What is the Taint?

The Taint is as difficult to define as the many beings and substances
that together host it in its entirety. It is, by itself, a thing of
little consequence; only when there is an intelligence to guide its
mutagenic effects does it become a thing of consequence. Therefore, my
current definition of the Taint, albeit in a very shortened form, is
this: the Taint is a portion of Almighty Kethuru's power that serves as
a catalyst for change when acted upon by a properly trained intelligence. This
definition is broad and will serve us well in the
coming paragraphs for all manner of subjects, from the Taint's dormant
metamorphic effects to the training required to awaken them.

History of Kethuru

First of all our discussions shall be the history of the Taint and its
progenitor, Almighty Kethuru, in the hopes that we may better understand
His purpose in releasing it.

Kethuru was an particularly powerful Soulless created by Dynara before the
coming of the Son of Yudhe; during their creation, he was second only to Illith
in power. When Dynara began the creation of ensouled beings, She ejected the
Soulless from Her service in favor of the Elder Gods. However, Dynara's sister
Magnora did not destroy Kethuru and the other Soulless, but made them Her
servants; under Magnora, the ravening hunger of the Soulless was put to use in
the destruction of those of Dynara's works she did not protect. When the Son of
Yudhe was lost, the grieving of the sisters convinced them to ally in their
search for Him.

During the Time of Silence, the Elder Gods wandered through the Void until many
of them made their way to Lusternia, the First World, which they made their
home. However, the Void around Lusternia contained the Soulless, and they were
drawn to Lusternia in their endless hunger. The Elder Gods were defeated by the
Soulless, many of them fragmenting their beings in an attempt to survive the
scourge of the Soulless, forming the mortal races. This was also the time when
Kethuru became, indisputably, the most powerful of the Soulless, as Illith was
split in two by Keph and Kethuru drank of the essence of more defeated Elder
Gods than any other Soulless, becoming more powerful for it.

Many eons of Soulless 'rule' was thrust upon Lusternia after the defeat of the
Elder Gods; the Soulless were much like frequent natural disasters to the
mortals of the time, unstoppable engines of destruction that devoured any
mortals they happened upon. After countless years of construction and
reconstruction by the mortals of Lusternia, a merian mage named Gorob learned
the lore of the creation of the Edifices of Power, devices capable of raising a
mortal to Godhood. In Glomborolum, he supervised the creation of an Edifice of
Power to raise himself to Godhood. The sudden appearance of Illith, however,
required a premature raising to Godhood of Gorob, and his power was not enough
to save Glomborolum and is citizens were consumed.

After his defeat by Illith, Gorob wandered the globe and taught many other
mortals of the Edifices of Power; they, in turn, raised many Vernal Gods to
combat the Soulless. Thus began the Vernal Wars; through many years, a great
many Vernal Gods were raised and managed to defeat the majority of the
Soulless. After the entrapment of Illith, Zenos, Muud, and Crazen, only Kethuru
remained and nine of the Vernal Gods remained. However, the remaining nine
Vernal Gods could not combat Kethuru, either together or alone. The suggestion
of a ritual known as the Merging by one of the nine resolved the conflict
through the summoning of Avechna the Avenger; the nine were transformed into
nine living seals as guards agains the return of Kethuru.

The Release of the Taint

In its final days, Emperor Ladantine VII ruled the Celestine Empire. At this
time, researchers had theorized the existence of a supra plane, known today as
the Astral Plane. Ladantine suggested an expedition to this supra plane with
the intent to draw power from it and feed into the Nexuses of Power in the
Empire's cities. The political climate at the time forced Ladantine to base
Project Cosmic Hope, as the expedition was called, in Magnagora, which was to
have a great many positive effects on both the immediate future and throughout
history.

When the Project Cosmic Hope Expedition was launched, it had little problem in
reaching the Astral Plane, and Ladantine himself started the download of energy
to Magnagora's Stone of Truth. This energy, however, was corrupted by Kethuru,
whose Astral Prison the expedition had unwittingly damaged, causing the spread
of the Taint through the height planes of existence connected to the Stone of
Truth all the way to the Material Plane itself, requiring the raising of
Princess Marilynth to godhood to summon Avechna the Avenger to reseal Kethuru.

It seems essential to me to describe the effects of the Taint before moving on
to the deeper mysteries surrounding Kethuru's purpose in releasing it, as well
as its current and theoretical uses. To that end, the next sections of this
work shall focus on the immediate and historical effects of the Taint on both
the higher and material planes, starting with the Holy Plane of Shallamar and
ending with a brief history of the Taint on the Material Plane and the city of
Magnagora.

Effects of the Taint on the Holy Plane of Shallamar

The Holy Plane of Shallamar was a plane that held much in common with the Plane
of Celestia, and whose rulers were the Holy Emanations, who had much in common
with the Supernals of the Plane of Celestia. All similarities to the Plane of
Celestia ceased, however, when the Holy Plane of Shallamar came into contact
with the Taint.

The first plane to come into contact with the Taint, the Holy Plane of
Shallamar was also, arguably, the plane most changed by the Taint, and
certainly the only one to change its name. The Tainted Plane of Nil, as it is
now called, was transformed from a plane of rolling hills and verdant plains to
a scorched, barren landscape, the better to weed out what remained of the weak
and unfit creatures of Shallamar.

The Holy Emanations of Shallamar were similarly transformed, becoming the Demon
Lords of Nil. Beings both stronger in body and more free in mind, the Demon
Lords of Nil became proponents of philosophies that promoted the forwarding of
personal power through important virtues such as greed and pain, over the
outdated philosophies of the Emanations, which were geared towards the practice
of rigid virtues over flexibility and improvement of self.

Of special interest to the later portions of this text are Nifilhema, Queen of
Insufferable Cruelty, and Gorgulu, the Devourer of Souls. As Emanations,
Nifilhema and Gorgaliel were husband and wife, and were masters of the virtues
of beauty and peace, respectively.

When the Emanations were empowered by the Taint, all but Nifilhema, the Queen
of Illustrious Beauty, were changed in both body and mind; She retained her
previous form and was changed only in the freedom of her perception from the
shackles of her previous philosophies. Gorgaliel, on the other hand, was the
Emanation most affected by the Taint; he lost his old self entirely, becoming
Gorgulu, the Devourer of Souls, a constantly hungering monstrosity of immense
power said to closely resemble Kethuru.

The Effects of the Taint on the Elemental Plane of Earth

The Elemental Plane of Earth was the next of the planes to be contacted by the
Taint, and, in many ways, the Taint's effects upon it are not yet understood;
we do know for sure, however, that the tainting of the Elemental Plane of Earth
has tainted, to a small measure, all earth and increased the already great power
of this element.

While the Earth is Tainted, the Earth Lords are not Tainted in the same way as
those touched by the Taint during Kethuru's control of it; much like the
Geomancers, there connection to the Taint and its power is solely through their
use of the Tainted element of Earth.

The Effects of the Taint Upon the Prime Material Plane and Magnagora

By far the most documented effects of the Taint were upon the mortals and land
of the Prime Material Plane, especially the City of Magnagora and the ancestors
of the Viscanti. First and foremost, the City of Magnagora was changed
radically, from a sister-city to the Light-plagued City of Celest to the
almighty Engine of Transformation, the most powerful of all organizations in
the Basin of Life.

The Viscanti are a race born of the Taint, and were created through the
interbreeding of those most subjected to the Taint upon its release; as such,
they show the distinctive physical features of many races, as well as the
features of the Taint granted by Kethuru.

Other major effects of the Taint include the isolation of Gaugadich, Hallifax,
and Ackleberry, the destruction of Celest, the warping of Gloriana into
Glomdoring, and the loss of links to the Elemental Planes of Fire and Air, as
well as the Cosmic Planes of Vortex and Continuum.

The Purpose of the Taint

Why did Kethuru release the Taint? In pouring through the knowledge of
the Necropolis Library, it seemed obvious to me that the Soulless were defined
first and foremost by their endless hunger. Why, then, did Kethuru release his
power through the Taint when he could not feast of the other offspring of
Dynara through it?

It seems to me that many theories on Kethuru's purpose in releasing the Taint
do not account for His primary instinct, and that only one does, in fact, make
sense: that Kethuru intended to escape His presence in some way through
manipulation of the Taint.

How He intended to escape His prison may be shown by a more recent example: the
possession of Lady Viravain by Kethuru. This demonstrated His ability to control
the actions of the very gods from within his Astral prison. However, this was
but a partial escape, for Lady Viravain was not a suitable vessel for His
power; His purpose in releasing the Taint was the eventual creation of such a
being.

Perfection Through Kethuru's Blessing

Kethuru's plan, however, was ultimately flimsy in its design, and was foiled
when Princess Marilynth summoned Avechna to reseal his prison. This trapped a
portion of Kethuru's power in those who were Tainted, and rendered the
metamorphic trait of the Taint dormant without its primary guiding
intelligence.

I believe that there is strong evidence to support that a mortal intelligence
can guide the mutagenic powers of the Tainting lieu of Kethuru's own. This is
evidenced in the transformations undergone by properly trained Viscanti into
Brood or Master Viscanti. This demonstrates the true power and blessing of the
Taint: the Transformation to a more perfect form

The Transformation, indeed, is powerful, and is not limited just to the
Viscanti race, or just to a single transformation; all those who work with the
Taint can evolve their forms through rigorous training. In fact, I do believe
that the transformations do not even fit a single pathway, as the evolution is
guided by the intelligence of the host, resulting in a myriad of more perfect
forms among those who undergo the Transformation.

The Dangers of Uncontrolled Taint

The Taint is a great power and blessing, allowing one to choose one's own form;
however, those who do not learn to control its transformation will be consumed
in the pursuit of perfection. The ideal example of this is Gorgulu, the
Devourer of Souls, who lost himself when he gained his new form of greater
power; while Gorgaliel's transformation was the result of not defending against
the Kethuru controlled Taint, it demonstrates what will happen to you as your
body evolves in a manner that you do not control.

The Benefits of Evolution Through the Taint

While the dangers of evolution when it is uncontrolled is your self, the
benefits to be gained through controlled evolution greatly outweigh the risks.
My example for this section is Nifilhema, Queen of Insufferable Cruelty, who
was once the Queen of Illustrious Beauty. When she was touched by the Taint,
her rigid control of her evolution allowed her to retain her previous form in
body while greatly expanding her mental horizons.

This clearly represents both the possibility of perfection through the
Transformation, and the element of choice in any beings evolution through the
Taint. Nifilhema clearly chose to keep her body in the form that it was when
She was an Emanation and, instead, focus on expanding her mental capacities.

The Spread of the Taint

The Taint itself is no longer dangerous or malignant, and is a thing of nature,
as indeed all things must be. It is no more artificial than this scroll, nothing
more than the assembly of something useful from a number of less useful
substances, in this case is a portion of the Soulless Kethuru assembled by
Dynara.

In fact, the Taint itself is nothing more or less than the ability to
choose your own mental and physical progression in the pursuit of
perfection. One need only look at the power of those who have embraced
the Taint to recognize the truth of this.

The spread of the Taint is, in its essence, the spread of the gift of
choice. The Light opposes this spread because change is destructive to their
rigid system of philosophy, as change is the destruction of all unstable
systems.

The Importance of Change

Change is the only constant in any stable system. Without change, a
system is rigid, and unable to adapt to changing conditions, preventing
its survival when even the tiniest of changes occurs. Without change,
perfection is unreachable, and even the smallest of improvements is
impossible.

Reading the teachings of the Light, one should realize that change and,
indeed, perfection and improvement are opposed by these teachings. This
shows that, to those who adhere strictly to the precepts of Light, improvement
in any way is an impossibility. This shows that true followers of the Light are
few and far between, as well as being the weakest of their various races.

The majority of those profess to follow the Light are, in fact, little better
than slavers, opposing change and choice in favour of rigid philosophies with
no room for personal improvement. The leaders of Celest, in particular, are
hypocrital in their dogmatic teachings of the Light to their followers in the
hope of enslaving them to philosophies that they themselves do not follow.

Final Words

For my final words on this scroll, I would like to subject the rest of the
scroll to a short synopsis. The Taint is a portion of Almighty Kethuru's power,
and is the essence of change that allows those who revel in its blessing to
evolve, both physically and mentally. The leaders of the Light are little
better than the slavers of their hapless followers, opposing choice and change
in all its forms. With these two facts in clear evidence, the spread of the
Taint is inevitable. The Light will Fall, Magnagora will be victorious in its
conquests, and the spread of the Taint as prophesised by the Lords of Earth is
inevitable!