Feytouched(Minor)

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Causes

It took us a while to figure out what caused it, what folk are now calling the touch of the fey. We only noticed within the last few years that the barrier between our realm and theirs was breaking down, quite literally fading to mist, allowing a bit of the energy that permeates that place to seep into our own world--in the air, the dirt, and the water--forming together as intimately and irrevocably as a man and his own blood. We still don't know why the fey energies latch on to the souls of the living, but at least now we have a start in the right direction.

Symptoms

The touch that takes the old isn't as bad as what the newfey go through--it's not a complete transformation of body and mind. It's something a bit more subtle. The afflicted tend to experience symptoms around sixty years old, starting with visions, glimpses into the fey realm. The rest of the symptoms vary between each of the races. At the moment, the physicians in Lorian have only found the touch in Humans, Elves, and Gnomes, but I think I've seen the signs of it in more than a few halflings.

Humans

Feytouched humans are the hardest to identify, but also the least dangerous. Usually. Most of their changes are physical. They become more slender, spry, like elves in a lot of ways. It even goes so far as to extend their lifespan by a few decades. Oldest feytouched human I saw was a bard named Lyra. She lived until one-hundred thirty-something before she got caught up in the ash sweep, otherwise she might have lived even longer.

Elves

Feytouched elves scare the hell out of me, I'll admit it freely. They still look nearly the same, but stretched, limbs too long, jaws distended, faces twisted just the slightest bit. They look a bit like shadows at sunset, too damn lanky and too damn tall. Oh, and they have no shadows. It just ain't right, if you ask me.

Gnomes

I think gnomes might have it the worst. While humans get a few decades added to their lifespan, gnomes went the exact opposite route. It's as though they get a sudden burst of life, of potential, becoming stronger, more agile, more intelligent, so much more that it's hard to put to words, but when that passes they just...poof. Gone. A popping sound, a gentle mist blowing away on the wind. Then nothing. The longest I've seen an obviously feytouched gnome last was six days.

Halflings

I've seen a few halflings suddenly vanish, leaving behind a portal that evaporated moments later. I believe this portal led to the fey realm. I'll have to do more research on that.

Treatment

No known treatment. In the worst cases, the afflicted are banished to the Ashlands. We'd send them to the fey if we could, but our ancestors closed that path long before our time and it's probably best if we don't reopen it.

Type

Physiological

Origin

Magical

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Uncommon