The Corruption Vol I
The Corruption
7th of Honor 328 AE
Chapter 1: Introduction
Many studies have been conducted on the effects of the great deserts of Charybdis. One such study coming out of the Council of Wolves calls the effect corruption and has gone as far as to declare anyone who has this taint to be killed within the councils' lands. I will go over what is known as factual and then speak about the many theories that have come up throughout the era.
The most obvious fact is that anyone who enters the great desert will have some traces of corruption. This does not mean that the person will be imprisoned and killed by entering the Council of Wolves, but does show that simply being in the desert can affect one's health beyond the heat of the sun. It is unsure why just being within the desert does this to the body but we will go into that later. For those who have lived most of their lives within the Ana Desert, they have developed traits of corruption that clearly don't show up within the other peoples of Charybdis.
Chapter 2: Theories
The Scholars of Albatorum have debated that corruption was the effect of some great calamity at the end of the last era. Claiming that the forerunners placed great obelisks around the calamity to contain the arcane magics from destroying all of Charybdis. This theory focuses mostly on the wild magic of the land and that many are born with innate magical powers within their own bloodlines, allowing some to wield magic without the study of the arcane arts. This has been the most accepted theory as most sorcerers have some bloodline from the Ana Nomads.
The Guild of the Crescent Vale has been traveling the lands and has made deals with the Ana Nomads enough to have their own theory. They claim that so long as they stay within their mobile workshop when traveling the desert they find little if any corruption tainting the crews. Knowing that the workshops have very little magical protections they claim that this disproves wild magic as the source. Most of the top arcanists of the vale have come up with the theory that the land radiates energy directly from the sun itself. Claiming that the unrelenting sun god has scorched the lands for some unknown reason. They claim that corruption is nothing more than divine power seeping into the land and thus into its people.
The Council of Wolves have a theory that they claim is fact. The Fae pact that the council made during its creation was part of the reasoning of the laws that put anyone corrupted enough to death on entering the council's lands. The claim is that the Fae have imparted great knowledge onto them and that corruption is a sickness that will harm the land itself and its people. They have done everything they can to stamp out any signs of this sickness to include magical detection of its people and the visitors as they enter the great city. The sickness appears to have something to do with the blood of the person and is one of the many ways they detect those who have been corrupted. Yet they have not shared anything beyond this to anyone outside of the citizens and thus we treat it as a theory within my papers.
Chapter 3: The People's View
The above three views are mostly from the scholarly type or of arcane practitioners, and thus don't reflect what the common people think about the subject. Below we will go over how many of the nations of Charybdis think about corruption and if it impacts day-to-day life. We will broadly go over some of the kingdoms and allied states and try to give you a more grounded idea about the corruption.
Both the Northern Star Empire and the Kingdom of Wynn share a similar view on corruption. Each of the populations that live near enough to the desert that travelers or even Ana have visited smaller settlements near the borders. With each visit, the Ana Nomads have been shown to treat the others with respect and stay to themselves mostly. This has to lead many to trust that they won't do anything stupid, yet many will still keep their guards up due to past raids from the Ana during times of war.
The Shogunate has a very strict law system with dealing with those who are found to contain enough corruption to wield magical powers. So the people have come to treat anyone who has shown such to be an outcast and treated poorly if not ignored completely. This normally leads commoners who fall into this corrupted status as outlaws and with little chance to live within the cities and protections of the Session 2: On Shores of Gold Report. The only notable reason for someone with corruption to still work within the Shoguns courts is if they are of noble birth. This still forces them to take the worst of jobs and even then they are not allowed to have children.
The Ana Nomads and the Kindred Lands are the only two known people who see the 'corruption' as a blessing and not a curse. The common people have known to throw feasts in honor of those who show signs of wielding true innate powers. Where Ana places them in seats of power the Kindred places them into service to the people as frontline troops or hunting parties. Whether Shaman or Primal Hunter they are welcomed and allowed many benefits to staying within the tribes.
Lastly we will talk about the Council of Wolves and its people's views. Nowhere else on Charybdis is the deep hatred for those corrupted can be found. The many people having very little contact outside of the Council's lands have kept to the Fae pacts that they made long ago. Every last citizen has given up so many rights to live well that the idea of breaking the Fae Laws is a horrible idea. The fact that rewards are given to the people if they find someone with corruption has lead to bounty hunters and midnight raids outside of the lands. It is clear that no shelter is safe for corrupted people in the lands of the Wolves.
Type
Manual, Magical / Occult
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