Nightwalker State
One would not be faulted for believing that Eldûra may be boring—that it's nothing more than a copy of Almura with Dragons and new animals thrown in. But when it comes down the nitty-gritty... Eldûra is far from being the standard definition of "boring".
The Epoch of Grief was a time of great strife to everyone but The Sorcerer Queen. After she made King Nesui disappear and made the throne her own, she went about changing things and making sure her power was absolute. One of the ways she was able to do this was through fear... but how was she able to keep her guards, many who her the guards of her former husband, in line? There are no known records of how she learned to wield this dark, accursed power, but one day she emerged knowing how to wield it and arranged a public demonstration, where she went about transforming around half of her guards in front of all palace staff and a large grouping of the city's common-folk. The spectacle was frightening and grotesque and enough to instill terror-controlled obedience that quickly spread throughout the rest of the city, and then the rest of the kingdom (or "Queendom" as she would insist her realm be called).
forced to come and view the horrifying spectacle. Drastic changes were inflicted upon them, skin tones shifted to shades of grey, hair darkened to black, eyes paled to light grey-white or yellow, and upper canine teeth lengthened into fangs.
The Queen finished this horrendous assault with a loud and distain-filled speech, detailing what she had done and what they had become and those who hadn't been changed fled with horror-filled screams. The civillians who had been changed also ran, but out through a different exit, and silently, as if she had stolen their voices.
Her once-human guards found themselves forced to stay, as the Tyrant Queen filled their heads with lies. She told them of their now-bestial nature, one that would force them to turn on and feed on their fellow man (a lie), unless they stayed in her service. And without any way of knowing that it was a lie, they complied.
There were some who were brave enough to try and live amongst normal society, and tried to blend in. Unfortunately, there was not much to be done in ways of going about without showing too much skin, as there was no way to conceal their ashen skin tones or eerie eye colours. They were either discovered quickly, or they were assumed to be some sort of adventurer, mercenary who never wanted his identity to be known, or just some wierdo.
The average clothing that a Nightwalker can be found to be wearing are leather clothes of some shape or form, a cloak, a deep hood that casts a long-enough shadow, and a mask that comes up to just under the eyes and covers the nose if they are any darker than a light grey.
The Epoch of Grief was a time of great strife to everyone but The Sorcerer Queen. After she made King Nesui disappear and made the throne her own, she went about changing things and making sure her power was absolute. One of the ways she was able to do this was through fear... but how was she able to keep her guards, many who her the guards of her former husband, in line? There are no known records of how she learned to wield this dark, accursed power, but one day she emerged knowing how to wield it and arranged a public demonstration, where she went about transforming around half of her guards in front of all palace staff and a large grouping of the city's common-folk. The spectacle was frightening and grotesque and enough to instill terror-controlled obedience that quickly spread throughout the rest of the city, and then the rest of the kingdom (or "Queendom" as she would insist her realm be called).
How Did this Condition Begin?
What happened at The Sorcerer Queen's Palace was something that had never happened before and people prayed would never happen again.
This queen was, in reality, one of the strongest followers the Undoer and thus had the abilities that such people often gained. She used these abilities to create the first of the Lofocot out of half of her guards and some of those who had been
After the Queen's Fall
Life has not been kind to the Lofocot since King Rymhûl defeated The Sorcerer Queen and took her place. The Nightwalkers who had been her guards ran as soon as they heard that she had been overthrown—having experienced 300 years of hatred from the people and not wanting to stick around to see how Rymhûl might treat them. This was despite the fact that one of Rymhûl's companions was one of them, one Ezra Graham. The Nightwalkers scattered to all corners of Aegéfaer, tucking themselves into places and new lives that they hoped would keep them out of sight and mind. They wished to live the lives that their freedom should have been able to experience now that the Sorcerer Queen was dead. Most of the Nightwalkers disappeared into the underground black markets and more illegal parts of the continent's cities, where they were more likely to be accepted amongst the criminals, who wouldn't care.
A Nightwalker on the Street
by
M.R.R. Shelswell (via Midjourney)
A Lofocûs/Nightwalker who had to be out in the day and has taken the appropriate precautions.
Transmission & Vectors
The agent of this condition is spread through bites or saliva that manages to get into an open cut or wound.
Prognosis
When The Sorcerer Queen first inflicted this condition on those first unlucky souls that fateful day during the beginning years of The Epoch of Grief, the change was immediate and there was no wait for the changes.
But now, since the only way this condition can spread is through a bite and contamination from a Nightwalker's saliva, the progression of this condition is slower, though no less alarming.
The progression - progresses - as such:
- Day 1 - 7 after exposure: Nothing much changes, the victim feels nothing and goes about treating the wound.
- Day 8 - 10: The victim begins to feel like they're coming down with a cold or flu.
- Day 11 - 14: Chills and muscle aches set in.
- Day 15 - 18: Skin pales and sweat begins as fever sets in. It's at this time that they begin to worry and by the 18th day they begin to call on the doctor. They doctor is always stymied and tries their best to perscribe something to help the victim.
- Day 19 - 20: When the doctor's remedy fails to help in any way, the victim grows despondant and begins to fear if this illness may spread to those they know and love. They will then retreat to their room or block off a corner if they do not have a room (if they live with family), or will barricade themselves in their house.
- Day 21 - 26: They will remain inside their home even if they run out of food. This often prompts family members to bring food to them, though they end up having to leave it on the stoop. The sweats will have stopped by now.
- Day 27 - 30: The victim will have paled further by this point and their skin will have begun to change to its new colour. They have been sleeping a lot more and spend only a max of 6 hours awake per day.
- Day 31 - 32: Their skin darkens to the colour it will be for the rest of their lives and they return to a normal wake-sleep cycle. Their eyes have lost their original colour and have turned white or yellow.
- Day 33, the final day: The victim is overcome by terrible toothaches as their upper canines lengthen into fangs. Afterwards, they will notice that their diet will tweak a bit as they will desire meat more that vegetables and will be able to go for longer without the nutrients that come from those vegetables. After the teeth are finished aching, the victim will finally return to health.
Sequela
Every transformation brought on by this condition follows the same path and most except for a very small few die before it finishes. Most of the victims have loving family or friends that will make sure that they are fed during the later stages, but some find themselves inflicted with this condition when they are alone or if they literally don't have anyone to help care for them. This leads to them starving to death because they can't or won't go out to get food (which always happens due to the fear of spreading what they have through the air, which isn't how the condition spreads but they don't know that).
After the condition has run its course, it leaves the newly-made Nightwalker's skin and eyes sensitive to sunlight, with skin developing solar erticaria and their eyes developing such strong night-sight that it physically hurts if they are not protected.
Cultural Reception
Due to how the Sorcerer Queen introduced Nightwalkers to the world, the average consensus about Nightwalkers is traumatized and influenced by fear and revulsion. They are feared and ostracized by the wider population and is only accepted when they have managed to prove that they are not someone to fear—an example of this being Ezra Graham, one of King Rymhûl's friends. They are spat at, yelled at, shunned, and driven out of town. "Nightwalker" is a curse on the lips of the unchanged and this has lead the Nightwalkers to refer to themselves as the "Lofocot" (singluar: Lofocûs).
It is a common belief that those inflicted with the Nightwalker State are irredeemable and that the Creator has turned His back on them. Thankfully, that couldn't be further from the truth.
Appearance Inflicted by the Condition:
- Skin Tone: Light Grey to Ebony Black
- Eye Colour: Pale White or Yellow, with Bioluminescence
Abilities Gained from Condition:
- Enhanced eyesight
- Enhanced hearing
- Enhanced strength
- Enhanced speed
- Enhanced smell
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