Soulrot

Written by UmbralGoat

Soulrot is an incredibly rare condition among the Faelen, though it is believed that any mortal being can be afflicted with it. From the moment of birth, one with this condition will undergo severe, rapid degeneration of the Soul. Most born with this disease die within days or weeks of birth; the following information assumes a patient has survived into adolescence with less than 40% of their Soul intact.

Only two mortals have ever been diagnosed with this condition, and it's assumed that any cases in the past would most likely have been missed; the theory of the nature of Souls and magic only recently underwent rapid development in most of society. None would have known exactly what patients were struck with.

Symptoms

Most effects of Soulrot in survivors manifest more psychologically than physically. Particularly, the emotions towards other living beings is affected. For exmaple, one may know they feel love for a family member. They can recall happiness associated with such a person, however their compromised Soul literally inhibits the ability to feel such love. The knowledge of love is retained in the mind, but the process of feeling is a result of the Soul. If a Soul were to completely vanish, the knowledge of love would make no difference, their feelings would tend towards pure apathy.

This can make it difficult for survivors with a significantly rotted Soul to form any relationships, but it is not impossible. The Soul constantly processes emotions, but when crippled, it can easily act up and cause one to lose, if only briefly, all significant emotions.

Effects on Magical Ability

The Soul is considered a guide within the body for magical energy, as well as acting as a filter according to the user's subconscious mental state; this is what causes the unique powers of a user to manifest. With a damaged Soul, this energy flows without direction, causing blockages and erratic flow.

This results in the greatest physical effects of Soulrot, particularly the much greater strain one must go through to control magic; with much less of an intact Soul, most of the effort to direct energy is put on the psyche and body, and saps physical strength much quicker than a typical magic user.

If one's Soul were to completely evaporate, and they survive, the effort of guiding magic would be entirely left to the psyche of the user, thought to cause significant mental damage with even light usage.

Treatment

There is very little documentation on how to treat such a condition; Soulmenders are the only one's powerful enough to truly inhibit the degeneration of a patient's Soul, and even their efforts are not guaranteed to work. More concerning, any inhibition put on the degeneration of the Soul does not mean treatment of symptoms.

Myths / Misinformation

The most common myth surrounding this condition is that it can come upon anyone at any time. This causes a bit of fear in some when they are unsure of their emotions, but it is untrue, Soulrot only occurs at birth, when the Soul "combines" with the individual.

Survivors

II

Also known as...
"Withering"
"The Wither"
Condition Type
Magical
Cause
Unknown
Rarity
Extremely rare, affects 1 in every 450 million Faelen
Even rarer are those that survive longterm
Notes
Not contagious
Not genetic
Degenerative
Uncurable
Untreatable