RPC has moved! These pages have been kept for historical purposes

Eddard · **03-10-2015, 03:43 PM**

I'm writing a story where a character will become very ill in some sort of aether related way. Lore permitting, I'd like corrupted crystals to be the cause, though I can't seem to recall coming across any details with what corrupted crystals could do in that regard, if anything; I just recall them being dangerous and unstable.

Would an overexposure to the corrupted crystals cause some sort of aetherical disturbance in the person? If so, would this sort of sickness be fatal? Maybe the person's aether would inherit this instability or maybe it's just a more severe strain of the already problematic "aether sickness?" Whether or not there's a definite answer, I think it's interesting to speculate on.

Sounsyy · **03-10-2015, 04:39 PM**

Based off given lore, Corrupted Crystals seemed to be formed by any one of several ways:

A crystal formation is touched by Voidsent.
A crystal formation begins leaking aether.
The aether becomes stagnant and cannot return to the Lifestream for whatever reason.

These corrupted crystals are quite dangerous because they begin reacting externally, unlike an uncorrupted crystal, in which the aether is locked inside the crystal. So touching one could be harmful or deadly. While we don't have evidence strictly linking corrupted crystal exposure to Aether Sickness, it is most definitely within the realm of possibility, if not a likely result. Afterall, the lore behind why an Adventurer can only venture into a dungeon for a certain period of time is that most "dungeon" areas are over-saturated with aether and that prolonged exposure would create aether sickness. So going near an area near corrupted crystals would likely have a similar, if not more aggressive effect on the body.

I don't think there's any lore to say yay or nay to whether or not corrupted crystals have a chance to corrupt a creature's aether as well, so if you want to play with it, go for it. If such a thing were to occur, it might create some very crazy anomalies, such as being unable to teleport or teleport killing you as you cannot reform your aether, magic spells going off at crazy unexpected times or not at all, being in a constant state of aether sickness or illness. I can't imagine a person in this state would have very long to live?

Jana · **03-10-2015, 09:14 PM**

I think the corrupted crystals in the open world (like Eastern Thanalan's Burning Wall) could make someone sick over a longer period of time, but corrupted crystals in an aether-heavier place (like in Pharos Sirius) seem more likely to just explode. As far as I know there isn't really any lore about it, but that's my observation.

On Corrupted Crystals

RPC has moved! These pages have been kept for historical purposes