#eden and co. are very rare exceptions and therefore none of them are familiar with these symptoms

[multi-lefaiye]

random sunbringer's song thoughts

so, i think it's canon to bg3/d&d lore in general that there are no physical symptoms associated with being infected with a mind flayer parasite.

but i've decided that, in the specific timeline of sunbringer's song, there *are* some tells that someone is infected.

(putting the rest under the cut just in case this gets squicky for anybody--cw for talk of worms and parasites going inside people's heads)

for about 12-36 hours after the initial infection, the eye the worm entered through is red and swollen, visibly bloodshot, with pupils blown wide.

after the initial swelling goes down, there will be a red ring around the corners of their eye that lasts for another few days, and after a week has passed the swelling and redness is healed entirely.

at that point, the affected eye will begin to develop a thin ring of white around the pupil. the longer the person remains infected without either dying or removing the parasite, the more prominent the ring will become.

if you look into an infected person's eye at just the right angle, you can see the reflection of the parasite through that ring of white.