#deCapitu | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

loominggaia · 7 years ago

Photo

MORE AFFLICTED OF LOOMING GAIA

(lore under cut)

CRYSTAL FIEND

This affliction only affects red elves, as they are the only ones who can consume pyre dust. Pyre dust is an arcane drug made from pyre crystals. When mixed with gasoline and swallowed, it gives the user a euphoric high that can last for hours.

This substance is addictive however, and those who abuse it for too long will develop a disease called "pyriad's revenge". Those who suffer are known as "crystal fiends", and their brains and bodies have literally been fried by their habit.

Crystal fiends can be identified by their erratic and often violent behavior. They are known to hallucinate and become very paranoid. This habit takes a dangerous toll on the body as well as the mind. Sores and burns will appear all over their skin, they often neglect to eat and so they become emaciated, their motor skills suffer and their teeth deteriorate.

Most notably, crystal fiends will spontaneously combust from time to time, their whole bodies erupting into fire. Fire does not harm red elves, but it may ignite anything flammable around them, making them walking fire hazards among other things.

Simply quitting pyre dust will stop the combustion and some of the strange behavior, but long-time users usually suffer mental instability for the rest of their lives.

DULLAHAN

Dullahans suffer from "decapitus", an unusual curse bestowed by master witches and warlocks. It's usually cast as an ironic punishment on foolish people, who "would lose their heads if it were not attached to them". Decapitus can affect all peoples: commoners, fae, and gaians.

A dullahan's head is physically separated from their body, but a magic vapor spews from their necks and keeps their senses magically attached. This means the dullahans can still see, hear, and speak. They cannot swallow food however, so they simply drop it down their necks.

Dullahans must be very careful not to lose their heads. They still use their eyes to navigate their bodies and can become extremely disoriented should their head be lying somewhere far away. These peoples are often looked upon with pity, but in some cultures shun or kill them, believing they radiate bad luck.

Only the original mage who cast this curse can reverse it. Should they die or refuse to cooperate, the dullahan is stuck in this form forever.

GHOUL

Anyone can come down with "ghoulish hunger". It's a disease contracted from zombie bites and it can be fatal if left untreated. Many believe these infected peoples are turning into zombies themselves, but this is untrue. The symptoms can mimic the behavior of a zombie however.

In early stages, the victim experiences a fever and flu-like symptoms. This progresses into high blood pressure, bloodshot eyes, and bloody receding gums. Their skin pales and they become delirious. In advanced stages, their bodies overproduce adrenaline and they have a ravenous craving for flesh.

At this stage they will try to cannibalize anyone around them, friend or foe. This behavior continues until they are killed by fever or someone who mistakes them for a zombie. Ghouls can still make a full recovery even from an advanced case, but it requires an expensive medicine made from shungite, a rare stone.

BLOOD STATUE

These unfortunate people have "medusa syndrome", a curse inflicted by none other than a medusa. Their skin is slowly turning to stone and this will eventually suffocate them if they do not find a cure in time. All peoples except gorgons can suffer this affliction.

Only the blood statue's skin becomes stone, while the corpse within remains fleshy and perfectly preserved. They are often mistaken for actual statues unless they should crack, and then the stone "bleeds", hence their name.

A mage who excels in curative magic can cure this affliction, usually for a hefty price depending on how advanced it is.

GHOST

Ghosts may look similar to wraiths, but while wraiths have had their souls eaten by a lich, a ghost's soul is still fully in-tact somewhere on Looming Gaia...It's just not in their body, so their forms have dematerialized. This usually happens when a living person's soul is stolen by a necromancer.

Unlike wraiths, ghosts retain all their memories and have not gone mad. Since their bodies have dematerialized, they have nothing to contain their souls and therefor there is no way to return it to them. A ghost is a ghost forever, doomed to roam the world as a near-invisible mist until their soul is taken to the afterlife by a celestial. Necromancers keep souls sealed in arcane containers that the celestials cannot penetrate, but these containers can be shattered by someone in the physical world...

A new ghost has very little power. They struggle to be seen or heard, their forms just a glimmer and their voices just a whisper. They can't interact with anything physical. But the longer they remain in this form, the more influential they become.

Old ghosts are called "poltergeists". They are often very frustrated by their condition by this point, though now they can be seen, heard, and sometimes briefly interact with the physical world. They are known to disturb people by slamming doors, turning lights on and off, and screeching in the night. Some try to haunt the necromancer that stole their soul, but by the time they reach this stage, that necromancer is likely long dead.

SKINWALKER

This magical affliction only affects gaians. The "jackass curse" is practiced most often by wizards and faunae, cast upon those they feel are behaving in a rude, uncivilized manner. Those afflicted are known as "skinwalkers" and they will spontaneously turn into a beast of the mage's choosing.

The jackass curse can range from annoying to completely debilitating, depending on how often and what the victim is turning into. One may be eating dinner with their family, only to morph into a crocodile and have their family for dinner. Or they may turn into a bird and fly miles away from home, only to change back with no idea where they are.

If killed in their beast state, their corpse will revert back into its original form. This curse has traumatized many hunters in Looming Gaia's history, who realized they have just killed a person--perhaps even someone they know.

Fortunately skinwalkers can be cured by any cleric. Main problem being, many gaian peoples live in isolated villages and may not have access to such a person. They may have to make a long journey to the nearest city, fighting their beast form all the while.

Masterpost

Questions?

#looming gaia #lore #dullahan #ghoul #ghost #skinwalker #worldbuilding

27 notes · View notes