Aether Corruption

Appearing in the video game Grim Dawn, Aether Corruptions are the first enemy encountered by the Taken. Victims of the Grim Dawn, the Aether Corruption are often little more than reanimated corpses, their bodies resurrected by the aetherials to serve as foot soldiers in their conquest of Cairn. Lesser aether corruptions resemble the native races of Cairn, with the vast majority being human corpses. However, more powerful corruptions show signs of mutation, their appearance closer to those living victims possessed by an aetherial.

Corruption Variants[]

Gazer[]

Appearing as little more than a ball of flesh with a single eye, Gazers are a common sight in areas overrun by the aetherial's undead servants. Gazers are split into four variants, each more powerful than the last. The first three of these, the Corruption, Overseer and Overmind, each possess abilities based around electrical manipulation, firing lightning at their victims. The Mindrager, meanwhile, possesses abilities which use their victim's own blood and life force against them.

Zombie[]

Perhaps the most common type of aether corruption for no other reason than the number of humans killed in the Grim Dawn and the later years, Zombies are the average foot soldier of the aetherial's undead forces. Slow and lumbering, most are capable of wielding weapons. Additionally, some variants possess additional abilities, such as the Cold Ones and Burning Dead, which are capable of utilising basic frost- and flame-based magic respectively, and Wretches, which can vomit up a poisonous mixture on their victims.

There are two variants of zombie which possess more in common with their aetherial masters - the Fleshwarped Butchers and Thrashers, and the Corpsefiends. The former are much larger than the average zombie, their weapons being a part of their bodies. Occasionally, these weapons will be taken from the corpses of deceased Fleshwarped for use by the human resistance. The latter, meanwhile, are a mutation that may randomly occur in more common zombies. Appearing when the walking dead are slain, Corpsefiends lose their left arm, whilst their right arm is replaced with a single wickedly spined blade and their head is replaced by a tentacle sprouting from their neck.

Tainted Hound[]

Sometimes referred to as Zombie Hounds, Tainted Hounds are the deceased former best friends of mankind. Once normal dogs, tainted hounds lack fur, their bodies glowing green with the crystal masses that infest many victims - both living and undead - of the aetherials, their tails split into two. Whilst the majority have no special abilities, their pack leaders are capable of releasing the energy of these aether crystals as a potent breath attack.

Reanimator[]

Reanimators, alongside the more powerful Dominators, are a special breed of aether corruption. As with the aforementioned zombies, these creatures are the reanimated corpses of humans. However, whereas most humans reanimated by the aetherials lack any obvious signs of their corruption beyond their deceased nature, reanimators are riddled with crystalline growths. These aether crystals, like the much larger clusters found in aetherial-conquered territories, are capable of resurrecting the dead in the area, allowing reanimators to bring more zombies into a fight. Both reanimators and dominators have a much stronger variant, each referred to with the same name as their base form, and possess abilities to release energy from their crystal growths in the form of aetherfire blasts.

Fleshwarped Troll[]

Trolls, beastmen native to the Misty Vale, have been enemies of humanity since long before the Grim Dawn. When the aetherials began their invasion of Cairn in earnest, trolls were another victim of their invasion. Whilst the tribes still exist, proliferating in areas where humanity, the aetherials and the chthonians have each failed to gain a foothold, those that fall find their place amongst the undead as Fleshwarped Trolls. Ironically, these undead trolls are seemingly as smart as their living counterparts. Whereas human zombies are only capable of using the most rudimentary of weapons, fleshwarped trolls fight in full plate armour, utilising a mix of blade, club and gun. Though the magic of their shamans is long since lost to them, the aetherials commanding them have granted all forms of fleshwarped troll some form of basic magic.

Fleshwarped Manticore[]

Manticores have always been an apex predator of the world of Cairn, and with the Grim Dawn, it comes as no surprise that those slain have been resurrected to serve the aetherials. Fleshwarped Manticores, besides their basic appearance, bare little difference to regular, living manticores.

Harvestman[]

Also known as Haunted Scarecrows, Harvestmen are a truly horrifying form of aether corruption. Whether they were normal scarecrows or some kind of perverse form of murder, harvestmen are zombies only in that their head and torso is that of a human. Something has removed their limbs, replacing both with thick branches, their right arm ending in a trio of blades

Possessed Human[]

Little is known of the Grim Dawn, but one of the few known facts is that it started with human mages known as Arcanists. These humans discovered the aetherials by accident, and were tricked by these beings to open Cairn more and more to the corrupting power of the Aether. When they had let enough of the aetherials through that they felt confident in their invasion, these same arcanists were possessed, serving as the first living victims of the Grim Dawn. Thanks to the aetherials possessing them, these former humans make up the only still-living aether corruptions.

An interesting side-effect of the possession process is that the thoughts of the human also affect the aetherial possessing them. This has led to some possessed humans going rogue, the most notable of which being Hagarond, a prisoner in the conquered city of Malmouth who possessed an upstanding citizen, granting him a sense of empathy that most aetherials lack, and the witch Anasteria, who openly joined forces with the human resistance despite being an aetherial herself. Technically, the Taken (the player character) is also a possessed human. However, during the game's opening, they were captured and hanged, causing the aetherial spirit to flee their body.

Flesh Hulk[]

Flesh hulks, alongside the larger ironside and rage hulks, are the largest of the aether corruption. Whilst seemingly a single body, it is unknown exactly what these creatures are. Perhaps they are a subspecies of fleshwarped troll, created from the larger troll behemoths, or perhaps they are an amalgamation of several bodies. In either case, these represent the pinnacle of the undead servants of the aetherials, with immense strength, a resistance to most forms of damage, and vast amounts of aetherial energy pulsing through their body, which explodes out when they are slain.

Notable Corruptions[]

Harrath the Slaughterer - Fleshwarped Troll
Venarius, the Backbreaker - Flesh Hulk
Dralgar, the Keeper of Burrwitch
Galakros, The Mountain
Dreven Cole
Alberran Rein
Cyrian Marcan
Halgavar, The Bone Monger
Rodalgar, the Flesh Collector