Curse of the Forsaken

There has been a curse on the world for almost a millennium for reasons unknown to mortals. Known as the Curse of the Forsaken, countless civilizations and races have fallen victim to it, with the lucky few having fallen to ruin or gone extinct. Despite the best efforts of nearly a millennium of geniuses, researchers, healers, and arcanists, there has been no progress on either a cure for the curse or the origin of the curse. For most of the world, it has simply become the way of life. Thanks to the Blessings of the Gods, those who would be affected by the curse are unaffected by it.

The Forsaken and the Effects of the Curse

Those who are victims of the curse are known simply as the Forsaken. It is unknown whether they are called that because of the curse's name or if the curse is named as it is due to how its victims seem to be "forsaken" by the gods, the world, and by what makes societies and civilizations what they are. Regardless, the Forsaken are an affliction on the world that has caused entire regions to be lost and ruined and have taken the lives of many who encountered them. Often likened to a disease or corruption, the curse does not immediately turn those affected into a Forsaken. Instead, it takes root in one's body and wears away at one's mind and soul until they can no longer resist.
Once one has become a Forsaken, they exhibit several changes. The most important and notable one is that they are hostile to any non-forsaken people, even toward those they knew before the curse. This hostility is intense against symbols of the gods and anyone carrying one. Destroyed statues and altars to the gods often signify nearby Forsaken. They also seem to lose the ability to understand Common and have their mental abilities reduced. In exchange, however, they seem able to sense the surface thoughts of other Forsaken, with some being able to read deeper and share memories. Aside from this, the appearance of the forsaken changes slightly. A strange shifting black tattoo-like pattern appears on their body, writhing like it is alive. Furthermore, in the presence of light created by a cleric, celestial, infernal, or divine source, their shadow emits a dark smoke similar to smoke from an oil fire.

The Unchanged

Humans. Tieflings. Genasi. Constructs. What these races and few others have in common is that, somehow, they are unaffected by the Curse of the Forsaken. A massive mystery that has further muddled attempts to study and break the curse. Some believe it is simply because they are not worthy of the Gods' patronage or the curse's attention. Others claim that it means they are superior to those that need the blessing. And a dangerous few speak of how the curse is their creation to oppress and eliminate the other races. As expected, these speculations cause tension and strife in areas where these races mix with others. Thankfully, the fact that members of these races can be and many are blessed, as well as the fact that none of the religions of the gods support or even spread such ideas, minimize their influence over people.

The Unforsaken and the Preserved

Becoming a Forsaken is not the end. Most live on as Forsaken for the rest of their life, living more primitive lives in communities of other forsaken. However, there are a lucky few who can escape this fate. These would be the Unforsaken and the Preserved. As the name implies, the Unforsaken are those who were Forsaken; however, a True God or a powerful Eidal saw a reason to grant a strong enough blessing to remove the curse, returning their minds and sense to them. Individuals like these often become champions of the deity that blessed them or take on a different important role. They are also scarce as the deities with enough power to pull it off seldom look closely enough at the material plane, if at all, to notice desirable or promising Forsaken Individuals. 
Those referred to as the Preserved are Forsaken and somehow protected from most of the curse's effects, allowing them to live normally within certain conditions. Such protection is generally granted by Eidals and Demigods, who are not powerful enough to remove the curse and must resort to suppressing it as much as possible. A prime example would be the race known as the Iron bound, who following the death of their God, rely on the power of something known as Blessed Armor or their Second Skin crafted by the Eidal of the Black Forge. With their Blessed Armor on, most of the curse's effects are suppressed, allowing them to live normal, civilized, and developed lives amongst the rest of the world. Other Preserved might rely on a location or other similar items.