Nightfall Hysteria

The sky was glowing pink as the sun was setting behind the mountains overlooking the town of Kruvoshire. Robard was stationed at his post, atop the walls of the coastal village. He had never been up on the walls before, lived his entire life behind them. He had finally gotten the chance, the sunset was beautiful.
He hadn't gotten the chance to see it before. As the sun fell each day his parents would bring him back into the city until the sun rose the next day. Whenever he ask why they simply said "To keep you safe" but he never really understood why. What could be so dangerous about the outside? After all it was a beautiful place. So he took in the beautiful fall of the sun, excited to finally see beyond the night after it fell.
The rest of the guard had been fairly relaxed during the day, a few squabbles happening in one of the local taverns and a pickpocket who was just a young boy. As the sun began to fell, a change came over them. They started to become alert and warned Robard that he needed to as well. The first sign of movement beyond the walls and he was to light the signal fire. No exceptions.
And so stood Robard, unaware of what dangers sat beyond the walls. In either case he stayed alert looking out into the forest as the sun fell further and further behind the mountains. It wasn't long before darkness crept over the forest. The moons lit the tops of the trees, Zelarus was nearing full and Autania was just a sliver. The sound of insects began to chirp and a coolness had come with the leaving of the light. It was a beautiful night and Robard was amazed by the view.
He stared for what felt like minutes, ignoring his duty. The snap of a twig brought him back to his position and he turned to see what it was. From the shadows he only saw two beady reflective eyes looking back. The eyes then appeared as the creature stepped from the shadows. It was a deer.
Robard sighed in relief. It was only a deer, no need to be alarmed. But the deer was staring at him with intensity. Slowly manifesting were several other reflected points of light from the forest. Robard lost count near twelve pairs. The deer still staring at Robard, let out a cry. A rush of movement came as several other deer appeared from the forest and darted at the wall at full speed.
It was fortunate for Robard who was in shock at the appearence of so many deer that the wall was as high as it was. He lit the signal fire as deer tried scaling the walls, screeching like he had never heard a deer cry before. Guards rushed to his portion of the wall.
"Kill them, quickly!" one guard shouted.
Several of them let loose arrows from their longbows. Arrows penetrated deer, some would drop if the shot was well aimed, but the ones who did not kept trying to climb. Robard was confused by the scenario, they were defending the walls from deer! He let loose some of his own arrows and managed to take down one. After several volleys of arrows the deer rested at the base of the wall dead.
"Quickly, we have to get rid of them!" another guard shouted.
They pulled over a vat of what Robard could tell was oil, and poured it over the wall and onto the deer. What were they doing?! he thought, That is perfectly good meat! A guard with a torch came to throw it down the wall, when Robard grabbed his hand to stop him.
"Wait we can use that meat!" Robard proclaimed. The other guards pulled Robard off of the guard as he threw the torch down.
"That meat will get us killed," one of the guards exclaimed to him. "In fact it might already be too late. We could have been quicker if you hadn't hesitated!"
The torch hit the pile of deer and they burst into flames. The smell of venision and guts roasting at the base of the wall. The guard now sat silent in waiting, Robard released from his fellow guard watched with them. They tension in the air was palpable and the scent filled every guards nose. Not a one of them moved.
Robard thought he noticed a movment in the trees. Before he could say a word three guards had their bows up and ready to fire. All of them were aiming at the trees. Robard did not have time to react, as a monstrosity leaped from the trees and clung to the walls with viscious claws. It was gripping the wall ten feet above the ground, its body made up of a toned muscular feline. Its head several tendrils surrounded its split jaw mouth like a mane. The creature had a tail which was armed with a sharp barb. On the wall it roar with gutteral cry.
"Hellclaws!" a guard let loose an arrow, but the beast was too swift for it. With a single bound it made its way to the top of the wall, razor claws slashing at the first guard. With little effort two more appeared on the rampart of the wall. Swords and claws slashed at each other.
Robard stared in horror. If he survived he would never hesitate again.

Transmission & Vectors

Nightfall Hysteria occurs in beasts and plants when the sun falls. It does not have an effect on humanoid creatures. How the hysteria distinguishes between afflicted creatures is unkown.

Causes

Unknown

Symptoms

Nightfall Hysteria is a temporary insanity that occurs in beasts and plants when the sun falls. Creatures that may otherwise be harmless, become dangerous as they gain an unnatural bloodlust. Any communication with those afflicted by the hysteria through magical means results in unintelligible responses if any at all. No other changes occur to subject afflicted with Nightfall Hysteria.

Treatment

There appears to be no cure and no way to identify which creatures will be afflicted by it.

Prognosis

A creature that has Nightfall Hysteria will act completely normal during the day. When night falls they gain insatiable bloodlust and attack any creature or person that is nearby, even members of its own lineage. The only exception to this is that they do not attack other creatures that have been afflicted with Nightfall Hysteria. As day breaks the creature returns to its normal state, with no recollection of the nightly events. Over a long period of time this does not change the physical nature of the creature and is only fatal in the sense that it will ignore dangers it would normally avoid.

Prevention

There is no known way to fully prevent Nightfall Hysteria. A more successful prevention measure is to stay in a well lit environment, however it is not guarenteed that this will prevent the hysteria.

Cultural Reception

Because the hysteria is not identifiable until nightfall, individuals are cautious to leave the safety of their homes until day break. With people gathering in close proximity, walls around a city are a necessity as is their upkeep. It is recommended that when individuals travel that they spend as much of the time traveling in daylight than at night. Illusion magic is highly valued for travel for its ability to mask the location of travelers at night.

Type

Mental

Rarity

Common