Diluvians

Lux's final solution, the Diluvians are the extension of a Virus into sapient form. Originating from The Tomb, the Diluvians exist to fight back against what Lux considers to be a "contagion" of life, arcana and divinity in his creation. It is the Diluvians that initiate The Loop, and their invasion of the planet of Brentia that prompted Giovanni de Monocuolo Lutesce to invest in the Seven Champions.

## Classes of Diluvian

Diluvian life is not life at all, and at its most baseline form, resembles the form of a virus. Diluvians spread and reproduce through the Glistening Oil, a tar-like substance that is formed of rotten remains and millions of tiny viral Diluvians. When enough of these form together inside a living host, depending upon the style of the host, they can change form to become one of a new class of Diluvians.

Many analysts of the Diluvian threat agree that the Glistening Oil itself, teeming with microbial life, is the most dangerous form of Diluvian. Any of the stages beyond this one are dangerous for reasons that are clear, but the Glistening Oil can lay dormant for years, and only a small drop is required to start the cycle of Compleation all over again.

Glistening Oil decays in an oxygen rich environment.

### Polyp

Polyps are typically the first form of Diluvian to emerge from a planetary infection once the Oil has spread far enough. They are formed from infected plant and fungal life, and resemble fungi themselves. Generally, they release gases such as Carbon Dioxide and Methane in large quantities, and spread throughout their local area. Polyps can typically be found in small clusters, and large collections of Polyp colonies do not seem sustainable until a planet has been fully terraformed.

Polyps are part of the process of terraforming, albeit, locally. They usually collect around low ground, and after a short period expelling gases, they change their production to sweet vapours in an attempt to attract insect life. If the infection spreads from the Polyp to the insect, a Phage is created, if not, then the insect dies, and falls to the ground, beginning to rot. This process creates a pool of Glistening Oil in the low ground, establishing the Polyp colony as one that is long term viable.

Polyps and the oil are symbiotic, and one cannot exist without the other. Polyps create gases that denature the air, allowing the Glistening Oil to sustain itself long term. Likewise, the Oil works as a sort of food source for the Polyps, encouraging their growth long term.

Polyps are typically defensive plants, often coated in either bulbous growths that are full of toxins, ready to detonate, or sharp, thin, needle like spines, that threaten to slash and cut at those near or around them. Polyps do not fruit or flower, and instead reproduce through spores. A Polyp colony will not extend further than fifteen feet from its glistening pool.

### Phage

Phages are parasitized insects or crustaceans, and are a non-sapient part of the hierarchy. While all Diluvians are part of the eusocial ladder, Phages are the least attached to this ladder, existing mostly as self-serving creatures acting purely upon instinct. Phages serve the purpose of infection, and attempt to latch on to larger hosts like ticks or fleas, injecting Glistening Oil into an animal’s circulatory system. It is through this process that the first Diluvian Hounds and Newts are created, though they are often short-lived and rabid.

Phages typically live near large wells of Glistening Oil, and while this often means Polyp Colonies, it can also mean larger Newts, which contain reservoirs of Oil as a sort of infection. This means that large newts are, essentially, walking infestations, coated or filled with Phages, which is a method by which the Diluvian invasion can relocate itself.

Aside from this, Phages mostly consume, with no preference for plant matter or flesh, eating until they swell, fit to burst. Typically, a Phage will either die from over consumption, and degrade into oil, or swell into a rotting carcass, attracting more invertebrates, to repeat the process once more.

For examples of Phages, see the Carrion Bug.

### Hound

Hounds come into existence when a Phage successfully managed to parasitize a small animal, usually a mammal, hence the classification. Hounds quickly become pack-like societies, as the initial host usually seeks out others of its kind, allowing for more Phages to spread to more examples of the species. Hounds are the first examples of Diluvian society, and can usually be found working with more advanced newts in Ravager Bands, creating the first group of Diluvians that can be a danger to an area wider than their initial Polyp Colony.

All Hounds are venomous, regardless of the initial animal that has been compleated, as the Oil typically hollows out bone-structures, and uses the old marrow-deposits as a basis for a new intravenous system, designed to carry the Oil to fuel the Hound. This causes teeth, nails and horns to become hollow-pointed, making them perfect delivery systems for the Glistening Oil. All Diluvians from this class onwards possess this quality, with the exceptions of the Colossi.

Bites or scratches from Hounds usually propagate the Diluvian infection into more species, creating more Hounds, or Newts in the case of a sapient species being infected. Hounds are typically as small as a dog or as large as an elephant, and represent skewed, corrupt versions of these creatures. Often, skin or even flesh can slough off the frame, as the animal’s blood is no longer pumping, resulting in dead material. As a result of this, Hounds are typically short lived, lasting only 1 to 2 years, and cannot reproduce outside of further infection.

### Newt

Newts are created in the same way as Hounds, but are created from sapient creatures, such as Humans, Elves or Canim. As a result, they inherit the intelligence, and are the first Diluvians capable of advanced planning, language skills, critical thinking and organisation.

Newts are typically non-combative, and instead specialise in infiltration, with many of their physical Diluvian traits impossible to spot from a surface level. Newts can even act as sleeper agents, with the Diluvian virus functioning as a silent witness while the host thinks it is still alive, allowing for a more perfect disguise.

Newts also function as the spring-board for the next step of Diluvian evolution, as everything beyond this point is created by design, rather than a natural evolutionary process in the Diluvian order. Once this leap has been performed, Newts become similar to Workers in a eusocial communal structure, serving simple functions or obeying orders from the superiors they created.