Soul Sickness

Soul sickness is a mental disease that directly results from an internal or external force tampering with one's soul, hence the name, and is deeply tied to Dark magic. It can effect many people for a variety of reasons, is well known, and the consequences can be terrifying. Soul Sickness played a major role in the Cyanni War due to how it affected Tolagos.

Transmission & Vectors

Though Soul Sickness is generally associated with the corruption caused by doing evil deeds or using certain dark magic spells, which is what twisted the dark wizard Tolagos from his original mindset, it is rarely transmitted in this fashion. The most common form of soul sickness actually comes from Fallen Apogees and their spawning pools. The aura they release can sometimes infect nearby individuals, and prolonged exposure to the liquid they leave behind as they walk can also cause it. The most common victims of Soul Sickness are actually brave and honorable soldiers who routinely face down Fallen in battle, not heretics practicing dark magic.

Symptoms

Though severe cases of soul sickness (where most of the soul is lost) can be tragic, its base symptoms are more mild. Early-stage soul sickness results in slight personality changes, head aches, running nose, and absentmindedness. Many of these can be treated with simple medicine and amulets, though it can only be reversed through a powerful restoration spell. Advanced soul sickness is more severe, resulting in insomnia, major headaches, and significant personality changes for the worse. It can corrupt an individual to do increasingly bad things and act similar to someone suffering from sociopathy. However, soul sickness can only get as severe as the amount of soul taken from them. If an individual gets a little bit of soul sickness it does not progress unless more soul is lost.

Prognosis

Soul Sickness, if it erodes enough soul for any reason, results in the affected individual either dying or transforming into an Apogee (usually into a Fallen, but occasionally into other types depending on the circumstances). This transformation is difficult to reverse and is horrifying to witness, though it is relatively painless. Over the course of about an hour the affected Avani, as their soul loses too much matter to maintain itself, magic rushes into the empty vessel. This magic concentrates so much that the internal organs are ripped apart and turned into the strange slime that Apogees are made of. It eventually begins to come out of any orifices in the body, such as the eyes or mouth, and near the end their skin itself dissolves into the magical matter inside. Upon transformation the individual will be gone, replaced by the thoughts and desires of the Apogee they turned into.
Depending on the type of Apogee they may then turn on those who had once been their friends and family. If not killed immediately, they may kill or infect dozens before being put down or escaping into the wilderness. Many tragedies have happened because of irrational loved ones hoping to save the Apogee until a sufficiently powerful magician is around to reverse the transformation.

Cultural Reception

Soul sickness is an ever-present concern for most societies. About 1 in 100 Avani will be infected in their lifetime, and 1 in 5 of those will eventually become Apogees. Those with mild soul-sickness may never be noticed, but severe soul sickness is a serious concern. If someone is discovered with severe soul sickness they will be confined until it can be reversed, and it is mandatory to test whether it was from dark magic use or another source. By law, if soul sickness results in a transformation the victim must be killed unless they are turning into a Risen, Spoken, or Forgiven. However, some are unwilling to do this and cling to the hope that their lost love one can be saved. Victims, though not hated, are feared by the rest of society. Everyone knows about what happened to Tolagos, and everyone has seen the destruction caused by Apogees.

Type

Mental

Origin

Magical

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Uncommon

Affected Species

• Avani