Ethical Sheen

A twisted image...

Ethical Sheen is the condition that manifests in an environment when a gate is created to an ethical metaphysical plane. Often referred to as The Thousand Hells and The Thousand Heavens, the ethical planes are a byproduct of morality on the part of mortals. These planes are foreign to our reality and should they bleed through, the landscape around the wound will begin to transform itself to appear more like the ethical plane that has infected it.

Ethical Sheen is classified as a Universal Malady, sicknesses in reality itself. Unlike the other maladies, ethical sheen is simply a reaction to ethical planes. Other maladies spread more deliberately, have an epicenter, and also have an active source that is causing the malady. Regardless of this fact, ethical Sheen is incredibly destructive on the world and there is no better example than the reaction between the world and The Infernum.

The first case of ethical Sheen was reported after the fall of Ozlith. The infection spread rapidly into the surrounding territories, bringing demons with it. After The Battle of the Godsgrave, there was nothing left to stop its spread. Other cases of ethical Sheen have either been eliminated by closing the gates to the metaphysical plane responsible for the malady, or are kept secret in the case of Lartasia with the Lumingrid.

Exposure

Ethical Sheen has a toxic quality to it, the only exception being the Lumingrid. Once one enters an area affected by any other kind of Ethical Sheen, they immediately began to feel its effects. In some cases, such as with Embersheen, the malady creates toxic fumes that slowly bring harm to any who take it into their lungs. In the case Aquasheen, the humidity in the air is so high that creatures light enough can 'swim' in it. The longer one stays within it the more likely and more severe a case of pneumonia becomes. Spend too long here, and you may drown on the air you breathe.

Aerosheen features wind so powerful it rips the nutrients from the soil, causing rapid desertification of the land around it. In this state, the sandstorms that the high winds create peel the skin from bone due to the force in which each grain of sand is thrown against flesh.

Embersheen

One of the Thousand Hells, The Infernum is a plane enveloped in fire. The hellscape is populated by demonic creatures that feed on war, consumption, and never ending death. When The Infernum, or any other ethical plane that uses fire to represent itself becomes present in an environment, the effect is referred to as Embersheen. The ground turns black and chars with cracks forming in the ground. The crack glow red-hot due to the metaphysical energy that is pulsing through it. The horde of The Infernum, wants to recreate the world, painting it in eternal flame. The world's environment is hostile towards these creatures as it is.

Glimmersheen

Another example of Ethical Sheen is the Lumingrid. This vast expanse of empty, porcelain ground appeared in the outlands of Lartasia. When one of the seven gods of Ozlith left his people to their fate, he routinely engaged in self flagellation, and eventually died. This act spilled his eldritch blood on the earth, transforming it. The ground is white and firm. Forests of Ozolithian Mold grow, serving as the only flora that can survive. As the god's blood continued to fall, creatures began to rise from the porcelain fields. This created the alabastra and many other less intelligent forms of life.