ATHARUS (atha-rus)

Written by Jdebro

Summary

Atharus (unknown, “Wounds Of The Soul”) is a highly feared sickness that is notable in that it attacks the person’s very soul directly, with the side effects manifesting on the body as a sign. Atharus is not a natural-born disease at all, but a unnatural virus that has alchemical origins due to its creation by a sect of magi during the Age before the Calamity.

Origin	Type	Resistances	Method of transmission
Astoria	Unnatural virus that affects the soul	Immune to treatments & cure that are natural-based.	Infection can be caused on physical contact with an atharus blight, a curse, or a dark spell at a target
Lethality	Infectivity	Visibility	Cure
Without a supernatural treatment, it is sure to kill to infected.	Highly infectous to anyone with a high amount of impurity on their soul, & to other beings who has a supernatural-influenced nature.	Those infected by Atharus show visible signs that are: blackened veins, pale skin, intense physical weakness,	The only cures are: cleansing of impure sins, Jeyal’s Waters, prayers of Yavah, or someone who is blessed by Yavah to remove the soul virus

Symptoms

The symptoms associated with Atharus include have their veins blackened in different parts of the body. Different parts of the skin will begin to fade in patches, which will increase as their soul is further wounded. Victims can also suffer increased visions of depression, seen as the worst versions of their darkest moments in their life.

Causes

Atharus can be caused primarily by the malicious actions of a magic user, who cast a spell meant to affect the target’s soul. Atharus is also caused by the attraction of the spiritual virus to the sins of a person, which can happen faster if the person who is close to a Atharus blight has committed many grievous sins. Atharus can also be passed down a entire bloodline, which will be activated through predetermined markers can denote possible manifestation when conditions are met.

Effects

The effects of Atharus include both short-term & long-term effects that can leave the victims truly impaired. The short-terms effects of Atharus are:

• Victims can also suffer increased visions of depression, seen as the worst versions of their darkest moments in their life.
• A feeling of not being whole due to their soul being fragmented piece by piece

The long-term effects of Atharus are far more serious that are the most feared by many. These serious effects are:

• Severe torments of the victim’s mind as they heard a thousand voices wailing
• Intense physical weaknesses to where the victim could end up bedridden
• Pieces of a person’s identity going missing in their mind as their soul undergo more fragment
• Painful death

Treatment

Due to the alchemical & magic nature of Atharus, only cures of a spiritual nature will cure the victims of Atharus. The known cures are magic users, The cures found at the Halls Of Jeyal, and someone who is blessed by Yavah to have the power to innately remove the Atharus blight such as Champions & Gebbor.
Wielders of magic could remove the Atharus via magical rituals designed to remove soul-based aliments. They would begin by activating their magicks to assess the victims soul, attempting to find the location of the blight of Atharus. From there, the magi would invoke their spells to begin the process of removing the blight from the soul. This would be depending on the user’s magical power as they must both uproot the blight, while defending against any retaliation the blight sends their way. Then the magi involved must attempt to cleanse the soul of the effects of the Atharus blight, which be a long process depending on the advancement of the damage to the victim. While this route can be taken, it does come with a few cavaets that have to be considered. The first is that the magical healing process it entirely dependent on the magi’s capacity in their power & skill, and not all are well-verse in this. The second is that even if the magi are able to remove the Atharus blight, the cleansing may not be completely thorough. The third is that any pieces of the victim’s soul lost may or may not be fully recovered, due to the cost to doing so being too high even for the magi to pay.
Anyone who is either a Gebbor or a Champion can have the innate ability to remove the Atharus blight under the power they were blessed with, although doing so would take immense concentration on their part. He or she would activate their powers to pinpoint the infection point, then start the process of healing themselves of Atharus through a combination of harnessing their powers & spoken prayers. Depending on the overall power of the Gebbor or Champion, the process can happen immediately or taken some time to finish. Any soul fragmentation that took place from the Atharus blight will be reversed, and the missing soul fragments called back to the person.
The only known true cure for anyone who is not a Champion or Gebbor, and those who cannot receive their healing from magic, is the one found among the Hall Of Jeyal, a healing sanctum that was founded by a follower of Yavah Grand Healer Jeyal. The disciples of Jeyal can completely remove the Atharus blight & restore the fragment pieces of the soul back to the victim via three ways:

1. Prayers To Yavah: Followers of Yavah in the Halls Of Jeyal can pinpoint the affected point of the victim’s soul, then the Follower of Jeyal will invoke their Yavah-blessed healing authority to have the blight of Atharus removed completely. During this process, the victim’s soul undergoes cleansing of all effects of Atharus while their body receives restoration back to their normal state before becoming infected.
2. The Waters Of Jeyal: The Waters of Jeyal are waters that are touched by the Healing Virtue Of Yavah, endowing them with immense healing effects. Atharus victims drinking this water will undergo immediate healing of all aliments of Atharus, with their soul first being cured of the unnatural blight. Then their body receives restorative healing of all short-term & long-term effects.

Type

Supernatural

Origin

Engineered

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Unique