura robes, Paladin badges and Peculiar brands. Symbolic Elements:
- Outer Ring: A perfect circle symbolising the Goddess's protection, enclosing and containing chaos.
- Storm-Cross: Two jagged lightning-bolt lines intersecting at the centre, representing the Storm's destructive power as the origin of all abilities and a reminder that chaos fuels strength.
- Eye of Liyuen: A vertical, almond-shaped void at the intersection, containing a floating "Pupil" (a crystalline sphere). This "eye" embodies eternal vigilance and oversight.
- Three Rays: Three upward-pointing needles emerging from the top, signifying the three tenets of the motto: Tempestate (Storm), Lex (Law), and Libertas (Liberty).
- The Branding Process: Upon entry to the Praesidium or manifestation of peculiarity, Peculiars undergo a "branding" where the sigil is permanently applied to their skin. This is not a mere tattoo but an identity marker. The sigil's omnipresence ties the Praesidium to broader cultural and religious narratives, making resistance seem like heresy against the Goddess.
The Private Narrative: While the public perceives the Praesidium as a school of hope and restoration, the "Branded" experience it as a site of oppression. It's an academy where Peculiars are treated as "human weapons" or resources, their abilities commodified for state and corporate benefit. The "re-integration" into society comes with being perpetually in service, owned by the system.
The "Eye of Liyuen never blinks" symbolizes unrelenting monitoring via the Cura system to measure, regulate, and potentially disable abilities, ensuring compliance.
The Praesidium instils a sense of being "watched, measured, and owned," stripping autonomy under the guise of salvation.
THE PALADINS
Classification: Cura Supernorum Militarized Law Enforcement
The Paladins are the official enforcement arm of the Cura Supernorum's authority over the citizens of Argona — the institution's fist. As part of the Cura's Intelligence Division, Paladins are the mechanism by which that governance is made physically felt on the street, responsible for maintaining public order and regulating Peculiar activity throughout Argona.
Origins and Institutional Position
The Paladins were formalized as the Cura's enforcement body in the years following the Storm, as Argona's population swelled with displaced peoples from across the globe and the newly discovered Peculiar demographic needed — in the Cura's own framing — "regulation." Their founding charter, insofar as one is publicly known, positions them as protectors of both Normie and Peculiar citizens, whose authority extends particularly heavily over Peculiars who are subject to surveillance, checkpoints, MAP certification requirements, movement restrictions, and numerous regulations governing the general use of their abilities. They answer, through a chain of command whose upper rungs are well known amongst the police force, ultimately to the Primarch.
Uniform, Equipment, and Identification
Paladins wear matching navy blue and black uniforms — long, flared sleeves, high collars, black trousers tucked into reinforced boots. Their signature, most recognizable feature is a long, gold, V-shaped visor that completely covers the eyes, feeding live tactical data (biometric scans, HoloSmart data, threat assessments) directly into the wearer's field of vision while simultaneously denying the public any human eye contact with the person underneath. This is not a cosmetic choice. The visor's function is explicitly dehumanizing by design — a Paladin is not meant to be related to as an individual person exercising judgment, but as an extension of the Cura's institutional will, faceless and interchangeable.
Standard field equipment includes Detonators (for high-threat engagement) and sidearms for standard patrol. Aerial and rapid-response units deploy via Strider Mk. V fleets, capable of high-altitude pursuit and near-instantaneous deployment across sectors. Joji drones — many of them under Jeenah's technical oversight, though only a fraction under her direct real-time control — serve as the Paladins' networked surveillance layer, scanning crowds, tagging fleeing Peculiars during unrest, and feeding data back to command in real time.
Function and Jurisdiction
Officially, Paladin duties include:
• Checkpoint enforcement — verifying registration status, Arcane Eye branding, and MAP compliance at street level, particularly dense in Peculiar-heavy districts like Altown and the Sector Belt.
• Security Protocols — the mass-evacuation lockdown procedure triggered during major incidents (structural damage, public violence, Dogma sightings), during which Paladins seal buildings, herd civilians to designated shelter zones, and — critically — deploy Joji-assisted "spotlight nets" to specifically identify and tag Peculiars fleeing the scene, even when Normie civilians are simply escorted through without similar tracking.
• Black-market suppression — periodic raids on clandestine operations, though enforcement here is inconsistent and widely understood to be selectively applied, avoiding disruption of Cura-tolerated economic activity.
• MAP-test-related enforcement — escorting failed test subjects to Turris, and periodically re-evaluating registered Peculiars whose behaviour draws Cura attention.
Paladins are not equipped, trained, or authorised to handle Dogma breaches beyond containment-level threats, Mawborn incidents of any kind, or any situation requiring expert resolution. These are redirected — through channels Paladins themselves are not read into — to PART. This jurisdictional gap is the precise reason PART exists as a separate, unregistered apparatus. When Paladins encounter evidence that a situation exceeds their authorization (as at Hexoset), the correct procedural response, drilled into them, is immediate deference to PART.