Vixia

Stories about vixia seem to originate in the Second Age, although some of its root stories may date back even further. Over time, they have varied in tone, meaning, and reception, as vixia is bound to the Vita-Touched, and society's view on them has certainly changed over time.

Summary

There are countless different stories about vixia, unified only by the topic of vixia itself. In all stories, vixia is a food, a thick liquid which can be consumed by many, if not all, intelligent species. It is almost syrupy, sticky and cloying, dark in color but with beautiful rainbow iridescence. Even touching it makes it almost impossible to get rid of it, and consuming it forever alters the body, leaving a permanent taint.
Of course, vixia isn't just an ordinary food. Vixia is supposed to grant those that eat it magical powers. Specifically, it makes them Vita-Touched, forever changing them into those that are different, the others, the abnormal.

Historical Basis

The stories of vixia are likely rooted in countless smaller incidents, stories, and other such things. In some cultures, foods high in Vita are said to improve the powers of Vita-Touched (such as the quryiwsa grown by niskhi). Stories about food supposed to grant immortality or other powers are common in many cultures, including several human cultures and religions. Combined with the ever-present fear from parents of their children being replaced or altered in ways they can't comprehend or deal with, of people changing in ways you can't understand or match... But also, so are there countless variations of these stories, where vixia is a good thing, where people are granted incredible powers and use them to help, to elevate themselves and others.

Spread

Stories of vixia were spreading widely during the Second Age, with the more negative ones becoming increasingly common during the later years, as opinions on Vita-Touched and the Magai begun dropping. During the later years of the Second Age, and throughout the Third Age, the stories were almost exclusively negative in nature, and tended to take on a heavier fear-mongering tone. They were spread widely throughout the galaxy, feeding into (and from) people's fear of Vita-Touched.

Variations & Mutation

Though stories of vixia have always come in many variations, based on how becoming Vita-Touched was framed (positive? negative? dependent on whether it was taken knowingly or forced upon them?), The Coalition pushed for a new variation near the end of the Second Age. They built upon the already established negative stories by popularizing versions in which vixia was unknowingly fed to victims, or forcibly given to them. In them, Vita-Touched were knowingly spreading their condition to unsuspecting children, making them just like them. Putting it in their food, or secretly feeding it to them where parents wouldn't notice, until they were permanently stained by it.

Date of First Recording

Second Age