Featherless

Disfiguring and often fatal disease.

"Karika, it has been a long time. How is your boy?"
Karika was silent.
"...Karika?"
"He passed away last autumn."
"Oh no, I'm so sorry."
The two hugged.
"His feathers fell out and he lost the ability to eat."
"No more words, I know it was hard to see, you don't need to live it again."

Transmission & Vectors

The condition has existed for a long time but only recently was it discovered in Darapur that it is transmitted from one tengu to another, usually parent to child.

Symptoms

There are many symptoms to the condition. The less identifiable ones are loss of apetite, nausea, and vomiting. The namesake of the disease occurs at the first molt when the infected is unable to produce new feathers. Other symptoms may include beak deformation, exhaustion, and diarrhea.

Treatment

I am travelling to find a certain person. They claim to have wandered into the forest with their featherless baby and returned with them healed. I have been to several villages now and think I am close.

— Eruk's Journal

There is no confirmed cure though rumors abound about a recent miracle. A villager went into the woods for over ten cycles and returned, their baby healed. They didn't think they were gone that long and for this reason some people believe that the fae are involved. The magic they possess is entirely unknown to the peoples of civilization so such an effect is not outside the realm of possibility - that is, if the fae truly exist.
Regardless of the truth of the stories, people with affected children have begun to seek out areas away from civilization in the hopes of finding some fae to heal their children. This has failed and the parent or the child become injured, or die.

Prognosis

The disease weakens the body making it vulnerable to other diseases and the usual prognosis is death. Whether it is caused by other disease or the cold, it is almost always fatal. When it is not fatal - when the body fights the condition and other diseases - the survival rate increases though the feathers never grow back and beak deformation is not undone.

Affected Groups

Only tengu and certain species of birds can be infected with the virus. Only the young seem to be vulnerable to the disease.

Prevention

Recent knowledge of how the disease is transmitted gives only one recourse for prevention and most families don't think it is workable - isolating a new born until they become strong enough to resist the initial attacks of the virus. Babies have too many needs to leave unattended and some speak of the psychological impact of being isolated as a baby.
Now most families in the city - where knowledge of transmission is available - opt to keep their baby away from other adults and children until they have grown a bit.

Cultural Reception

In the past infected individuals have been seen as cursed, unlucky, or plague-bearers and ostracized by their communities. In at least one case, a tengu who survived the condition was thought to be blessed and became the spiritual leader of their village.

Stub Article

This article is just a stub for now and will be expanded upon later.

Old Article

This article was written in the past and does not meet my current standards for any number of article quality, layout, or content.

In-Progress Article

This article is being worked on, perhaps not at this very moment, but it is being worked on.

Gameplay Statistics

Effect: A character with featherless increases the difficulty of all Resilience checks once. In addition, they add bb to all checks in cold temperatures unless they are equipped with proper gear.

Type

Viral

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Rare

Affected Species

• Aven