Incorrigible Aesthetic Hysteria

Incorrigible Aesthetic Hysteria (IAH) also known as Muse's Madness, Eyuna's Mania, and The Madness is a highly contagious supernatural disease. While the exact method of transmission is unknown, it requires close contact to spread. One in five people will develop symptoms 12 to 15 days after exposure. Since the early symptoms are easily overlooked, it is recommended that anyone who has been in contact with a known sufferer be examined. There is a safe effective spell for detecting the disease which is 95% accurate if cast at least 12 days after exposure. Currently, there is no cure. Throughout Lapansi, there are Aesthetic Hysteria hospitals where victims of the Disease can be treated keeping the public safe while slowing the disease's progression.
 In 510 A.A., 237 individuals died from IAH and there were 241 new cases with about 52% of them being Sidhe. This is up from a low of 196 cases in 482 A.A. Doctor Osian Vigilant as Meercats said, "it would be alarmist to speculate that these statistics indicate a resurgence in the disease. IAH has been under control for more than 350 years. The general public has nothing to fear."

Transmission & Vectors

IAH is transmitted through close contact. Most arcane scientists on Lapansi, believe the aether around a patient becomes infected and can infect other aether. A susceptible person then breathes in the infected aether thereby infecting that person. Once aether is no longer in contact with a sufferer it returns to normal. This has yet to be proven and the Inter-terra College of the Arcane Arts disputes this theory.

Symptoms

Initial symptoms include

euphoria

increased creativity

heightened artistic ability

hyperfocus on a single aspect of an artistic or decorative skill

Increased physical attractiveness (bright eyes, shiny hair, rosy cheeks)

As IAH progresses, the victim focuses more and more on art neglecting all other aspects of their lives. They may become combative if kept from their creative endeavors. Most must be forced to eat, sleep, bathe, or change clothes. The more time spent on art the worse they become.
Next, IAH sufferers make their art magical by unconsciously using their bodies as fuel. For example, a painted bat flies across the canvas. This exchange of body for magic creates a patient's stereotypical aetheric glow and will result in their death.
In the last stage of this disease, the victim has given almost all of their body to their art. Only aether is holding them together. They are weak, confused, and in pain. The one thing that comforts them is their art but the affliction has taken ability away. So they wail inconsolably. Fortunately at this point, the end comes quickly for most.

Treatment

The most effective treatment for IAH is a highly regimented schedule in a controlled setting. By engaging the patients' senses, the Hospital staff encourages them to cooperate with eating, dressing, and other personal hygiene. Patients must be allowed time to practice their art since refusing to do so results in self-harming behavior. Nevertheless, such time must be limited. The use of Calmatives and restraints is a last resort. When sufferers begin to have difficulty doing their art, some families refuse any treatment other than sedation in the hopes of ending their loved one's pain faster.
Jade Rabbit scientists have been experimenting with a potion that cured a similar hysteria in rats. While it still isn't a cure, Jade rabbits treated with it have gone into remission. One patient returned to her life for six months before needing to be rehospitalized. While it is not know if the treatment will be effective on other races, it is the first step forward in more than three centuries

Prognosis

There is no cure for IAH. Limiting time spent on art can prolong the patient's life by years or even decades.

Prevention

Since this disease is spread by close contact, strict isolation is key. Hospital staff use personal protection devices and spells at all times when working with infected patients. Most facilities regularly test hospital staff for the infection.

Epidemiology

What has caused the most confusion and fear since the disease was first recognized is its randomness. It kills without prejudice to age, social class, or gender. Despite popular belief, it affects all professions equally. Some people can contract IAH sitting across the room from someone infected for a few minutes. While others can be in direct contact for months and never come down with the disease.

History

The first diagnosed case of IAH was found in Sextus 97 A.A. by Dr. Borian Smart Like Crows. Ten years later, 8,000,000 Sidhe had died of the disease. The first aesthetic hysteria hospital was opened in the spring of 135 A.A. in an abandoned cavern near the Sidhe capital of Kaefala. Within three months, the number new cases reported locally had dropped by half. Cities across all three Sidhe kingdoms copied the hospital after hearing of its success. Laws were enacted requiring persons exhibiting symptoms of IAH to be taken to one of the special hospitals for evaluation. A year later a Hermetic spell that could detect the contagion in people with an active infection was devised by a team of warlocks from the Sidhe College of Hermetic Arts. The hospitals, a viable way to test for the disease, and laws to enforce compliance resulted in a tenfold drop in infection rates.
These advances did not affect the death rate of IAH. Many treatments were tried including potions, prohibiting art, and sensory isolation. Lady Lai'ohsae Compassionate Like Elephants tried keeping her charges to a strict schedule only allowing them an hour of craft time if they complied with all self-care tasks. In addition, she decorated areas such as the dining hall with art. Her patients survived their malady ten times as long as other patients. Over the next fifty years using this or similar treatments, the death rate was slowed to 140 deaths per year on average with most of these occurring in isolated caverns.
In Octavia 146 A.A., the first Jade Rabbit cases were reported and the first Cu-kith deaths occurred in Secund 152 A.A. Both races quickly followed the Sidhe model. Due to their much shorter life span, Jade Rabbits have been more driven in their research to find a cure. However, progress has been slow.

Cultural Reception

It is hard to overstate the terror experienced by Sidhe in the first decades of the epidemic. With no clear cause, nothing was safe. Fear frequently overruled common sense.
People reasoned that IAH was supernatural therefore the method of transmission must also be. To protect themselves and their families, paniced mobs attacked magic schools forcing them to close. People avoided artifacts, potions, and talismans. Even moon trees became suspect. If their town refused to chop down the trees, some people boarded up their windows and covered their skin completely. Warlocks, artificers, and wizards, once admired, became pariahs overnight.
Art was also suspect. Schools teaching tapestry, calligraphy, acting, painting, embroidery, sculpture, silversmithing, and many other artistic skills were required to close. Throughout the Empire, millennia of artworks were sold to foreigners or destroyed. Public murals were whitewashed. For the first time in the Sidhe's long history, plainness became the overriding aesthetic as people got rid of their richly embroidered cloth, decorative moldings, and exquisite pottery. The sidhe kingdoms, once the artistic center of Naiyam, were barren.
In provincial Caverns, mages, artists, and disease sufferers were forced to leave their homes. Laws were enacted requiring artists and magic users to submit to screening tests when they became available. Once they were allowed to reopen, Schools that taught the arts, certain artisan skills, or magic were forced to relocate to distant caverns despite scientists repeatedly stating that they didn't contribute to the disease.
When the special hospitals were introduced, the people's reaction was mixed. Some Sidhe applauded the measures, relieved that something was keeping them safe. Others were horrified that they or their loved ones might spend the rest of their lives away from family and friends. After rumors of widespread, gruesome experiments, some families chose to hide IAH sufferers. The watch raided suspected homes but this often provoked a violent reaction. When Lady Lai'osae's treatment became widespread, the emperor asked patients to create art depicting hospital life. These works relieved the public's fear and are now enshrined in museums around Lapansi.
Another problem with the special hospitals was what to do about the staff. The public feared they could still spread IAH even if they weren't sick. Abundant safeguards were put in place. While researchers and health professionals repeatedly reassured the public these efforts were sufficient, the public continued to shun workers. Hospitals constructed secret entrances so that staff could hide where they worked. Staff who were discovered were forced to move.
As the epidemic became history, people's view of IAH became romanticized. Plays, novels, and ballads are written about lovers who are forced apart because one has the artist's madness or an artist with the disease who chooses to die rather than leave unfinished his final piece, often of a love from long ago. Emo artists tell their fans they wish they had The Madness making them and their art beyond beautiful. Those who are still affected by the disease find this insensitive.
Most of the once-full special hospitals are now empty. Their caverns have either been collapsed or abandoned. Despite reassurance from doctors, mages, and scientists, people still fear them. Few of the Sidhe kingdoms' resources are allocated to IAH research. With the epidemic over, Researchers have moved on to "sexier" projects. The 1,881 remaining Sidhe patients languish shunned and forgotten.
IAH has had a lasting impact on the kingdoms. Hundreds of important artworks remain in the hands of foreigners: mostly humans. To find suitable spouses for their children, many families hide connections to relatives with the disease. Many artists, magic-users, and artisans remain in sequestered communities. Those who live outside their protection find themselves watched for any suspect behavior.
The story of IAH in Jade Rabbit and Cu-kith communities is very different. Initially, both races were alarmed to learn they could catch the disease. By implementing strategies used in the Sidhe kingdoms, this fear was short-lived. Only the most rural areas experienced any repercussions towards artists and magic users. Hospital workers were and still are celebrated as heroes.
Research into IAH continues to be very important to the Shorter lived Folk, especially the Jade Rabbits. Only the top people in their fields can get on one of their research teams. Such individuals garner much admiration both inside and outside of their profession. Among the Cu-Kith are 17 packs formed around the goal of ridding the universe of IAH.

Type

Supernatural

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Affected Species

• Jade Rabbits
• Sidhe
• Cu-Kith