Naenia, the being who creates Malnomen
Malnomen (
Malnomen are regarded as diseases, for their afflictions involve a Vampire's True Name being infected by Maladies (
Vanitas, a human man in possession of the Book of Vanitas. Though the Book is widely known in legends to be the originator of Malnomen, Vanitas utilizes it to cure every curse-bearer he can find, aiming to save the entire race from utter destruction. The main goal of Vanitas and his companion Noé throughout the story is to save every curse-bearer they can.
This article contains plot and/or ending details for The Case Study of Vanitas.
Read at your own risk.
History[]
Following the events of the Babel Incident, caused by the human alchemist Paracelsus, numerous Formulae were altered, creating a race of beings with a penchant for blood and red eyes that could alter The World Formula - strengthening their bodies and producing magic as a result - called Vampires.
In one night of Blue Moon, Vanitas, a vampire, was born. After being shunned and later exiled by their peers, Vanitas swore that they would exact their revenge on the Vampires born under the Crimson Moon. They created a grimoire capable of interfering with the True Names of Vampires, as well as rewriting the World Formulae. Vanitas proclaimed that when The Book of Vanitas was opened, a curse surpassing even death would befall their betrayers.
Pathology[]
Symptoms[]
It is possible to identify Malnomen before the onset of its terminal symptoms. Malnomen is characterized primarily by an insatiable desire for blood. Unlike mythological vampires, Vampires within the world of The Case Study of Vanitas do not need blood to survive. The growing need for blood may be confused for blood addiction, so differential diagnosis may be necessary. A Vampire may survive for months or possibly even years without the manifestation of terminal symptoms- however, left untreated, disease progression is inevitable.
If Malnomen is left untreated and the curse-bearer is not first killed, it will progress into its terminal stage. The Vampire's body itself will corrupt and begin to change dramatically. Initial symptoms associated with the final stage of the disease include increased strength and speed, and an increasing need for blood. The Vampire's features will begin to twist, appearing more animalistic, a process which appears to be painful. Afterwards, Malnomen will manifest fully, and can be identified by its unique name.
Subsequent symptoms depend on the name of the Malnomen. Common features include a distortion of the body into an animalistic or otherwise non-humanoid form and uncharacteristic, inconsolable aggression. This is the most dangerous stage of Malnomen, as the infected loses all control over their disease and cannot resist the urge to drink blood. How long this stage continues appears to depend on the individual Malnomen- however, all will die soon after. In certain cases, the corruption of the body progresses so far it is impossible to treat the Vampire, and the only option is to kill them.
Transmission[]
Not all methods of transmission for Malnomen are known, and its precise mechanism of infection is unknown. According to Vanitas, most curse-bearers encounter the "Parade of Charlatan" immediately before their infection. Malnomen does not appear to be transmissible through biting, contact with blood or saliva, fomites, airborne particles, or other standard modes of infection for real life illnesses. As such, close contact with a curse-bearer is dangerous only as a major symptom of Malnomen is aggression. There is little to no chance of infection with Malnomen simply by being in close contact with a curse-bearer, even without precautionary steps or protective equipment. However, there is no known means of protecting against a Malnomen infection.
The Malnomen Naenia seems unique in her ability to infect others with Malnomen. She usually presents this as a request for the Vampire's True Name, at which point she will make mouth-to-mouth contact with the soon-to-be infected and through this mechanism inflict Malnomen. Those who are able to resist infection at least once are then presented with collateral in exchange for their True Name. Some Vampires thus become curse-bearers of their own will. However, the exact terms for the agreement are often unclear, and it is possible to deceive Naenia as to what the curse-bearer actually wants in exchange for their True Name.
While stated that the purpose of The Book of Vanitas is to inflict Malnomen, this ability has not been shown thus far.
Treatment[]
Once infected, a Vampire must receive treatment or else die. Normal medicine cannot cure Malnomen, though it is suggested that medicine can symptomatically treat its earlier stages. In order to cure Malnomen, one must be diagnosed by one who holds The Book of Vanitas and then receive a Formulaic treatment in the form of a "reverse operation." The Book of Vanitas accesses the Formula for the Vampire's Malnomen and creates an inverse operation to remove infected components and restore the True Name. Some Malnomen require additional treatment.
Prognosis[]
If left untreated, an infected Vampire will die.
If treated before the complete degradation of the body, a Vampire has a high (possibly 100%) chance of survival. It is unknown if a Vampire can be infected with Malnomen more than once.
As Malnomen progresses and the disease continues to corrupt the Vampire, treatment becomes more difficult. While it is unclear when exactly Malnomen becomes untreatable, it is implied one can determine progression of the disease by a Vampire's willingness to kill a loved one.
It is implied few infected with Malnomen actually survive to the final stages of the disease- as Malnomen is so dangerous in its final forms and treatment was until very recently impossible, most curse-bearers are executed once their infection is discovered. On the occasions a Vampire's Malnomen reaches its final stage, a team may be sent to dispose of them. In exceptional cases where danger to human life is eminent or realized, the Church may be called in for assistance.
Known Malnomen[]
Églantine, Prison of Briars (
Églantine is a standard Malnomen characterized by the Vampire in question experiencing an unquenchable thirst for blood and a gradual loss of self. The curse-bearer may endure through these symptoms for some time, at most a few weeks, before the urges begin to get out of control. Eventually at the worse most advanced state of the Malnomen, the victim experiences unbearable chills that leave their body unfunctioning from pain. The only way to warm these chills is to drink the blood of another, by which point black tears will spill from their eyes and chest. Finally, whip-like vines covered in sharp briars made of the shadow emerge from those black tears and make to violently snare and exsanguinate any being unfortunate enough to be within the vicinity.
Loup Garou, Wolf Who Hunts Crimson (
Loup Garou is a standard Malnomen characterized by the Vampire in question experiencing an unquenchable thirst for blood and a loss of self. Though unlike for example Églantine which exhibits a gradual building up of severity until the condition becomes untenable, Loup Garou has shown to be cyclical in nature, the symptoms disappearing and reappearing in a trackable pattern. Like a werewolf of legend will shift from normal man to beast every full moon, every night the moon shines the curse-bearer will undergo a transformation and gain a lupine appearance. They will then hunt for specifically young women to drain them of their blood to the point of death. This process continues in bursts of violent, transformative rampages for as long as the Malnomen is contracted.
Dissonance, Orchestra of Wild Beasts (
Multiple Vampire nobles
Dissonance is a unique Malnomen with qualities that make it distinct from other standard Malnomen, though it is still characterized by an unquenchable thirst for blood and a loss of self. What distinguishes Dissonance is that it will manifest simultaneously in multiple Vampires all at the same time when multiple people struck by Maladies are gathered in the same place, creating multiple curse-bearers of the same single Malnomen. Each curse-bearer at once will howl out like a beast, and the cacophonic harmony of their screams will drive all Vampires around them insane. Dissonance is also very fast progressing, taking only hours for a curse-bearer's condition to advance to the point of complete bodily corrosion and no chance of curing.
Prédateur, the Shadow (
Unnamed Vampire
Prédateur is a standard Malnomen characterized by the Vampire in question experiencing an unquenchable thirst for blood and a gradual loss of self. The prime identifying symptom of Prédateur is that it less so takes over the curse-bearer's body, and more so has a form of its own grown from the curse-bearer's very shadow. Said shadow will slowly begin to act independent of the curse-bearer, swelling to a larger and larger size, and eventually devouring the host whole. After which Prédateur fully succumbs to its primal gluttonous instinct to kill then consume any and all life around it. This continues until the life force of the curse-bearer acting as its host is completely drained, and Prédateur will fade away on its own, having functionally eaten itself whole.
Beast of Gévaudan (ジェーヴォーダンの
The Beast of Gévaudan is a unique Malnomen with qualities that make it distinct from other standard Malnomen in nearly every manner, including the divergence from the naming convention otherwise followed by every other Malnomen. Whereas other Malnomen are characterized by an unquenchable thirst for blood and a gradual loss of self—that is, the stripping of one's control—the Beast of Gévaudan is characterized by the opposite—agency. The curse-bearer who contracts the Malnomen the Beast of Gévaudan does so completely of their own volition. This lends itself to the way in which it manifests, as the curse-bearer can freely shapeshift their form between their regular and healthy humanoid body and the enormous and lupine one of the Beast. This is the only Malnomen thus far that has displayed this particular quality, and this level of autonomy in its symptoms.
Naenia, She Who Harbors Death (
Queen of Vampires Faustina
Naenia is the most unique, distinct, and unparalleled Malnomen ever seen. Though it is also characterized by an unquenchable thirst for the life forces of others and a gradual loss of self, its extraordinary nature derives from its extraordinary level of power, which itself is sources from the extraordinary identity of the curse-bearer—the Vampire Queen, Faustina. Thus Naenia seems to be the very being that creates curse-bearers herself. With a kiss, Naenia has the ability to infect Vampires with Malnomen or progress the illness to its most potent and dangerous state. Naenia also seems to have an independent will, personality, and almost identity of her own, though what she displays seems to be no more than a senseless and ceaseless hunger to "take" the True Names of every Vampire she crosses.
Millie, Theater of Ice and Snow (
Millie is a unique Malnomen with qualities that make it very distinct from all other standard Malnomen, from the way the symptoms manifest to the level of power it displays. Millie is a Malnomen with a spread of power never before seen, able to manipulate the very reality of a large expanse of land which covers an entire forest and more. Millie is based on the memories of the curse-bearer, which play on repeat in never-ending repetition within the sealed-off world it itself creates, likened to the endlessly reciting performance of a revolving theatre. This cycle continues for eternity until the curse-bearer is destroyed by their own past. Due to the sheer power and spread of Millie, it cannot be cured by traditional means. The power of Millie must be matched, by borrowing the power of a Mark of Possession from the Vampire of the Blue Moon themselves to perform an Inverse Operation. And because Millie had been contracted willingly by the curse-bearer, said curse-bearer must also reject the theatre of memories of their own volition, otherwise their attachment to the past will result in them being erased along with Millie upon curing.
Trivia[]
- The names and aesthetic senses of the specific Malnomen are consistently themed after a variety of fairy tales, including works from Charles Perrault,[1] the Brothers Grimm,[2] Hans Christian Andersen,[3] and more.
- Églantine, Prison of Briars—Sleeping Beauty, known in German as "Dornröschen" or Little Briar Rose.[4]
- Loup Garou, Wolf Who Hunts Crimson—the wolf of Little Red Riding Hood.[5]
- Dissonance, Orchestra of Wild Beasts—the Town Musicians of Bremen.[6]
- Prédateur, the Shadow—The Shadow.[7]
- Naenia, She Who Harbors Death—Faust.[8]
- Millie, Theater of Ice and Snow—The Snow Queen.[9]
- The main exception to this pattern is the Beast of Gévaudan, which has its appearance and entire narrative arc inspired by the real life Beast of Gévaudan incidents.[10]
- Mina and Louis de Sade are thus far the only curse-bearers whose Malnomen are never identified and named.
- The Japanese term for Maladies,
改竄式 (Byōma), can be translated literally as "demon of ill health" or simply "disease," and is known to be a word that compares illness to a demon or monster.
References[]
- ↑ Wikipedia: Charles Perrault
- ↑ Wikipedia: Brothers Grimm
- ↑ Wikipedia: Hans Christian Andersen
- ↑ Wikipedia: Sleeping Beauty
- ↑ Wikipedia: Little Red Riding Hood
- ↑ Wikipedia: Town Musicians of Bremen
- ↑ Wikipedia: The Shadow (fairy tale)
- ↑ Wikipedia: Faust
- ↑ Wikipedia: The Snow Queen
- ↑ Wikipedia: Beast of Gévaudan