Elemental Corruption

**Elemental corruption** occurs when a soul is exposed to a high density of raw elemental energy for too long. The energy can overwhelm the soul’s resistance and seep into its being, inducing illness as the soul takes damage. The elemental energy reacts with the amount of the element inside a person, resulting in an imbalance. If the damage becomes too great to repair, the soul lattice will dissolve completely and the person will die.

## The Basics

Every living thing has a lattice of structured soul energy, which protects its host from elemental influence. However, this protection is not perfect, and if too much energy enters the soul, the excess will disturb the elemental makeup of the person (most creatures have varying amounts of every element in their biological makeup) and induce elemental corruption, causing the soul to fray. Elemental corruption displays varying symptoms depending on the element, and if the damage is high enough, the soul will dissolve and the person will die. Chronic elemental corruption can, in the long run, disrupt soul integrity, causing the body to begin breaking down more quickly as it loses its resistance to the elemental energies still trapped within its unraveling soul.

Mages are far more vulnerable to elemental corruption than others due to the relative openness of their souls and the fact that they regularly channel large amounts of energy, but it can affect any living thing. It most commonly occurs in novice mages, who aren’t trained enough in fully purging their souls of the elemental energy they channel. However, it can also appear in fully trained mages that channel too much energy at a time or channel energy for too long. In cases where ambient elemental energy is especially concentrated, either artificially (by a mage or lacrima) or via an elemental hot zone, elemental corruption also becomes a danger, and can be a threat even to non-mages. Creatures with magically inert souls, such as ferins, are more resistant to elemental corruption, but they are not immune.

Curing elemental corruption involves purging oneself of the elemental energy causing the imbalance. However, even a fully trained mage will only be able to purge themselves of the energy that they can control, and will still be vulnerable to elemental corruption from the other elements. For example, a fire mage with stone corruption wouldn’t be able to purge themselves of the energy, since they cannot control it. Others with control over the energy can vent the essence, but less effectively than a mage themselves would be able to. Alternatively, it is possible to take measures to protect against becoming corrupted in the first place, using sealing rune tattoos or shielding made from soulcrystal or similar substances.

## Symptoms

Corruption always shortens your lifespan, it also has other symptoms depending on the element and what role it performs in the person corrupted.

* Fire Corruption - Fever, intense mood swings
* Water Corruption - Long-term erosion, weakening bones and cell damage, with symptoms taking years to fully appear
* Stone Corruption - Lethargy, stubbornness, unwillingness to change
* Life Corruption - Chimeric mutations
* Wind Corruption - Frailness, weight loss, mentally disconnected from surroundings
* Lightning Corruption - Sensation damage (heightened or numbed), mental overload or jumping to conclusions too fast, anxiety, paranoia
* Cave/Void Corruption - Intense hunger for specific foods and/or human flesh, bones, or blood

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Magic (comicaurora.com)
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Page 1.4.3 (comicaurora.com)
3. ↑ "*Magic takes a toll - the mage must concentrate in order to channel safely...*": message in #aurora-discussion in the OSP discord server (discord.com)
4. ↑ Would the opposite be also possible? Can an area be artificially saturated with ambient energy? (tumblr.com)
5. ↑ Are Ferin resistant to all magic or just life magic specifically? (tumblr.com)
6. ↑ "*It can be done to a certain extent, but the soul's ability to shield...*": message in #aurora-discussion in the OSP discord server (discord.com)
7. ↑ Erin's tats are, if not required to let him do magic, sure do help him channel the energy... (tumblr.com)
8. ↑ "*Cave corruption is impossible to cure once...*": message in #aurora-discussion in the OSP discord server (discord.com)
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 The Seventh Element (comicaurora.com)
10. ↑ Hey! I know you mentioned some of the effects of elemental corruption, but I can’t find... (tumblr.com)
11. ↑ *"but life corruption still just kinda happens..."*: message in #aurora-discussion in the OSP discord server
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "*Lightning corruption typically damages sensation...*" to "*Wind corruption erodes the substance of the mage...*": message in #aurora-discussion in the OSP discord server (discord.com)