The Corruption

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The Corruption is a powerful, paracausal alien force originating from an extra-dimensional plane, presumed to be Halla, that is hostile to Viran life. Despite numerous observations of it throughout history, the precise nature of the Corruption remains mysterious and it has often been equated with evil or the antithesis of creation. Manifestations of the Corruption are relatively rare on Viranos, and it instead acts indirectly through proxies and servants. These are sometimes banished gods from Halla, stranded gods, or Virans who have been granted significant magical power. There is little physical presence of the Corruption on the Viran plane, and it has been speculated that it is physically impossible for the entire force to reach the aforementioned realm without causing immense damage to both Halla and Viranos in the process.

It is unclear whether the Corruption is a concrete physical entity, a cosmic paracausal force, or both. While some have seen the Corruption as having a will of its own or being sentient enough to seek the destruction of other life, others have compared it to a plague or force of nature existing primarily as a presumed side effect of residual Hallan magic.


Breaches[edit | edit source]

When elements of the Corruption come into contact with a shimmer, it make break through the barrier between the dimensions of Halla and Viranos, resulting in what is colloquially called a "breach" or "intrusion". During breaches, the anomalous properties of the shimmer are altered by the Corruption to hijack or destroy Viran lifeforms.

The most visible change in the shimmer's behavior at the beginning of the breach is the replacement of the iridescent veil of the shimmer with what has been described variously as a wall of "darkness" or "shadows" through which no light passes and which intercepts all radio communication attempting to enter or leave. The usually random mutagenic effects appear to be directly hijacked by the Corruption, and occur much more rapidly and violently, with virtually all lifeforms within the breach swiftly mutated and engineered to the point where they can either serve the Corruption's purposes or else die due to their condition, a process simply termed "corruption". Sapient Virans who are corrupted are, for all intents and purposes, no longer physically or psychologically the person they were before, and will usually follow the Corruption's orders without question. These orders are frequently relayed through certain chosen corrupted individuals, termed "surrogates", or are either banished gods or Virans gifted with exceptional magical ability by the Corruption.

An apparent favorite technique is to create and disperse a form of fungus which serves to sap nutrients from the soil and kill off the local ecosystem, expanding as the breach does. Depending on the size and location of the breach, as well as the number of freshly corrupted lifeforms available, the Corruption may strike outwards towards population centers in order to kidnap Virans, who are then taken to the breach and corrupted themselves. The Corruption has also been known to simply slaughter populations, destroy infrastructure, and salt the earth; although the precise motivations behind what determines this decision are unknown; it is theorized that this is a strategic decision to spread fear and weaken any response to its presence. Other times, the Corruption simply waits within the breach with its newly converted servants until the end of the shimmer, at which point the newly corrupted are moved to Halla, potentially to be used during another breach.