Void Corruption

**VOID Corruption** is the rampant transformation of the land by pieces of the God of Nothingness, VOID. Upon his destruction in the Holy City of Atlas, parts of his corpse were spread across Io, just like his counterpart DIV. The pieces of VOID came to rest beneath the continents, actively attempting to consume and corrupt all around it. VOID Corruption often manifests in large pits in the ground as it dissolves away the earth or through infecting plants and animals, effectively corrupting and puppeteering them in an instinctive desire to return all to nothing.

## Properties

VOID corruption is a distinctive deep purple that often spreads across the land in pseudo-dendritic patterns. Creatures infected by the VOID often bear these signature colorations and patterns all across their bodies. Such creatures are usually violent and monomaniac, seeking only to further spread VOID. They show little signs of any prior personality or cognitive thought bar this base instinct. Such creatures can also be further corrupted, transforming into large and monstrous abominations, as seen with the Deep Gnome Taskmaster. Perhaps the most significant sign of this corruption is in the huge open pits that form from the VOID dissolving away at the ground. Such pits, also called VOID Maws, are lined with intense concentrations of corruption, and often act as epicenters of its influence across Io.

## History

### Death of a God

The Age of the Gods ended violently, with the destruction of the reigning deities DIV and VOID at the hands of the Fallen Heroes. The death of VOID lead to the distribution of his dismembered corpse across all of Io, a fate that also befell DIV. The corpse of VOID burrowed its way into the continents across Io, especially in the continent of Qethos. There, the corruption lay dormant, slowly eating away at all around it.

## Phase 2 Story

### Resurgence of VOID

In the year 735, the remnants of VOID scattered across Qethos began to become a serious threat. Starting in the north of the continent, reports began to circulate regarding VOID creating dangerous sinkholes and transforming creatures into terrible monsters. One such VOID pit opened up just outside Gubwater Keep, the former headquarters of the legendary Fallen Heroes. A group of pirates from Kreshart were present to witness the formation of this pit, eating away at the surface to form a large chasm. The crew left the area quickly, conscious of the danger it posed. Some time later, a creature seemingly crawled out of that pit, only to meet its end at the axe of Weyzi Uk'tah. As time passed, the corruption gradually began to spread southwards passed the Ruined Wall into the central and southern part of the continent.

### The Maw

In the center of the continent, an exceptionally large VOID pit had opened up. The presence of the pit attracted the Order of the Crow, exiles of society who had turned to worship the VOID. The cult's grandmasters dubbed this gargantuan chasm "The Maw" and set up their settlement around the nearby abandoned tower. The Maw granted the grandmasters an opportunity to fulfil their desire for VOID through its intense corruptive properties. Under the direction of Grandmaster Zelow, the cult snatched the body of the first All King from its resting place outside Llwendolyn and teleported it back to their camp. They then prepared a ritual to allow the body to be infused with the VOID energies of the Maw, in the hopes to transform it into an Avatar of VOID. Their plot became undone when a group of adventurers hired to find the Scepter of the All King infiltrated and interrupted the ritual.

At the Maw, one of the intruders, Bronn Luxprin, performed a unnatural ritual to resurrect his liege lord Tenebraum, using the body of the first All King as a component. The revivification of Tenebraum did not go according to plan, as one of the party, Kua, did not wish to serve the former king and refused to swear himself to secrecy. A scuffle occurred as Tenebraum attempted to throw Kua into the Maw, unable to accept his decision. However, the tortle was rescued by his friends and managed to turn the tables on Tenebraum. He grabbed the distracted king and tossed him into the Maw instead. Enraged by grief, Bronn beat Kua within an inch of his life and left him to crawl away, taking a portal to Llwendolyn. However, Tenebraum did not perish within the Maw. Its corruption seeped into his body, slowly and painfully transforming him into his own antithesis; a mighty Avatar of VOID. Breaking free of the Maw, the VOID King travelled under Qethos for parts unknown.

### Crusade against the Corruption

After the fallout of this confrontation at the Maw, Bronn Luxprin deserted his remaining party members. Perhaps in response to the growing VOID threat, Bronn's Radiant powers had returned to him. After some time, a group of mud creatures that worshipped VOID attempted to attack Llwendolyn, only for Bronn to intercept and obliterate their forces. This act won Bronn much support and rallied the dedicated fringe sect, the Order of Bronn, to him. Bronn began to gain significant political power in the kingdom, railing against the senate for its incompetency in handling this crises. Duty bound to purge his beloved god's enemy, Bronn set about destroying whatever sources of VOID he could, with his holy warriors, now called The Faithful, following in his stead.

### The Deep Gnome Experiments

As it spread south beneath the earth, the VOID came to attention of the Deep Gnomes, who managed to find a way to store and transport it for their twisted experiments. In a laboratory deep underground in southern Qethos, the gnomes began to capture victims for experimentation. Several of these victims were miners from the neighboring Sidsworth Mines, though some of their other captives were more unusual. One was a young man with an abundance of VOID and Radiance within him. Leask Laell was his name, and he was subjected to infusions of VOID that brought his VOID and Radiance into uneasy equilibrium, a feat they were quite proud of. Though they considered it a success, the young man was left with severe amnesia and his enhanced VOID made him somewhat emotionally unstable. Another "success" was the conversion of a Radiant species, a Flumph, into a creature of VOID. They then locked it into continuous battle with a enhanced Radiant Flumph, which caused both to forcibly evolved over time.

However, the Deep Gnome's meddling with the VOID began to backfire on them. The vessels they used to transport the substance began to corrode and infect parts of their lab. Perhaps most devastating for the gnomes, their taskmaster became corrupted by the VOID, transforming into an ooze-like abomination. The gnomes managed to seal him away, losing access to much of the facility. The remaining gnomes attempted to continue their vile works as their lab was slowly being eaten away around them. The facility was finally abandoned when a group of warriors broke in, slew the gnomes and their corrupted taskmaster and rescued the captive miners and flumphs. With his captors dead, Leask Laell managed to escape, to later joined the warriors a few months later.

### The VOID Reborn

When investigating the Jaksu Academy for information on DIV and VOID, the Qethosian warriors were drawn into the recreated memories of one of the Fallen Heroes. In order to escape, they faced off against the memory of a Voidstar. However, the Voidstar managed to become self aware and began to target Petra's guardian, the djinn Terasolum. It managed to overwhelm the djinn and prepare it as a vessel to escape out into Io. Once escaped, Terasolum and the VOID Reborn, as it became known, generated an frightening amount of VOID energy which manifesting as an unnatural storm centered around them. It then left to travel north across Qethos, with the storm wreaking havoc as they went. The presence of such VOID energies caused an amplification in the corruption already present in Qethos. While it travelled, it often had its vessel Terasolum stop to draw VOID out from creatures, such as the wandering monster roaming outside an abandoned church.

### Emergence in Etropa

The advent of the VOID Reborn even cause problems in hitherto unaffected areas. Etropa has historical connections to VOID, with one of its ruined cities having a dedicated order of knights that served the God of Nothingness. When the VOID Reborn emerged in Qethos, pockets of VOID corruption in Etropa also become active. Though more isolated, their influence spread quickly, as it began to infect the unique wildlife of Etropa. One such victim was a Noxious Anaraba, whose territory became seeped in VOID corruption. Thankfully, it was slain by a group of hunters not long after its infection. The VOID corruption became an object of fascination to one of the group's Talicos, Vivi. He became convinced of VOID's supposed performing enhancing abilities when combined with salt, and attempted to use it on himself. This reckless ingestion of VOID proved a poor choice on Vivi's part, as it slowly affected his body the more he consumed it. Vivi's ultimate fate remains unclear, though the presence of purple blood reminiscent of VOID around his last location hints at an unsettling development...

### The Voidbringer

On its journey, the Void Reborn was contacted by Leask Laell, who expressed his desire to reach an accord with the entity. He informed the Voidstar that he was capable of hosting the VOID as a result of the gnome's experiments. With this union, Leask would take on the mantle of Voidbringer, an ancient title used for VOID's champion. At the Crater of Atlas, the two met in person to come to an arrangement. The VOID Reborn had experienced the death of its original self and sought only to live on, something Leask was willing to give it as its new host. As a caveat, the VOID Reborn requested Leask seek out the powerful source of VOID beneath the Crater, which he agreed to. Leask then allowed the VOID Reborn into himself and became its new host. As the Voidbringer, Leask would gain influence over the rampant VOID energies on Io, allowing him to quell their advance, saving Qethos from destruction. Over the next 500 years, Leask would undergo apotheosis into the new God of VOID, Hollow. Hollow then brought the remaining VOID Corruption to heel, minimizing the damage it could do to the planet.

## Uses

The VOID typically does not make itself malleable to the whims of others. It must first corrupt the individual before it can give access to its powers. Primarily, VOID Corruption can do two things. Firstly and perhaps most prominently, VOID Corruption actively dissolves and consumes matter. This can lead to entire areas of land being annihilated by the VOID. When the VOID takes a host, it partially consumes them while also corrupting their bodies. Extreme cases of this can be seen in the mutated Gnome Taskmaster and the VOID Rot Troll that was once Leask Laell's father. VOID Corruption also tends to grant the victim enhanced size and strength along with other varied properties. No two corrupted creatures are the same, however all of them eventually lose their sanity as the VOID alters their brains to better serve its purposes.

The second is the reanimation of dead corpses. VOID has long been associated with necromancy, as seen in the case of Kas Dominius, who became a lich to become VOID's first champion. VOID Corruption similarly reanimates corpses to further its purpose. The fate of Captain Ironside is a notable case, as the VOID seed within him took direct control upon his death. The VOID Bear roaming Northern Qethos is a similar example. Corpses, like living vessels, will find themselves suitably altered by the VOID, gaining increased durability and strength.

Corrupted creatures gain access to some of the VOID's energies and magics. Spells like VOID Call and Return to the VOID are prominent examples, which actively attack their targets. The creation of VOID puddles that actively spread radially is another such ability. The corrupted Noxious Anaraba also demonstrated the ability to summon Voidlings, small constructs of VOID that would harass its enemies. Creatures also become resistant or immune to VOID damage in addition to being able to deal such damage.

However, such affinity to VOID causes the corrupted creatures and lands to become vulnerable to Radiance, the holy power long associated with VOID's enemy DIV. Enough Radiant power can severely damage and even destroy the corruption permanently. The Flumphs were gifted with the ability to purge VOID Corruption at the expense of their life, though they eventually learned to overcome this weakness and grow stronger. Other individuals with the capacity to purge VOID include Bronn Luxprin, Lyle Carbine, Sachi Ko and Weyzi Uk'tah, each of which have a powerful bond with such divine power.

## Victims of Corruption

The following individuals have been subjected to VOID Corruption. The levels of corruption tend to vary from individual to individual. Victims have been separated into those who have been corrupted while alive and those that have been reanimated as puppets of the VOID.

### Living Creatures

* Priest of the Void
* Tenebraum
* Vivi
* Void Rot Troll
* Void Abomination
* Void Storm Elemental
* The Void Flumph

### Reanimated Creatures

* Captain Vincent Ironside
* Noxious Anaraba
* Void Bear
* Void Dracolich

## Mechanics

Main article: Technical Details

The world of Io is a heavily homebrewed setting with many experimental mechanics working at the same time. As an example, there are mechanics that apply only to certain campaigns, and there are mechanics that can be or are shared between multiple campaigns.

## Trivia

* VOID Corruption was first seen in Miss Demeanor Season 1 Episode 8, where a Void Maw opened up next to Gubwater Keep.