Starlight Madness
To Be Touched By Those Beyond
"I alone have seen that which lies beyond, and bear witness to the truth of this world. It is all false, the history we have been taught is a fiction designed to prevent us from reaching our true potential. We could have been so much more, if only-"Recent studies across Erisdaire have been tracking an unusual condition afflicting people who are known to wield arcane magic. According to what little has been gathered, this begins as a slow decline in the ability to reason. The afflicted finds difficulty believing what they are perceiving, claiming they have been aware of an alternative set of events. This soon becomes an insanity which distorts perception of events around the afflicted, to the point they become violent. When taking into account the ability to wield arcane energies, which are often boosted in this madness, those suffering from "starlight madness" are incredibly dangerous to those around them. The term for this disease has been accepted based on studies abroad Campaign: Heirs of Ortega
The First Revelation
In 1520 AF, evidence was brought to light about a noblewoman named Arienne Kodatha who had murdered her family and sought to enthrall household servants to serve some unidentified power which had contacted her in dreams. This had been suppressed due to issues concerning the involvement of Imperial Surveyors in the investigation, and eventually it was admitted Arienne had been killed rather than taken into custody. The official report shared described the Kodatha Estate in Kivese had been the location of a slaughter, with only a handful of survivors enthralled to follow Arienne. As mentioned, Imperial Surveyors had been present for another matter and became involved in a pitched battle on top of the estate's observatory tower. These reports added the notes of Arienne demonstrating an incredible gift for arcane magic which was out of line with what was known about her, and resisted strongly enough for lethal force to be necessary.The later investigation showed Arienne had descended into madness over a supposed connection with Lord Restun Gloomwing. While there were only rambling hints about what this connection may be, it was made clear in later writings she intended to murder the dragonkin and his companions. Recovered scrolls showed a number of references to whispers in dreams, and finally a suggestion "the stars move in the heavens towards an inexorable end". This information was classified and only recently came to light when a defector spoke with mages in Northrun. Since the release of the "Kodatha Report", the Rhyliss Empire has vigorously denied the use of Surveyors beyond the borders of the Empire.
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Campaign: The Lost City of Parseil
The Second Revelation
In 1521 AF, two individuals were recovered from a destroyed tower in Myrisia with wild tales of "horrors made of mist and starlight". According to their testimony, their Sage had started pursuing a connection to some extraplanar entity which was not divine in nature. When the Sage did not attend a routine meeting with the administrator for the settlement around the tower, a small group of people managed to breach the tower wards. The reports then become very difficult to piece together as the group became separated by the "horrors" and had to fight their way free of the tower's wards again. When the two survivors had left the wards, something happened at the top of the structure which left traces suggesting an explosion of arcane energy. However, both the survivors insist there had been an implosion instead which almost dragged them "through a hole in reality". The nature of the incident left no evidence which could be recovered from the tower, and the Sages nearby have reported creatures similar to the horrors roaming the region. Adventurers have been put on retainer to track the entities, record as much data about them as possible, and then destroy them before any more harm can come to Myrisian citizens.The Third Revelation
Members of the Allied Adventurers' Guild are known to undertake a variety of contracts in the Broken Spine wilderness, including impromptu interventions. During the year 1524 AF, five members undertook a normal routine investigation into a ruined tower there were signs of another victim of starlight madness. Guarded by odd clockwork creatures, including a titan which circled the tower, the adventurers found a ritual taking place at the top. A renegade arcane spellcaster from an elven family had become convinced the world was shrouded in lies and "only the pale light from the darkness beyond can make way for the truth". The ritual was apparently responsible for the presence of the clockwork entities, and there were to be more brought into Erisdaire.After disrupting the ritual and killing the mad mage, a journal was recovered containing the only known notes which encompass what little has become known about starlight madness. The notes ramble quite a bit, but descriptions of a number of entities match other records recovered later. These entities have been classified as an extreme hazard to contact, beyond even the attempt to contact infernal entities. Further information must be sought from the guild, as they are the ones who have kept the seized research notes for safety reasons.
Origins of the Disease
Following the distribution of information regarding starlight madness, elven healers have since weighed in regarding it. According to the records kept by the Dawn Court and only released to the scholars investigating the madness, this is not a new condition. Similar incidents were recorded during the Fall in outlying settlements, and later when the empire of Ortega disappeared there were reports of human wielders of arcane magic who were on what were only described as "violent rampages". For the latter times, the incidents were blamed on infernal influences and the matters were quietly settled. The Dawn Court had discerned there were connections, and suggest there are any number of entities (though they can confirm the existence of at least two distinct ones) influencing people of Erisdaire who are gifted with arcane talents. When the solution of "termination" was proposed, they wholeheartedly endorsed this course of action without much hesitation. This shocked the investigating scholars enough to hide all contact with the elves of the Dawn Court about starlight madness.
Type
Mental
Origin
Magical
Rarity
Rare
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