Spola Infection

Written by Drackzahn

"A long and happy life is what all living beings thrive for. The ones of us who are infected by the Spola do not only wish this for ourselves and our closest ones but for all living beings that are around us. The mushroom has welcomed us and given us what we require. In return, we give ourselves to the mushroom and live in union with it." A Spola-infected trader.

The Spola Infection is a fungal symbiotic relationship with the Spo Mushroom. Being infected means joining a psionic network with all others infected in a certain area. The exact area of this network depends on the brain capacities of the infected host. The Spola Infection does not control a person but lets them feel more connected to all other infected ones, not only in their telepathic communication but also by sharing feelings and memories with each other.

Transmission & Vectors

There are two main ways to be infected with Spola. Either by eating a small Spo Mushroom or by breathing in the spores of a bigger Spo. In both cases, a mycelium of the Spo will grow inside you and connect you to the psionic network as soon as it has reached your brain. The Spola does not require certain species, but only biological life to infect someone.

Symptoms

Psionic Network

As soon as the mycelium inside you has reached and spread in your brain, you will join the psionic network of the Spo Mushroom. It depends on your brain capacities how strong this connection is and how far it reaches. Through the network, you can communicate with other infected as well as the Spo itself if it develops self-awareness and the required intelligence. Additionally, you can share emotions and memories through the connection with others, resulting in tight communities of infected ones with each other.

Mycelium

The mycelium of the Spo spreads in you and will grow over the years of your infection. The first target will always be your brain, which will spread to let you join the psionic network and communicate with you. After the brain is infected, the Spo will slowly spread in your whole body. It will wrap around your organs and bones, but not to consume them but to strengthen them. After all, the Spora is not a deadly disease, but a symbiotic relationship with the mushroom. Over the year, the mycelium will take over the functions of your organs, and your body that begin to weaken. This means, that your body will slowly become more and more a mushroom instead of your old flesh, bones, and organs. The benefit of it is, that the Spo will extend your life drastically, but also let you slowly become a mushroom. The mycelium also supports the healing capacities of the host and protects them from most diseases.

Appearence

by Stable Diffusion

In the first years of the infection, the host will only show its Spola infection with yellow eyes. No matter the species and the former eye color, all infected ones will develop yellow bright eyes over the first months after being infected. Slowly the mushroom spreads in your body and after many years of infection, a mushroom hat will slowly grow on top of your head. The hat will work similarly to an original mushroom head and is able to spread the spores of the Spo as well. Due to the long life that the Spo grants the infected ones, the hat will grow to massive sizes over the years and eventually reach a size visible in the picture above. Then it stops growing and the visual transformation is complete. Another interesting appearance fact is that Spola infected seem to stop aging at a certain point, as the mycelium negates aging and supports the body in staying in a near eternal youth. In the case that an infected one dies, their Soul will join the Spo and become a living part of the psionic network.

Treatment

Treating a Spola infection is getting harder the more time has passed. There are mainly two known ways to remove an infection. The first is to flood the body with magic, at best pure one without chaotic side effects. This is as dangerous as it sounds, depending on the person who is flooded with magic. Depending on the kind of energy, other side effects may occur. The amount of magic and the required time for cure highly depend on the time that has past since the infection, as well as the size of the mycelium inside the host. In the first hours after infection, some minutes of intensive magic may be enough, while for someone who has already shared their body with the Spo for many years, a cure may be near impossible by this method. As soon as the Spo infects the brain, most hosts prefer to not be cured, as the psionic network and the flood of a feeling of community and shared pain can be quite addictive for many and someone they prefer to hold onto. The second, easier, and healthier way, is a complete transformation of the body, and at best of the mind as well. This may be done by powerful Pink Mist Infused or species that are able to transform others into their kind. It is important that the transforming affects every single cell of the body, as else the Spo may remain dormant, hidden, and waiting for a chance to reinfect the host with the Spola.

Prevention

People that are infused by Pink Mist in high decrees are more or less immune to the infection. The Spo Mushroom can't handle the chaotic energies of the Pink Mist well and does not grow close to it. That means that nearly all mages or magic casters are nearly immune and can't get an infection easily. This especially counts for species who have a generally high magic affinity to the Pink Mist, like some Fae species or the Sylvan Elves.

Type

Fungal

Origin

Natural

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Common

Affected Species

• Sylvan Elf
• Neko
• Human