The Nightblight is a bizarre disease that affects the forests of Ethrel and the surrounding area, slowly killing the animals and plant life. It also affects the elves living there, making them weak and infertile.
Due to the actions of the Nightseeker, Phaelnah Ellarian's infection was somehow rapidly advanced, giving her bizzare powers and connecting her to the otherworldly entity that causes the corruption.
Characteristics
Often mistaken for a disease of the forest, the nightblight is in actuality something much more sinister. Generally targeting elven woods, it slowly creeps its way through roots of fey plants and gradually consumes their latent magic, leaving behind only a dark taint which twists gentle trees into gnarled facsimiles of themselves. These corrupted plants appear dead at first, but eventually bear foul fruit that are made of rot and waste, which the blight gains further power from. Once the blight is deeply rooted in a forest, it begins to enter the threads of magic that weave through the forests, disrupting their balance, and affecting the life there as well. Life forms that the nightblight anchors into will slowly corrupt, becoming infertile and usually dying out.
Many attribute the generation of nightblight to wasteful industry, which is true, to an extent. The blight seems to thrive off of the garbage and pollution created by less mindful communities. However, while this is certainly a catalyst, it is not the cause. The blight must be called into this plane by an accomplished master of magic. Most research into the blight indicates that it is most definitely not a disease, and not much of a material being, either; rather, it is more of an idea.
Addressing the Blight
The best action you can take against the blight, besides destroying the affected forest itself, is starving it. To do this, you must consider each way the nightblight sustains itself. The are generally considered to be, in no particular order:
- Uncorrupted magic
- Waste from diseased plant life
- Waste and pollution from nearby peoples
- Dead organisms
- Foul thoughts and wicked actions
The last item may cause confusion, but you must realize that to an inter-planar creature, the thoughts in your head and the things that you do are just as tangible to it as your dinner tonight will be to you.
These issues are best addressed when the affected area is small. All recorded cases have been caught at a relatively early time in development. There have been 2 confirmed cases of de-escalation by starving, and 5 cases of excision by burning, ending in the complete destruction of the affected area.
Advanced Nightblight Infections
In very rare cases, the blight does not kill a creature outright, instead crawling through them an empowering them with the extradimensional entity's power. While the stages of this kind of infection are not well documented, they seem to came in stages. Roughly every five days, those with this corruption will experience another surge of dark energy, and must fight against this incursion to avoid the progression of the disease.
In the case of Phaelnah Ellarian, the stages and subsequent abilities granted are as follows:
| Stage | Effects | Abilities Granted | Dark Ideas |
| 1 | Darkened, varicose veins protrude around the right wrist | Dark Covenant | 0 |
| 2 | Veins extend up to the elbow, right hand's nails are darkened | 0 | |
| 3 | Veins halfway up the upper limb, nails are sharpened | Nightseeker's Blessing | 1 |
| 4 | Veins climb around the right shoulder, where a small black spike protrudes | 1 | |
| 5 | Veins climb up to the neck, nails on right hand become thick, sharp talons | Talon Strike | 1 |
| 6 | Veins start to climb the neck from the right side, and spreads across the chest. The spike on the right shoulder grows, alongside two smaller spikes | 1 | |
| 7 | Veins touch the right ride of the face, and extend about ¾ of the way across the chest. Skin turns grey and tight to the bone at initial point of infection | 1 | |
| 8 | Small amount of hair on the right side turns black, veins almost fully across the chest. ½ of neck is covered, and grey skin is up to the elbow | Extract Being | 2 |
| 9 | ¼ of hair is black, right eye's sclera is black with a dull yellow iris. Veins meet left shoulder, most of abdomen covered. Grey skin is almost covering right arm. | 2 | |
| 10 | Neck is fully covered in veins, veins surround the outside of the face. Torso is completely covered in veins, and a burning sensation in a pattern can be felt on the back. Teeth become jagged and sharp. Becomes hungry quickly. Difficult to restrain urge to consume rot. Uncomfortable wearing armor. Grey skin advances to shoulder. | Unnerving Dexterity, Fanged Bite | 2 |
| 11 | Veins cover ¼ of left arm and ¼ of right leg. ¾ of hair becomes black. Hunger increases. Grey skin advances to the neck. | 3 | |
| 12 | Veins climb down to the knee of the right leg, and about ¼ of the left leg. Hair is fully black. Tongue becomes blackened. Grey skin advances to right side of face, covering about ¾ of chest. | Haze, Feral Stance, Unnatural Movement | 3 |
| 13 | Veins cover ¾ of right leg, ½ of left leg, ½ of left arm. Spikes on the left should match the size of those on the right. Grey skin covers around half the neck. | 3 | |
| 14 | Veins cover right leg, and ¾ of the left leg. Hair becomes wild, wiry and unmanageable. Grey skin advances to left shoulder, and most of the abdomen. | Dimensional Tendril | 3 |
| 15 | Veins fully cover body save for about half of the left arm. Lips become blackened. Difficult not to smile. Grey skin advances over neck, around the face, and the torso. | 3 | |
| 16 | Left eye becomes blackened, and veins creep slowly down the left arm. The left hand becomes taloned. Body mostly covered in grey. | Dark Manipulation | 3 |
| 17 | Skin becomes completely grey, save for part of the left arm. The skin is somewhat taut and emaciated, but the victim feel invigorated. Feels more natural to be in a feral stance. | Augmented Talon Strike and Fanged Bite | 4 |
| 18 | Something bad is coming. | ?? | ?? |