White Vein

"Spurn the wicked tide of lies, for fear educates slaves into obedience." -- The Heeled Man, the Lux Vitalian Codex.

"It was in the well. Gospel Blight. We - I... I don't know how long it had been growing in there. I remember taking a drink and needing to lay down. An hour passed, and I felt no better. Suddenly, I felt dread. Dread and panic. I stood up and leaned by head out the window, but I saw the sky had turned orange, and what I now assume were falling leaves from nearby trees had turned to fiery rocks. All around the village were people I once knew slaughtering each another.
I felt like the apocalypse had come to us. I went back to my bed and started reciting passages from the Lux Vitalia codex, hoping The Ancient One would take my soul before I had to suffer. The last thing I remember was the baker trying to climb in through my window with a bloodied axe. Then I saw red.
When I came to, I was found in the forest by a forest ranger. I was covered in blood and still feeling delirious, but by then I knew the worst was over."

— Anonymous first-hand recount of the effects of White Vein.

White Vein (also known as Gospel Blight) is a white fungus that grows on damp and/or organic surfaces. The most common surfaces it grows on include raw wood, plants, or stones and minerals constantly subjected to wet conditions. White Vein also thrives in humid conditions due to condensation, allowing it to absorb moisture and expand. As it grows, it secretes a powerful liquid that solidifies into a semi-transparent film and allows the fungus to 'strengthen' and continue growing. In some cases, White Vein has been known to grow to settle and expand over still water.
White Vein is known for the powerful hallucinogenic properties its liquid has that causes temporary religious psychosis. People exposed to the fungus see religious significance in otherwise mundane activities, hallucinate destructive occurrences of an apocalyptic levels, and are prone to violent outbursts.

Basic Information

Ecology and Habitats

White Vein thrives in hotter regions of the world, but is known to grow in wet and temperate locations such as Krezmany and colder regions of Iys'myria. It starts growing in darker areas, but once it has plenty of film it will expand onto surfaces exposed to the sun.
White Vein is considered to be a weed of sorts in fungal research for its ability to grow almost anywhere at any time. This includes most moistures and liquids (water, saliva, blood, etc.), which it will then absorb and create the film to expand over. Although White Vein grows unabated in the wilderness, it has been observed growing in the decomposing bodies of the recently deceased, in town wells, and over entire bodies of water given enough time.
White Vein will continuously grow unless actively prevented, either with ice or fire. The only time it is known to stop growing is in the colder periods of Oszmorthorn's seasonal cycle, or in colder climates. During winter, it dries up and cracks. When the temperature becomes tolerable once again, it will set to repairing itself before continuing to grow.

Civilization and Culture

History

Initial exposure to the fungus was first experienced by early central-regional Human settlers, when it was harvested believing it had properties allowing them to contact the deities of the Lux Vitalian pantheon. In short time, as the early theocracies evolved, church officials ruled that any restraints and attempts to subdue clerics and ministers using White Vein to contact the Vitalian deities cease as they believed that there were concepts and revelations 'we have yet to understand', and that they must 'be free to understand them'.
'Death by religious fervour' became a leading cause in small towns, or wherever clerics and ministers travelled. Many town militia and the occasional city guard were arrested and executed when they tried to intervene or even killed those they could not control. The ruling on their cases were overturned when a new edition of the Vitalian Codex was introduced in Ealdfold, suggesting that the 'realms of the gods and man should not collide, for fear that we would anger The Ancient One and his children'.
Incidentally, White Vein was made a taboo 'recreational drug', but was not outlawed. It got its secondary name of Gospel Blight when it came to light that Human theocracies began employing agents to induce fear in their detractors and victims. Although Theocratic rule has since been disbanded, it is not uncommon to still witness its effects in enemies of the Lux Vitalian churches.

Scientific Name

(Elven: Mor'atefleik; Erden: Aln-Oetorek; Goblin: (Wirvenic: Nebbelstand; Seureithan: Ab Shok))