Yort Blight

It was about 238 years ago when the first spawning occurred, and that is the sight I wont forget. Standing before a field of yort victims, is a sight, I wish I had not. The sad cries of mulk bulls, sows, and calves ring out. The sound slowly dying to the buzzing of yort wings, bursting from the carcasses.
Screams of yorts overhead as they began skirmishing with each other. As all identifiable food was out of site,.the beasts flooded west to the villages, far from the sulfur filled swamps. It was like a black cloud of death, streaming into Ikara. There were many deaths to yort attacks, but the Okola Barriers held the larger ones at bay.
The siege of Ikara lasted 15 days before the swarm was broken. Another 25 hunting down the last retirements. A few of the children still live telling tales to the young ones of today, about the day the yort came. The scars are many among the people of the marches, but the left by the yort is deepest. Children are taught from young to fear the swamp

Transmission & Vectors

Contact; Any surface covered in the death-throes explosion of a yort is infected. The microbes can survive indefinitely in moist nutrient rich environments and even mature. In dry environments they can survive up to a year with out water. In nutrient void environments they can survive six to seven months. Microbse are killed at temperatures of 100 Celsius and consumption of sulfur kills them in a few seconds.

Causes

Parasite produced in the reproductive gland of the yort.

Symptoms

Gradually deteriorating health, sharp pain in the infected areas, migrating discoloration accompanied by pain.

Treatment

Amputation, magical purification, consumption of sulfur.

Prognosis

Stage 1.A - Flesh Infection: Flesh infection is when the parasite is in the skin or other meaty parts and is the most directly painful version of stage 1. Small discoloration, tone matches being severely ill. The patches move around which is the parasite traveling to unaffected areas. If a parasite makes its way to blood stream, the host health deteriorates at a greater pace.
Stage 1.B - Blood Infection: This version provides no discoloration or pain until a week before progressing to stage 2. It is either achieved through direct blood infection or flesh infection traveling to nearby vein, traveling to veins is less common.
Stage 2 - Yort Worm: Achieved when the larva consumes enough to morph to its worm form. The worm has stiff barb-like hairs it uses to push its way through the host. it slowly consumes all the flesh in its way. Depending on location and host pain tolerance this can take between 2 minutes - 30 days depending on where the parasite is.
Stage 3 - Yort Escape: Rare few make it to stage three alive. The parasite takes flight as a mature Yort and begins its 9 month period of resource gathering.

Sequela

If treated in stage 1 the yort breaks down over time. This has a secondary poisoning effect and can be mitigated with medication or curative magics, removal of parasite also prevents further issues. Parasite exoskeleton hardens like a rock and must be removed to prevent issues.
If treated in stage 2 the yort worm must be removed or it will continue convulsing causing further damage after it's death.

Affected Groups

Any with low sulfur content.

Hosts & Carriers

Any with low sulfur content.

Prevention

Quarantine of dead Yort and incineration of corpse. Regular anti-parasite magics. Through cooking of food stuffs. Moderate sulfur intake.

Epidemiology

The infection is spread via contaminated water or soil.

History

In 318 year of Klouse reign the east marches encountered pack of vile flying insects, now now named yort. The yort were slain after slaughtering 2 kords of mulk. 15 of the 25 guards made sufficient contact to contract the infection and all died in 10-25 days. A small swarm was created from the 15 effected.
The swarm moved to Ikara before being purged they had reached an average size of a house cat. A few hundred were effected by the slaying and remedies were tried, only magical ones were effective. Visiting lizard folk identified the creatures as Yort and advised they didn't like foul water. The physicians devised foul water was sulfur water. With a treatment they took to the ill.
After all had been cured the final tole was over 12,000 people and large beasts and unknown number of smaller creatures. Sulfur has become a common resource taken medicinally when if illness presents. The people of the marches are particular superstitious of the yort swarm's return.

Cultural Reception

There is a deathly fear of any carrier. Most will instantly prescribe increased sulfur intake, and for the victim to have increased sulfur intake. This has caused a few overzealous persons to die of sulfur poisoning.

Type

Parasitic

Origin

Mutated

Cycle

Short-term

Rarity

Uncommon