Corprus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Corprus is a fictional disease featured in the video game The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. After infection, the disease follows one of two paths. Generally symptoms include numerous cancerous growths and violent insanity. Those in the late stages of the disease become stronger and are referred to as Corprus Stalkers. Some, whose growths are more debilitating, are called Lame Corprus Beasts. Corprus is incurable.
Corprus is spread by the Ashstorms and can be considered a deadlier version of (if not a relative to) the Blight, due to the fact that both were created by Dagoth Ur and are spread in the same fashion, via the Ashstorms, and can also be contracted from Corprus-afflicted individuals. It also allows the sufferer to become susceptible to Dagoth Ur's dream messages (refered to by Morrowind denizens as "Soul Sickness), which could possibly lead him or her to joining the Sixth House Cult.
Corprus is called "the Divine Disease" by members of House Dagoth, as they believe it to be the evolution of the Dunmer race, bringing them unity and immortality, and protecting them from all outside influences, mainly the Empire.
A magical barrier, the Ghostfence, was created by Vivec, Almalexia and Sotha Sil for the purpose of containing the Blight and Corprus disease within the Red Mountain region. As it slowly begins to weaken, the Blight epidemic spreads outside Ghostfence, and both it and Corprus spreads throughout many places in Morrowind. Tel Fyr also houses a Corprusarium where the victims of Corprus can find refuge and live out the remainder of their lives in relative peace. It is possible that they seem to keep at least some sort of awareness of themselves.
Corprus has a much greater reflection in user-made mods than in the original game. In the Sixth House mod, the player can actually join the House Dagoth and win it a decisive victory. The mod's storyline ends in destroying Ebonheart, killing Vivec, shutting down the Ghostfence and letting Blight and Corprus spread across Vvardenfell, forcing all the foreigners away. Corprus and Dagoth cults are featured in multiple darkside mods like Suran Underworld. A global storyline for House Dagoth is included in now-developed Chaos Heart mod.
There are signs that a House Dagoth storyline was planned to be included in the original game, but wasn't completed due to lack of time.
During the course of the game the main character performs a quest in which he is infected with corprus. Infection is unavoidable-if he is not infected in the natural course of the quest, he is automatically infected upon its completion. They seek a potion from Divayth Fyr at Tel Fyr on the east coast of Vvardenfell. The potion removes the negative symptoms of the disease while retaining its two positive symptoms, immunity to age (which stops the player from losing stats when reachiing high levels) and all other diseases . However, it is unclear as to whether the main character is healed because he is the Nerevarine, or whether the potion actually works. One of the trials for becoming accepted as the Nerevarine is proving the Nerevarine's ability to resist the Corprus disease. Fyr also informs the main character that the potion has killed all his other test subjects.
