Bestiary

Someone who falls to the Wyrm suffers irrevocable changes. Her will is no longer fully her own and her mind — and in some cases her body — is now sustained by the Wyrm’s corrupt energies. She has no way back; no one who makes this choice can ever unmake it and return to being a whole person. Any of the fallen who struggle against their fate: face either failure or death as their only options.

Some experiences, like walking the Black Spiral Labyrinth or feeding on Wyrm-tainted flesh make any who survive them completely unable to even consider betraying or working against the Wyrm. Individuals who fall to the Wyrm through less extreme forms of corruption can work against their dark master, but only with great difficulty and greater cost.

When anyone who has fallen to the Wyrm betrays it, banes and other creatures associated with the Corrupter know of what has happened. Some fomori, and other Wyrmspawn like the Balefire Sharks, rely on the Wyrm’s corrupt energies to survive. Were one to turn against the Wyrm it would soon suffer a painful death, as the power that sustains them suddenly cuts off.

Otherwise, the Wyrm’s minions try to destroy the betrayer. Those who manage to escape or survive gradually become physically and mentally ill as the strain of working against the Wyrm wracks their minds and bodies. All the Wyrm’s servants understand this price, although many only learned it after they swore allegiance to it. The few who bitterly regret their choice and are willing to help make amends often choose to betray the Wyrm in a way that ends in their death. Myths tell of a silver lake in the Umbra that could bring them redemption, but many die before they ever find it.