This is the theme deck of King Macar, the Gold-Cursed.
Orphaned at young age, prince Macar of the Sultai Kingdom (Sultai Banner) didn't want anything to do with royal duties, instead choosing to be a great explorer. He would often take large ammounts of gold from the treasury in order to finance his travels (Treasure Cruise), leaving the finances and ruling to the court advisors.
During his trips he collected treasures from all over the world, including a magic lyre (Siren Song Lyre), an ancient shield (Shield of the Avatar), rare animals (Burnished Hart) and a Prophetic Prism found inside a Shimmering Grotto at the edge of the world.
This prism supposedly had the power to give the bearer glimpses of the future, so the curious prince held it in his right hand and peeked inside, only to see a bankrupt kingdom, ruined by his negligence through all those years. The image terrified him. How could he be so naive and careless?
He rushed back to claim his title as the rightful ruler and try stop the imminent ruin, but upon his return, King Macar realized the ill intent of his advisors, who had abused power and fled with the little that was left from the royal treasury, making the situation even more dreadful. The commoners were starting to riot and Macar didn't know what to do to remedy the situation.
His despair attracted the attention of a powerful demon (Tombstalker) who presented himself to the King as a golden armor (Barbed Battlegear) with wings (Bladed Pinions) wearing the royal sigil (Sigil of Valor) at the Radiant Fountain in the middle of the royal palace.
At first, Macar was suspectful of the golden creature before him, but the demon convinced him he was an ancestor spirit that was there to help. He told Macar to use the Prophetic Prism once again, this time thinking about the future if he accepted the offer. The visions now presented were those of golden statues, Golden Urns, Gilded Lotuses and gigantic piles of gold. The deal not only would avert the crisis, but also make him the richest of kings.
Seeing the glow of greed inside Macar's eyes, the demon quickly spun a goblet out of thin air (Clearwater Goblet), drove it into the fountain and offered it to the king.
- Drink from this and everything you just saw shall become true.
Without hesitation, the newfound King drank from the goblet, only to hear the noise of the possessed armor dismantling itself onto the floor. The liquid inside the goblet strangely didn't taste like water, even though he drank from that fountain since he were a little boy. It tasted like blood. Macar quickly let go of the goblet and immediately realized it was now made out of pure gold. He spit once or twice trying to get rid of the pungent taste in his mouth, but it was too late.
At first, only his left hand would transform things into gold. Macar made the kingdom rich again and hired the most skilled artisans to make him a golden guardian for the treasury (Custodian of the Trove). However, the more he used his power, the faster he was consumed by Greed. He wanted more and more. A Gold-Forged Sentinel, an army of Gold Myrs and soon enough the power to transmute objects into gold spread from one hand to another, which was discovered in an unfortunate event when he Gilded his favorite pet lynx into a golden statue by the throne.
Eating became a hassle. He tried to contain the spread, hired the best witches, doctors and shamans but no one could help him. He tried to summon the ancestral spirit that gave him the power, but the demon obviously never answered.
As soon as the royal subjects discovered the king's secret, they started sneaking into the king's chambers while he was asleep in order to turn turn their personal objects into more valuable golden versions, slowly being consumed by greed themselves. Gold value then started to drop since it became so common in the Kingdom, and even with mechanical, reinforced security (Etched Champion), people continued to invade the castle trying to earn gold. Sometimes an accident would happen and a villager would never come back. Soon, the Aurification process became violent, transforming things near King Macar even without direct contact.
Seeing the entire kingdom turned into gold, Macar sat one last time in his throne, one hand on his head, hungry, thirsty, lonely, desperate. The demon presented himself in front of him, now in his true, dark, slightly glistering golden form.
- You are of no use to me anymore, mortal.
And with a snap, every single golden item became ash, except for the amulet Macar held, with a grip so tight the chains cut his hands, the only memento he had left from his mother (Avarice Amulet).