Description (Healing Blade Lore)
Neisseria meningitidis are cerebral sorcerers that target the residents of Sententia and their lines of communication that coordinate all of Soma. They can enter through Buccal Bay, but rather than continue down the aqueduct as do Pestilence agents that ride in with the aquatic life, N. meningitidis veer down the Pharyngeal Path that shortcuts to the southern-most part of the Northern Forest. They can enter the Northern Forest directly, just north along the boundary wall from the Bay.
Occasionally known to be peaceful residents of this region, N. meningitidis are more often naughty than nice. They creep into the surrounding communities, deploying an array of weapons that serve to stun and damage the locals. One poison they release kills inhabitants of the natural waterways, choking the land of the vital nutrients they shuttle about. They also release powerful bombs that block the Nodal Sentry’s counterattacks, buying time for their armies to multiply.
N. meningitidis can cause lethargy throughout the land, unstable temperatures, and pain and dysfunction among Sententia’s citizens. Such effects can resemble attacks by Hemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae, but the Apothecary army must be wary: if not quickly recognized for the threat that it is—and responded to appropriately—a successful N. meningitidis invasion could be the end of Soma. Due to this danger, the Apothecaries sometimes act preemptively to prepare for N. meningitidis encounters. If word reaches Sententia that a nearby land has experienced an invasion, the Apothecaries will send in a hero to guard the land. The Apothecary strategists have also devised a less violent mimic of N. meningitidis, which they can send in for simulation battles with the Nodal Sentry to prepare the valiant defenders for a real attack.