Sneak Peek: Aberrations (Patreon)

Most beings who experience emotional trauma cope with it in different ways. In the most extreme cases, this can lead to insanity or emotional breakdowns. While not healthy, this behavior is actually a defense mechanism, allowing one to reject reality and their trauma. Those who can’t, who are already suffering spiritual damage, who suffer protracted misery, can become aberrations.

This extreme damage changes the individual, first spiritually and mentally, then physically. The being becomes the embodiment of their trauma, a monster driven by a malicious will and the need to indulge their pain. After suffering the trauma that pushes their soul over the edge, the transformation into an aberration is inevitable. The process may be slowed, but eventually the damage consumes the soul.

The first sign of an aberration is a deadened response to emotion, with the individual becoming detached and cold. While their personality and mind remains intact, they instinctually isolate themselves and push others away. After being isolated, quirks and compulsions begin to manifest. Each aberration’s compulsions are different, such as hoarding, gorging or displaying an overwhelming sense of paranoia.

As the gestating aberrant personality takes over, the compulsions become stronger, until it consumes the individual's life. The trauma begins to diminish the aberration’s ability to communicate, their impulse control and their higher reasoning. As their original persona is consumed entirely, they become little more than extremely intelligent animals, driven by instinct and a singular emotion, that which originally turned them into aberrations. Most aberrations at this point can be misidentified as those suffering extreme mental breaks or mental disease.

Once the aberration’s mental faculties are taken over, they seek a lair. Most aberrations instinctively shun the light and prefer dark, enclosed areas like caves, abandoned buildings, sewers or burrows. After an aberration’s personality is completely destroyed, the physical changes occur. Initially, the changes tend to be relatively minor, with a new aberration still identifiable as their old selves.

After years of activity, aberrations will hibernate for quite some time; sometime for decades. During this time, they undergo even more spiritual and physical change, eventually assuming the full appearance of monsters. Any single aberration that survives long enough to exit their hibernation is a severe threat, capable of inflicting misery on entire communities in short order.

Different sorts of aberrations are created from varying emotions and behave differently. While they retain their intellect, they only ply it in their obsessions, such as hunting prey or in sating their compulsions.

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of aberrant degeneration is that while an aberration loses the ability to comprehend speech, they do not lose the ability, much like ravens. There are innumerable cases of aberrations mimicking calls for help to draw in prey, or sobbing to drop the guard of approaching victims. There appears to be no indication that the aberrations understand what these words mean, only their impact on others.

All aberrations possess some degree of supernatural strength, speed and agility, as well as supernatural powers that manifest differently depending on what kind of aberration it is.

Note: These are works in progress and not indicative of the final project.  These are sneak peaks exclusive to backers as a heartfelt thank you for your continued support.