okay so it seems like a pretty safe bet that Kal used to have Radiance, right? He was a traveler like Sia and Margaret, and Sia talks about Itzal poisoning Kal's mind—but maybe it wasn't just his mind that Itzal poisoned, but his magic? The fog as corrupted, twisted Radiance is one of my favorite theories & I really hope it's proven right at some point in the narrative, lol.
(I would also just like to learn more about it in general, even if it disproves that theory. GIMME THE TRAVELORE™!!!!!!! pretty please! 🙏)
anyway, @snarky-wallflower asked me what ideas I had for how a traveler could acquire fog magic and I kinda got carried away, lol.
Musings about Radiance corruption below the cut!
⚠️ I think what I wrote could count as body horror, so please be mindful of that! ⚠️
One option is that it's a slow, gradual corruption. whatever the process is—spell, poison/potion, infection—it takes time. and it probably hurts. your DNA is being rewritten and changed strand by strand, cell by cell, and it probably feels like sickness, like you're dying, and the Radiance is trying to burn it out of you. the thing you've known all your life, the magic that has been your tool and your source of power, of protection is turning against you, and you can't stop it and you can't turn it off. it's instinctive.
but eventually, when the fog takes hold and smothers out the last bits of light, it doesn't feel so sick or unnatural anymore. it probably feels like relief. the darkness is a blessing, and there's a new power thrumming in your blood where the Radiance used to burn. It probably feels cool and thick, a weight you can always feel in your chest when you breathe, whereas the Radiance was light and hot, weightless, nothing as tangible or real as the fog curling inside you.
the other possibility is that it's fast, merciless and invasive. maybe the Radiance has to be torn out of you before something else can take its place. you're in blinding agony as the core of you is stripped away—maybe it is a mercy if it's all at once, imagine losing who you are one painful chunk at a time—and it's over quickly, yes, but the memory of it haunts you and now you're just a shell, wounded and raw. and the fog is like a soothing balm as it fills that gaping void inside you, but it feels so alien, it feels wrong, it feels like you died and something else has taken your place. you aren't YOU anymore. the person you used to be was gone the moment they gutted you and stole your Radiance.
...or perhaps the Radiance isn't an obstacle to be removed but something to be beaten into submission, to be destroyed from the inside. maybe the fog is so thick and overpowering that it sinks into you and chokes out that light in a matter of minutes. you can feel the Radiance writhing inside you, fighting against this dark invader. there is a war in your body, and you are the casualty. the fog is what wins—you're just a survivor.
did you survive? are you sure? it doesn't matter, it's already over and you have a King to obey.
⛓ - "Hurry!” A voice echoed almost silent infront of the room as the lock clicked and the door opened up slowly. The blonde slid in and held out a small lantern to brighten the room. Heading towards one of the cells Seth pulled out a key. The last time they had tried to meet at the Charnel lane had gone terribly wrong and resulted in the capture of Lukas by his father’s men. Opening the gate to the cell he stepped inside and knelt down beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder to wake him up.
Lukas didn’t mean to fall asleep. He simply passed out of exhaustion.
The meeting should have gone as per usual. He had been careful when sneaking away from Yharnam, as per usual. He had arrived at the Hemwick meeting point, as per usual. But this very day, “usual” had meant “not enough”. He had been ambushed. Obviously, someone on Seth’s side had spotted their little encounters… and instead of his very close friend, he met a few knights who quickly outnumbered him. Not that he did not fight back, he did… but in the end they took advantage on him.
He barely remembered how exactly he had been transported from Hemwick to Cainhurst. His memories of the travel seemed to escape his mind. All he remembered is that he had been thrown into this cell and got his hands chained to the wall. He fought back, hissed and screamed, tried to free himself but in the end, all had been useless.
After a moment, the panic that had rushed into him slowly faded away. He did not know what -exactly- was going to happen to him, although he most definitely had an idea. And then there was Seth… Was he even alive? Had he been caught into all this? Did… he betray him? The latter thought seemed ridiculous… but in this instant, it haunted him.
He tried to focus, banish the bad thoughts… Panicking was useless, plain and simple. If the Vilebloods were going to bleed him like a pig and feast on his blood, then he might as well give them the hell of a hard time. That was his last thought, before passing out.
Then he felt a movement, a pressure on his shoulder. He opened his eyes wide and his fists were ready to strike. The chains stopped his fists before they had even a chance of landing onto the other person’s face.Lukas looked at Seth with a dumbfounded expression, as if this was all a bad dream. Then he remembered.
