Aberration
Aberrations are the corrupted counterparts of the Harrow, created when the already-accursed Harrow succumb to the crushing weight of hopelessness. In losing their fragile grasp on resilience, they transform into grotesque and diverse monstrosities. While the Harrow strive to live harmoniously with their telekinetic gifts and their communities, Aberrations spiral into chaos, abandoning their former selves in favor of twisted and singular obsessions.
Forms of Aberrations
The physical manifestations of Aberrations vary drastically, reflecting the depths of their despair and the nature of their corrupted focus. Examples include:
- Nothic Aberrations: These bear the closest resemblance to the Harrow, with emaciated forms covered in chitinous armor. Their singular, unblinking eye glows with malice, capable of glimpsing fragments of a creature's secrets or soul. These creatures often fixate on knowledge, stealing it obsessively to fill the void within.
- Beholders: Floating horrors with multiple eyestalks, each capable of unleashing a unique and devastating magical effect. Their paranoia drives them to isolation or dominion over others, perceiving every creature as a potential threat or rival.
- Gibbering Aberrations: Fleshy, amorphous beings with multiple mouths that babble incoherently. These creatures embody hunger and madness, consuming everything in their path while their gibbering drives others insane.
Traits and Abilities
The abilities of Aberrations differ significantly from the telekinetic gifts of the Harrow, often evolving into more alien and destructive forms:
- Psionics: Some Aberrations develop powerful psionic abilities, capable of twisting reality, dominating minds, or projecting illusions that disorient and terrify their enemies.
- Unnatural Physiology: Aberrations often possess monstrous adaptations, such as limbs that regenerate grotesquely, mouths that spew corrosive bile, or eyestalks that unleash beams of elemental devastation.
- Auras of Fear or Madness: Many Aberrations emanate an aura that unsettles or unhinges those nearby, reflecting the chaotic despair that created them.
Aberration Communities
Aberrations are as unpredictable in their social structures as they are in their physical forms:
- Hermits of the Void: Some Aberrations retreat into desolate caves, abandoned ruins, or the dark depths of the ocean, shunning all contact. These hermits are often consumed by obsessive rituals or fixations, such as counting grains of sand or constructing bizarre, useless monuments.
- Grotesque Colonies: Other Aberrations band together to form nightmarish communities, ruled by the strongest or most cunning among them. These colonies often infest places of power, such as ancient temples or magical nexuses, warping their surroundings with chaotic energy.
- Parasitic Symbiosis: In rare cases, Aberrations manipulate or enslave other species to serve their needs. These symbiotic relationships are always exploitative, with Aberrations feeding off their hosts' resources, magic, or even sanity.
Impact on the World
The presence of Aberrations is a curse upon the regions they inhabit. Their lairs often become twisted, otherworldly landscapes where the natural laws seem to break down. Plants and animals mutate, and the air hums with an unnatural tension. For this reason, adventurers and scholars alike consider Aberration infestations to be among the gravest threats to civilization.
Despite their monstrous nature, some Aberrations retain fragmented memories of their time as Harrow, leading to tragic moments of lucidity. These fleeting recollections, however, only deepen their despair, driving them further into madness.
