Blighted Arts

The Blighted Arts, also known as the “Black Magic” is a form of magic that appeared post-cataclysm. Considered a perverse form of magic, its origins stem from Rittic. Rittic is a form of anti-life/anti-magic that stemmed from the cataclysm. The Blighted Arts operate via corrupting and malforming its users in turn for power, in this, they trade ‘life’ for their own advances. The means of exchange vary depending on the art. A Necro-caster may find that their body is slowly rotting, whereas a user of Golem Casting losing their sanity. Overall, those who engage in the Blighted Arts must be willing to make this sacrifice. Slowly but surely as the user progresses the levels of the Blighted arts, they continue to give over their minds, bodies, and souls to the corrupting power of Rittic. During this, they will slowly submit parts of themselves, their bodies, and their mind to gain further and further in power. The weakness of the Blighted Arts is also its strength, they lose the ability to live normally most of the time because of the exchanges they make. Whether it be due to their ragged appearance, insanity, or generally drained life force they are incapable of existing within society without being noticed. As a result of this most users of the Blighted Arts have to resort to hermit-Esque lives or living in small ‘covens.’

There are 5 stages in the Blighted Arts, attained through understanding, and usage of the Blighted Art in question. If the user constantly uses their abilities, the Rittic inside their body grows. Extending itself, and granting the user more power, using this process one can ascend through these different stages. However, if a user of the Blighted Arts overuses their abilities. The Rittic inside of them will start taking away more than they can handle, this is known as “Casting-Fatigue.” Casting-Fatigue can range from someone losing coherence and mental function or their body giving out due to it being riddled with Rittic. To recover from this, they must meditate and control the Rittic before it gets out of control to recover. Only when a Rittic user is high in their stage can they withstand the increased Rittic. Casting-Fatigue becomes rarer the more powerful a user of the Blighted Arts is, allowing them to cast a varied degree of spells in both power and volume as a result of their increased abilities

To attune to the Blighted Arts, one must be exposed to a large source of rittic, or invite rittic into their body. Meaning that it is possible to force someone to attune to the Blighted Arts.

Note: Attuning to the Blighted Arts is impossible until the user is fully beyond maturity. If they attempt to do so before being matured for a while, their bodies will die due to the Rittic corruption.

(I.e 20 for a human)

### Magic Levels

The stages of Blighted Arts are the following:

* **Practitioner -** Practitioners are the first level of the Blighted Arts, at this stage the user more often than naught has to suffer a gruesome part of first entering their art. This warps their bodies and minds, allowing them to utilize Rittic.
	+ Practitioners have little to no control over Rittic, and cannot risk using it in large amounts for the possibility of death. However, they are capable of using it to a lesser degree. Through further usage, they can increase their abilities.
		- An example of casting at this level would be that a practitioner necro-caster being capable of barely mustering up the power to control a single dead body.

* **Mortified [\*] -** A Mortified Blighted Ars user is capable of using their Rittic at a higher degree. In doing this they can expand on their spells and abilities, by a larger margin. This gives them the power to apply their art to more varied situations, including combat.
	+ An example is that a Mortified Necro-caster could create, and control three to five undead at a time. Or be able to use their Rotting abilities to break through weaker materials. Such as rusted Iron or rotted wood.

* **Margrave [!] -** A Margrave has far more control over the Rittic that has increased within their body. Allowing them to cast far more powerful spells with the anti-life at their fingertips. They’re known for being deadly to encounter and beyond evil. Margraves are truly a force to be feared, as they can use their abilities to fend off multiple assailants at the same time.
	+ Margraves are capable of further Rittic control, examples of this would be that a Margrave Golem caster could create a golem the size of a 3-story building. Or a necro-caster being able to control up to 15 undead.
	+ At this stage, Margraves are highly paranoid, schizophrenic, and insane. Alongside this, they have far weaker bodies as the Rittic eats away at their physique. Normally this can be supplanted with their art, allowing them to make up for their lack of strength. An example being: a golem caster creating a suit to use, or a Necro-caster using the body of one of their undead.

* **Revenant [!] -** The highest known stage of the Blighted Arts, Revenants have completely given over their bodies, souls, and minds to the Rittic inside of them. Receiving great power in return, they can not only control the Rittic from within themselves but also control the Rittic in other Blighted Arts users below Margraves. This allows them endless pools of Rittic to manipulate and control, with very few repercussions aside from the fact that their physical self is practically no more. The central body of a revenant is frail and weak.
	+ Most of their mental issues have burned away, allowing Revenants to think clearly, however, a Revenant will never have the same thought process as a normal person. As their thoughts are almost always dark and corrupt.
	+ Revenants, as stated before, have highly weakened bodies. However, the strength of their Rittic power beyond makes up for this. Necro-casters can create massive undead and control them from as far away as they want, Golem casters can start to breathe a sick form of life into their creations. Giving them a form of sentience.

* **[LORE ONLY] Reapers -** Reapers are Revenants who learned how to attain more power by sacrificing others to the Rittic inside of them, continuously doing this to ever expand their pools of power and ability. However, they become no more than living Rittic. Unable to interact with the world itself, only able to use their god-like powers on it to a weaker extent. Reapers are so incredibly rare, that since the appearance of Rittic there was only a rumor of a single one existing. Saying that he created some of the countless Rittic Monsters that roam the land.
	+ Reapers are capable of using raw Rittic, no longer confined to their own art. They can use this power to infect living things and create extremely powerful creatures. These powers may seem enticing at first, though a Reaper will eventually be forced to just watch the world go by without ever being able to be a part of it again. Eventually causing them to become part of the rest of the world’s Rittic, losing their consciousness and sentience. As their souls are eaten away

[\*] = Requires a single moderator’s permission via an approval sheet

[!] = Requires a staff vote via an approval sheet

### List of all currently Known Blighted Arts

There are 4 Blighted Arts. More TBA￼

**Necro-casting**

**Golem-casting**

**Fleshrending**

* Dusk-Casting