Scarlet Rot
Ah, traveler, you ask of the Rot? You wish to know the very thing that has devoured this land, this Caelid? Very well, stand back from those wretched blossoms and listen.
I am Castellan Jerren, and I have survived the worst of it. I've watched this great battlefield become a coffin, and I know the Rot's foul power intimately.
The Festering God
The Scarlet Rot is not just a disease; it is a god’s work. It is the will of an Outer God of Decay, a festering malignancy that seeks to devour the Lands Between and transform it all into one massive, hideous swamp of corrosion.
I have seen its signs. It doesn't just kill; it changes. It blooms with a sickly, crystal-like growth. It is pain given form, and its growth is terminal. The Erdtree’s Golden Order promised renewal, but the Rot promises only transformation—a transformation into magnificent, agonizing filth.
The Weapon of War
Our tragedy, here in Caelid, began when the Rot found its perfect vessel: the Empyrean Malenia.
The Scarlet Rot was in her blood from birth, a terrible curse and a terrible power. She fought here against General Radahn, our great commander, in the final, desperate act of the Shattering.
Radahn, you see, was strong enough to hold the very stars in place! But even his might was not enough against a god's vessel. In the end, cornered, Malenia unleashed the full power of the Rot in a single, cataclysmic act.
The Great Bloom: She plunged her sword into the ground and bloomed. A giant, rotting flower erupted, and when it faded, everything—the men, the beasts, the very air—was infected.
The Aftermath: Malenia was left in a stupor, and Radahn, though victorious in battle, was reduced to a mindless beast, cursed to wander this corrupted land. The Rot had won.
The Endless Blight
Look around you, Tarnished. This land is the Rot God's garden.
The plague now infects the very soil. It crystallizes life and leaves grotesque, scarlet blooms in its wake. There is no simple cure, no mere medicine. It is a divine curse that requires an act of God to remove.
I remain here to ensure that the madness of Radahn is contained and that the few survivors hold on to whatever sanity they possess. But know this: the Rot is patient. It will continue to spread, slowly, beautifully, until this entire world is reduced to one massive, festering bog in service of its dreadful, unseen master.
Be cautious of every crimson spore, traveler. It is the color of Caelid's blood, and soon, it may be the color of yours.