The Blight

Originally found on The Scorching Isles, the Blight is a magical disease that struck the island and slowly robbed it of its time. During the events of the Scorching Isles, Shard-Bearers encountered the Blight and unintentionally brought it back to Highstorm and Springstar with them.
This condition steals time from the things it infects. It most frequently infects inanimate objects and will cause them to rot or degrade rapidly (such as a piece of metal rusting within hours), but is able to infect living things as well. Most notably, the Blight could infect plants and animals in the two cities. Plants both decorative and necessary will wither and die when infected, and small animals grow sick and die seemingly of old age.
However, in Pelu (April 2023), the Blight began to spread rapidly in the two cities, and with it caused strange effects as the Trees in both cities seem to have been infected by the disease. This culminated in the Iconoclast Oracle, when Shard-Bearers were sent to a far-off future where life in Kenos appeared to have ceased. Upon Zenith's reclamation of the Oracle in Erqu (May 2023), Shard-Bearers were sent back to a period of time before the Blight situation turned catastrophic — and allowing for multiple Bearers to return to the Scorching Isles, whereupon they were able to discover a cure.

Transmission & Vectors

Direct contact with a Blighted object or person.

Symptoms

Rapid aging/deteroriation, a lower body temperature, and increased agitation.

Treatment

While Dr. Julia Melnik and Dr. Du Tousaing were both working on treatments, a group of Shard-Bearers was ultimately able to discover that the energies of both Meridian and Zenith were required, along with additional elements such as certain metals and flowers (full explanation here).

Origin

Magical