「 Rot and Magic 」

What is Rot?

As food-based lifeforms, Rot is a natural enemy and considered a threat to all. It starts with a simple Mold sickness that, if left untreated, can lead to death.

By the way, when someone dies in the world of Gastronomia, it's called expiring.

What makes Rot so dangerous is that people are not its only target. Left unchecked, Rot can spread to animals and plantlife, and then seep into the very earth itself, irreversibly warping and defiling the terrain.

Crops afflicted with Rot become inedible. Creatures warp into Rot Beasts, growing vicious and crumb-hungry. The air becomes noxious and difficult to breathe, and will speed up the effects of Mold sickness.

Suffice to say, Rot is dangerous. In the Cheddar-Jack Outback, a huge portion of the southern Plate has become heavily contaminated with Rot. In New Fruitisse and Veggieland, Rot is extremely prone to breaking out in large populations. Researchers and Knights are always seeking the best method to prevent and fight against Rot.

Getting Moldy

At its earliest form, Mold sickness is akin to the common flu. It's contracted from contact with existing Mold or Rot, and can sometimes appear by itself in warm, wet, weather. The symptoms include fever, coughing, general sluggishness, weakness, and dizzy spells. It is easily cured with bed rest and common medicines.

Once the sickness progresses, those afflicted begin to cough or throw up greenish-bluish-white spores, and grow fuzzy patches of the same colour. At this point, the sickness becomes contagious, but is still curable. Removal of Mold patches may result in scarring/leftover blemishes, which are often looked down upon in high society.

Further progression of Mold sickness becomes incurable, and almost certainly leads to death. Internal organs and limbs growing Mold patches turn rotten and fail or fall off entirely. This state is highly contagious, and is considered a biohazard.

It seems there are rare cases of certain Cheese-type people who are not as severely affected by Mold sickness, and feel little to no side effects when contracted with it. Curiously, their Mold is not contagious, either.

Researchers theorize that the Cheddar-Jack Outback's long history and coexistence with Mold and Rot has led to this mutation.

Rot Beasts

Unlike people, who expire when Mold sickness reaches its strongest state, animals face a different yet equally horrific future. Previously docile creatures become vicious, their bodies warping into massive, decaying forms. They seek to eliminate all healthy life around them, infecting the terrain and people alike with Rot.

The Plates of Gastronomia are all united by a common cause: fighting back against the Rot and Rot Beasts. In recent decades, the Saltine Republic has made a game-changing addition to the repertoire of all Knights who slay Rot Beasts with their invention of Salted Iron. The metal is incredibly effective at subduing the Beasts, piercing through their rotten bodies with ease where other weapons might be repelled.

Cages and cuffs made of Salted Iron have proven effective at restraining Rot Beasts, so that they may be studied by scholars and used by Knights in training to practice fighting. Weapons and restraints alike become even more effective when they are magically enchanted.

For my own sake, there will be no depictions of maggots, flies, or other bugs associated with rotten food/mold in real life.

So how does Magic work?

Magic has been present in the world of Gastronomia for as long as people have been. Long, long ago, it was wild and unfettered, spilling across the lands and blessing those who came across it. A boundary stone Rot could not spread past, or a child born twice as strong as a soldier. It spread as folktales, myth, legend... until the Great Wizard Merlot learned how to harness it.

Learning to cast magic propelled the society of Gastronomia forward by leaps and bounds. Suddenly, the ever-present threat of Rot was not one that could only be hidden from. Now, people could fight back. It was Merlot who led one of the very first battles against a Rot stampede, and he did not hesitate to teach his knowledge to the people.

The capabilities of magic are limited only by the user's imagination—for example, one who has spent their whole life cultivating a garden is much more likely to be able to conceptualize "plant-growing magic" than one who grew up in an arid desert.

Every single living person, whether they know it or not, has a wellspring of magical energy within them that they can unleash to cast spells and enchantments. Some are able to learn to wield it purely by intuition and instinct, while others require a more scholarly approach and spend years studying its properties before casting a spell on their own. The size of this wellspring is unique to each person, and will dry up after continuous use. Don't be too alarmed though, because it can regenerate naturally or with the help of enchanted items or potions.

The strength of an enchantment—a magical spell cast on an object—varies by the user. They can be temporary, lasting only a few moments when activated, or nearly permanent. An enchantment becomes a curse when it is permanent, and cast on a person. Potions are created using magical plants, crystals, and other ingredients, and work similarly to enchantments when ingested.

The Great Wizard Merlot

Before him, magic was seen as a rare gift, perhaps from a deity of some kind, or from the land itself.

When he was able to harness it, bend it to his will, he changed the world.

Merlot was said to be able to cast any kind of magic, beyond imagination: he summoned unlimited riches, turned wine into freshwater, parted the Umami Sea and crossed it; he could teleport, he could fly, he could shapeshift, and more. However, most of the historical records from the time he was alive 1000 years ago are missing or unreliable, so the true extent of his power is unknown.

One thing's for certain, though—no self-respecting mage can deny the impact he had. It's widely known that the common spell to open locked doors, "Open Sesame Bun," was created by him. There are even dedicated scholars who see him as something of a minor deity.

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