The... Black?

The Dark. The Black. The Blackrot.

The "Black" is a mysterious... something that several Gifteds have mentioned seeing or feeling. The most common mentions of it have been from Imaginers and Seers, but other powerful Gifteds have claimed to have come in contact with it.
Reports and descriptions vary slightly, mostly for situations and personal experiences. However, all accounts of it describe it as entirely black and completely evil. Every single Gifted who has experienced it mentions this, that it is inherently evil in its agenda and motivation. No one can explain what it is, but they all know that.

Dangers

All Gifteds who have encountered this strange material describe it as highly dangerous and somehow sentient. They can not explain how they know this, but they are all afraid of feeling or seeing it again. The unlucky few who have seen it multiple times or have even been attacked by it say it begins to corrupt them, affecting their memory, emotions, and actions. Anyone who has come in contact with it more than ten times either succumbs to some sort of madness or kills themself.

Properties

Material Characteristics

It's not water! It's not oil, or paint, or anything! It's not wet, not cold, not warm. It felt like something was there, but nothing I've felt before.

— an account of liquid "Blackrot"

Reports are frustratingly vague, but it is usually described as black smoke or fog that hovers slightly and coils around itself. The smoke is always said to be impenetrably black, almost like a living slice of darkness. Those who claim to have been surrounded by it say that they could not see anything, not even shadows or lights. Even Flamers could not find a way out.

Another common description is a liquid that looks almost like oil but seems to suck light toward it. Those who have had contact with it say that it washes off easily and feels almost like water, but the texture is nothing they can explain.

Origin & Source

According to reports, the "Black" is a material or entity from another world. Experts on portals and other worlds have theorized what world it may be from. Although they know for certain it was not created by someone from Jerde, no one knows how it came into being. On top of that, many believe that Gifteds who claim to have seen it are lying and very few people have even heard of it.
Despite being so unknown, the idea of this dark, evil force has terrified many powerful Gifteds. There is also evidence that it does indeed exist, although whether it remains in Jerde now is still up for debate.

History & Usage

Discovery

Mentions of a strange black force have happened for years. Legends that date back to the Dark Years allude to something called the Blackrot, which is mentioned in relation to "The Puppeteer" as well as "The One in Shadows". Several other legends refer to "Guardians" as some sort of protection against it.
The "Black" has been seen in Seers' visions in more recent centuries, starting in the 750s AEA. Direct experiences with it have been reported since the first century AEA and tapered off sometime in the 1700s. Portal and dimension theory experts began studying old records of it to find connections with newer accounts, but their work has faced numerous setbacks.

Warning: mentions of gore and suicide

Type

Metaphysical

Color

Black

Common State

Gas or liquid

Her back arches. The dark is all around her. She tries to scream but nothing happens. Instead, it only gains strength, forcing itself down her throat, into her eyes, and up her nose. Her lungs gasp for air but it refuses to let her breathe as everything shifts into a different dream and then—
Her eyes snap open, aware that her body is awake and screaming, that Izaiah is rolling over and reaching for her. But her mind is trapped in images of blood and pain, of crowns falling to the floor covered in red, of skin peeling away as she screams, and everything is black and red and fear and hurt and Oh God, is this what she'll feel?

— Cassandra, Prophecy

A five-year-old's portrayal of the "Blackrot" by Lilliana Casper