[Fern]

WHAT IS THIS?
  
This is an information page on lore regarding Dusks (sometimes known as 'Grief Parasites') made for the convenience of player accessibility. All information in this thread can be ICly learned in any way you deem reasonable (I.E, found out through NPC gossip, simply experimented with them yourself or have done some kind of research.)
  
WHAT ARE DUSKS?
  
They are small, black bugs that are given birth by a large insect-like monstrosity known as Mother. Normally they appear in big packs that make them seem more like black clouds of darkness, making a noise very similar to distorted static because of the strange magical properties they have. They can reproduce with each other and create more parasites, a process which normally takes about two and a half weeks to complete.
 
WHAT DO THEY DO?
 
They sense out hosts through heat and begin amplifying all of their victims' negative emotions once they successfully infiltrate their bodies. They generate focus from the grief exposed by the host, hence the nickname of Grief Parasites, and the process is much more stronger with victims that are very emotionally distressed. Generally the more negativity they attain, the more focus power they end up making. While they can also make energy from the negativity surrounding them, it usually works fastest with a host they've infected.
 
WHAT MAGICAL PROPERTIES DO THEY HAVE?
 
They're inherently creatures of darkness, and as such tend to have nasty effects on people they infect. As far as physical side-effects go, they can turn their victim's blood black and gradually destroy their host's body if left alone for too long, eventually leading into their death. They are however vulnerable to light magic because of their dark nature, and their small bodies are (usually) incredibly vulnerable to flames, which causes them to burn away very quickly.
   
CAN THEY BE MUTATED?
 
With the right magical knowledge, one is able to create different variations of Dusks with other kinds of effects and elemental resistances in addition to weaknesses. You can for example perform a ritual experiment that makes them able to enhance their host's fire elemental power while becoming more resistant to flames themselves, but end up more susceptible to ice magic as a result. Another existing GM approved example are the Dusk Scouters, which have a brown color (instead of black) and provide visual information to their host through magic (though since they need to use focus to do this, they're easier to sense out by those capable of it.)
 
HOW DO THEY ENTER YOUR BODY?
 
They either go through orifices or begin trying to bite through your skin if they can't find the former.
   
HOW CAN YOU TREAT THEM?
  
You can purify the affected with light magic if you know how to do that or have them drink Holy Water, since Dusks don't take very well to either of these options. The amount you need depends on the severity of the infection, smaller infections generally don't take very long to treat while bigger ones are somewhat more problematic. You can also use a Parasite Removal Kit for small infections, but it isn't as efficient for the worse cases.
  
WHAT RACES CAN GET INFECTED?
 
Any race with natural skin, which means Liches and Dullahans can't be affected at all. Mechanations are harder for them to infect compared to most other races, and don't experience the side-effects of having your blood turned black (since they tend to not have "real blood") or your body gradually being destroyed. However, they can make their way to the Llarian Scar in the worst case scenario if they do manage to get in, and may eventually kill the Mechanation within a few hours if they stay there for too long. This is because the Llarian Scar is very delicate and it's akin to constantly exposing your brain to toxic waste.

  

ARE THERE DUSK MARKETS?

  

Dusks and their mutations are known to be sometimes sold in black markets, but they're considered highly illegal by the Sigrogana Empire, so watch out with that...

 

CAN YOU CONTROL DUSKS?

    

With the right know-how, yes.

 

WHAT DO I DO IF I WANT TO DO SOMETHING WITH DUSKS?

    

Here's what I said in another thread!

 

DO YOU HAVE SOME PICTURE REFERENCES FOR WHAT THEY CAN LOOK LIKE?

   

Example 1

Example 2

    

I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT DUSK LORE THAT'S NOT IN HERE, WHAT DO I DO?

  

Post in this thread with your question(s). While I might not be able to answer every question ever, I'll do my best to respond as soon as possible.

 

[Snake]

I think you had said something about Glykins in the past, what is their relation to the Dusks again in terms of possible immunity/resistance?

Does their infection count as 'poison' in regards to Wyverntouched and can it be resisted?

Mind-screwed races or people who are cuh-razy like Magic Gunners or willful like Black Knights, can they tough the infection/any development out through their strong mind capabilities? (I.E, Shaitans and their Mind Scorch, Magic Gunner's Recklessness, Black Knight's Steel Mind/Steel Body.)

In general, high 'status resistance' or Sanctity, could it help slow down things or provide a pseudo-immunity?

Can Chimeras eat them without an issue and develop beneficial mutations in regards to it, such as resistance or similar powers?

In regards to curing them or diminishing effects, is it any sort of healing magic or is that exclusive to Mercana? What about Natural Magic, from Ranger? Refreshing Aquae from Aquamancer? Soul Eating from Hexer/Ritual/Soul Jar? Meditate from MA? Aid from Monk?

[Ham]

Do they have any side effects to people with Cursed Blood?

[Fern]

I think you had said something about Glykins in the past, what is their relation to the Dusks again in terms of possible immunity/resistance?

Does their infection count as 'poison' in regards to Wyverntouched and can it be resisted?

Mind-screwed races or people who are cuh-razy like Magic Gunners or willful like Black Knights, can they tough the infection/any development out through their strong mind capabilities? (I.E, Shaitans and their Mind Scorch, Magic Gunner's Recklessness, Black Knight's Steel Mind/Steel Body.)

In general, high 'status resistance' or Sanctity, could it help slow down things or provide a pseudo-immunity?

Can Chimeras eat them without an issue and develop beneficial mutations in regards to it, such as resistance or similar powers?

In regards to curing them or diminishing effects, is it any sort of healing magic or is that exclusive to Mercana? What about Natural Magic, from Ranger? Refreshing Aquae from Aquamancer? Soul Eating from Hexer/Ritual/Soul Jar? Meditate from MA? Aid from Monk?

1. Because Glykin tend to be mentally and physically healthier than most other races, they are generally more resistant to the effects of Dusks and would need a larger infection compared to the average individual in order to lose their composure. Otherwise, the Glykin might just feel a mild nuisance at best. Their blood does not get tainted by Dusks, so there's that too, but it's not like they can entirely shrug off a large infection.

2. Nope.

3. Being mentally resilient or knowing how to keep your composure helps endure the effects, but not forever. Shaitan in particular are generally easier to turn crazy(ier) because of their unstable mind, which is what Dusks try to accomplish in the first place - making you unstable.

4. It could slow things down, but it wouldn't give a total immunity.

5. Someone actually asked me something very similar and I talked with Dyst about it. It's possible Chimeras can absorb them and develop mutations / a resistance to them since Dusks qualify as monsters. They'd still have to put up with the process of having Dusks inside their body though, which is generally a bad thing, but not all of the monster bugs would survive and thus could get absorbed. Hypothetically, you could keep feeding a Chimera Dusks and make them suffer until they gain whatever (lore reasonable) mutation you're trying to get, which in retrospective is really screwed up considering the side-effects. The process could kill them if not done carefully.
 
6. Only light magic and Holy Water when it comes to magical stuff, since that's what they're usually vulnerable to.

Do they have any side effects to people with Cursed Blood?

Those people would likely feel even more unhealthy than usual. It's like throwing another illness onto an already sick person - it sucks. If you're the type to use blood magic and are willing to put up with your body suffering so much, you could potentially get some gain out of it though, since Dusks taint your blood with darkness to begin with.

[Miyuka]

As a self-replicating bioweapon, are Grief Parasites as we know them now a creature someone could encounter in specific (known) regions of the world before all this, or do they only appear in things like the attack on Cellsvich fifty-or-something years ago and the more recent Voilegard stuff?

[Fern]

As a self-replicating bioweapon, are Grief Parasites as we know them now a creature someone could encounter in specific (known) regions of the world before all this, or do they only appear in things like the attack on Cellsvich fifty-or-something years ago and the more recent Voilegard stuff?

It's possible to have encountered them at one point long before the Falcon started, since Mother has existed way before the attack on Cellsvich happened (ICly speaking). It would be a pretty uncommon occurrence, but it could've happened.

It's still possible to find them as of now if you dig deeply enough, a few examples being:

-Them having abandoned a dead host's body (I.E an infected Vampire misting, since they don't stay inside when that happens) and tracking them down if you managed to find out that victim passed away recently (or simply finding them by coincidence) assuming they weren't obliterated by whatever killed the host.

-Or black markets in different areas of the world. Generally the markets try to stay secretive, of course, but they're not impossible to find.

These aren't the only ways, but it's to give a general idea. Dusks don't live forever, though, they need to feed from Focus every once in a while or else they'll die. The time they need to stay alive is usually not short though, if they've fed enough.

[Aqua]

How infected does someone have to be before they notice they have black blood, as in a rough estimate of how many dusks would have to be in a person before that type of thing becomes visible?

How long does one live roughly if they have black blood?

Would further infection speed up this black blood till the victim dies?

We know that dusks can infect things like animals etc but can they infect things like plant life and such?

[Fern]

How infected does someone have to be before they notice they have black blood, as in a rough estimate of how many dusks would have to be in a person before that type of thing becomes visible?

How long does one live roughly if they have black blood?

Would further infection speed up this black blood till the victim dies?

We know that dusks can infect things like animals etc but can they infect things like plant life and such?

1) A small pack of Dusks is enough to begin defiling the host's blood.
2 & 3) Further infection can speed up the magic contamination of the victim's blood, and it can also make them more likely to die faster. Emphasis on 'can', as while it's what usually happens, it doesn't always do.
4) I don't think they can infect normal plants per-say, but they can infect plant-like monsters (I.E Vampiric Legume, Mad Vines.)