The Withering

The Withering

Overview

The Withering is a phenomenon as old as time to the civilizations of Mirios, some claim it is a disease while some say it is a result of corruption of mortals. An area usually goes without seeing the withering for many many years until it suddenly erupts all at once in the form of a witherance. The phenomenon is most prevalent on the continent of Nirann.

Name

The name witherance comes from the Tsennari word Siirun, meaning "to wither". In modern times the vernacular of blight has been used in association with it. In other cultures and regions, there are many different names for the phenomenon such as Knicin to the Razhnavi which means "blackening." To the Lumarin, the term for it is Luwa, which means "the death."

Aspects of the Withering

Often, the withering causes plants to die and turn grey or brown and eventually black marks appear. On the other hand, animals exposed to it begin to wither away, losing their hair and teeth until they die of rot. Being exposed to the withering does not guarantee certain death however, as it appears to infect an area slowly or through direct ingestion.

Beasts of the Withering

Ghouls

Ghouls, or Karsen, are the creatures that have been subject to the withering and are in the process of dying. They are in a constant state of decay until they rot away or are killed. Their intelligence is rapidly declining, they are often much more jagged in their movements, and are hostile. The most common synonyms to this term are the decayed or the rotten.

Witherspawn

The Witherspawn, also known by the Nidmarin term Nital, are a race of humanoids that seem to be immune to the effects of the withering largely. They are said to feed off of the withering and those it infects and so they often follow it around, acting as carriers. It is due to this symbiotic relationship that they are often said to originate with the blight. They wander around in packs, attacking anything they can get their hands on; these packs often wear primitive armor and wield primitive weapons similar to how goblins might. It is said that the race largely lives in the underground when they arent plaguing the surfaceworld.
It is said that the witherspawn reproduce rather quickly but also have rather short lifespans.

Witherances

A witherance is when there is an abundance of withering, with a great-witherance meaning that hordes of Nitali have emerged to attack the surface world as well. Great-Witherances usually also are the result of the infection of a dreamer, someone who is able to connect to the gods through their dreams and has great powers such as the ability to manifest in the spirit world; dreamers are a rare phenomenon, with only a dozen or two dozen existing in the entire world at a time. When a dreamer is infected, the god Sanri is said to be able to send visions and dreams in order to order the witherspawn to converge into great hordes that ravage the land. Witherances can occur due to natural effects too as things like earthquakes that ravage the underground cause many to surface and begin their raids; the earthquake of 1143 caused a massive witherance in Enzhial and Nirann as an example of this.
Witherances are particularly a threat due to the massive amounts of devastation, which has only gotten worse since The Shattering. It is thought that the worst witherances in history were in the era just prior to the Ingharan age when the Withering was first released into the universe. After the reign of Usorring, the witherances began to lessen in strength until the Shattering released spirits and dark powers that fed the withering to an extent that 966 may have surpassed those ancient witherings, with the modern day being a canvas for worse to come as the strength of the darkness only grows.

History

Prehistory

The withering is known to predate written writing for most civilizations, with the oldest references to it being petroglyphs found in the Gendur valley. The oldest written reference to the withering is known to be a series of scrolls from the Seng Kingdom in Honshar, where the native peoples wrote of the event approximately 2700 years before the founding of Soranna. In terms of major outbreaks prior to recorded history, there has long been evidence of severe ones in the Gharpun, Eastern Vastanhal, Northern Paikkal, Matthaya, South Veshic, and North Gendur regions. Some specific prehistoric cities such as Vanharnan, Yurang, Texokil, and Kobo all have extensive evidence of being destroyed by withering events.

Ancient Age

Witherances seem to have ramped up significantly entering into the ancient age, with Niranni dynasties recording extensively their battles against them as heroes like Usorring and Aremi rise into the imperial record. Talasan civilizations have murals showing powerful warriors on elephants defeating Nitali, with some clay tablets listing blights and the kings who defeated them.

Classical Period

Witherances seem to have died down in the period ranging from 100-400, and 600-800. The period around the year 500; however, saw a variety of witherances break out in southern Nirann, southern Salun, and Pangxil.

The Shattering

The Shattering of 966 resulted in some of the largest witherances that had been seen since the ancient age as the chaos of the time allowed the Nital to emerge and pillage in great hordes. This was made worse as a variety of natural disasters woke them up from the underground. All over the world, it struck and caused pain.

Post Shattering

Since the shattering, the witherances have been much smaller. Despite this, the withering has picked up strength in the southern hemisphere with Khimcha empire rising out of the ravagement of the previous Hakco kingdom by the last witherance. The Khimcha, defeating the witherance, have been scared of these events returning and so were incredibly proactive in fighting it despite the emergence of it on the continent.
The Niranni associate the lack of major blights with the weakness of Sanri in recent years. The last major witherance was in south Ischurrai and Immestrai during the reign of the son of Atshara, Dietrai. Dietrai defeated the witherance at the castle Gentumar.
In Enzhial, a sizable witherance began in 1442, with it remaining as of the present date due to its retreat to the isolated reaches of the continent.

Theorized Causes

In some mythologies, the withering is said to be a remnant of primordial chaos that infects the very being of the world that originates from when the initial chaos spirit died.
The Niranni trace the withering back to the age of heroes and spirits, where the Vanhar discovered the sleeping god Sanri and released him. Some trace it even further to when Zanndrai was slain by Anetos, with his lament and anger becoming the first madness and blight.
Some traditional pantheon Essukad claim that the withering begins with the murder and defilement of the moon, with the poisoned blood tainting the mortals who became Nital.