Defilement is the other name for Corruption. It is a special kind of Corruption that appeared on the Great River and spread downstream like a plague.[1] The origin of the Defilement is the Estuary.[1]
Origin
The Seekers were always searching for the Estuary, but none of them found it. They built a city of their own in the far reaches of the past called Verge. Its grandeur could compete with the large prosperous cities ruled by the sybils. From there, they continued their search until one of the Seekers managed to enter the Estuary.[1]
However, what he found there was Corruption, not the truth. Perhaps it was the truth he found that corrupted him. He became the first of the Defiled, bringing the Defilement back to the Verge. The city of Seekers was consumed by the Defilement, and those consumed became twisted and monstrous. It spread from there like a plague, bringing a great calamity to the River People.[1]
Because of the Defilement, the peaceful waters of the Great River became plagued by the Corrupted. The River People were trapped between the harrowing past and the doomed future. They fought against the Defilement and resisted for a while, but also fought among themselves. That was how Daemon followers were chased away upstream, facing dangers, and eventually lost contact with those who had exiled them. Many sybils succumbed to the Defilement, and their cities fell, including Twilight, the city of the Serpent King.[1]
Source of Defilement
- Main article: Estuary § Source of Defilement
In the heart of the Tomb of Ariel, there were sinister runes inscribed on the tunnel walls that could make the unfortunate person feel terror and revulsion. Many of those were littered in all directions barely leaving any space between the harrowing symbols. This is the source of Defilement. Being close to the runes threatened to make Corruption bloom in one's soul.[2]
Staying near the Void in the Estuary would make the seed of Corruption bloom in one's soul. If one remained here, they would become Defiled.[2]
End
Third Nightmare
- Main article: Third Nightmare (Event) § Final Battle
Real Tomb of Ariel
According to Ananke, the destruction of the Defilement was not achieved through direct force, but by depriving the Defiled of sustenance. Since nothing could touch the First Seeker without becoming Corrupted, it could not be destroyed by conventional means. Instead, Cronos and Daeron created a miniature realm inside the realm of Ariel, one that could exist outside time for a while, built from the Serpent King's bones and Soul Sea, with Daeron sacrificing himself to form its walls and Cronos sacrificing his remaining time. The River People hid inside of it and waited, abandoning the Great River entirely and leaving it to their enemy to the Defiled. Deprived of humans to devour, the Defiled began to starve. With no other source of sustenance, they turned to the greatest source of sustenance left on the Great River — to the vast, abominable sea of flesh that had created them, eventually devouring the First Seeker itself. In the end, they devoured each other as well, until all that was left of them were bones, and thus the Defilement was destroyed.[3]
Trivia
- It was mentioned that the Defilement was born after the voices of the gods grew silent which cause the sybils to seek the Estuary.[4]
- The First Seeker, who has not been seen in a long time, is said to have turned into a mindless mass of rotting flesh due to Defilement. Some said he was severely wounded by the Serpent King and is yet to recover. There was also heresy that the Dread Lord had subjugated and imprisoned him.[5]
- The Defilement was a terrible knowledge that corrupted the souls of those who possessed it, and even if one reached the Source of the Great River and returned into the past after being infected by the Defilement, the infection would have returned.[6]
- When one surrenders to the Defilement, they are banished from the Nightmare Spell and therefore have no Memories whatsoever a carrier of the Spell had. The Memories were given by the Spell, and taken away by the Spell.[7]
- The state of Torment's mind as a Defiled was narrated in her point of view, one of the memories seen by Cassie, in Chapter 2833.
References
Sources & history
Defilement · Shadow Slave Wiki
Source revision 42953
Adapted from Fandom. CC-BY-SA
Retrieved 2026-11-04 · Article version 1