Gugru the Awful
Gugru the Awful was a dark young thing, a dark young thing, a dark young thing
Gugru the Awful was a dark young thing
So we sweetly sing
Gugru the Awful kept himself unseen, himself unseen, himself unseen
Gugru the Awful kept himself unseen
So we clearly sing
Gugru the Awful snuck into dreams, into dreams, into dreams
Gugru the Awful snuck into dreams
So we darkly sing
Gugru the Awful's eyes did gleam, eyes did gleam, eyes did gleam
Gugru the Awful's eyes did gleam
So we weakly sing
Gugru the Awful took good things, took good things, took good things
Gugru the Awful took good things
So we softly sing
Gugru the Awful left a scene, left a scene, left a scene
Gugru the Awful left a scene
So we madly sing
Fatabactor Asheri
This unique Gram-negative prokaryotic bacterium lives in the magical organs of mythical creatures, people of the fey, and magical entities. Though an alchemical reaction, it processes the otherworldly power of these beings into energy, slowly draining them of that power. The basis for the life or existence of some of these beings is found in the magical power they have, and for these, that life or existence is also gradually drained away. This hardy bacterium can survive in both aerobic and anaerobic environments and even in the vacuum of space and on other planes. It has even been detected in the Wanderers' Library, where it has found many susceptible hosts. It appears to be a universal fatatroph, not limited by host species or type or mythology, whose only apparent requirement for survival is magical power that it can consume. It is unclear if this bacterium is itself a fey entity or is simply a parasite that is limited to magical hosts.
The genus name Fatabactor comes from the fact this species is a fatatroph, apparently deriving all of its energy from another being's magical power. Some believe that the species name asheri comes from the ashes shed by the host, whereas others relate it to the ash-colored skin tone eventually developed in hosts as the infection progresses.
Symptoms are a lessening of the magical vigor of the host, a feeling of weakness, shortness of temper, and a shedding, internally or externally, of what appear to be ashes, together with a graying of the skin of the being. In cases where the host already has gray skin, the skin appears to darken and turn slightly bluish. Sometimes the symptoms also include palpitations, shortness of breath, angry blue weals on magical organs and sometimes on the skin over those organs, confusion, paranoia, and delirium. All known cases end eventually in death, though some beings have been known to survive for hundreds of years. This seems to be partially related to the total magical power the host possesses, but is clearly also affected by other factors. Clearly, for beings that are not dependent for life on The infection is very slow-growing at first, with mild symptoms, but once the skin begins to gray and shedding starts, the symptoms usually rapidly worsen. Given that the shedding is sometimes internal, it is not always initially noticeable, making the change in skin color the most consistently noticeable symptom. The method of transmission is unknown, but is assumed to only occur between magical beings. There is no known cure and no known cases of host survival. Research is ongoing, largely funded by friends and family of sufferers as well as the Fae Health Organization (FHO).
The above is an entry from the Exhaustive Compendium of Mythical Beasts, Weird Entities, and the People of the Fey by Furia Tullia Corva. Published by Arcanum.
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