The Corruption is an entity in the Fable universe that seeks to corrupt the world. First introduced in the form of the Darkness in Fable III, the Corruption returns as the antagonistic force in the game Fable: The Journey. It is led by the creature known as The Corruptor.
The Corruption has its roots in Albion's ancient history as well as that of the first Archon and Hero, William Black. Desperate to end the reign of The Court that established a stranglehold on Albion, William Black entered the dimension known as The Void to claim the Sword of Aeons, the weapon of Jack of Blades that had the power to destroy the Court. While in the Void, the Hero was afflicted with a terrible plague that began to waste his body away. Many years after William Black defeated the Court and founded the Old Kingdom, he returned to the Void in an attempt to cast away the plague, fearing it would eventually rule Albion through him. This formed the Corruption, the Darkness, and their leader, the Corruptor.
The Corruption, like the Darkness, is an extremely dangerous entity that kills or destroys anything it touches, only weakened by the light that it can consume. The Corruption can also consume various creatures, such as hobbes and balverines, forcing them to serve as willing soldiers in its foul army. The only way that such creatures can be destroyed is with a proper application of light-based Will powers, such as those used by the old Hero Sol.
Fifty years after the leader of the Darkness, The Crawler, was defeated by Albion's new monarch and Hero, the Hero of Brightwall, his/her capture at the hands of the resurgent Darkness at Samarkand allowed The Corruptor a real opportunity to conquer Albion once and for all. Using a rift torn between the Void and Albion by the Tattered Spire, the Corruptor dispatched its other two lieutenants, The Devourer and The Temptress, to prepare for its arrival by destroying any possible threat and by building an army of corrupted creatures, like Balverines and Hobbes. Although The Devourer managed to wound the Seer Theresa, her recruitment of the Dweller Gabriel ultimately stopped the Corruption, killing the lieutenants and closing the rift by destroying the Spire.
Creatures
- In addition to lieutenants like the Devourer and the Temptress, the Corruption also fields a massive army of winged creatures called Harbingers.
- Additionally, the Corruption can also take over any native Albion creature, enveloping it into its army and making said creature invulnerable unless blasted by light.
Notes
- In an interview with Ted Timmins, it is suggested that the Corruption and the Darkness are one and the same, or that one is an offshoot of the other.