Tainted



When Limryn originally set about creating his massive army with which he was to rule Haven, he had already become well aware of his inability to create new life of his own. However, he circumvented this obstacle not by creating new life, but by using black magic to change existing life and morph it in his own image. The resulting abominations were known as "Tainted Races" or just "The Tainted" for short.

Basic Effects
Limryn successfully induced the Taint on hundreds of individuals from every race, changing them into monstrous forms with corrupted minds and hearts. The Taint had many beneficial effects on its recipients, depending on what race it was (see each individual page for details), but also had many degrading effects as well, which were far less varying in their effect. For instance, those who were exposed to the taint found their lifespan reduced often greatly; Tainted Men rarely lived past the age of 50, while Tainted High Elves found themselves to be mortal, and rarely lived over 200 years after their exposure. All of the Tainted would also find themselves greatly weakened by sunlight, though while some races would only find themselves light headed and week at the knees in sunlight, Tainted High Elves would suffer a painful, albeit swift, death when exposed to direct sunlight.

Surprisingly, the Night Elves were proven to be the most resistant to the taint, loosing few of their original characteristics and often times keeping their mind at least partially free of Limryn's grasp; still able to distinguish right from wrong, still able to retain their own identity, and still capable of making independent decisions. However, although some of the more powerful Night Elves are able to resist the taint entirely, most find themselves changed by the taint, filled with a darkness in their minds and sorrow in their souls; cut off entirely from their Goddess Nevariel and her realm of Paradise.

Exposure
The Taint may only be administered to an individual on the mortal plain by a Demon of the Void. The taint itself is thought to be the exposure of a mortal to the corrupting powers of the void by a demon. One can voluntarily induce the taint on oneself by performing a summoning ritual and thusly bringing a demon into the mortal plain directly, though most exposures to the taint are not voluntary.

Often, demons approach mortals with promises of power and knowlege within their dreams, the mortal need only accept the offer to become enthralled by the demon and exposed to the taint. There have been instances of this where the demon itself actually gains some control over the individual it seduced, and is therefore reffered to sometimes as possession.

The final means of exposure is entirely involuntary: by a demon existing in the mortal plane himself. This is different from a voluntary summoning of a demon into the mortal world, for in order to physically exist in this plane, the beast must be of great power. Only a select few have ever been known to have done it, and they include Limryn, Zunari, and Valleom themselves. It was they who created the bulk of Limryn's Horde and it is they who are able to induce the taint on hundreds of individuals simultaneously.

A fouth, sometimes forgotten means of being exposed to the taint is by ingesting all or a portion of tainted blood, such as the blood of one who has already become tainted. The effects of this were seen most alarmingly on the Human War Hounds who came over with the first Humans during The War of Ages. The hounds were set upon the tainted members of Limryn's Horde, and when they bit their enemies they ingested some of their blood. This caused them to eventually become Tainted Beasts, a collective term for all non-sapient beings who are exposed to the taint. This form of exposure differs from the others however, for by this mode there is a gradual change from being normal to becoming Tainted. Over a period lasting as long as three days, the beast or individual who has ingested the blood will change into their new monstrous form. It is irreversable and many claim that it is far more merciful to kill the creature at the beginning of the transformation, lest the suffer the pains of the change and the eternal blackness of the taint.

Tainted Races

 * Tainted Men
 * Tainted High Elves
 * Tainted Wood Elves
 * Tainted Night Elves
 * Tainted Octa
 * Tainted Dango
 * Tainted Quill
 * Tainted Beasts