Soul Rot

Soul Rot is a force of corruption that is drawn form the powers of external planes of untold darkness. Its origin and purpose is unknown. This force is drawn to the souls of mortals and works to corrupt and eventually devour the soul of the mortal who contracts it. Soul Rot is as a plague on mortal society, a plague that no sane person would ever wish on their worst enemies.

Spread
Soul Rot is attracted to the traces of soul left in recently dead corpses. When it finds a body it lies in waiting inside the corpse until a living creature comes into contact with it, at which point the soul rot will attempt to spread. Those who are more resistant to disease, curses, or whom radiate or are often in contact with holy energy are more resistant contracting the rot.

It is unknown if the rot can be spread through just the animated dead or just dead bodies in general. Most nations choose to avoid the risk all together and either cremate their dead or bury them within a day or so of their passing. It seems the longer the dead is left unhurried and away from mortal contact, the more likely they are to be infected with Soul Rot. Consecrating ground seems to stop Soul Rot from developing, so most graveyards are consecrated on a daily basis.

Effect on the Soul
When someone becomes contracted with soul rot, their soul will slowly begin to give way to the corrupting force that is simply known as "the rot." This causes the infected's original personality to slowly give way to madness. Their body also starts to wither in different ways. This progressively gets worse as the person enters each stage of the rot, of which there are 3.

Stages of Soul Rot

 * 1) Minor Soul Rot
 * 2) * The infected becomes functionally immortal. Nothing can kill them and their body magically repairs itself back to life.
 * 3) * The infected looses a bit of their ability to rationalize and make ethically sound decisions.
 * 4) * Few physical changes are present this stage, making it difficult to diagnose.
 * 5) ** Skin begins to pale
 * 6) ** Hair slowly looses color
 * 7) ** Teeth begin to yellow
 * 8) Major Soul Rot
 * 9) * Physical changes are much more drastic in this stage.
 * 10) ** Eyes tint to a dark red color
 * 11) ** Hair loss
 * 12) ** Veins begin to bulge unnaturally and are black in color
 * 13) ** Skin begins to crack like dried earth
 * 14) * The infected looses more of their sanity, making rash or strange decisions and slowly looses their attachments to others.
 * 15) Permanent Soul Rot
 * 16) * At this stage, Soul Rot is incurable and can now spread to other people.
 * 17) * Physical corruption grows to an unrepresented extent
 * 18) ** Eyes turn pitch black, with only the slightest tint of red over the pupils.
 * 19) ** Skin becomes ghost white
 * 20) ** Body begins to release black smoke from every orifice, eyes, and cracks in the skin.
 * 21) * At this stage, the infected either overcomes the control of the soul rot, but is forever mad, or looses themselves and the Soul Rot controls every action of the body. The person they used to be will live forever seeing and feeling their body preform unspeakable horrors with no way to stop or control it. People who succumb to the Soul Rots controlled are considered to have a fate worse than any punishment in any afterlife.

Advancing to Further Stages of Soul Rot
When Soul Rot is contracted, it always starts at stage 1, no matter the source. It takes approximately 40 days for each stage of soul rot to advance to the next one, unless something triggers the soul rot to progress prematurely. Events that can cause the rot to progress suddenly include but are not limited to the following: There may be other external factors that can advance Soul Rot not listed here.
 * The infected "dies" causing the Soul Rot to repair their body.
 * The infected's mental capabilities weaken to a large enough extent
 * The infected goes mad from other external sources
 * The infected attempts to make themselves immortal through magical means

Curing Soul Rot
Soul Rot can be cured if caught at any point before Stage 3, Permanent Soul Rot. While undergoing the process of curing Soul Rot, it appears to be incapable of advancing to the next stage.

Curing Stage 1
Stage 1 is the easiest to be cured. If caught before advancing to Stage 2, the infected must simply leave the source of the Soul Rot and purify the body through prayer for five days. After which the Soul Rot should be purged from the body. It is recommended that the infected finds a holy site dedicated to a god they worship for best and most effective results. This can also be accomplished through a lesser restoration or more powerful spell equivalent being cast on the user once a day for five consecutive days.

Curing Stage 2
Stage 2 can be cured, but it requires more effort and is a large disruption in ones life. Several spells must be used to cure Stage 2 Soul Rot as well as a pilgrimage to a shrine of the god the infected worships, no other god will suffice. Then the infected must spend no less than 40 days of deep prayer and meditation at said shrine, with greater restoration or a more powerful equivalent being cast on them for the first 20 days, and lesser restoration, or a more powerful equivalent spell, for the last 20 days.

Stage 3 of Soul Rot is incurable. When encountering someone with Permanent Soul Rot the only course of action is to trap it in such a way that they cannot spread the disease, whether that be through mechanical or magical means.

The Dark Storm
During the 1st Cycle, the time of the Elven Empires, an event known as "The Dark Storm" appears to be the first event in recorded history of Soul Rot occurring. It was during this event that the Elves were wiped from the face of the planet, Soul Rot's involvement in this event is as yet unknown.

The Great Rot of the 2nd Cycle
During the mid-2nd Cycle, a great plague of Soul Rot broke out within the lands of Yekatr, severly damaging the lands population and less-prepared cultures. The Rot almost spread to the rest of the world had it not been for the quick work of The Nine. Nine of the most powerful Wizards in arcane history sacrificed their lives to stop the plague from spreading, after it had already taken hundreds of thousands of lives. Only the Skaya Imperia appeared relatively unaffected, and used the aftermath to conquer the rest of Yekatr over the next several centuries.