Affliction

With nothing more than the lightest brush of her fingers, she brought down one of the most ravenous Crawler’s I’d ever seen. It was only after we reached safety that I realized what it had cost her.

Cursegiver. Hexxer. Warlock. Many are the dark titles given to those who bear the Rune of Affliction, all of them well earned. Possessed of the power to bestow withering afflictions upon whomever is the target of the Afflictionist’s ire, this rune is one that is steeped in controversy. Regardless of one’s views however, the Cardinal Rune of Affliction is a power that is well known among the magical community.

Origins

Among the powers of Ransera there are few who doubt the validity of the claim that this rune was gifted to mortals by Malgar. It is perfectly in line with the views and goals of the Dragon God of Suffering. In spite of this widespread belief however, the elusive deity has never personally made such a claim.

Initiation and Threshold Sickness

Like all disciplines of rune magic, an aspiring afflictionist must find a wizard who is both willing and capable of inscribing the Cardinal Rune of Affliction upon their flesh. The Rune of Affliction has been described as one of the most terrifying of the cardinal runes to receive. The sickness that follows is one of the most grotesque, painful and horrifying. Recipients of the Rune of Affliction have been recorded as being sent into a terrible state where portions of their skin rot away completely or blistering pustules form all over the body. Others have yet seen recipients who are wracked with such excruciating pain they claws at themselves so badly as to shred their own flesh. The list goes on. Regardless of its form, the Rune of Affliction extracts a price from all who receive it and those who die in the process typically do so in a gruesome fashion.

Overstepping

Overstepping with an afflictionist is a terrible thing. At its lowest level, the wizard experiences a portion of the very affliction they intended to inflict on another. It is either that or they simply lose the focus required to fully manifest the affliction and simply suffer more severe effects of the corrosion caused by forming them. At its most devastating level, the mage is consumed by the very affliction they intended for another with added effect. Past afflictions on others may manifest on them all at once, compounding in a horrible display that is likely unforgettable for those who witness it.

Might of the Afflictionist

Affliction

Affliction is the broad term used to encapsulate the various jinxes, hexes and curses that a wizard of this particular discipline inflicts upon others. Afflictions follow a general rule however, barring unique circumstances they are always based in a condition of the body not the mind. This is not to imply that certain conditions don’t in turn affect the mind but an afflictionist cannot instantly curse a person with some form of mental malady, no matter how powerful they are. They can however induce conditions upon a person that in turn wear away at the mental fortitude of a person thus contributing to a building psychosis. Furthermore, an afflictionist cannot induce upon another person a condition that does not originate from the wizard’s own body.

What does this mean? Take for instance an afflictionist that desires to induce debilitating pain upon the body of another person. In order to afflict such a condition, the wizard must first experience said condition and then draw it into their aether to then be thrust upon their intended target. This might be achieved by simply giving themselves a simple cut, the pain of which they then draw into their aether to then be inflicted upon the target. Or they might ingest a poison and while briefly experiencing its full effects, they then draw those effects into their aether to then be placed upon the subject.

In the example of the poison, once the wizard experiences the condition they wish to induce, however brief that experience, if they are of sound enough mind they can then pull that condition into their aether using their rune. This in turn expunges the poison from the wizard’s physical body rendering them physically cured of it. In doing this, they harvest the effects of the condition in the body of their soul, the source of their aether. While housed there, the effect can be augmented and amplified with other conditions that originate from the wizard, to truly devastating effect.

This is not without cost however. The more terrible and more powerful the affliction, the more corrosive it becomes to the wizard’s soul. Housing an affliction for too long can damage the wizard’s soul irreparably and in some cases, even fatal.

Incorporating Other Magic

An affliction can incorporate another form of magic in order to augment its effects or to produce a different effect other than what the Rune of Affliction could accomplish on its own. Doing so is dangerous however and amplifies the corrosive nature of the housed affliction to exceedingly high levels. Attempting this as anything short of being a Master of Affliction, however, is to invite devastating levels of overstepping from which the wizard in question will likely never recover barring divine intervention.

Curserot

The side-effect suffered by every afflictionist. Curserot is the backlash for every affliction housed within the aether of the wizard’s soul. As the affliction is built up and amplified the aether comprising it becomes highly toxic and corrosive. Essentially what happens is that the echo of the affliction they created leaves an imprint that lingers on the soul. Small, brief and inconsequential afflictions will equally leave inconsequential imprints. More powerful afflictions leave much larger imprints. These imprints dissolve and dissipate over time. So long as the wizard rests and refrains from inflicting more afflictions upon others, they suffer no outward effects from these echoes. Without the time to recover however, the soul becomes a vat of poisoned aether that then bursts open like an inflated pustule. This in turn spreads throughout the wizard and will simultaneously manifest the effects of all the afflictions still lingering upon the wizard themselves.

Morbus Domicillius

Roughly translated to “House of the Diseased”, the Morbus Domicillius is a totem created by an affliction wizard into which they deposit a piece of their own soul. Through this method, the wizard can produce powerful afflictions bypassing the curserot normally induced by personally housing such afflictions themselves. Be warned however, the more powerful the affliction, the larger the sliver of one’s own soul must be deposited into the totem. The Morbus Domicillius is intended to be used over a prolonged period of time. Aggressive and rapid breaking of one’s soul in order to haphazardly be housed in the totem yields disastrous results. Given enough time, the wizard can slowly sever small pieces of themselves and deposit it into the totem allowing it to grow over time. Break away too much and too quickly and the soul cannot recover leading to irreparable damage.

By using the Morbus Domicillius, the wizard can then use the totem as a proxy for their own body. Typically fashioned out of a powerful and refined dragonshard, the totem does not suffer the effects of curserot in the same way that an organic being would. However, a totem made from insubstantial materials will in turn not be able to handle more powerful afflictions. One cannot use a dragonshard of minor quality or equivalent material and expect to house a master level curse. The totem would be overwhelmed by the corrosive nature of the affliction and would shatter, unleashing the housed affliction upon anything and everything in the immediate area.

The most powerful curses in history were often affixed to the most rare and powerful materials the wizard could find at the time.

Creating a Morbus Domicillius requires that the wizard completely submerge the intended vessel for the piece of his soul in his own essence. This is in part, why things such as gemstones receptive to magical properties are a preference. The wizard often ingests the totem, channels the power of his Rune of Affliction and uses some manner of amplified affliction to corrode enough of their own soul as to make it susceptible to being broken off and placed in the totem. They then typically regurgitate the totem with some even choosing to suffer through defecating it, knowing it is protected by the magical nature of the object from digestion. While an uncomfortable experience to be sure, if the wizard chooses to divest himself of more pieces of his own soul to invest in the totem this enables him to do so without having to reingest the totem.

Once the totem has been expelled from the wizard’s body, doused in the powers of affliction and possessed of a piece of the wizard’s tainted soul, it is then primed to receive and house afflictions of the wizard’s choosing. So long as the totem can handle the power of the afflictions in question, it will retain them until discharged.

It should be emphasized that the wizard will need time to heal from breaking away a portion of their own soul. While small pieces will regenerate and recover relatively quickly, breaking away larger portions for more powerful spell work becomes exceedingly dangerous. In all instances, the creation of a Morbus Domicillius will induce some level of overstepping proportionate to the power invested in it.

Abilities

Erosion

Acquired at Novice. Every afflictionist has the power to affect an affliction they come across. This is achieved by threading a piece of their own aether, in whatever fashion they so choose, to the afflicted or affliction created by another wizard. They can then undo the affliction induced upon that which they have found by bleeding the affliction off of the subject and taking the toxic and corrosive aether of the affliction into themselves. This has the same effect upon them as one would experience via the Curserot produced by their own afflictions. One should be warned however, attempting to erode an affliction more powerful than oneself is to invite heavy levels of overstepping.

Threading

Acquired at Novice. To thread is to take a strand of one’s own aether and to “thread” it into the aether of the intended target. This then serves as the channel through which the wizard can then thrust their conjured affliction upon the intended target. This must be achieved quickly however as a thread, by its very nature, is loose and easily dislodged. As a result, afflictions carried out strictly through threading tend to be exceptionally minor and brief in duration. Loosely threaded afflictions take the least amount of time to mature within the soul of the afflictionist and thus induce largely inconsequential amounts of Curserot.

Stitching

Acquired at Novice. A more in-depth application of threading, to stitch is to more securely affix an affliction to the aether of the intended target. Stitched afflictions last longer but are still relatively minor in scope. They take more time to be affixed to the target and allow for multiple afflictions to be placed upon the subject. At most, a stitched affliction will last 24 hours before dissipating. To stitch an affliction requires a more mature one be inflicted upon the target. Thus, the affliction must be housed and amplified within the wizard for a longer period of time. This affliction must have more substance in order to be more firmly fastened to the target.

Jinx

The term used to describe most minor afflictions. A jinx is the foundation of what afflictionists use. It is decidedly minor in scope, often affecting only one aspect of the physical body. They can be used to make a target dizzy, nauseous, blur the vision, dull the hearing and other short-lived but useful effects. More complex jinxes typically combine the techniques of briefly threaded afflictions with more stable stitched ones. A jinx does not last longer than 24 hours even multiple jinxes layered on top of one another will still expire after said duration. In that time however, they can be used to creative effect.

Knotting

Acquired at Apprentice. Used to bury an affliction within the intended recipient, knotting an affliction will give it a delayed release time. As the knot is slowly unraveled as a result of the recipient’s own aether wearing away at the affliction, small doses of its effects will be inflicted upon them. When the affliction is fully unknotted the remaining full force of the affliction is thrust upon the victim. As a wizard grows more powerful, they can place specific parameters for how the knots they place within a subject are to be undone, if at all. The uses of knots in affliction are many and have been used creatively throughout the history of this discipline’s existence.

Spinning

Acquired at Apprentice. Spunbound afflictions are put in place by embedding a knot into the aether of the intended target. From there the intended affliction is coiled around the target’s aether and sometimes stitched to it in order to make it more long-lasting. Generally speaking however, the threads of a spunbound affliction are only form a loose web across the aether of the target that degrades more slowly than simpler techniques but is still relatively short-lived. Spunbound afflictions can last up to 7 days.

Morbus Domicillius

Acquired at Journeyman. Used as a method of bypassing the need for the wizard to house an affliction within their own body before being discharged. The Morbus Domicillius is a totem, typically fashioned from a dragonshard or equally magically receptive material that is then used to deposit a sliver of the wizard’s soul. The totem can receive afflictions proportionate to the quality of the materials used to create it. Common, cheap materials will not be able to house more powerful afflictions. Rarer and more powerful materials most certainly can.

Netting

Acquired at Journeyman. Netting is the means by which an afflictionist can ensnare the unsuspecting into an affliction without otherwise having to touch them. The wizard spins multiple threads of aether together inside themselves, filling those threads with their intended affliction. The net is then cast out from their body in a direction of their choosing. It is visible to all within sight of it, taking whatever form the wizard chooses. The drawback to netting is that it takes time to craft one. A small net is likely easily dodged and has limited area of effect. Larger nets require far more time to construct but have a much greater chance of ensnaring the intended targets.

A net is often used in conjunction with the Morbus Domicillius. The wizard spins, threads or stitches an affliction into place within the totem. They then place a knot or knots upon the affliction enabling it to be housed for prolonged periods of time. From there, the wizard can then place the totem wherever they so desire and either bury it to serve as some manner of trap or use it as a projectile. At will, the wizard can undo the knots in the totem and unleash the affliction(s) housed within the totem upon all in the vicinity.

Hex

The term used to describe moderately powerful afflictions. While a jinx is usually simple and straightforward, a hex is more complex with multiple layers to the affliction in question. A hex typically incorporates afflictions that when compounded together, can render even the most robust person bedridden. Hexes are things built over time however and require extensive preparation to be executed effectively and to be long-lasting. Most hexes do not last longer than 7 to 10 days but in that period of time, they can accomplish much depending on the intent of the wizard. Generally speaking, hexes have lasting effect but the subject will recover if given the time to do so. Only the most powerful hexes leave a permanent mark on the subject but such afflictions also tend to leave a mark on the wizard who fashioned them.

Weaving

Acquired at Expert. Weaving an affliction is to give it the appearance of being part of the natural makeup of the intended subject’s aether. This technique takes time, however, as it requires intricately attaching the affliction to the very core of the subject’s being. An affliction that is woven can last up to 1 year depending on the intent of the wizard.

Whipstitch

Acquired at Expert. The whipstitched affliction allows for the wizard to thread together multiple afflictions in quick succession to compound effect. It is then swiftly cast out from their body and attached to a subject where it is hastily latched on to their aether. The results are usually crippling and have a rapid onset but an equally rapid burnout. The backlash for creating a whipstitched affliction induces potent amounts of Curserot and edges a wizard toward overstepping. However, it allows for the wizard to rapidly generate more powerful afflictions without the need to touch their target and when preparation time is lacking.

Quilting

Acquired at Master. The quilted affliction is a terrifying thing to behold. Comprised of multiple layers consisting of a multitude of afflictions seamlessly bound together, it is a terrible fate for the recipient of a quilted affliction. The number of afflictions within is quilt is limited only to the amount of time the master has to prepare it. Even the most minor of quilted afflictions can last years at a time.

Morbus Dominus

Acquired at Master. Considered the most vile technique within an afflictionist’s arsenal. This is an evolution of the Morbus Domicillius wherein instead of using a crafted totem, the afflictionist can use a living being. While converting any of the sentient races into a Morbus Dominus is a challenging feat for even the most powerful of afflictionists, it is not impossible. Such a feat requires a considerable amount of effort however and involves breaking the willpower and mind of the victim in various ways. Few, save for the most insidious, would go through the trouble. More common is to use animals, insects, and other lesser creatures to serve as the receptacle for the piece of the wizard’s soul that is to house the affliction. A Morbus Dominus is created in similar fashion to the Morbus Domicillius. It begins with the creation of a normal totem which is then, through whatever means is deemed appropriate, ingested by the subject intended to become the Morbus Dominus.

Following this ingestion, the wizard then casts a net over the subject through which the wizard connects to the essence of their totem. After firmly knotting the net in place, the wizard then pours the intended affliction into the subject through the connection with the totem inside them. If successful, the totem will not absorb the affliction but the aether in question will prime the totem for absorption into the subject. Once the totem has been successfully absorbed, the afflictionist can then utilize the living being as they would normally use a Morbus Domicillius.

Curse

A curse is either a permanent or semi-permanent affliction. They are decidedly complex and often comprise afflictions that compliment and enhance each other. In many cases, curses incorporate aspects of other magic into their weave. However, a curse takes time to build. Anyone, even the most practiced master, attempting to thrust an affliction at the level of a curse upon another individual instantly is inviting madness upon themselves. Those who are subject to a curse have often been inflicted with one through an object prepared by the afflictionist across seasons if not years of work. A curse can last as long as the wizard who fashions it intends it to.

Tier Progression

Novice (1-24)

Just beginning in their journey to becoming a true afflictionist. The novice in the Rune of Affliction can affect very little. Their afflictions are limited to the physical senses or mild disruptions in the body. They can induce a bout of dizziness. They can make the muscles of a limb spasm and thus produce the illusion of clumsiness. They can blur vision and so forth. The afflictions of an apprentice seldom last more than a few minutes with only their most focused work lasting more than a few hours. The ability to Erode other afflictions, to Thread and to Stitch are available at this tier. A novice must be touching their target.

Apprentice (25-49)

Now more capable in their craft, the Apprentice Afflictionist is beginning to get a taste for what the magic can truly do. They have likely experimented with creating a few more creative jinxes by this point and likely have a preferred few in their arsenal. They are able to thread an affliction into a target in a matter of seconds. Stitching however, still requires several minutes of unbroken contact with the intended recipient. They gain the ability to place a Knot within their intended subject, the act of doing so takes several minutes of concentration. Through this knot they can then Spin more complex afflictions yielding more powerful jinxes. An apprentice must be touching their target.

Journeyman (50-74)

Truly coming into their own as an afflictionist, the wizard has a firmer grasp on the fundamentals of their craft. At this stage the wizard has become skilled enough to cast a Net as well as construct a Morbus Domicillius. They are able to thread an affliction in moments. The wizard can stitch, knot and spin afflictions together in but a few minutes. Range for casting their Net, independent of throwing a totem, is limited to roughly 30 ft.

Expert (75-99)

The expert afflictionist has by now achieved a solid and expansive grasp on the skills and abilities at their disposal. They are well practiced in the basic abilities and have begun to practice Weaving afflictions into various people, objects and even embedding them into areas using their Morbus Domicillius. Furthermore they have achieved such skill and power that they can Whipstitch afflictions albeit as an increased cost to themselves. The range at which they can cast remotely has increased to roughly 50 ft.

Master (100)

What makes the Master Afflictionist powerful is not the speed at which they can cast their afflictions but the vast array of afflictions they can create. They can successfully complete threading, stitching, knotting, and make even small nets in mere moments. Nor is it the terrifying Morbus Dominus they can now create. Their ability to Quilt together afflictions creating seamless blanket of jinxes, hexes and curses of all manner of effects can bring legions of soldiers to their knees. At this stage, the afflictionist can safely apply other disciplines of magic to their threads making it truly impossible to predict what the master might inflict upon others or the world around them. The power of the Master Afflictionist is in what they have time to prepare and the more time they have, the more devastating the affliction they can unleash.