Grey Plague

A degenerative disease of the respirotary system, Grey Plague is named after its primary sympton, the gradual greying of the skin of those afflcted with it. 
In many parts of Kelbonnar's Material Plane, Grey Plague is known by another name, Scourge of the Elves, as it is only ever known to affect the various subspecies of Elves and those with a significant presence of Elven blood in their genetic make-up.
Epidemics of Grey Plague, though thankfully few and far between, can devestate Elven populations, and have over the centuries led to significant changes in the demographics of towns and cities and had a significant impact on the geopolitics of whole regions. By far the worst outbeak of Grey Plague was the first recorded epidemic of the disease, which is noted as being one of the primary drivers behind he fall of the ancient Elvish kingdom of Sparos.

Transmission & Vectors

One of the things that makes Grey Plague quite so dangerous, is its ability to adapt to many forms of transmission. Since its emergence, it has been documented as being transferred as an airborne pathogen, through contaminated food and water and through contaminated blood.

Symptoms

Grey Plague generally starts rather innocuously, with its first symptoms bearing a striking resemblance to the common cold, a tickly throat, runny nose and bouts of sneezing. 
As the disease takes hold these symptoms advance into bone-numbing fatigue, muscle wastage and increasingly laboured breathing, often accompanied by the deposit of excess mucus in the lungs. It is normally at this point that the first definitive sign of a Grey Plague infection will appear - the greying of the whites of the patient's eyes.  
In its final stages the skin of the afflicted will turn an ashen grey colour and not long afterwards the entire respiratory system shuts down, leading to death.

Treatment

Sadly, little has been found to effectively treat Grey Plague short of divine intervention from a Divine skilled in the healing arts, such as Hospita or Josmorra.

Prognosis

For most Elves, a diagnosis of Grey Plague is a death sentence, which is what makes it so feared in Elven communities. 
A lucky few are spared death, apparantly at random. These souls rarely recover the vigour that they had prior to infection, spending the rest of their lives having to be cared for by others and forever bearing the grey hued skin of the sickness that crippled them.

History

The discovery of Grey Plague sadly sparked a period of unprecedented strife for the ancient kingdom of Sparos, which ultimately paved the way for the establishment of the Vampire nation of Ymeris. 
The first case of Grey Plague was identified in 1507DP in the village that lay at the foot of Bleakstone Castle, in the central region of what was then called the Verdant Fields, now the Desolation of Hissh. 
By the time the local physician realised that the disease was not only something hitherto unencountered, but also incredibly deadly, the infection had already spread widely from patient zero and cases of Grey Plague began popping up with concerning frequency all across Sparos. 
It took five years before the then king of Sparos, King Aescus began to take the matter seriously, prompted by the death of his wife from the disease and the appearance of numerous cases in the capital city Penelionar. However, by that time Grey Plague was running rampant amongst the Elvish population of Sparos, with little stopping either its spread or effectiveness. 
Though no direct link has ever been categorically made between the two, the ravaging of Sparos by Grey Plague allowed the first Vampire to come into being. It is said that Istar Sereneni, believing that she had Grey Plague, made a pact with the Divine Hissh, which transformed her into the first Vampire.
Though Istar would spend several years hiding her true nature from the world, when she was eventually discovered for what she was she began a war of conquest across Sparos. Though the Sparites fought valiantly and nearly prevailed at one point, the armies, exhausted and greatly depleted by the Grey Plague could not stand and were defeated, Sparos itself passing into legend. 
Since the first and most devestating of Grey Plague epidemics, small outbreaks have periodically happened across Kelbonnar's Material Plane, but for the most part they have been limited to small areas and have not come remotely close to claiming as many lives as the disease did in Sparos.
Nevertheless, all Elves know of the Grey Plague, and all fear it.

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Rare

Affected Species

• Elves

Origins of Grey Plague

Despite extensive research and divination, no one has been able to identify exactly where Grey Plague first originated. Some scholars have theorised that it was once a more generic form of respiritory disease that randomly mutated itself into an pathogen that Elven physiology simply couldn't cope with.
Others, however, have drawn links to the emergence, to the oddly timed emergence of the first recorded Vampires during the first great Grey Plague outbreak, and have hypothesised that the illness may have been artificially created, perhaps by the Divine Hissh themselves, to try and convince more Elves to turn to Vampirism.