In times long gone the Unknown attempted to have nations destroy each other in hopes to conquer those few that remained, that was the Time of Chaos. But there is something the Unknown fears about the people of Delean, for once before he was nearly defeated single-handily by a Delean Battle Maiden.

To prevent Delean from ever becoming a threat again the Unknown placed deep within the bowels of the island a Basilith of great power, Viscaroth. Viscaroth would remain there forever, spreading its' tentacles to all ends of Delean. Doing this it would spread a spore that would enter the water, and through the water into the animals and plantlife. This spore is what weakens the men of Delean.

Those who come into contact with the spores lose 1 health point and mana per week, which can not be healed through magic or rest, but can be healed through herbal remedies. For each week of continued exposure the penalty increases by one point. The women of Delean have created a herbal medicine that halts the effects of the spore, but leaves the person without energy and strength. They remain alive, but unable to do much.

Leaving Delean or stopping using anything tainted by the spore will end its' effects after one month. But for the natives of the land this is virtually impossible as they don't know about Viscaroth and the fact that everything has become tainted over time, even the herbs used in the remedy carry the spore. Hence even the remedy itself taints the victim.

Luckily the spores of Viscaroth have no effect on women, though even the Basilith is unsure why this is.

Delean

The amazon island nation several days sailing to the west of Asgard. They truly are not an amazon culture by desire or design. No one know exactly why, but the men who live upon the island are weak, lacking barely the strength to sustain their own lives and the strongest among them being able to preform light labor. The women have had to become accustomed to being the strength of the land.

Even men who come to Delean, and spend to much time there begin to develop the same weakness. Once they leave the island, it takes several years and much body development for the men to fully recover.

--------- The Truth ---------

Once, long ago, when was ravaged the land, a great hero came from Delean and was able to turn the tide of battle. Though the foe was defeated, it was not killed and feared that another such hero might be born of this people. This being summoned forth a demon like none other from the darkest corner of existance, and set it to inhabitant Delean, deep beneath the ground. The emmissions from the planet's core altered the demon in ones the dark being hadn't anticapited, and instead of it emitted a slow, but surely fatal toxin into the land, the toxin was changed. More of a poison, it seeps into all corners of Delean, the food, water, plants. But only sentient men can feel its' effect. The beast was meant to kill off the nation, but instead it merely crippled half the population. The initial effect did indeed almost drive the nation to death, but the women quickly adapted and took over in the roles of the men, and the nation survived.

Very few people know about the demon deep in the ground. And those that are aware of it are either those who put it there, or simply have no care about it. But the beast is powerful and deadly beyond reason, even should it be discovered, the passages to it are riddled with traps and other lesser demons. And the demon itself is not defenseless, it could easily rend a warrior into 2 with one slash. But it is not beyond death, it could be killed by extraordinary means. But even should it be killed, the toxin would take centuries to wear out of the land and allow it to fully recover.

There is no cure for the toxin. Nothing can counter its effect. Food/water taken from Delean to another land will still bear the toxin, but not enough to truly hinder a man to any great effect unless taken in large, daily doses. A mere stomach ache is all one is likely to suffer from a single 'dose'.