Zcramkaz (skramkɑːs)

The name zcramcaz is Sorion, the language of knowledge and art. The origin of the word is the Proto-Lazarian xramma'ki'xraas. Other modern words for the disease are cocegarraw (Fundi), xrammaa (Sezarian) skramkratz (Virskalli).

Simple but complicated

Zcramcaz is a condition or decease that affects humans. The symptoms is the same as affected by scabies - itching and rashes (at the area of the finger webs, feet, ventral wrists, elbows, back, buttocks, external genitals, ears and the areas around the eyes, nose, mouth) but never evolves into crusted scabies. The symptoms are milder and less severe than with ordinary scabies.
In fact, the scabies is made milder by the zcramcaz prion by making the mites to become less active, more shallow and more vulnerable to treatment. Which is the reason for the mild symptoms and that it is easily treated in its initial stage. The disease however, can if not treated affect finger- and toenails making them thick, black and clawlike, and if the prion reaches the brain via the bloodstream it can cause hallucinations, epileptic seizures, loss of balance and headaches. These conditions is non treatable. This second stage is called the corti stage (from the Sorion word for claws - corti) or the final stage.
Zcramcaz in humans is rather easily treatable in its first stage. Exposion to sunlight, bathing in water with a salinity of at least 3.8% and washing with affected areas with saline solution might help. Preferably both. Ointments with crushed sulphur crystals and wormwood has has also shown to be a rather effective treatment.

Ancient horror

Zcramcaz might seem like a mild and easy treatable disease, but it has a dark past and might be the roots of horror stories about walking dead, vampires and other abominations. It is definitely what the legends and stories about humans turning into Volks and werewolves. It is also the cause of the collapse of the the neolithic Gens high culture.

Zcramcaz prion in scabies mites

The scabies mites are a part of the zcramcaz condition, but they are also the vectors of the prion and its first victims. The prion affects the central portion of the mites nervous system and changing the mites behavior. Instead of only living and burring themselves in the skinns outermost dead layer, where the gravid female deposits their eggs in shallow burrows the prion makes the mites to go deep into living tissue where they causes far more damage to its host and releases the prion into its new new host. The mites will cause tissue to become necrotic continue deeper and deeper till it booth bone marrow and all internal organs. This third stage, called the necrotic state is the true final stage of zcramcaz

Necrotic zcramcaz

The necrotic state is always fatal. But since the prion also makes the mites less active it can take 6 to 12 months after the final stage leads to death. Death comes most often by respiratory system failure, total system failure or blood poisoning due to secondary bacterial infection.
The necrotic state involves hair loss, necrotic flesh and soft which maces the infected to reek of death an decay. Nose, ears and other small extremities might fall off. It also involves an extremely severe case of crusted scabies over the infected individuals whole body, including the face, with scaly rashes, itching, and thick crusts of skin that contain large numbers of scabies mites (which makes persons with necrotic zcramcaz more contagious than those in relier stages of the disease). The pain of necrotic zcramcaz alone is said to drive its victims mad alone, but the prion causes insomnia, hallucinations, headache, visual disturbances, involuntary movements, blindness, epileptic seizures, loss of balance and speech problems, coordination problems, dementia, schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder.

Beneficial genetic inheritance

When humans first came in contact with the disease it wreaked havoc among the early neolithic societies. People fled in panic. Initiating a series of human migrations and with that spreading zcramcaz far and wide.
There were however survivors, humans with a special genetic mutation that makes the living tissue of the host appear different to the mites so they can't identify it. Instead of burring deep into the living flesh and they dig more shallow tunnels than ordinary scabies. Most people today are descendant from these survivors and have the same genetic mutation.

Zcramcaz and canines

Canines like dogs, wolves, and dire wolves can also be infected with zcramcaz. Unlike humans has canines not evolved a protective mutation. Canines with in the final stage of zcramcaz is called Volk, an almost mythical beast that old wives tales, stories and sagas ascribes multiple dark and hellish powers, but the connection to zcramcaz is not known.

by Alina Grubnyak

Type

Prion

Origin

Natural

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Extremely Rare