Lucience
The Crystal Biome is a breathtaking sight. Filled with beauty and dangers alike, the biome is almost a living breathing organism. So much so, it has wants and needs. The most notable want is to make those within as beautiful as itself. When a person settles inside The Crystal Biome, or lingers for too long, the forest will begin to settle within them. These people are known as The Lucient. The Crystal Biome slowly crystallizes a person, making them one with their surroundings. However, not all who are affected survive the metamorphosis process...
Physical Changes
The Lucient have one very distinct physical attribute; Gem-like structures protruding from the Lucient’s skin. Each person affected with the trait will gain the physical appearance of one particular gem such as rubies, sapphires, or jades to name a few.
Once someone has started the process of becoming Lucient, the symptoms will be almost unnoticeable at first, however, after a sept, their skin will become noticeably itchy in the spots where gems will form. Overnight, the Lucient will have to undergo a painful process where the gems will break through their skin and form into full clusters.
These changes aren’t all bad, however. The skin of a Lucient is thicker than normal, making them more resistant to slashing and piercing attacks. This is due to the gem’s symbiotic trait of trying to metamorphose the Lucient to be one with the biome and their lifespan doubles.
Gems have a rare chance to be grown in places that will hinder one of the five senses. Gems grown from eyes, ears, or mouth causing them their senses to either be heavily impaired or lost entirely.
Though often confused with a disease, Lucience is far more than that, it’s a mutation that transforms the subject into something new entirely, offering more than what meets the eye, an indication of this, is the blood of a Lucient, which will have a noticeable pearlescent sheen once a Lucient has been fully assimilated. Something perhaps more noticeable is a change in eye color to that of the singular gem type they are now bonded to. Depending on their skin tone or race they other color changes would also occur. Fur changing color, Scales assimilating to match the gem or even fey wings gaining a more crystal like appearance.
Mental Changes
There are little mental changes when becoming a Lucient. The most notable are the sense of protection and familial bond one will feel for not only the forest, but others who share the mutation.
Effects
Those becoming Lucient are essentially being assimilated into the Crystal Biome. It’s not meant to harm the person, the goal is to condition them to be warriors who would protect the biome and others carrying the mutation. Because the Lucient are effectively being crystallized, their body becomes preserved, allowing them to live longer than they normally would. Once a part of the biome, Lucient affected creatures tend to be passive towards one another unless provoked.
Origin of Trait
The Crystal Biome itself is said to be a relatively recent addition to Aversus. Before, it was a forest like any other, however, through a flimsy ritual between planar mages, a rift to a crystalline dimension was opened, and from it came a single bird with wings sharp as glass and as reflective as such. That bird would nest, mate, and die within the forest, and through this process, the crystal mutation spread rapidly. Over the course of a mense the entirety of the forest had been overtaken by gem structures, creatures, and even flora. Those living within the forest at the time of this change had a transformation of their own.
Some called it a disease, others called it a curse, but in truth, the forest had been mutated, becoming a collective of its own. What the forest wanted was soldiers, protectors, people who would defend it when others would fight the mutation and perhaps spread this mutation to other parts of the continent. Whatever the case, those undergoing the transformation into a Lucient become something greater than they once were, they become part of the collective.
Acquisition
There are a few ways for the mutation to take hold of a person. The first is prolonged activity within the Crystal Biome. After spending multiple septs inside of the biome, it’s likely one will start to feel the itch of gems growing from their skin. Another, quicker acting way to have the mutation spread is through the venomous bite of a Slithershard. Lastly, those already with the Lucience mutation can perform a small ritual on a person not yet carrying the mutation. The ritual differs from person to person, but the overarching similarity is the inclusion of blood contact.
Mechanics
- After being completely assimilated, Lucient will grow gems in patches generally on their shoulders, legs, and/or head. Each person has a unique gem to them such as common or more uncommon ones like sapphires, rubies or jades etc. Everyone only has one type.
- Things such as eye color and skin color change change to match the gem. This doesn’t always occur and the skin color is only a very slight change compared to the brightness of the eye color. On most humanoid races hair does not change.
- Lucience is not a disease, it doesn’t simply infect a person, it’s a mutation, completely transforming a person into something new, giving them the ability to better protect themselves and those within the crystal collective.
- The Lifespan of a Lucient is double what it would be for their respective race.
- The eyes of a Lucient become accustomed to bright lights, making them immune to being blinded by such.
- Weapons that do slashing or piercing damage; (Daggers, Arrows, etc.) will do minus two tiers of strength damage. Blunt weapons will do plus two what they normally would.
- When struck with a moderate/deep wound, over the course of two turns, gems will form over the wound to stop the bleeding, These gems aren’t directly attached to the Lucient and will break away after three turns, after which, the wound would need proper medical attention.
- Once per day, a Lucient can transform one of their limbs into a melee weapon made of the same gem that adorns their flesh. This weapon is a part of the Lucient and cannot be larger than their own arm. If damaged, the pain and injury will transfer over. The strength of the weapon is comparable to steel.
- Gem veins on a Lucient are about the structural strength of solid glass, meaning that, like their skin, they are weak against blunt attacks. These gems are sensitive. Breaking a gem causes as much pain as breaking a bone.
- As part of the collective, all native creatures, Thunderbirds, Crylem, Slithershards, etc, will be passive to a Lucient.
- Those without a physical body to mutate such as Aedynian, Golems, Ethereals, etc are immune to the Lucient mutation.
- Races that can contract Lucience:
- This trait does NOT combine with any curses.
| Traits |
| The Aedynian • Arvora's Ascended • Lucience |
| The World of Aethius • The Multiverse of Aethier |
