Evermold Parasite Infection

Evermold is a fungal parasite found in the Scarlet Jungle. Its spores can sometimes be found water, but the fungus requires the protection and nutrients of a host to fully mature. The parasite will symbiotically protect its host during its development, but will eventually kill them after about thirty-five years.

Transmission & Vectors

Evermold is a fungal parasite that is found throughout the Scarlet Jungle. It is often found in rivers or ponds, but it can only survive a few weeks without a living host. If a living creature becomes infected with the mold through tainted water or the bite of the parasite's host, they will spend the rest of their life as a new host to the mold.

Symptoms

The primary symptom of the infection is the mottled bluish-gray scars that form whenever a host recovers from injury. The parasite will try to keep its host alive by slightly accelerating their natural healing abilities. The scars that form can be messy as the mold tries to stitch its host back together, but it will keep them both alive.

Treatment

There is no cure for infection. The evermold spreads itself throughout its host and becomes an inseparable part of their body.

Prognosis

Once its spores have been consumed by a host, evermold takes about thirty-five years to fully mature. During this time, it will act symbiotically with its host. The host provides a safe environment for the fungus to grow, while the parasite will help to mend any injuries they sustain.

However, when the evermold fully matures it has no need of its host and will consume them from the inside. This causes violent spasms, vomiting, and internal bleeding in the host for several agonizing days before they eventually die. The mold will then release its spores into the surrounding area, potentially finding their way into a body of water so that the cycle can begin again.

Hosts & Carriers

Wild animals often become the hosts to the evermold after drinking tainted water or eating a smaller host. Their bite can occasionally spread the mold to others, giving wild animal attacks an additional level of risk.

Prevention

To avoid the parasite, it is advised not to drink any water from rivers or ponds in the Scarlet Jungle. Wild animals can also be hosts to the fungus, so it is vital to check for signs of infection before hunting or eating jungle animals.

Cultural Reception

For most, the evermold parasite is one of the many dangers of travel throughout the wild jungle. Although it is not as immediately dangerous as a wild animal attack or disease, infection begins a ticking clock toward an inevitable gruesome death.

Type

Parasitic

Origin

Natural

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

The Commencement Ritual

Unlike most people who are understandably wary of the parasite, the valehunters intentionally allow themselves to be infected. During the commencement ritual, an initiate will drink from a bowl of water that has been mixed with evermold spores. After completing the ceremony, they will officially be recognized as a valehunter apprentice.

This practice is partially motivated by the regenerative abilities of the evermold. Demon hunting is a very dangerous profession, and being able to recover more quickly from serious injuries can mean the difference between life and death.

The ritual also symbolizes the valehunters' embrace of their own mortality. They believe that by setting a time limit on their own lifespan, a hunter will accept the inevitability of their death and can instead focus on the tasks of life ahead of them. It is also a proof of an initiate's full commitment to the lifelong mission of a hunter.