Taint-Bearers

Akuma are hunted as taint-bearers, spreaders of corruption, and power-mad witches in most societies. The fearful mortals are not without just cause, for the presence of Akuma can spread taint in the surrounding populace like an unseen plague. As the corruption spreads, more Akuma join the secret cult. There are frightening tales of entire towns coming under the sway of Akuma. If the stories are to be believed, strangers within an Akuma neighborhood or town often disappear, or resurface years later with new names or personalities.

There are some civilizations thought to be overrun with Akuma, such as the dark Eldar of Morbrethil, the Zuhls of the "Wintercrown Mountains", the Guldur Alu, and their Manticora Alu retainers. Whether this is true or mere rumor is unknown, but the nations of Ambar have a very deep-rooted fear of Akuma that provokes decisive action against the "Taint-Bearers".

Doomed Path

Like many wizards, Akuma are motivated by arcane power and place little value on mundane things and events of the mortal world. No longer truly mortal or sane by human standards, the Akuma become increasingly detached from mortal life. The witch-hunt only exacerbates this isolation, making the mortals into foes.

Akuma all-too-often become sociopaths, dark magi, or priests of the Kha'din, carrying out arcane rituals that garner spiritual power and curry favor with the eldritch horrors. Some even lose their qualms over taking mortal life, slaying mortals who interfere with their apotheosis, or even performing experiments on newly tainted mortals.

As mortals see it, the Kha'din taint corrupts the body and spirit. The Akuma are cursed beings neither wholly human nor spirit, but human-seeming and possessed of vast forbidden power.

Nightmares

The presence of an Akuma in the surrounds can often be noted by mortals by an increase in restless dreams and nightmares. Bad omens such as the death of a misshapen calf are also attributed to the presence of Akuma, and can lead to a full-scale witch-hunt.

This is no more obvious to onlookers than smaller traces of Kha'din Taint, and the Kha'din spells which an Akuma gains through his transformation often make his condition undetectable even with magical sight. Shrouded in magick, Akuma can live out convincingly normal lives within human societies to spread the Taint undetected. In most cases the Akuma does not understand the nature of his own affliction,

If a slain Akuma is split open the internal corruption is obvious to those with supernatural sight. The body is a hollow husk filled with the indescribable writhing mass of tentacles, eyes, and mouths of pure chaos--a fledgling Kha'din.

Upon death, some Akuma have reportedly undergone a horrific transformation. There are stories of men being slain who suddenly explode into a mass of tentacles as the Kha'din within sheds its clothing of man flesh.

My time has run out. The tapping of power I have used to extend my natural life has not gone unnoticed. Even now, I have begun to see signs that the Nameless Ones have begun their search for me. I cannot evade them forever...