Origin:
The Emberblight began with the Ironvein family, an old and respected dwarven lineage mining in the deepest shafts of the Stonefang Mountain Stronghold.
While excavating a forgotten lower vein, they unearthed a sealed obsidian cavern, its walls covered in long-faded glyphs.
At the heart of the chamber lay a fragment of the Heart-Furnace, a relic once devoted to Thôrum the Kindler, god of the forge flame.
Despite warnings etched in runes none fully understood, the Ironveins disturbed the relic. On contact, a slow-burning corruption seeped into their flesh—
The Emberblight was awakened.
⚠️ Symptoms
Phase One – The Kindling (2–5 days)
- Skin becomes dry and hot to the touch.
- Victim experiences unnatural strength and euphoria.
- Faint orange glow pulses beneath the skin, especially near veins.
Phase Two – The Smoldering (5–10 days)
- Coughing up ash and flakes of charred blood.
- Hair and beard fall out in singed clumps.
- Victim begins to hear whispers of ancient fire-spirits in their sleep.
Phase Three – The Conflagration (Terminal)
- Body emits intense heat, burning those nearby.
- Eyes ignite with fire as the soul is said to be consumed.
- Victim combusts in a firestorm, leaving only scorched bones and smoldering armor.
🛑 Transmission
- Initially believed to be magical or divine in origin.
- Spread through contact with relic-contaminated metal—tools, jewelry, or ore.
- Later stages emit embers and ash that carry the Blight through air, infecting forge fires and all who breathe the smoke.
💔 Cultural Impact
- The dwarves named it Varrak-Durn, The Burning Curse.
- All contact with the Ironveins was severed.
- The lower halls of Stonefang were sealed with molten stone and rune-wards.
- The once-holy forges were extinguished in mourning.
- Fire-worship cults rose, believing the plague a divine test from Thôrum, and sought to “awaken” others to the flame.
✨ Possible Cures & Legends
- A dwarven prophecy speaks of the Stone of Quenched Flame, a sapphire hidden in the glacial ruins of Frostvault Peak, said to absorb any heat or fire it touches.
- The ancient elves of the Ashen Glade claim to possess an alchemical salve brewed from phoenix tears and obsidian dust, able to halt progression if caught early.
- Some whisper that a surviving Ironvein child fled into the dark with the relic’s shard—and may still hold the key to reversing the Emberblight.