Taint

Taint has been haunting the Dragnid Forest for ages. Its origin is currently unknown. The purple miasma is known to corrupt the animals that live in that forest, turning them into rabid beasties. Taint has also polluted the water in and near the woods. Waplei Marsh has been completely converted and all the fish and wildlife are dangerous threats.

What is it?

By itself, taint appears as a diluted fog on the edges of the forest, but the further a pae goes, the thicker and darker the miasma becomes. Upon encounter along the edge of Dragnid Foreset, it will smell off, unlike anything else. Further into the forest, and closer to the volcano the smell grows more pungent and reminiscent of formaldehyde. The longer the exposure, the more noseblind the pae gets. The miasma is tasteless and you can't feel it.

Taint does not drift or wander. It will stay in Dragnid, however, it does flow with water. It has no shape and is not visible to the naked eye, with two exceptions. Water takes on a purple hue, and heavily affect pae have an aura. (More down below)

Effects on Pae

The effects will depend on the amount of taint the pae has been exposed to.


Level	Exposure	Heal Strength
1	Anxiety, nervousness, short tempers, selfish, greedy	1 Basic racial cleanse from any pae
2	All previous effects plus... Aggression, mania, and will kick a puppy	Scroll power to cleanse
3	All previous effects plus... Rage, and paranoia	Main ability to cleanse - beginner
4	Sociopath - All previous effects plus a desire to fight, bite, and claw.	Main ability experienced, 1 racial cleanse from Hallowed, demigod, spirit healer
5	All previous effects plus the purple aura starts becoming visible	Hallowed main ability, Holy Knight racial cleanse, Elemental leaders racial cleanse
6	All previous effects plus...aura getting darker	Holy Knight main ability, Elemental leader main ability, Luminary racial, lesser deity
7	All previous effects plus...if they are a member of the corruption faction can control their aura's visibility, Point of no return, the pae will always have at least level 1.	Luminary main ability, Earthmother
8	Pyschopath- All previous effects plus... inclined towards insanity and murderous intent.	Multiple experienced, luminaries, Knights, Elemental leaders, deity
9	Crazed Killer- All previous effects plus... will stop at nothing. Failure is not an option because there is no sweet release from pain with death. Strafe will resurrect them and force them to do it again.	Multiple experienced, luminaries, Knights, Elemental leaders, deity
10	Permamently fully tainted. Strafe wants you! To join his growing army.	No amount of healing will help

Like any antagonist, they will have moments of appearing "normal" and relate to their close relationships in a friendly manner.

Ways to Become Tainted

The easiest method is to walk into the forest. Taint miasma can be inhaled. Each time a pae enters the forest, they go up a level on the taint scale. Also, the further into the forest the pae ventures can increase the taint level.

The fastest method is to be bitten by a tainted pae or beastie, or an exchange of body fluids.

BONUS: At level 7, the pae has gained the attention of Guardian Strafe and he is likely to seek them out. If they decide to hand their soul over to Strafe, they will become a member of his Corruption Army, and insta-level to 10.

History of Taint

Taint was discovered at the tail end of the First Age, after the Great War between the Light and Elementals by General Strafe, head of the Light Army. After the fall of the Dracian leader Naur, a deep purple smoke erupted from the volcano and covered the Dragnid Forest. It turned out that the smoke was a miasma that made even the most docile creature violent. Pae vowed never to go into that forest as long as the purple miasma didn't drift out to the rest of the island.

General Strafe had other ideas. He wanted to learn more, so he ventured deep into the forest to begin his experiments, unbeknownst to the other 9 generals.

How to RP taint

Currently, IC pae do not know much about taint except that it negatively affects living things.

Tainted pae live in the forest, are immune to the smell, and live comfortably. Guardian Strafe has only made himself known to very few pae currently in the story because he is still building his new faction. The Angwi Clan of Nagas knows of him, and the Emporer and Empress have communicated with him. But players do not need to elaborate more than that.

Tips

RP up to level three simply requires a change in mental health.
RP at the level of negativity that is comfortable to you, as the author of your pae's personal story.
A tainted pae is still a pae. They will still know everyone, their thinking is just slowly devolving.

Healing Taint

Pae with taint healing powers don't know they have this ability. For them to learn of it, they must attempt to heal a pae acting bizarrely or not like themselves.
Please stick with the taint levels for healing. A regular pae isn't able to fully cleanse a deeply tainted pae. It takes a higher level.
All pae can heal beasties if they have a taint-cleansing power as their main ability
Goddess Eris is tainted, making her magic more chaotic than normal.

Avoiding Taint

Kitsune can use one of their fox fyre balls to make an impenetrable barrier. Tainted pae are unaffected by this barrier, however, taint does not transfer while inside a barrier created by a kisune.
The edges of the forest are neutral as the line between miasma and clean air is blurry
Taint is can be "caught" like a virus, bacteria, curse, std, or predisposition condition. That's right, a pae can be born with it, if any pae in the lineage was tainted. Taint has a half-life when it comes to breeding. It will never completely go away, but it will be reduced.

'This section will be updated as the story progresses and more about the taint is discovered'