[quote=Dark Jack]Though I really am wondering whether there is any real purpose to separating the collab from the rest of the RP since the lower post-quality and faster posting we anticipated isn't really showing that much.[/quote] I think there is a purpose in the sense that it helps keep the IC a bit cleaner... As it is, there are only two locations the IC keeps jumping between, whereas the collab-part would add a third one... Whereas once we're in Zerul, it would be back to two groups, rather than three or more. 

[quote=Dark Jack]It would perhaps be more accurate to say that they are mutually dependent on it.[/quote] Compete over? (At least this is the term that comes to mind when you mention resources such as light and water.)

 - And yes, you have referenced mortal magic causing decay, in the novel at least... Why I brought the topic up is exactly because you cannot do it by an external means. You can break the body indirectly, but even that won't make it decay faster ... would work just as any injury. So unless you introduced some body-unnatural chemical or somehow turned the normally benign bacteria murderous (would once more require nonmortal magic?)... Radiation poisoning might look slightly similar? Wouldn't still find them exactly decayed. Eh...

(There are other things which I'll probably PM later. Now I shall wander off to deal a bit more with bureaucracy. Oeh...)