Methuselah

I've never ran into this one personally but I was told about it by a reliable source! Feel free to add to this!

Now strictly speaking, Methuselah does not have a body but it can materialise! When it gets stronger, dark dust appears in the immediate area. This dust is almost weigthless and usually floats around in clouds one or two feet above the ground (and it vaguely smells like copper or rotten flesh)! D: This dust is really connected to Methuselah on a spirit level so technically you can vacuum it up and banish it (but that is pretty hard)! D:
Methuselah does not possess objects but rather feels attracted to atmospheres... A lingering atmosphere of despair or death will sustain it. It feeds off the lifespan of the living in near vicinity! Among the symptoms are fatigue, continuous hunger, apathy (which eventually beats out the hunger!), skin turning grey and accelerated aging. D: Classical places to find it are of course retirement homes, cemeteries, jails and hospitals!

Methuselah appears to be... repelled by something that appears energetic and lively but does not actually live (i.e. where there is no lifespan to take). The best example would be a flickering fire! That doesn't work on a big scale but if you go exploring an infected place, take a torch with you and you'll be safe for a while.

There is this story that Methuselah appeared on a battlefield where no side could turn the battle to their favour. It got so strong that on the third day that the soldiers all just put down their weapons and lay down to die. At the next dawn, what was left were piles of people who had died of old age.

RedQueen wrote:

Why is vacuuming it up so difficult? Is it's body nothing but dust? And if so - is it corporeal then?

The clouds move on their own and the dust particles are really tiny, so it's likely you're not going to get all of them! D: They tend get in every small nook and cranny. They also only appear when Methuselah is already stronger which makes any kind of action in its near vicinity really difficult! D:
The dust is not literally Methuselah's body so I wouldn't call it corporeal! But the link to Methuselah is so strong that IF you manage to burn a bag with its dust, it's gonna vanish in like 99% of the cases!

First think coming into my mind would be this: A Disperse Ritual would only work if you got all of the dust. If you just Disperse some of it the entity is not banished completely ,which mostly results in it growing back stronger. Basic Banishing 101.

Also if Noah_ says that it can in fact materialise i guess that it won't really appreciate you sucking parts of itself in a little bag ,aye?

Oh man! I forgot to tell you what it looks like when you Search Out! You can see it in twitching shadows on the wall and on the ground which look kinda like bony hands and human sets of teeth! D:

If you want to deal with it, I'd suggest working on the atmosphere of the place first! A bit of happiness and hope go a long way with Methuselah infection! Only problem with that is when you notice it's around, it's usually too late to even fight the fatigue and apathy in that place...

If the infection is really strong, I'm sure you could pull/lock it in a building with sigils and burn that place down! Throwing potent banishing ingredients into the fire (dried burdock roots, maybe?) could help as well!

Oh? darn now i want to get my hands onto one of these things. Would love to know how the Treasured Memories are working on these things.
Anybody encountering one in the futer ,make sure to find out and tell me ,yes?