The Corruption
The Corruption is a rather interesting topic. It first appears in the Prach story in the prologue, taking the form of a black, misty being which rises out of the fissure near Ryft. Now, in case you want to keep some lore reveals in that story unspoiled, I would stop reading here if I were you. Now, this incorporeal form was not always the one it took. Before it was formless, only latching onto other things, manipulating, scheming.
To fully understand the corruption, we have to take a lore detour. The precursors, because I don't have anything better to call them as of yet, are the first sentient race that really got to space travel in the galaxy. They were around a Type I at their peak, but understood a lot more about the universe than most do. They knew of the being that was there first, and the one that was destroyed by it. Eyr, as it was called, was shattered into billions of pieces and spread across the universe. The precursors one such piece of Eyr, that, unlike most, communicated with them regularly. The specifics aren't very important to this article, but I'll go more in depth later.
Now, the precursors discovered that other planets have fragments of Eyr much like theirs, and they started experimenting with seeding life and communicating with these fragments. Their masterpiece would come to be known as Prach. They built a planet. (It isn't too different from most planets, but it will leave scientists scratching their heads on the exact details of planetary formation. After all, the best way to build a planet is by using a bunch of smaller ones and smashing them together.) Now, why build a planet, when there are already so many others out there? The answer is that they needed a specific aspect of Eyr. The fragments have something called their aspect, which is determined by the planet in which they are embedded. The precursors wanted the aspect of destiny to avert their future. Fittingly, it may also be what began their end. For when they trapped the fragment in the planet, they also accidentally created something monstrous. In forcing an aspect upon a fragment, they created something imperfect. The aspect did work mostly as intended, however, the corruption was born as a result of this imperfection.
The specific mechanics of the corruption are rather interesting. It itself is theorized to be a secondary aspect of Eyr on Prach. That said, it is much different than most. For one, it is the only aspect that can consume others. Now, consuming Eyr is kind of complicated. There's a reason that he didn't die when the Singer sang his song. Most of his soul is kind of nonphysical, so the corruption can't just slurp it up in one go. However, when this soul is imbued in the life born on the planet, that is when the corruption has its chance. Once that life dies, it can consume the soul and become more powerful. When that life is alive, if the corruption is somehow let into the soul, then that life may lose control over themselves and give up their free will to the corruption.
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments