Dehrei Sengua

The Forsaken Blood

Oh how we curse your name, oh father of the night, oh bearer of the spiteful! We curse you as you have cursed us, our wretched and immortal blood! May you writhe in agony as you feel our neverending hunger! May you dread to see your twisted, blasphemous reflection! May you die like an animal as you suffer the most hellish pain!

— excrept from "The Lament of Eternal Hunger"

Dehrei Sengua is a blood disease that increases the lifespan of the infected, at the cost of constant hunger, mental distress and physical weakness. The disease was engineered in secret by Elder Ohari in his laboratory, inside Exarhi University, after offering decades of his life towards the research of immortality. Dehrei Sengua is the precursor to vampirism, the common name given to those afflicted with it; while the former weakens the body and mind of the infected, the latter is more stable and can enhance the infected, improving their capabilities and offering them new innate traits. This is possible because bothe Dehrei Sengua and vampirism alter the magical array of the being directly, forcing the body to mutate accordinly.

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A person afflicted with Dehrei Sengua (also known as a forsaken) can be easily identified from their pale, almost gray skin color, their erratic movements and gestures and their adversity towards sunlight. Because of the disease, their skin provides significantly less protection; sunburns are a substantial threat for them, as their body will be forced to heal the burnt skin - oftentimes crippling them for a couple of hours. Another distinctive trait of a forsaken is their long, sharp teeth that help rip the meat off their victim's bones. They can use their teeth to suck the blood out of their victims as well, although, usually, a forsaken will completely devour their prey, given enough time.

One can consider vampirism an evolution of Dehrei Sengua, as the two afflictions interact with the body in a similar way; one is simply improving the body, while the other is weakening it. In practice, vampirism exists above Dehrei Sengua and can overwrite it entirely - if a vampire bites a forsaken and sucks their blood, the tarnished will convert into a real vampire themselves. Vampires are considered a danger by all the kingdoms, as they are known to feed off intelligent species (with a preference for humans and elves). Forsaken people are thus the target of hunts and raids, since killing them is the safest way to prevent the creation of more vampires and forsaken. Many consider this extermination as blessing the forsaken with death, allowing their otherwise immortal bodies to rest.

Should you encounter a forsaken, the safest decision is to get away and alert the nearest guards or soldiers. If none are nearby, running away is always a good choice. If you decide killing is the best option, always pay attention to their head and mouth; even if you get cut, the blood infection can spread only through biting. The body of a forsaken will regenerate any damage at the cost of its other capabilities; slashing their skin and bleeding them out, while not life ending, will still incapacitate them for at least a day. One direct cleave is required to kill them - severing the head from the rest of the body will disrupt both the physical body and the magical array.