Red Wrath

"After I got sick...I thought I could just sleep the damn thing off. Everything that happened afterwards, it just...it felt like a gotdamned nightmare I couldn't wake up from. I th-thought...I prayed that I would finally wake up and just...get on with my life. That the missus would nag me 'bout not taking the medicine, and my little boy would tell me all about some new game of his...If the Lone God really watches over us, I'm blessed he gave them the sense to run."

--Statement of Lupe Fields, sentenced for eight counts of aggravated assult and three counts of murder, dated 3/13/855, Eternal Era.

Red Wrath, Dolor-Rojo, is a fungal airborn infection that travels through moisture and multiplies from internal mucus. As delightful as that sounds, it's effects are worse, rendering one severly ill and even turning their mind and cognition against them. Currently, Boncly is the only known source of the fungus that causes the disease, found in the iron (mineral) rich soil that has, for lack of a better word, rotted and become porous and stained bloody red.
Before Boncly became it's own nation, and far before the advent of modern medicine, a severe epidemic took place, exacerbated and arguably caused by Agarthan greed. While a cure was eventually found, much like the scars of the disease itself, the period left a scar on the relationship between Boncly and Agartha for good. In the modern day, it's a rare disease and one that can be easily prevented, but that doesn't mean it's gone forever.

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Transmission & Vectors

Red Wrath is an airborne fungus released when infected clay is mined. After being breathed in, it will affect the sinuses and, in more extreme cases, the brain. At first it will take the form of a particularly strong cold, but it will grow within the mucus buildup and, within a manner of days, will show its stronger effects.

Causes

In the past Red Wrath, or its historic name in the Boncly region: Dolor-Rojo, was an often minor illness. A miner or stonemason wouldn't look carefully enough at where he was mining, get sick, and wash it out. However, when Agartha increased its mining needs of the area, sacrificing caution for time, more and more of the Red Wrath's spores got released into the air. Perhaps the magic or the tools provided by those Agarthan mining companies had some measure in mutating the fungus as well, but the effects became stronger and more deadly.

Symptoms

When a subject is first infected with Red Wrath it will take the form of a simple yet strong cold. Runny nose, frequent sneezing, fatigue, and other such common symptoms exhibit themselves first. This is also the most treatable phase of the illness, if it can be detected, as the fungal particles can be washed out easily. However, as the cold-like symptoms progress, the fungus will multiply within the mucus generated, and go deeper into the sinus system by means of inhilation due to sniffling, or simply breathing in after blowing ones nose.
In this increased phase, Red Wrath makes itself fully known. First, it grows along the nasal passage spreading all throughout the sinus system. Sensitivity to light and sound become common as well as painful ear infections. Increased phlegm in the throat yet a constantly dry mouth, persistant ringing in the ears, and nosebleeds become frequent but not as common.
The most threatening stage is if/when the illness progresses into the eyes and, subsequently, the brain. This stage will begin with the blood vessels around the eye getting weaker, frequently breaking easily leading to eyes becoming totally blood-shot, with blood leaking from the eyes. Once Red Wrath reaches the brain, it will attack certain sections of the brain (it is not currently known why these specific sections are targeted) rendering the victim highly aggressive, irritable, and prone to violence. Speech and cognition are lowered, although motor skills are not deterred at all. In this stage, a victim is often violent and aggressive, especially from the continued pain of the fungus, ESPECIALLY if through broken blood vessels it enters the blood stream.

Treatment

In its initial phase, Red Wrath spores can be washed out easily with clean water or saline. It is an uncomfortable experience, as one wants to make sure its completely gone, but simple nonetheless.
In the increased phase, it becomes more taxing to rid one of all the collected spores, and will often need to see a medical proffesional to provide anti-biotics, careful cleaning, and observation.
In the final stage, the treatment phase becomes much longer, as a subject must not only be kept under pristine care and supervision, but a variety of methods and medications are needed to clear the fungus from the brain, sinuses, and potentially even the bloodstream, all while the patient is in a state of extreme agitation and aggression. Historically, only 20% of victims in this stage of infection have survived longer than a year afterwards, and of that number more than 60% have suffered an impairment to mental skills afterward.

Sequela

As a victim becomes increasingly more infected by the Red Wrath fungus, especially in its final stage, they become increasingly more likely to perish or suffer extreme damage to the brain and subsequent mental faculties. Additionally, if a body that is infected and dies from the disease is not promptly cremated, then it becomes a feeding ground for the fungus to grow more and often will create more infected soil.

Prevention

In the last 10 years thanks to the advent of biological studies, a prevenative vaccine has been made for Red Wrath that stops the specific protien within mucus from binding with the Red Wrath cells, greatly reducing the chance of feeding and multiplication from it. Additionally, proper ventilation in mines and prevantive wear such as gas masks or filtered face masks, or even something as simple as a bandana, greatly reduces the chances of getting the spores in your system. Additionally, washing your clothes and tools before leaving a potentially infected area can also help stymie the spread of spores.
Of course, very few places are known to have infected earth since, in the wake of the Red Wrath Pandemic, many healers and Druids exterminated the fungus in known areas.

Epidemiology

Red Wrath is an airborne fungus, and in an infected person will cling onto mucus and saliva that exits the body.

History

Pandemic Origins

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Red Wrath has existed for a long time in Boncly, so much so that ancient folk tales speak of those who venture too far into a quarry and come back as blood thirsty killers, with eyes and fangs of a demon. But, it was mostly an old wives tale, or a tragedy that would only happen so often. It wasn't until the year 853, Eternal Era, that it became a notable threat.
At the time, Boncly was still a part of Agartha's territory, mostly used just for mining and quarrying. This era, following the successful revolution and founding of Magnum Opus, made Agarthan politicians crack down even harder on the people of Boncly, who they had always felt the threat of revolt from. Mines were worked harder, protections were peeled back, and many measures were made to lower their quality of life and health in order to rob them of their strength to rebel.
Thus, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that, when they began to dig too deep and hit pockets of infected stone, riddled with eroded holes and stained an eerie blood red, the Agarthan owners and managers of these operations didn't care for the locals warnings, and forced them to keep going at threat of poverty or bodily harm. Another stroke of misfortune would add to this danger, as the largest mine in Boncly happened to have the largest spread of infected stone in the land.

The Spread

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Within weeks of the first concerns being raised, the infections began. Miners would become infected due to a lack of protection at work, they would bring it home to their families and neighbors, and it would spread rapidly from there. Within months, victims were already reaching the deadliest stage of the disease, turning otherwise calm and good citizens into violent maniacs. It only made matters worse when, because most of the mining force was incapacitated and at risk of turning violent, they resorted to blasting the stone away instead, releasing the spores further into the air.
The doctors and guards within Boncly did their best to solve the problem where they could, but with Agartha refusing them any aid, it was like trying to empty a tsunami with a bucket. But, that fortune would change when the Agarthan managers would fall ill as well, several of them bringing the disease back to the giant mountain city, a relatively enclosed space with millions of people.
By the middle of 855, when cases were first being noticed in Agartha, it was recognized as a full blown epidemic. The full force of Agarthan science and medicine was put behind the issue, with greater ventilation in the mountain and the development of respiratory masks being made available. With each step, the Agarthans were "generous" enough to give their developments to Boncly citizens as well, but only either as guinea pigs or in waves after "true" Agarthan citizens. But even these were stop gaps, and although cases turned rare in Agartha by 857, they were still raging in Boncly.

The Cure

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The savior of Boncly would come not in the form of an Agarthan cure, but in the form of people from the 'Oki Islands. Apparently, wind currents had blown some of the blasted fungus spores towards the islands, situated to the west of Boncly. However, it did not reach nearly the same level of infection has Boncly and Agartha for two primary reasons: firstly the number of Beastfolk on the islands meant that they had different proteins, meaning the Red Wrath spores didn't reproduce as rapidly. Secondly, there were a great number of Druids and healers who studied and worked with fungal plants to do their work, and so the true nature of the infection was made clear to them very quickly.
In 859, after a lengthy period of study and testing, a select group of healers from the 'Oki Islands came into Boncly, a rare and often worrisome circumstance. Many were cautious about the gifts they supposedly brought, but even the Agarthan rulers of Boncly at the time were at wits end, and permitted this one-time aid from the islands.
Combining their research, the collective Agarthan, 'Okian, and Boncly medical researches figured out a medicine that withered and destroyed the fungus in the system, albeit with the drawback of intense dehydration requiring careful application and supervision. They went immediately to applying it, and by 863 the epidemic had, by and large, been satiated for the time. Many were too late to save, and many more suffered from brain damage after the fact, but new infections and earlier stages were cured with little to no adverse effects.
As part of their arrangement to get the medical knowledge from the 'Okians, Agartha agreed to ceaseining and quarrying until they could find and cure the rot within the stone, lending many of their own learned druids as well. This effort, which went in stages so mining could commence as soon as possible, took until 878 to finish throughout the country.
To the modern day, it has not been a perfect bandage, as pockets of the rot have newly formed or were too deep to discover before, but knowledge has only continued to grow about the illness and it's causes, and as Boncly got their independence, they can ensure their people stay as safe as possible. In the last 10 years, only three cases of Red Wrath were recorded, and each of those three were cured before they caused serious damage.

Cultural Reception

In the past of Boncly, many saw Red Wrath and its victims as a supernatural omen, an otherwise normal human cursed to die a rampaging monster against his fellows. Many who still held true to the superstitions of the past kept this ideology, thinking that the spread of maddened people to not be personal retribution or punishment, and instead an indictment and punishment towards the Agarthan leaders who pushed their people to that brink. Of course, there's nothing saying that they were wrong, such forces do work mysteriously after all.
The Pandemic and Agartha's response to it gave the contempary Boncly citizen a dose of reality. They realized how expendable their lives were, how lower they were seen, what the Agarthans thought that they were worth, and most importantly the grace that other nations would give them. While the revolt of Boncly and its subsequent independence had many factors, the fallout from this event was one of the big ones, especially in regards to their relationship with the 'Oki Islands, which would become vital yet frayed.

Type

Fungal

Origin

Mutated

Cycle

Short-term

Rarity

Rare