The Scourge
Horrid the Scourge is, a blight upon the lands of men. It stands against the very nature of our world, twisting it in the images of demons and devils. Blasphemes crawl out from the abyss to consume without purpose. The land and its creatures become deformed and turn on themselves. The darkness inside us all wraps around and consumes us, leaving only broken forms of hunger and pain left in our place.The Scourge is a localized supernatural curse that causes living creatures to mutate horrifically and objects to deform into impossible structures. The Scourge's effects stretch almost the entirety of Dengoth, affecting Orium, Mowera, Zaria, and Darkel. As its point of origin, Darkel is the most affected landmass due to the dimensional tear into the Withered Lands from where the Scourge originates. Areas affected by the Scourge will become deformed and unnatural, such as buildings fusing together or the ground turning black and infertile. Living creatures affected by the Scourge will mutate into gruesome monsters and begin to lose the characteristics of their former selves, both physical and mental. They will gain supernatural abilities, like becoming invisible or controlling the dead, becoming what are called demons. Sapient beings who still survive with some modicum of intelligence left after their transformations are called archons, and are far more powerful and dangerous than regular demons.-Unknown
Manifestation
The Scourge manifests as mutations in the surrounding environment, including landscapes, architecture, plant and animal life, and most notably, sapient life. These mutations vary but are always gruesome and defy basic geography, gravity, and biology. Geographic and architectural examples include large areas of land becoming black, ash-like soil, large boulders levitating from the ground, caves becoming covered in fleshy vine-like growths, and buildings organically fusing together.
When the Scourge affects a living being, it will mutate the creature's body into a violent and gruesome-looking monster. First, it will begin changing the affected creature's mental abilities or five senses, causing them to hallucinate ghostly visages or think of abnormal desires, like the desire to eat wood and flesh. After this, it is here that mutations in their bodies will start to occur. At first, their skin will turn grey and sickly and they will begin to lose hair, teeth, and chunks of flesh. Soon, they will begin experiencing more extreme mutations in their body, such as extra limbs, eyes, sharpened teeth and claws, deformities resembling other creatures, and a near-complete loss of sensibility or reason.
At this point, one of two things will happen: either the affected will continue to lose higher mother skills and becomes an animalistic beast, or they will regain a part of their lost sanity. For the former, they will continue to lose any cognitive thinking until they are as dumb as the most basic of wild animals. In some instances, they will have unique magical powers like walking through walls or bending trees to their will. They will only have the singular goal of killing and consuming other creatures, even their own original species. These types of entities are called demons.
If a sentient being is affected by the Scourge and still retains intelligence, it is classified as an Archon. Archons are twice as dangerous as demons due to their superior intellect and deeply powerful magical powers. Such powers include the resurrection and control of the dead, the control of lesser demons and Archons, forcing the Scourge onto unaffected beings, manipulation of elemental powers, shapeshifting abilities, terraforming abilities, etc. The most powerful Archon in existence is Graevana the Wraith-Queen, who is capable of phasing through solid surfaces, summoning smaller, weaker versions of herself, and controlling lesser demons and Archons, among others. Beings who are turned into Archons lose all sense of good morality, being entirely focused on committing acts of sin and violence. It is unknown why the Scourge does not affect draconic species.
Localization
The Scourge affects almost all of Dengoth, stretching as far as Mowera. The continent of Darkel, however, is the most affected landmass due to the Scourge's origins from the dimensional tear into the Withered Lands. All of Darkel has been terraformed into a blackened wasteland-like region with very few viable resources. Other continents have had large sections of land terraformed into nightmarish realms due to either the Scourge or local Archons. The largest area of localized terraforming by an Archon is the Hallowed Coast in Zaria, which is ruled over by the Archon Graevana the Wraith-Queen.
Type
Metaphysical, Demonic
A List of Notable Demons and Archons: Demons:
- Kergillith of the Ravenous Flesh
- Eadric, Chained King of Hunger
- Faleron Nenus of Warped Wood
- Archon Graevana the Wraith-Queen
- Archon Rylor Votheth, the Gravelord
- Archon Raagol, Sundered Lord of Verora
Affected Species
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