The Taint of Thorns
He watched us from between the volumes; we felt his gaze upon us. He smiled as, piece by piece, we uncovered more secrets. The knowledge we needed so badly poured strength into the disease that was consuming us.
Even among Savants, one rarely meets anyone marked by such a strong hunger for secrets as the wretches infected with the ancient Taint of Thorns. The history of this disease reaches back to antiquity, including the dark history of the Labyrinth beneath Yor–Asul.
In its very essence this Taint remains the most mocking of plagues, feeding on the Savants’ characteristic desire to learn and to study every kind of field. At the same time, it turns their thoughts and interests towards cursed arcana or long-abandoned pseudosciences.
Still, the hunger for knowledge and the obsessive desire to uncover secrets are only psychological symptoms, which the sufferer may try to fight, especially in the first stage of the disease. The physical manifestations cause more trouble, and they grow stronger the stronger the unsatisfied hunger for knowledge becomes. The Savant’s body is slowly covered with thorny outgrowths, starting with the first thorn mark blooming around the breastbone or along the collarbones.
Symptoms
Onset of the Disease
Those who step onto the path of Thorns become slaves of a perverse force that commands them to search without end. Sometimes the sick gain immense reserves of vigour and insight from it, surprising even more experienced scholars with their knowledge. This state does not last long, however, and in time the infected must face more severe symptoms of the Taint.
In the first stage of the disease, the Savant feels apathy or irritation whenever their actions are not aimed at finding an artefact or a theorem.
Taints
