Açiot

The Açiot is a malignant Boziom variant whose signature torment is twofold: it enchants a single victim with vivid hallucinations and a pervasive sense of doom, and it inflicts a private, crushing physicality; the victim feels as if a massive weight presses their bones and joints, producing an ache that follows them when they stand or walk. To everyone else, the afflicted appears overtaken by madness: incoherent muttering, stumbling, sudden weeping or rage, and sometimes fainting. The Açiot’s cruelty lies in the isolation of its effect; the agony is entirely subjective yet utterly convincing to the sufferer.

Appearance & Manifestation

• The Açiot is rarely seen directly; it is detected by its signature symptoms rather than a consistent outward form. Witness reports vary (shadow at bedside, blackened mouth of a jar, whispering breeze), but common motifs are: a faint metallic tang in the air, a sensation of a small chill behind the ribs, and the sudden onset of bone-heavy agony at first light.- When it inhabits a room, small objects may be displaced, bottles of sweet water left under beds often turn syrupy-black (as with other Boziom), and Ote (soul-globes) near the household may pulse irregularly.

Symptoms (what the victim experiences)

• Intense hallucinations (visual and auditory) of personal guilt, impending disaster, or private horrors; hyper-real and emotionally overwhelming.
• A relentless sensation of heaviness in bones and joints when initiating movement; a feeling like weight pressing down from within. Walking becomes slow, excruciating, as if every step drags an anchor.
• Acute dread and doom; the afflicted is convinced catastrophe is imminent.
• Sleeplessness, nausea, tremors; prolonged episodes can lead to fever, collapse, or exhaustion.
• Socially, the victim’s behavior appears erratic: talking to unseen things, refusing food, or lashing out; leading communities to fear contagion of madness.

Ecology & Triggers

• Açiot are attracted to deep, unresolved psychic wounds: prolonged guilt, traumatic secrets, or sustained isolation make one vulnerable.
• They seem to prefer individuals in positions of responsibility (those who carry heavy decisions), but they can strike anyone with psychic strain.
• Unlike less malevolent Boziom, Açiot may attach for weeks or months, returning nightly to renew the torment.

Cultural Interpretation & Folklore

Detection & Diagnosis (folk + formal)

"Açiot is a mirror for your ruin. It cannot be killed. I can only be survived."

-Archivist Tanlin, Keeper of the Westa Sleep-Lore Codex

• Folk sign: bottled water under the bed turns black by morning; if blackening recurs after purification, an Açiot is suspected.
• Medical/shamanic exam: a combination of night-watch observation, Ote resonance checks (if available), and behavioral interviews. Sindiri Cener field reports recommend discreet observation to avoid further panic.
• Important: the victim’s reports must be taken seriously; their pain is real even if invisible. Do not publicly shame or isolate them.

Remedies & Treatments (safe, non-harmful)

• Confrontation & Confession: Across Afros the most reliable long-term relief is psychological: guided confession, reconciliation, or remedial action addressing the guilt or secret the Açiot feeds on. Shamans and clerics lead rituals to surface and resolve the wound.
• Mesin-forged wards & Boziom Catchers: Mesin steel catchers or charms (used by western shamans) can lure or hold a Boziom long enough for a ritualist to work. These devices blacken when occupied and must be purified afterward.
• Ote Communion: Communing briefly with a properly made Ote (under ritual guidance) can calm the spirit world’s agitation and buy time to treat the victim. Only experienced ritualists should attempt this.
• Physical Care: Gentle massage, warm baths, and balms (Icun slime–based salves like Ins̀em) ease the symptomatic bone-ache. Light, frequent meals and caffeinated tea or spacers (small, plain biscuits) help settle the stomach after night terrors.
• Community Support: Avoid stigmatizing the afflicted. Close, compassionate care and a companion person through waking hours significantly reduce the Açiot’s hold.
• Professional Intervention: Sindiri Cener and licensed shamans recommend combined shamanic-psychotherapeutic approaches: unburdening rituals followed by counseling and reintegration into the community.

Danger & Warnings

• Attempts to “shoot” or physically harm an Açiot are futile and risk harming the victim. Do not attempt exorcisms that expose the afflicted to physical violence or sensory deprivation.
• Selling or trading mesin-steel catchers to the untrained can cause worse hauntings; only accredited ritualists should handle them.
• Isolation, ridicule, or forced confinement deepens the Açiot’s cruelty; social support is part of the cure.

Aftercare & Prognosis

• With ritual unburdening, social support, and rest, many victims recover within weeks. Some bear lingering sensitivity to stress and must maintain confessionary practices and community ties to prevent relapse.
• Chronic, untreated cases may develop lasting psychosomatic pain or become social pariahs; a tragedy that Afrosian healers work hard to prevent.

Notable Pratices

• In several coastal towns, it is customary to hang a paired Paddi charm and a small woven Branil braid above the bed of anyone recently afflicted; one charm for fidelity (to remind the person of bonds), one braid for household prosperity and protection.
• Children are taught the bottle-test and the habit of morning confession (a short sharing of worries) as a preventative measure in many wetland villages.