Morrowind Mod:Tamriel Rebuilt/Corprus: The Divine Disease,v I

I have long been fascinated with Corprus, what Divayth Fyr likes to call the "divine disease". First off I think that this title is a little misleading. While its effects early on in the process are disease like, we all know that diseases can be cured yet there is no cure for corprus. I have recently spoken with Divayth on the matter of a cure. He claims to have a potion that can do that but all of his subjects he tested it on died. It should also be noted that corprus can bring on disease such as the blight's many forms yet I do not believe that corprus itself is in fact a disease.

Corprus victims seem to have two paths to take once infected. They either become mindless corprus monsters or they become the powerful servants of Dagoth Ur. I do not know first hand what exactly is required of the victim to not become a mindless zombie nor do I want to know but I would imagine it has to do with the victims own strength which allows them to control corprus or some kind of "blessing" from Dagoth Ur. That being said, this is how corprus seems to progress. At first it looks similar to a normal disease: the victim has corprus growths all over his body and looks heavily diseased. Then the victim either becomes what is known as a "Corprus Stalker" or an "Ash Slave".

"Corprus Stalkers" look mostly humanoid (except for the disgusting corprus growths that cover their skin) and are the lowest category of the mindless beast form of corprus.

"Lame Corprus" are poor souls who have been with corprus for a long time. The growths on their bodies rage out of control, making it difficult to move. These same growths also make them incredibly powerful and very dangerous to the common mer or man. "Ash Slaves" are the lowest rank of Dagoth Ur's personal servants. They are covered in corprus and their faces appear to be covered in ash. They have limited magical abilities and can be very dangerous.

The next step in the evolutionary process is the "Ash Zombie". During this phase the Ash Slave's face becomes brittle and falls off leaving a gaping hole. During this time the servant loses his magical abilities but gains considerable strength. Next comes the "Ash Ghoul". After a certain amount of time the corprus inside the Ash Zombie starts to grow a strange tentacle-like appendage out of the hole in the zombies face. In this form they gain a considerable amount of magical abilities and become very strong fighters. Some of Dagoth Ur's closest companions are Ash Ghouls.

The final step would seem to be the "Ascended Sleeper". The tentacle growths inside the ghouls' head eventually completely emerge and a new head is grown where the old one was. These beings are incredibly strong and are the pinnacle of what a servant of Dagoth Ur can achieve.

In a seperate catagory from the creatures above are the "Ash Vampires". They are Dagoth Ur's closest kin of old house Dagoth. They share the most of Lorkhan's hearts power with him. Apparently even if killed they can be brought back to life by Dagoth Ur. Also of note are "Ash Poets". I am unsure exactly what these creatures are except that they are more of Dagoth Ur's corprus servants. I have never seen one of these beings nor have I heard any reliable reports, save the name. It is possible that "Ash Poet" is just another name for the Ascended Sleepers.

Many believe that corprus was created by Dagoth Ur after he gained the power of Lorkhan's heart. I on the other hand think that corprus is in fact the gift/curse of a divine, like Divayth would suggest. But not a false divine like the Sharmat; it is the gift of a true divine, Lorkhan. I think that the corprus that flows through the heart and mutates all of Dagoth Ur's servants is the reason for Ur's unusual connection with Lorkhan's heart.

In the next volume I hope to investigate the intricacies of the transformations and delve deeper into the behaviors and motives of the different corprus beasts.