Soulrot

"Externally, the afflicted seems fine at a glance, but in their eyes is seen deep boredom and anxiety. They cannot take their eyes from objects of desire, and are afflicted with every temptation in excessive degrees. The cure I prescribe is burning, to cleanse their flesh of the malady, and may the Creator offer them His mercy."

— The Medical Journal of Doctor Jeremy Saelson

Transmission & Vectors

The malady is transmitted solely through Human hosts, and flows best in places of worship devoid of Luminous magick. In the third stage of infection, it begins to spew out their orifices in an unseen miasma, which transmits the malady through the air.

Causes

Daemons inflict the malady on Humans, usually seducing them by exploiting their deepest desires. After first contact, the Daemon who inflicted the malady has the soul of the victim bound to it.

Symptoms

The victim of the malady will experience a heightened level of desire, loss of enthusiasm and interest in daily tasks, depression, suicidal tendencies, homicidal tendencies, self mutilation, self loathing, narcissism, peeling skin, aversion to sunlight, initially heightened sensitivity (degrading into lowered sensitivity, requiring more stimulation to trigger the electrical and chemical responses of the body), vomiting, paranoia, obsessive-compulsive behaviors, sexual deviancy, social ineptitude, and death.

Treatment

Abstinence from excess is mandatory, as this will help starve the Daemonic parasite feeding off the victim's soul, and hopefully eject the creature's influence. If possible, the attention of an Ecclesian priest should be sought, as Luminous magick can purge the ailment completely and efficiently.

Prognosis

The first stage is rather mild, with few physical symptoms; it is a primarily behavioral stage, urging the victim to indulge in greater excess and degeneracy.

The second stage begins to afflict the body itself; the victim, in pursuit of greater excess, forsakes sleep, and becomes lethargic, suffering from sleep deprivation.

In the third stage, the victim is completely unmoved by all but the most excessive of vices; when the victim is not engaging in his or her dark desires, he or she is emotionless and blank, removed from the world, and aloof in all scenarios; it is also in this stage that an unseen miasma begins to seep from the victim, enabling airborne infection of other hosts.

The fourth and final stages come either very rapidly or over the course of many years, the former being slavery to the Daemons and the latter being death, as the soul is finally consumed by the Daemons who gave the infection.

Sequela

Most physical symptoms attributed to the malady are, in fact, a result from the actions the malady drives the victim to engage in. The psychological impact upon the victim results in more self destructive behaviors, as the victim's conscious attempts to reconcile their vile actions with their previous morals; the malady takes advantage of this cognitive dissonance to make the victim inflict harm upon themselves instead of seeking solutions to their condition, then urges them to ease the pain of their harm with further indulgence in excess, fueling a tragic spiral into more extreme acts of self destruction.

Affected Groups

Any Human is susceptible to the ailment, if they are not careful.

Hosts & Carriers

Humans uniquely have been afflicted by this condition, though it might be possible for other species, such as Shönai, Aranai, and other sentient, non-Domvaric species to contract it; there is no evidence for this, but it is better to assume that the malady can afflict any of these soul-bearing species to varying degrees. It can be argued that the Nagai of Nag'Ashar may have suffered this affliction, but the very public and overt displays of degeneracy and excess indicate otherwise, as Soulrot promotes a more secretive and anti-social variety of indulgence.

Prevention

Regular attendance of Ecclesian masses, adherence to Ecclesian tenets, and open confession and repentance of sins. Various Arcane artifacts are also known to ward off the Daemons who might inflict the malady.

Epidemiology

Societies that tend to promote secrecy in one's personal life are most vulnerable, as those accustomed to secrecy are more acclimated to hiding a spike in indulgent behaviors and psychological degradation.

History

The first record of the malady was in the state of Salvation, in the country of Mëria. It was recorded by a vagrant priest of the Ecclesia Luminis Dei, named Benedict Walker, who had come from the kingdom of Lindon on a mission to restore faith in the people of Mëria, many of whom had forsaken the Faith after the Mërian Civil War. He had come upon a small village near the Southern border of the state, when he found that, even in the guise of a layman, people on the street would not come within several yards of his presence. By the time he had reached the land, the malady had seized a vast majority of the population. It is unknown, then, how long the malady had been present among the populace, or how quickly it had spread, and it soon broke out in the neighboring states of Borealum and Östland; he malady has not grown beyond these borders.

"It is a plainly daemonic ailment, plaguing both body and mind, and ending in only slavery of the soul and death of the victim. In this bleak land, they will find no help, for they do not talk to one another about their sins, and hold all in secret, feigning to talk to the Almighty in the secrecy of their beds; they are all doomed."

— The Diary of St. Benedict of Mëria

A similar ailment plagues the land of Südhland in Anglëa, and is contained to that population.

Cultural Reception

Victims of the condition, once its existence was made known to the people of Salvation, are treated with overt scorn, and are often prosecuted as witches, then burned or hung. In Borealum, the condition is treated at Ecclesian churches, and more often than not, it is curable there, and the same is done in Östland, though it took a much longer time to convince the Östlanders to attempt this solution.

Type

Magical

Origin

Magical

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired & Congenital

Rarity

Common

Affected Species

• Morai (Men/Humans)