Lore:Azure Blight

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"The blue got in them and made them sick. made them mad. They attacked us! We all ran. All ran. It's just me now. I need to get home. The Green will protect me. Protect me from the blue."
—Maarselok Reconnaissance Log Four
The Azureblight Cancroid, a source of Azure Blight corruption

The Azure Blight (or simply Azureblight)[1] was an arcane disease which appeared in the Tenmar jungle in 2E 582. Unleashed by the dragon Maarselok, who had awoken from his resting place deep beneath the mountains of eastern Grahtwood with the release of the great dragon Kaalgrontiid and his dragon followers from the Halls of Colossus. The Azure Blight was a corruptive plague created by the dragon's Thu'um, it rapidly spread through the jungle, corrupting the life within and bringing it under the dragon's thrall, and threatened all of Grahtwood, and even the Elden Root tree, Green-Sap, and the Green itself.[2][3][4] Maarselok's ultimate goal in unleashing the blight was to take control of the Changeling high priestess of Shagrath, Selene, and combine her power with his own, which he believed would give him the ability to shape the world to his liking.[5]

Spread by being borne through the air by swarms of infected insects,[6] the disease was characterized by the bright azure glow which covered the forms of the infected and the stench of decay which accompanied it. The Azure Blight infected all forms of life, flora and fauna, and caused them to rot while simultaneously placing them under its maker's thrall. In addition it would corrupt nature spirits and reanimate the dead to serve Maarselok, and even take on living forms, walking masses of disease that would fight intruders or masses that oozed corruption to help spread the blight further.[4][5][7][8]

History[edit]

Maarselok, creator of the Azure Blight

In 2E 582, ancient Dragons had appeared in Northern Elsweyr, reaping the land, following the release of the great dragon Kaalgrontiid and his dragon followers from the Halls of Colossus.[9]. The azure dragon Maarselok was awoken by the release of his brethren and took roost in a secluded mountain within the Tenmar Jungle. When Maarselok arrived in his new home, his words boomed throughout the valley and the surrounding wilds started to take on an unnatural aspect. This was the beginning of the arcane disease known as the Azure Blight, which rapidly spread through the jungle.[2][3][4] During his stay on the mountain, Maarselok would occasionally venture out to look for something, the Changeling Selene whose power he sought to combine with his own, believing it'd give him the ability to shape the world to his liking.[5][10][11]

Evident by the bright azure glow which it caused to appear wherever it had taken root and the strong stench of decay which accompanied it, the Azure Blight caused infected life, whether flora or fauna, to rot, and turned its victims into the dragon's thralls.[4][3] Even nature spirits and the dead weren't spared, as the disease took control of the local Spriggans,[12] and reanimated the corpses of the dead in the region into undead servants of its creator.[7][5][6] The disease would also take on forms to help propagate itself further, such as wooden Lurcher constructs and living masses of the blight that would ooze more corruption or fight off invaders.[8][13][14]

Borne through the air by swarms of infected insects,[6] the Azure Blight soon came to threaten Elden Root and the Green themselves.[4][3][2] Alarmed by the disease spreading through the land, King Aeradan Camoran sent a Bosmeri army to slay the dragon, however, unprepared for the nature of what they were about to face, the force was quickly overcome. Creatures infected with the Azure Blight rushed out of the corrupted jungle and drove the Bosmer force into the infected area before setting up an enirclement to prevent them from leaving. Surrounded on all sides by the Azure Blight, the Bosmer soon fell to the infection and became the dragon's thralls themselves.[2][15][16][17]

Fearful of losing more of his soldiers, King Camoran sent two emissaries, Allanwen and Gadnalon, to the region to treat with the Changeling Selene, and enlist her aid in stopping Maarselok and protecting Valenwood from his poison. The pair also enlisted the aid of a group of adventurers to deal with the situation. The group soon encountered Selene, who had been imprisoned and soul bound by the Mages Guild warlock Carindon. Carindon was convinced to loosen his hold so the group could treat with Selene, forcing them to subdue her again after she took on a different form and attacked. The party braved the infested lair of Maarselok, did combat with his blighted thralls and living masses of disease, the Azureblight Infestors, and destroyed the Azureblight Cancroid, a corrupted mass formed by the blight which oozed and spread the disease further, the heart of the mountain's corruption.[2][4][8]

The group repelled the dragon multiple times during the ascent and, aided by Selene, whose purifying glyphs cleansed the dragon's corruption and helped repel the dragon, eventually confronted Maarselok on the mountain's summit. Maarselok was a formidable foe, and used his blight to take control of Selene and infest the adventurers themselves using seeds of Azureblight. However Selene managed to struggle against his hold and cleanse the corruption with her own powers, and eventually Maarselok fell.[5][4][18]

Carindon, whose actions had violated an accord between the Mages Guild and Selene, was captured to await disciplinary action by guild Arch-Mage Vanus Galerion himself. Selene escaped and would go on to work to cleanse the Azure Blight, which had persisted past the dragon's death, from the land.[3][4][5]

Gallery[edit]

  • An Azureblight Infestor, a walking mass of Azureblight

  • An Azureblight Spriggan, a nature spirit in the thrall of Maarselok

  • An Azureblight Lurcher, a construct in the thrall of Maarselok

  • An Azureblight Strangler, plantlife corrupted by Maarselok

  • A Skeletel Dire Wolf, an undead thrall of Maarselok

  • Azureblight Vitiate, a Bosmer enthralled by Maarselok

  • An Azureblight Wasp, an insect infected with the Azureblight

  • An Azureblight Wyrm, an elemental wyrm formed of Azureblight

  • Maarselok flying above the Azureblight corrupted mountain

  • Maarselok surrounded by blighted life

  • Azure Blight infecting flora in the Tenmar Forest

Notes[edit]

  • Maarselok's Azureblight has some similarities to the Ash Blight of Dagoth Ur, both being arcane diseases linked to Aedric forces that rot and take control of those they infect and place them under the mental control of their creator. Those blighted by Dagoth Ur were in mental contact with him, whereas the Azure Blight infected, living or dead, were described as becoming "one with Maarselok" by Selene.[19][20][21][5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Azureblight enemies in the Lair of Maarselok in ESO
  2. ^ a b c d e Lair of Maarselok's description in ESO
  3. ^ a b c d e Allanwen's dialogue in ESO
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Azure Blight quest in ESO
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Selene's dialogue during The Azure Blight in ESO
  6. ^ a b c Observations on Tenmar Valley — Warlock Carindon
  7. ^ a b Skeletal Bears and Skeletal Dire Wolves in ESO
  8. ^ a b c Azureblight Cancroid and Azureblight Infestors in ESO
  9. ^ The Halls of Colossus quest in ESO
  10. ^ Maarselok Reconnaissance Log Two
  11. ^ Maarselok Reconnaissance Log Three
  12. ^ Azureblight Spriggan in ESO
  13. ^ Azureblight Lurchers in ESO
  14. ^ Azureblight Construct Slayer achievement description in ESO
  15. ^ Gadnalon's dialogue in ESO
  16. ^ Maarselok Reconnaissance Log Four
  17. ^ No! No! No!
  18. ^ Maarselok encounters in ESO
  19. ^ Dreamer dialogue in Morrowind
  20. ^ Yakum Hairshashishi on the topic of Soul sickness in Morrowind
  21. ^ Dagoth Ur's dialogue in Morrowind
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