Introduction

(CHARACTER ART IS STILL HEAVY WIP)

Harp is a Bearded Seal and Californian Sea Lion hybrid, only earning her name through her use of white make-up. Similar to the face of a younger Harp Seal. Through a unicorn coincidence encounter with a mostly unknown disease, her body rapidly split into 4 sections cognitively, before reuniting back to one single conscious. The small, momentary split permanently altering her brain structure, and introducing a new, unyielding pain.
She could feel her limbs tearing from the inside out, splitting apart, then mending. Splitting, mending. Repeatedly breaking as if exercising a muscle, covering her body in scars. Mockingly, creating stitch patterns over her first splitting points.

Taking up to a way to circumvent chronic pains from using her abilities, she resorted to the classic habit of smoking opium. Which, whether you are actually fighting her or not, you'll notice or witness firsthand. A prominent feature of all of her outfits being a custom-made opium pipe necklace.

Harp's abilities are less strict than what a magic user's limits would be, being only stopped by the threshold of her nervous system and neurogenic shock. Similar to a shapeshifter, the now symbiotic disease in her body allows her to momentarily alter the atomic structure of her body, stretch, and split her limbs into various tentacles in combat. The mental impact of the disease also exceptionally heightens her base reflexes, only really made redundant by her smoking habits, should she over-do it, or drink. While being on the heavier side, she is deceivingly fast, easily crossing superhuman speeds. Her muscle structures became dense, and much more efficient, allowing her a much more bear like strength. Assisted by the complex manipulation of her own flesh and bone.

Apart from her exceptional physical status, her other most dangerous part is the disease interacting with other creatures. Evolved far enough for a zoonotic shift, the disease can house in most living beings, at least ones between freezing and cooking temperature. With the exception of purely amphibian, or paraphyletic creatures. The disease thrives in warmer bodies but may slow in cold blooded hosts.
Originally, the disease was found in aquatic plants, a type of Viroid that could go unnoticed for months until it suddenly reacted like a bomb within the host. Although, it had become common in her small region. Festering until it created it's own dead zone, learning to practically eat immune systems.
Infected individuals will first experience a sharp pain with the evolved variant Harp caries, the paralyzing feeling slowly creeping through the vascular system. A tourniquet may slow the progress, but only very shortly.
Tissue surrounding where the infected blood carried it, generally starts to undergo necrosis. Becoming septic and extremely likely to trickle into sepsis. Dead flesh is consumed by the Viroids, slowly taking form into a single, living organism. Evolving directly into a larger scale parasite similar to a tapeworm at a rapid pace. Symbiosis is a next to zero chance for most hosts.
Once the parasite becomes aware, it will burrow through any likely surrounded dead flesh, in search of living tissue and healthy organs. Eating it, rapidly digesting it, and sending the waste right back out to grow quicker and incapacitate the host. In some cases, the parasite may split into multiple. Or if the parasite is split by a foreign object, joint locking, it will attempt to reform into one piece, or multiple should it have enough nutrients.

The disease is only transmissible through consuming infected cells (ex. coral, seaweeds, or other creatures carrying the disease in it's Viroid state), and direct injection of bodily fluids. In many cases, the salivary glands are hijacked by the Viroid after the brain is rewired.
Hosts are in most cases fully conscious, but unable to control their body, as the growths within the skull at later stages of infection carefully prioritize the cognitive lobes of the brain. In later, more severe stages, or simply unlucky, the host may have damage to the brain. Experiencing complex seizures, bursts of terminal lucidity and cognitive control if the disease cannot properly grasp the brain or fails to develop due to a mutation, or a sort of malicious compliance. Not to be confused with symbiosis, the disease will grasp the cognitive functions of the brain to drive the host to do the actions it wants done indirectly in this state. Often, when the disease itself must conserve it's own energy should it not be integrated in the body correctly, or if the host and parasite do not have an inline sleep schedule.
The disease's sleeping phases are more common in animals and anthro alike that are nocturnal, enter partial sleep, or nap in quick bursts, like horses, giraffes, or insects. Hosts with Short Sleeper Syndrome will also, more than likely be a major sufferer of this phenomenon. Becoming more like a sleeper agent to the disease than a puppet, incapable of destroying themselves, or letting anyone know before it's too late.
The fully grown Viroid takes root like forms within the body, typically through the blood vessels that resemble their own neurological system. Being able to both physically alter and physically control limbs like it's own set of tendons and skeletal joints around the host body's pre-existing ones. In most cases, giving the effect of super human strength. Cutting parts of infected bodies off will retain their consciousness, but none of the senses that would be missing. Typically causing them to seize, spaz out, or aimlessly crawl away until reclaimed and consumed by the original body.

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