Cloaks' Curse

Withered Faces and Dark Cloaks

Your brother has been acting strange as of late. He seems sleepless, he occasionally freaks out over nothing, and he keeps staring out into the distance. It's as if he's waiting for something.

— Leila of Fisfen

Cloaks' Curse is an extremely rare mental illness that can affect all geprati regardless of the individual's overall health or age. The cause of the condition has yet to be determined, but many of those who've witnessed someone afflicted with the condition believe it to be the work of the aberati—a common explanation for much of the unknown and horrible aspects of the world. All victims of the strange and mentally tormenting condition see mysterious cloaked figures in the distance, both during the day and asleep in their dreams.

Symptoms

All who suffer from the condition have seen the cloaks. These mysterious figures haunt the victims wherever they go and even their dreams aren not safe from their presence. Those affected by Cloaks' Curse have also been observed standing on elevated terrain and staring out into the distance, usually the sea or a large field.

Dreams

Those with Cloaks' Curse are more likely to remember their dreams. From what people have said, the dreams start off as a normal day would start, giving the victim a false sense of security and making them believe that a normal day has begun and that they're awake. As they continue to live out their everyday life in the dream, the victim will begin hearing whispers and seeing shapes move at the corners of their eyes.
Eventually, they will notice that all the other people around them will have stopped moving, their stiff backs turned to the bearer of the Cloaks' Curse and their head facing downwards. When the victim moves close to see what's wrong, they see that the faces of all the people they knew and loved are those of withered corpses. Should the victim see themselves in a reflection, then the same dead face would stare back at them.

Reality

When the victims are awake, they will occasionally see figures wearing dark cloaks in the distance. Usually, they appear on cliffs, the roofs of tall buildings, and other such elevated positions. A longtime victim may also wake up and expect to see withered faces like they do when they sleep. The confusion regarding what's real or not means that some victims are scared of looking at people's faces.

Type

Mental

Origin

Natural

Rarity

Extremely Rare

Affected Species

• Geprati