Faerie Flames

You reenter your lovely white home, relieved to breathe in the familiar aura of home. The precious flask tied to your belt pats gently against your soft fur, and your ears brush the top of the door as you walk in. You see the little child in the house, tied down onto the bed. He is slightly floating, almost pulling out of the restraints. "I've brought a flask of your medicine," you call out into the almost empty room, "settle down so I can give it to you." You pull out a small, roughly cut metal spoon. You pour out a spoonful of the red liquid from the leather flask, and move towards the bony thin dragonling. He opens his sandy lips to allow you to pour in the liquid, despite it's extremely strong taste.  "Thanks doc." He mutters weakly, swallowing the liquid. A few more doses, and he will be much healthier.

Transmission & Vectors

This is transmitted by touching the source of the fungus. It becomes infectious one week after being transmitted to a person. However, it will only become dangerous once it gets to stage two, which it will only reach in specific circumstances. This can lead to entire populations getting this disease before anyone even begins to get ill.

Causes

This is a fungus that evolved to leech off not only the body but many other aspects of the persons existence.

Symptoms

At stage one, it only manifests in a slightly discoloration of the skin. It will only progress to Stage two if it finds someone young and strong enough to survive the effects of the disease. At stage two, the real effects begin to take hold. It begins by giving the victim a fever, and causes the victim to lose a lot of weight. If they survive this stage, stage three is much more severe. At stage three, the fever stops affecting the victim, and they will feel fine. Gravity will start affecting the creature differently, making them so light they often can barely keep themselves on the ground. The fever will make the victim so hot to the touch it can burn most people.

Treatment

This can be treated by a medicine originally created in The Fiery Wilds. It is made from various herbs including cinnamon and pine leaves, as well as infused with magical energy. This potent mixture is relatively easy to obtain, but you need to get to the Fiery Wilds over a sea and through Dreanesia. At this point, it is only moderately expensive to purchase, and kinder alchemists may even give it for free. One must drink at least one full flask of this liquid, over the course of a few days. This has a very high chance of working if it is consumed before the third stage fully sets in.

Prognosis

At stage one, around only five percent of people will actually be affected with the exception of the slight discoloration of the skin, making you appear slightly orange. Once one reaches stage two, around 10 percent will die. Most people, however, will probably survive. At stage three, the mortality rate goes way up. As the body temperature increases and the weight decreases, many bodies just fail. They can survive for up to a year like this, but eventually all will die if it is not treated soon enough.

Sequela

If someone gets to stage three of this condition, the effects become rather permanent. It takes a very long time to gain back the weight lost, and the reduced gravity cannot be reversed. It makes the immune system weaker, making the victim more susceptible to many illnesses.

Prevention

You can prevent this at the source, by killing the fungus beforehand. The herbs in the potion used to cure the virus can also be used to destroy the fungus before it causes infection. It does not need magic infused into it to kill the fungus before it is in the body.

Type

Fungal

Origin

Natural

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired & Congenital

Rarity

Rare