[Exemplary] Family of Steel - Carved from the Blighted Oak

[Proto Man]

Only when he was certain he was alone in the dead woods did Proto Man play the harrowing video file on the data puck.

After a short delay, a somewhat lethargic Wood Man appeared on screen. “It’s been a week since those elves were butchered… yet I still endure. T-the blight seems almost dormant, and it doesn’t seem to be spreading far from the sight of infection. I … I’m not exactly sure if I should breathe a sigh of relief, but for the moment, I think I’m okay.” Wood Man winced as he shifted around, trying to find a seated position that didn’t strain the damaged limb. “I’m going to return to that stretch of woods, I think. If I can get my hands on one of those corpses then I might be able to study how this disease affects animals.”

The video feed cut off abruptly, and when it returned, the time stamp indicated that three days had passed. Wood Man’s face was dotted with brown flecks, and the android seemed physically exhausted.

“This disease is transformative…that much I can say for certain. It also has properties of both a virus and a parasite. It damages and changes the internal chemistry of its host, but at the same time, it likewise mutates the outer layer of tissues, which results in the blackened flesh and other unsettling growths that appear on the infected elves and humans. It’s hard to tell how much of the original being remains once the blight has wholly consumed them, but it is obvious that victims tend lose a great deal of their higher-level thought processes.

“Strangely enough, the internal physiology doesn’t seem to be impacted much by the blight… aside from the blood. The blight must somehow provide oxygen to its host, because the blood takes on a dark purple color and ceases to transport hemoglobin. There’s also a marked decrease in pH that would kill any normal human.

“There also seems to be a stark difference between individuals who are killed by infected creatures and those who succumb to the disease. The blight restores the most basic of motor functions, and what you have is little more than a rabid beast… those that suffer and succumb retain far more trappings of sentient beings. You can pick out those who fought on till the end, because they walk with their shoulders squared and their backs straight.

“While this was all very useful, I fear I’m not a single step closer to understanding how to cure this disease. There are so many variables, and at this stage, I haven’t the first clue where to begin. I just hope I’ll be able to find the needle within the haystack before it’s too late…”

The video cut to black for a few beats before a frantic Wood Man appeared on the screen. The date in the bottom corner of the screen indicated that a week had transpired since his last recording.

“The darkness is coming!” The android screamed, his eyes wild as he took a moment to erratically check his peripherals. “I-I…” Words seemed to fail the machine as he grabbed at the sides of his head and winced. “I was stupid to think I’d be safe! The pestilence is spreading. I can feel it burning through my circuits. My circuits! Th-this is more adaptive than I could have imagined…” Wood Man trailed off, and for nearly half a minute, the android just sat there, clutching the sides of his head and rocking softly. When he spoke again, his voice had regained a little of its normal composure. “I saw a night elf survive for no more than three days, but I… I think I might have a little longer than that. I’m going to return to the heart of the blighted forest.

“If the end is drawing closer, I need to conquer this. If not for myself, I need to do help whoever follows in my footsteps, whether they’re an elf or a human or a machine. I need a living sample… need to … need to … “

As Proto Man watched, Wood Man continued to repeat himself until the feed ended. The red robot was hoping that this was the end of the video feed, but after some static, Wood Man appeared once again. The sylvan machine was covered in black stains that dripped down his face and chest. His eyes seemed empty and dark as he stared into the camera for a few moments.

“I captured one of them alive,” Wood Man muttered as he knelt down and picked up something below the camera’s line of sight. After a short pause, he lifted up what remained of a mutilated elven darkspawn. “Th-the stronger ones are capable of speech. It’s a bit garbled and growly, but my system had no difficulty translating it. After a bit of … persuasion, the creature revealed some rather curious information about its origins.

“It referred to its disease as a Blight, and everything seemed to indicate a proper noun. Based on its excessive use of third-person pronouns, I’m starting to think that the infected develop some sort of mental connection. A hive mind, perhaps? It spoke of something called an ‘emissary.’ I’m led to believe it was referring to a specific creature. I’m going to track down this emissary and extract additional information from it.” The crazed look in Wood Man’s eyes betrayed the real intentions he had for the beast.

“In… in other news,” the machine muttered before growling and throwing the corpse aside like a bag of garbage. “The infection compromised my leg. Rather than allow it to fester unchecked, I excised the area.” On that note, Wood Man lifted up his own severed leg and flashed an uncharacteristically manic smile at the camera. “I’m going to go find the darkspawn emissary. I’m going to find it and beat the answers out of it with my own diseased limb…

“Until next time.”