Bosemya
Contents
Landscape
Bosemya sits on a windswept craggy mass of hard soil and rock just west of Wall and north of Cydonya.
History
Where it came from or when, no one knows, but a strange disease wanders on the wind in Bosemya. For generations uncounted the Bosemyans have fallen prone to it. Some say it comes from contact with a poisonous plant, others say it is the wrath of the planet itself made tangible, others that it is a curse from the city of Rune for some forgotten slight. One thing is true, though. It's effects are unmistakable...
The Bosemyans have always ridden strange mounts into war. These hulking "Goarers" as they are known, stand as tall as a large horse, with massive shoulders and heads set low with small necks. Horns and tusks sprout from the pig-like faces (some say they are more bat-like) and a course hair covers their bodies. They are brutal and devastating in combat and possess an uncanny bond with their riders.
The disturbing fact is that these Goarers were once people.
The Bosemyans suffer under a unique sort of lycanthropy. It is irreversible, can lay dormant for as long as a lifetime, and is painful and final. The afflicted person begins to feel pains in their organs and limbs, experiences changes in appetite and mood, begins to grow small, soft hairs everywhere. Eventually the person needs to be taken care of by friends or family as the disease takes a stronger hold and leaves the victim bedridden and feverish. The disease can often cause a person to become extremely violent during the transformation, so sometimes they are locked in stalls, cages or secure rooms to prevent injury to loved ones. When the transformation is complete, the person has become a Goarer, and while they retain much of their human intelligence, they are burdened with the instincts and urges of an animal. No one has ever been able to find a cure for the disease and the Bosemyans do not desire one. This disease has become part of life in Bosemya, whether it is viewed as good luck or ill.
