Soulplague

Like any part of the body, the soul is not untouchable nor immune to damage, permanent or otherwise. Though it is very rare to encounter a situation in which the soul may be threatened directly, such cases do exist and oftentimes results in a malady to the soul. Being such a fundamental part of being, the effects of these afflictions can be devastating and should be dealt with immediately. Ever since the cataclysm, many of these soul afflictions have become increasingly common and has been linked to the theory of Entropy.

## Terminology

### Hollow

The state of being soulless describes a body that is completely devoid of a soul. Such a body is functionally incapable of exerting itself in any way and is stuck in a vegetative state; able to sustain the bare necessities for life but no more. It is very rare to encounter this affliction as it is extremely difficult to pull a soul out of a body while keeping the latter alive, however, since the Cataclysm, many people are born into the world without a soul inhabiting it. Those born in these manner are termed ‘hollowborn’, following the much older term ‘hollow’ describing an individual without a soul.

### Husk

A husk is a being whose soul has been damaged immensely. As the soul is the core foundation upon which all else of a being’s character and strength rests upon, damage to the soul consequently bring down an individual’s personality, emotions and power. The soul is not a monolithic thing and is in itself divided into sections governing many aspects of a creature. Minor to moderate damage to the soul can remove entire aspects of an individual’s character, and in severe cases, render them void of emotions and personality. The damage can also be targeted towards the soul’s ability to control soulpower, stripping the individual of strength. Memory is stored in both the mind and the soul but recollection of memories manifests in different ways. The mind remembers memories directly and from the individual’s experiences and is the conventional memory for a being. The soul remembers memories more instinctively and certainly not as clearly. Thus, damage to the soul does not affect an individual’s working memory and regardless of the severity, most husks retain their memories. However, they may feel no clear link or ties to the memories they possess as the soul’s instinctive recollection is severed. For them, it may feel more like their memories are someone else's even though it isn’t. Likewise, mind-affecting afflictions that remove or modify memories will have a direct impact on working memory but given enough external stimulus, the soul can instinctively warn against the false or missing memories.

### Soulrot

Soulrot is an affliction that chips away at the soul over time, gradually turning its victim into a husk. It is like a disease of the soul and is both extremely dangerous and difficult to cure. No conventional method such as mundane magic may cure soulrot; it is only through high magic involving extremely rare components or Meridian contraptions that soulrot may be cured. Both cases require highly specialised knowledge restricted to a limited group of people.

As the devisers and sole users of high magic, elven archmages and archdruids may possess the knowledge and expertise required to conduct a ritual to remove soulrot. However, such knowledge is very niche, particularly as elves have never been particularly interested in soulcraft; at least not nearly to the same extent as other races. Furthermore, the ritual requires an incredibly rare and priceless component: greyrose. These multitude factors mean that high magic, though a possible cure, is very difficult to achieve in practise and only a select few have been able to rid themselves of the malady through this method - typically elves of high standing or importance.

The other method which involves Meridian contraptions was a far more common albeit somewhat unreliable method. During the Enlightenment, when many Meridian structures and tombs were opened, many researchers and scientists experimented with the multitude devices that were plundered. Some of them were found to be capable of dealing with soulrot, though with side-effects. Ever since the Soulcraft Purge, however, most individuals with knowledge of how to use these devices were killed. Those remaining tend be extremely secretive of their knowledge. Even if one were to discover an undercover soulmancer, many have since entirely renounced soulcraft and refuse to have anything to do with it.