Corpseblight

Corpseblight was the first major disease to afflict Dryad-kind. It is a contagious fungus that feeds on dead or dying dryad tissue and thrives on dryad corpses, and is quite dangerous for living dryads. In the late Divine Era, Corpseblight was introduced by The Masked One as a way to "balance" the conflict between the Desmians and the Mathari, and it raced across the world in the early Modern period after Desmians introduced it to Izekra. 
Once, Corpseblight was the greater killer of dryads: prior to its introduction, there was no reason for dryads to not consume their own dead, and the fungus took advantage of prevalent dryad cannibalism to spread rapidly. Eventually, dryads adjusted to the reality of corpseblight and stopped at least eating those who had died of disease (and in many places, developed cannibalism taboos). 
Since then, other bacteria and fungi have managed to make the jump to affecting dryads, and Corpseblight has interbred with some of these to create a whole variety of dryad-diseases. The original Corpseblight fungus remains the most deadly and dangerous, the classic enemy of dryad-kind much in the way that influenza and smallpox are to humanity.

Transmission & Vectors

Corpseblight spreads through spores ingested through air or water. These spores have a fairly short range, but have very high rates of infection for those who get near them.

Symptoms

Visible symptoms include yellowing leaves, spotted musculature-vines, dark spots on leaves and other living tissue. In later stages, a soft mildew-like coating develops across the afflicted body and a strange black fuzz grows over their flowers. 
Victims also experience increased thirst and hunger, a feeling of intense cold, terrible itchiness and discomfort, muscle fatigue, and horrible nausea. Digestive symptoms typically hit first.

Treatment

Kilusha can help treat the infected, as can fungicides such as baking soda. Access to rest, food, water, and shelter improve chances of survival; anything that boosts the victim's immune system is a big help.

Prognosis

30% to 60% of those who get Corpseblight die (depending on nutrition). Corpseblight may have a high rate of lethality, but it isn't certain death.
Corpseblight has much lower rates of death for Half-Dryads  and Choricals, as the fungus has difficulty infecting the human/prism parts of the body. Choricals have an extremely low death rates (~3%, typically in malnourished or already-sick choricals), while half dryads have like around 10% death rates depending on health (largely from fungus-related pnuemonia)

Sequela

Those who survive have a 20% to 40% chance of nerve damage, often in the feeling of permanent numbness in areas most damaged by the disease (varying from person to person).

Prevention

Avoidance of dryad corpses, as well corpse-touched food or water.

History

For millennia, the dryads and humans of Desmia fought each other for reasons lost to time. The dryads, known now as the Mathari, were outnumbered and on the run. Desperate, these dryads turned to biological warfare: they would cover themselves in human corpses and diseased tissue as a way to both intimidate and infect the enemy, and they would use human viscera to pollute human wells and fields. 
The Masked One punished the dryads for resorting to such wretched means by sending down Corpseblight. Now, humans and dryads alike could use biological warfare. And, while it took a long time, the emphasis on corpse-use has dropped off on both sides - perhaps Corpseblight did work in the end for Desmia. The rest of the world's dryads, meanwhile, have paid heavily for this solution.

Type

Fungal

Origin

Divine

Cycle

Short-term

Rarity

Uncommon

Affected Species

• Dryad
• Chorical
• Half-Dryad