Magical exhaustion

Magical exhaustion is an affliction caused by the overuse of magic, it is quite common among beginning magic users who don't know their own limits. In more experienced magic users it is somewhat rare. Magical exhaustion comes in three stages, and while the first stage is generally seen as harmless, something the afflicted just has to deal with, people afflicted with the second and third stage are seen as foolish by most people who know how magic works, as it is easily avoided.

Causes

Magical Exhaustion is caused by overusing arcane magic, specifically, by filtering too much magic too fast. The average mage will need several minutes to cast a powerful spell to avoid this, and can not cast more than a few spells in one day. In emergencies, magic users have been known to purposefully overuse their powers and take the consequences. If magic is used during while being magically exhausted, the sickness will progress to the second stage, which is far more difficult to overcome. The third and final stage can be contracted by ignoring the treatment of the second stage.

Symptoms

In the first stage, magical exhaustion causes a headache, as well as an overall feeling of wrongness and exhaustion. While magic users find it hard to describe exactly what they are feeling, they all agree that it is hard not to know when you're afflicted. The second stage will add to this with nausea and vomiting. It leaves the afflicted bedridden, with barely enough energy to sit up. The third and final stage, leaves the victim glowing with pulsating energy. If left untreated in this stage, the victim will die in a few days.

Treatment

The treatment of the first stage of magical exhaustion is fairly simple. It requires the magic user to not use any magic for three days. during these days the symptoms will decrease and they make a full recovery. The second stage of the disease is rather more aggressive and requires no contact with magic for a week. This means that any magical items have to be removed, the more powerful the magic, the further away it needs to be. If the magic user is in a magical area at the time of contracting the second stage magical exhaustion, he will have to be moved within two or three hours to avoid progressing to stage three.
This is often very difficult since many magical areas are quite extensive. When this is the case, it is generally recommended to use nature magic to create a magic-free zone after two hours, for at least three hours, before moving for another two hours. This is risky, to say the least since not many magic users can make such a field, and the afflicted can't join in to help, this means a group of mages has to be present to do this, otherwise the patient will be doomed to progress to stage three.
Treating the third stage requires a magic-free environment much like the second stage, but also requires excess magical residue to be constantly drawn from the body by a specialist mage. If this is not done, the afflicted will die within a day. The time the treatment takes is highly variable.

Type

Magical

Origin

Magical

Cycle

Short-term

Rarity

Common