Gloom

The Gloom rests like a heavy fog on the land. It permeates every facet of society in Highlorant. It chokes the cities and villages, the last bastions of rational mortality. The monsters thrive in its embrace. It has been this way for as long as anyone can remember, but it is known that there existed a time before it. Remnants of the old world give us clues as to what life must have been before the Coming of the Gloom. But that world is gone, and the gloom demands our utmost respect, lest we find ourselves foolhardy prey to its remorseless chill, and enter ourselves into the ranks of the Gloomstricken.

Manifestation

The Gloom is normally an invisible gas that has mixed with the world’s natural atmosphere. It has a few exceptions to this rule though:

• Some parts of the world have such a heavy concentration of Gloom that not even Anisaratha can dilute its effects. These areas are called Gloomhavens. They appear as thick, opaque clouds of a brackish purple and black color.
• When Gloom begins to take effect over someone, their eyes cloud over in the same brackish purple and black color, and the thin wisps of a lilac fog can be seen coming out of their mouths.
• Light and color are muted in the gloom. Imagine turning down the brightness and saturation of an image until shapes and colors start to meld together.

Localization

The Gloom spreads across the known world for as long as anyone can remember, though at one time it is known that it did not exist at all. Its influence can only be held at bay by boiling Anisaratha into a vapor. When produced at a large enough scale, this neutralizes the Gloom in the atmosphere and makes it safe to inhabit. Cities and villages dedicate entire industries to this practice, known as Cleansing.

Also known as: Bleak, Dusk

Type

Natural