Gloamtouched
You're not sure how long it's been since your ship crashed, leaving you stranded among the towering trees and roots. You're so deep in the Gloamwood that its canopy blots out the sky. A few weeks? A month? Longer? It's impossible to tell between bouts of restless sleep and hiding from the beasts that seem intent on hunting you down and feasting on your bones. Walking non-stop in the hopes of finding clear ground and the safety of civilisation, wary of every bite of forage that passed your lips in case it rendered you unable to move.
Every so often, you swear you can hear voices. Whispers in an ancient, unknowable tongue and the soft cries of the lost and damned. Would you join their chorus?
Then finally, sunlight. But it's so, so bright that it hurts and you hide away until nightfall. Only when you step out of the trees do you realise something within you has been changed, and a part of you has been replaced with that great and terrible presence you felt in the forest. The cries and whispers don't stop.
Whatever this is, it is here to stay.
If one ventures too far into the Gloamwood, getting lost is the least of your worries. It's no secret that the 'Wood itself could almost be considered its own sentient being; a body that stretches all across the world and is (supposedly) steadily growing to fill every space that it has not yet filled. Anything it touches is left with traces of its influence, including the people who spend a bit too much time among its trees.
Becoming 'Gloamtouched' occurs when an individual spends enough time in the Gloamwood that the forest is able to form a supernatural connection to them, leaving both physical and mental marks on those affected. They're characterised by dark sclera and strange splotches on their bodies that may resemble ink stains, mosses or tree bark, occasionally sporting bioluminescence. These changes come with any number of quirks, seen as either gifts or curses depending on who you ask.
This condition is permanent, and often affects poorly prepared Woodsman explorers or castaways from fallen airships. It appears only sentient creatures are capable of becoming Gloamtouched, though it is unknown exactly why.
Symptoms
Common Symptoms:
- Light sensitivity
- Increased reaction speed
- Increased stamina
- Uncanny attunement to plants
- 'Oil-slick' patterning on the skin
- Patches of skin may take on a mossy or bark-like texture
- Black sclera
- Audio hallucinations (commonly reported hallucinations include whispers in an unknown language and children crying)
It's not unusual for Gloamtouched to also develop some sort of supernatural ability, such as the ability to control plants, communicate telepathically with animals, or in extreme cases regrow entire limbs or generate their own electrical energy akin to electric eels. These additional traits appear to be completely random with no direct cause.
In rare instances, Gloamtouched may find themselves incapable of leaving the boundaries of the 'Wood, as if its hold on them has formed a mental barrier keeping them within the trees.
Some individuals may experience some sort of religious psychosis upon becoming Gloamtouched, potentially as a means of coping with the physical and mental changes they are subjected to. They may refer to the 'Wood as its own godly being, or a part of the Flesh of the World made manifest. Psychological treatments may alleviate this behaviour.
Large species such as Aurochs may notice their joints start to creak like ancient trees.
Chameleon Gloamtouched are those with the ability to shapeshift in a way that hides their Gloamwood traits.
Treatment
Being Gloamtouched is a permanent and incurable state of being, though the uninformed may try to amputate affected limbs or perform rituals in hopes of staving off its progression.
Affected Groups
Whether it's due to divine whims or an unknown neurological component, it seems only sentient beings may become Gloamtouched. Mammalians such as Versirils, Cyclops and Aurochs, appear especially susceptible to this condition. Elvish races seem to possess an enduring resistence to the wood's effects, but are not completely immune.
Dragons are also not exempt from this condition, but they present with far milder symptoms.
Prevention
The simplest way to avoid becoming Gloamtouched is to not spend prolonged periods of time in the Gloamwood. Crystal charms and enchantments may be bestowed upon those who venture into the trees to allow them more time to explore before the risk of becoming Gloamtouched increases.
History
Unique Record - The Ring of Axes
In the year 1678, a team of a dozen Pruner-rank Woodsmen were dispatched off the cliffs of Arianwen Peak on a mission to find and retrieve the surviving passengers and crew of a downed airship.
While these untrained operatives managed to find the rescuees, they got lost on the way back to Arianwen, and the group of twenty-six were not found again for another two months. When they were, the Pruners had been Gloamtouched, and their connection with the forest also lead to a hive-mind link between themselves.
They had formed a ring around the passengers and crew they'd been tasked with guiding out of the forest, seeming to have protected them from also becoming Gloamtouched or worse killed by the fauna. Though the Pruners were glad to be found and relieved of their mission, it was quickly discovered that they could not stray too far from one another lest they suffer from debilitating hallucinations and psychosis. The leader of the group reported a 'static screaming in his skull' when he tried to lead an attacking peryton away from them.
The group was named 'The Ring of Axes' by news outlets, and their current status is not public knowledge.
Cultural Reception
More often than not a Gloamtouched returning to civilisation will be received with fear and distrust. There's a pervasive stigma towards Gloamtouched; fears that they will become feral Rootbound or are harbingers of doom for whatever Peak they try to set foot on, inciting Bolts . In worst-case scenarios they are killed on-sight.
A handful of cultures contrarily view them as blessed, and will welcome them with open arms. They're treated as prophets and spokespeople for the forest.
Not to be confused with the condition Rootbound. While becoming Rootbound can be considered a more severe form of the Gloamtouched, they are classified as separate afflictions.
This is both interesting and terrifying. I would love to know more about the Ring of Axes.
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