Corruption & Purification

Corruption

In the initial creation of The Demonic Steppes, Naezeiros, The Great Drake, required something which would meld together as his beings of destruction. The ability to create something from nothing needed its counter balance, and that laid within the oncoming prevalence of beings with a drive to do nothing but undo and destroy. As such, the Creation Primordial constructed together a vast branch amongst Etes H'evelm, a plane whose original purpose lay within the ability to eradicate the mistakes that Naezeiros saw within his time slowly building the planes. However, alongside giving forth these daemonic entities powers unrivaled, he also ushered forth a meticulous form of unravelment within their very existence. A taint upon the soul essence of these grotesque hellish creatures, which caused them to exude a literal aura of pure ruin.   Though, this corruptive aura is not as simple as just mere deconstruction. It is a widening form of transformation and impairment of the very truth blueprints within the worlds of the many planes. It is a highly subjective power, however the creatures who hold the most of this destructive essence within their souls are said to be beings of pure chaos and entropy, spiraling the works of creation to their limit before then completely breaking apart the fundamental laws to leave a scarred final product. These results however, tend to truly be the most disgraceful and unsightly when applied to the living souls who bathe themselves in the scourge’s presence.

Corruption and it's Varying Strengths

Certain individuals hold a more corrupted soul than other beings, the most notable of such being Demonkin who are so corrupted their entire visage is twisted to reflect their nature. As of such any individual suffering corruption from the source of demonkin find themselves requiring twice as long to recover, if possible, and suffering the effects of demonic corruption at twice the speed. Their mere presence capable of causing great harm to entire settlements. Their lesser tainted kin, Withered and Deceived, corrupt the world around them at a normal pace. The least corrupting of them all are Halfbloods, who by themselves are unable to corrupt the world around them. Should a gathering of five or more Half-Bloods occur, they would begin tainting the world around them at a similar speed to Withered. The increase in numbers can increase the rate of corruption from all Blooded beings, meaning two demonkin would corrupt an area twice as fast as a singular one, making large groups of them a high priority to remove.   Most corruption happen in a vicinity around the blooded affecting moderate sized regions around them constantly as they linger in an area. Should one find themselves unlucky enough to be stuck in the immediate vicinity of blooded, particularly groups or more tainted ones like demonkin, they would find themselves more directly affected by the taint. This is generally unusual to be found in large periods of time, one often finding themselves able to have reprieve from the company of a blooded even as a prisoner or a thrall, though may still find themselves within their vicinity.   It should be noted that Blooded are immune to corruption unless it is spread by an Eradicator.

Rank 0

Upon spending a single phase in which the majority of your time was spent in the general vicinity of corrupting sources, one would find themselves starting to notice some minor symptoms that would be hard to identify the source of. These symptoms often could be a myriad of conditions though none would be serious in nature.   An interaction will yield a minimum of 3 symptoms:  

• Irritation/Agitation
• Hot flashes- experiencing sweating despite being in normal or cool temperatures
• Mild confusion
• Loss of appetite
• Nightmares
• Pale or sickly complexion

  To rid oneself of corruption, ample time away from the source of corruption will be needed. Normally, if one spends an equal amount of time away from a Withered or Deceiver, the symptoms will vanish. If one interacts with a demonkin, then double the amount of time of the interaction will be needed to rid oneself of corruption. One consecutive week of blooded interaction without time to recover will upgrade the person to Rank 1.   Example: After a conversation with a demonkin you’ll find your mind becoming fuzzy, not exactly knowing what to say or being confused about what others say to you. You might also no longer want to eat and are plagued followed by nightmares for a day or two after said encounter.

Rank 1

If an individual found themselves in the presence of a source of corruption for 7 phases without being able to fully recover from their previous corruption, they would begin to find themselves undergoing more notable side effects. The effects of Rank 0 will still be in effect despite being upgraded to Rank 1.   Upon achieving this rank, these symptoms will be added onto the repertoire of previous symptoms. A minimum of 2 must be chosen:  

• Night Terrors
• Bipolar Behavior
• Increased Aggression
• Depression

  Once a person is Rank 1, it would be more difficult to rid themselves of corruption. Two OOC weeks will need to be taken in order to fully remove the corruption from their person. After the first OOC week, the individual will downgrade to rank 0- losing Rank 1 symptoms in the process. They will still possess Rank 0 symptoms until the end of week 2 away from corruption. Upgrading to Rank 2 corruption is possible if the person does not take time away from the corruption source and instead further interacts with them for one consecutive week.   At Rank 1 corruption plants would begin to start showing adverse effects, including wilting and showing discoloration in smaller plants. This will only occur if the source of corruption stays within a place for a prolonged period of time.   Example: After one consecutive week of interaction with a demonkin the person will begin to suffer mentally due to the interactions. Finding it harder to fall asleep at night due to the constant nightmares, becoming more aggressive to those around them and or even falling into a deep depression in a few cases. While one consecutive week of a demonkin’s presence will begin to wilt and discolor all nearby plants from tulips and roses to the grass and tree leaves.

Rank 2

Upgrade to Rank 2 corruption occurs when a person with rank 1 corruption spends another 7 phases around a source of corruption without fully recovering. On top of the other previous symptoms of Rank 1 and Rank 0, they will gain another set of symptoms that affect their physical form rather than the mind.   With the gaining of this rank, the user will experience only 2 symptoms:  

• Muscle weakness or muscle twitches along the body
• Lighter or darker discolorations on the skin that appear to be large birthmarks. These birthmarks always make their presence on the arms, legs, and throat of the corrupted individual and are painful to any touch.

  To rid the corruption without any intervention on this rank, 18 phases (days) will be needed to recover. To demote back to rank 1 will take 1 week, causing only Rank 2 symptoms and effects to vanish. Another week will be needed soon after to revert back to Rank 0 and then 3-4 days to fully be cleansed of corruption. Upgrading to Rank 3 will only occur if there the individual is unable to completely purify themselves and the corrupted individual spends yet another consecutive week near a corruption source.   At Rank 2 corruption, plants would begin to start dying, and larger flora such as trees would begin suffering the effects of Rank 1 corruption. Simple animals in the area would begin to start growing sick and malnourished, their temperaments being a bit more aggressive.   Example: After another consecutive week of interaction with a demonkin the person will begin to suffer more effects of the corruption, while the mental aspects continue several twitches of the face and muscles begin every so often while feeling their muscles feel weak and fatigued just slightly. After another week of interaction from a demonkin plant life that has discolored and wilted would now begin to die while nearby trees. These can also be purified at a quicker rate if the individual received treatment form Empyric purification methods.

Rank 3

An individual can have Rank 3 corruption if the person decides to spend another 7 phases with a corrupted source while having Rank 2 corruption. The ailment would affect the body of a person in much more serious manners. This Rank only contains a singular symptom that will be stacked on all the previous symptoms, along with a dire effect for the physically weak.   Only one symptom is gained within this rank:  

• Immunodeficiency: the individual would be more likely to contract mundane diseases present in the air and presence on surfaces.
• Any infants or unborn children at this point would be born with a multitude of birth defects or possibly perish.

  To fully cure oneself of Rank 3 corruption, 3 OOC weeks away from corruption sources will be needed. After 1 OOC week without any corruption will cause the corruption to demon to Rank 2, causing Rank 3 area effects and symptoms to vanish. 2 OOC weeks without a corruption source will cause another demotion to Rank 1, allowing for only Rank 1 symptoms to be present. Finally, 3 OOC weeks will be needed to be demoted to Rank 0 corruption. From there, a day or two OOCly will be needed to be fully cured. These can also be purified at a quicker rate if the individual received treatment form Empyric purification methods.   At Rank 3 corruption little to no flora life would remain as even trees start dying out in closer vicinity to the source of corruption. The animals at this point would start dying or suffering physical mutations, becoming corrupt on their own. These animals would be maddened and attack anything on sight.   Example: After a consecutive two more weeks of interaction with a demonkin the person not only feels effects mentally and physically but they’d begin to be more prone to growing ill, from catching the common cold to something worse the diseases will catch on easier and the person’s immune system will have a harder time fighting off the disease.

Rank 4

Rank 4 corruption is achieved by being around a source of corruption for an age while having Rank 3 corruption. If no healing periods are to be had, the corrupted individual instead goes through an amplification of all previous symptoms, causing them to be significantly worse, or possibly gaining new symptoms.   Some of the amplification symptoms are as follows:  

• Aggression at the most minor of inconveniences
• The confusion begins to become demonic whispering in ones ears.
• Depression is amplified to severe depression or suicidal tendencies
• Muscle twitches are amplified to spasms and become more frequent and erratic
• Muscle weakness develops into an overall frailness of the body, base race strength is significantly reduced

  Some extremely negative mutations would grow onto the individual, including two of the following.  

• Blindness
• Deafness
• Loss of smell and taste
• Discoloration of skin to reds/blacks/grays

  At this point of the corruption the effects of Rank 4 and Rank 3 would be permanent. With 4 weeks away from any source of corruption an individual may lose the effects of all corruption below rank 3. This would take 2 weeks to lose rank 2's corruption, 1 week to lose rank 1's corruption, and a final week to be clear of all corruption but the lasting effects of Rank 3 and 4. These corruption effects, including the loss of senses, could be purified via Empyric methods of purification.   Example: After a further three more consecutive weeks of interaction will cause all previous symptoms of the corruption to get significantly worse. Even the calmest of people would be thrown into anger by the slightest inconvenience while the small muscle twitches now become full blown spasms as they become more frequent.

Rank 5

The final stage of corruption is achieved if an individual with Rank 4 corruption spends an addition age and a half with a corruptive source, thus tainting their very soul. This stage is the most painful as it warps the very essence into something far more foul.   Along with all the previous symptoms, a final set of symptoms are added. ALL SYMPTOMS MUST BE PRESENT:  

• Prone to burns from platinum or silver, possessing ½ the pain factor to these metals compared to a normal blooded.
• The blood of a Rank 5 individual is now tainted, causing the liquid to be immensely brighter or darker than its original state.
• A Rank 5 corrupted individuals now have the ability to corrupt others if present continuously around an unaffected person. They only possess the ability to give off corruption similarly to Half-bloods but cannot corrupt past rank 0.

  The effects of this corruption are permanent, only able to be cured by a deadly potion made by the blood of Demi-Celestials, though this method often would result in death of the individual.   Example: The final stage of corruption takes longer than the rest by an additional 4 consecutive weeks of interaction atop everything else and by far it’s the worst of them. A person that has been corrupted long enough for this stage to take place will find themselves getting a burning sensation from both silver and platinum along with more pain from being harmed by weapons made of such while any pregnancies during this time lead to stillborns. And anyone they come into contact with would get the same effects as stage 0 the same way they did a long time ago.

Purification

Ever since the Powerful Celestials and Demons started their wars against each other for what they felt was right, the Celestials have made it a goal to purify demons from the world. This goal has been passed down to their creations as well, the Demi-Celestials who were made to fight for this and still do with their given free will. For the first several centuries during and after the war, the only practiced method of purifying blooded and demons was through killing them and letting the Celestials purge their soul before they moved on. After some time though, a group of humans following Sequestus setup the Order of Purification in an attempt to purify blooded in their own way. The first several attempts at these churches often led to their ruination, or just the corruption of its members. Despite the setbacks the Order was ever persistent and eventually was faced with success. They were able to purify a blooded, removing his demonic traits and his ability to corrupt the world around him. This soon attracted The attention of Demi-Celestials who wanted to seek the validity of these rumors about “purified blooded”. Some Demi-Celestials found this to be heresy and sought out to destroy the Order’s churches for housing blooded openly, while other Demi-Celestials saw the success of this as an alternative path. Eventually some Empyreans, led by Andreas the Purifier, set out to start working at the Order of Purification’s churches, using their abilities to prevent the corruption from tainting the land, and killing any blooded who strayed from the path.

Order of Purification

The first church of the Order of Purification was founded by a bishop of the Brother’s church in Armus, Leopold III. Leopold was a devout follower of Sequestus, favoring him slightly over Anomalous in worship. When faced with the countless blooded who came to him and he saw as pure of heart, but were ultimately sent like cattle to be butchered by the Demi-Celestials, he began praying to Sequestus for help to bring order to the chaos that was within Blooded. Leopold’s prayers were answered with a vision of a church and a blooded who looked untainted. With his vision in mind, Leopold set out with a number of fellow priests and hired help to found the Order of Purification. This was done in quiet for fear of being labeled sympathizers with blooded and it wasn’t until the second or third church was set up that the Demi-Celestials caught wind of it. Their fear came true, and a squad of Demi-Celestials set out to destroy the churches for harbouring blooded despite the protests of the priests. Eventually the Demi-Celestials came to the first church founded, the one run by Leopold himself and sought to destroy it. Leopold, still devout in his faith to Sequestus refused to simply hand over the blooded and stray from the vision he was given, was slain in his own church as it burned to the ground. There was one church left, a church founded in quiet by Leopold and run by his most faithful protege, Bartholomew. This church was able to function in secret for some time and ended up beginning to take blooded in as children in hopes of better results. Such seemed to come true and they eventually were faced with successful purification. With these events the rumors couldn’t stop from spreading and eventually the Demi-Celestials caught wind of the church which had slipped their grasp. Upon a squad being sent, with orders to investigate this rumor, they found it to be true and set a mandate for the Order of Purification. Demi-Celestials were to be posted at the churches and if any blooded failed to become purified by a certain age or tried to escape, they were to be killed. Any church within the Order that didn’t meet these commands were to be destroyed. Having no choice Bartholomew accepted the offer and thus the Order of Purification exists to this day, centuries later. Some Churches are like prison camps with harsh overseers and some more merciful, but one truth stays across all of them. If by their sixteenth birthday they haven’t become purified, the blooded is slain.   The Order of Purification prefers to take blooded in as children when they’re most susceptible to be influenced in their viewpoint of the world. It’s from here they are taught a pacifist life and a life devoted to the betterment of others. The path is far from easy as they face the threat of death and the hate of a great many people for their mere existence. But those who are able to wholeheartedly embrace the path of the Order of Purification are able to obtain freedom from their corruption. This freedom though, is forever under test for if even once the blooded stray from their teachings, they are reverted back to their corrupted nature. The appearance of those who have reached purification this way often find themselves with more normal colored skin for their race, the loss of resistance to diseases, their eyes lose the odd discoloration and their horns fail to regrow if trimmed.  

• Requires living a pure life, as one lives a pure life the corruption within their soul is slowly diminished until they are completely purified.

  This happens over 4 stages, each stage taking 2 months of rp to reach.  

• Stages
  1. Stage 1: Loss of disease resistance and slightly more looking akin to base race.
  2. Stage 2: The blooded loses any heat resistance and their horns start to stop growing if cut.
  3. Stage 3: All boons provided from the blooded template are gone, leaving one only with the corruption their body still spreads and the cosmetics of their heritage as a blooded.
  4. Stage 4: Purification has been reached. They, while purified, look like their base race except for tails or horns they haven’t removed, and exude no corruption to the world around them.

 

• Requires no value of one’s own possessions and value of another's life over your own.
• Blooded lose any heat resistance, disease vulnerability, dark vision, and the ability to regrow their horns when considered Purified.
• Greed, apathy, or violence can lead to one losing their purification. This is from constant behavior of such or a singular act of violence, including harming others in self-defence.

 

Celestial Purification

A very rare and currently unaccomplished feat to this day is Celestial Purification. It is possible for a blooded who has been deemed worthy by both Demi-Celestials and the Celestials themselves to be allowed to take on the trial that forsaken Empyreans must undergo in order to restore their grace. While very few are able to even attempt this path, fewer survive the trials that follow, most dying in the process resulting in their corruption being purified as the Celestials saw fit. None know what exactly the trials contain, those who have survived seem to have been forbidden to speak about what they endured, and the dead are unable to tell their story.

Empyric Purification

On corruption in general, Demi-Celestials have a number of purification methods available to them. The blood of Demi-Celestials are widely known to be highly toxic to corrupted sources, and through refined alchemy are able to safely purify physical corruption. While the Demi-Celestials practice this thoroughly, often harvesting their blood for it’s many alchemical uses, they find it taboo to give away to others. This is due to the recreational and deathly addictive use that was discovered and monopolized by the Rehks. Most Demi-Celestials prefer to go to the corruption and purify it themselves should they be able to. And even then Demi-Celestials will often use their innate purification abilities to purify non-blooded rather than expending rare, valuable resources. The drawback of this innate purification is that it destroys what is purified in the process, completely abolishing the corruption within. The power and scope of a Demi-Celestial’s innate purification varies, Empyreans having a weaker purification than that of the Drakofrys.