Ascension

Vessels can't last forever...

He noticed it when he was pulling on his clothing for the day.
It was only a small sliver, a barely there sparkle of red and green on the pad of one of his fingers. He had to be imagining it, he wasn't that old was he? And yet as he looked closer at the oddly colored spot on his finger, he realized with growing dread that the surface was shiny and icy cold, and oddly wet to the touch. That was Vitralus on his finger. That was Vitralus growing from his skin, beginning to spread.
Casimir Kerrich was ascending.
Casimir Kerrich was going to die, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Ascension is the final stage of life for a Vessel of the four Elder Gods. The mortal body of a Vessel, be they esseni or draconic, cannot handle the amount of additional Celestial magic in their bodies. Especially wearing the Relics, they are exposed to far more of the highly mutagenic and powerful magic than any other mortal on the planet.
Ascension is an unexpected side effect of prolonged exposure to Celestial magic. The Gods desire to use Vessels as their voice and as a seat of their power. The Celestial heeds the desire, and over time begins to change the mortal's body into something more similar to the Gods true forms. However, given that the mortals are by very definition not Divine, the transformation will turn them to inert, unmoving statues of Vitralus.

Transmission & Vectors

Ascension is not contagious, and only affects the Vessels of the Elder Gods.

Causes

Ascension is caused by a Vessel aging. After a certain point, a Vessel's body can no longer handle the Celestial magic in their bodies.

Symptoms

Symptoms of ascending manifest in the form of the body beginning to turn to the substance known as Vitralus. This starts at the extremities, most Vessels note their fingers or toes beginning to change first. As the Vessel continues to age, the vitralus will spread until they are an inert statue.

Treatment

There is no treatment for ascension. One God researches feverishly and frantically for a cure or treatment at all, but even after thousands of years, he has found nothing.

Prognosis

Once a Vessel begins to ascend, there is no saving them.
Gods who find their Vessel to be ascending will immediately seek a new one, allowing their old Vessel to relinquish their duties. The Gods will often offer their Vessel mercy in the form of death rather than force them to become a statue.

Prevention

There is no prevention for ascension.

by CrimzN

Type

Divine

Origin

Divine

Rarity

Common