Morbomancy
Nature #
Morbo archons naturally occurred in a large column of archons that spontaneously erupted from the sky and bathed the land below it, much like a lightning bolt. These natural phenomena were referred to as primal harbingers. A primal harbinger was rare, and lasted an uncertain amount of time. The quickest harbinger lasted three seconds, and the longest one lasted two hours. ^befa69
Effects on the Environment
A primal harbinger was often accompanied by strong winds. Thunderstorms were sometimes seen spontaneously appearing in a region right before a one hit, but this did not always happen.
During a primal harbinger, many living creatures within its radius experienced elevated levels of stress and anxiety. Some of them even appeared to sense some sort of danger and ran away or into hiding.
Maduka Caution
Maduka Queens were often observed recalling many of their deployed warriors and workers alike to gather inside the hive if it fell within a harbinger's area of effect.
The invisible whirlwind of Morbo archons inside a primal harbinger would lash out, possibly striking and infusing a living creature caught in its radius. Once entangled, all the other Morbo archons within the harbinger would coalesce into that one creature, transforming it into a monstrous version of itself. If this happened, the primal harbinger was no more.
The afflicted creature, called a primal monster, gained drastically enhanced physical and/or magical capabilities. It often doubled or tripled in size, sporting deadlier claws, horns, and the like. Some primal monsters even gained new magical abilities its species did not possess, like a Six-Eyed Shadow Squid given the ability to command aquatic flora nearby.
Primal monsters were often very aggressive, even species that typically displayed no such tendencies. A single primal monster could shift the balance of an ecosystem within a matter of weeks, creating an entirely new one with it as its apex.
Alufang Aggression
Alufang were antagonistic towards primal monsters, and would often pack together to hunt them down if discovered. It is likely they judged them to be a threat of some sort.
Cultivation #
Though sapient species like humans could not become primal monsters at the behest of a primal harbinger, there were other ways to make the power of transformation their own. In order to generate their own Morbo archons that they may use their power, one needed to transform their heart into something known as a beastheart through the process of monster metabolization.
Monster metabolization was achieved by extracting the life-string of a primal monster and consuming it, which involved the following steps:
- Some of the creature's tissue, typically from the heart, would be crushed up into a paste.
- The paste would be soaked in salty soap water overnight.
- Sunfruit juice was added to the mixture and stirred gently.
- High proof alcohol was gently poured over the mixture.
- The life-string would separate and float to the top of the solution, and a wooden stick would be used to swab it out.
The Truth Behind Life-string
The denizens of the Legere were unaware of it, but this life-string was simply the creature's DNA that they extracted. The purer the sample of DNA, the easier it was to metabolize.
Monster metabolization was a significantly taxing process on one's body. An hour or two after consuming the requisite amount of life-string, a subject's health would often severely decline. This state could include any or all of the following symptoms:
- Abdominal pain
- Bloated stomach
- Chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Acid reflux
- Dizziness
- High fever
- Hot and cold flashes
- Shivering
- Uncontrollable twitching, spasms, or muscle locks
- Brittle nails or nails growing unnaturally fast
- Bones becoming softer than normal
The severity of symptoms depended on the vitality of the subject. A strong physical condition made for a much easier metabolization process. If a subject's body could not keep up with this strain endured over metabolization, they could fail the ordeal and fall into an unconscious state for a day or more as the morbo archons drain from their body. For the even more unfortunate, the process was sometimes fatal. This process would always fail if the primal monster the life-string was taken from was still ailve, suggesting some kind of sustained connection to it.
Caster Sentiment
As a result of the risks, casters would often either undergo intense physical conditioning in preparation for monster metabolization, or just steer clear from it entirely.
History of Monster Metabolization
Monster metabolization used to be accomplished by consuming a very large portion of a primal monster's raw meat in a small amount of time. However, this process was many, many times more difficult and required the strongest of vitalities. With the discovery of the life-string and how to extract it, no one dares attempt this method anymore, save the truly desperate.
Once a caster successfully metabolized a beastheart, they began generating and circulating their own morbo archons within their body that they could manipulate to use newfound powers. This biomechanism is often referred to as a morbomancer's beast pulse. Additionally, the process of monster metabolization became a little easier, and they could repeat this process with other types of creatures' life-string to further enhance their beast pulse.
If the caster successfully metabolized a part of a primal monster's corpse, the rest of its meat lost all of its magic power. This meant each primal monster could only be successfully metabolized once.
Powers #
Monsterification #
Morbomancers were most known for wielding the power of monsterification. As if flexing a muscle, Morbomancers can instruct their beast heart to speed up and begin producing an overabundance of Morbo archons. As the concentration levels in the caster's body reaches critical mass, it slowly transformed from its regular appearance to its monster form: an oftentimes terrifying humanoid amalgamation of all their metabolized monsters.
Physical Conditioning #
Since a Morbomancer's monster form was an extension of their body, anytime their regular body was physically strengthened as a result of conditioning or otherwise, their monster form would also grow in power, and vice versa. Because it was easier to physically strain a creature's regular form, it was typically more convenient to physically condition it as opposed to their monster form, which would need significantly higher weights, more time, etc.
Mutant Metabolization #
Metabolizing the life-string of subsequent primal monsters became more difficult based on how many a caster already had, as well as the difference between the features of those monsters. It is much easier to metabolize two canine monsters than it is to metabolize a bug and a fish.
Resulting mutations as a consequence of additional metabolization yielded largely predictable results. If one morbomancer merged two species of creatures together, they were likely to experience the same mutation as another one that attempted the same combination. Despite this, there was always a chance it could manifest in a new and surprising way.
Metabolization Conditioning
Morbomancers were not typically eager to rush the process of metabolizing more monsters, but instead spent a lot of time physically conditioning before taking on their next one.
Primal Detection #
Morbomancers gained an additional sense that allowed them to detect the presence of nearby primal harbingers, sometimes even before one happened. This made it easier to either seek out new mutations or avoid dangerous situations they were not prepared for.
Practitioners #
The Feral Knights of Sandar were known to use morbomancy to increase their physical strength and combat abilities.