A thick ichor of unknown origin that twists the body, mind, and soul of anything it touches. This corruptive force reshapes even inanimate objects into horrific effigies of what it was. Countless hours of research has gone into trying to understand The Malign, only to produce more questions than answers.
It starts in areas by creating spires that ooze miasma into surrounding zones to infect everything around. Then mobilizes different monstrosities to continue spreading outside of the spires reach. With every being it corrupts, it gets stronger. It gains power from inflicting suffering and despair on other beings; emotional, physical, or spiritual pain all feed The Malign.
The Malign removes any thoughts other than hatred and contempt from those it plagues, without any cure, and the infected becomes murderous beyond comprehension. As The Malign reaches through the entirety of a being; who they were is completely erased.
If the corruption moves slowly enough, the being will retain it’s mental faculties, even though it’s been twisted. Often times these corrupted people will remain in their former lives to trick others into thinking they’re still themselves.
Unlike the other beings of Urtholm, even though The Malign are in some cases, sentient, they do not attract the attention of the Ultimydeon. They form large twisted metropolises that often trap non-Malign creatures within. Because The Malign grows stronger by inflicting suffering, they often don’t immediately corrupt some of the victims they capture.
The more sentience is corrupted by The Malign, the more is left behind when a Malign being is killed. Creatures or object that had little sentience left or that are weaker dissolve into a thin black mist. Most powerful Malign creatures or those steeped more heavily in Malice will leave behind a disgusting ichor which will continue to corrupt those it touches but it is not sentient and cannot act on it’s own.
Powerful karmic distortions made out of pure malice made sentient. They appear as writhing masses of oily black limbs that move about with the sounds of breaking bones and snapping sinew. Malice Cores infest other sentient life with hateful magic.
Once something is twisted by a malice core, the only merciful path forward is a swift death. Regardless of how gentle or kind someone was, once it seeps into their mind, they will never get rid of the overwhelming desire to cause harm to others.