Ink Sickness

As The Brand is the most common ritual in Ankaluunian society, Ink Sickness is the most feared non-lethal malady that could affect a person.

Transmission & Vectors

Those who become ink sick are afflicted with the disease upon the application of their Brand during their coming of age. The affliction does not transmit directly from person to person but may be carried in certain inks, often counterfeit, and application of tattoos in unsanitary conditions where the needles are not properly cleaned can lead to greater spread of tainted inks.

Causes

It is almost universally believed that tainted inks, even trace amounts, can cause Ink Sickness. Some scholars believe that the illness is caused by inks that have been created with inferior materials while others believe that inks may "expire" and one may become sick from improperly stored inks that have been around for too long. Until recent times the malady has been serious enough that experimentation was not possible due to lack of willing participants.

Symptoms

Ink sickness has a wide variety of symptoms based on the color of the inks applied. Just as a crimson ink is used to lend one strength, ink sickness caused by that same color will sap the body of strength rather than grant it. The only universal symptom experienced by those afflicted is experiencing seizures on a semi-regular basis. Those who suffer the seizures are often left weak for a day or two afterwards. No known fatalities have occurred due to the sickness.

Treatment

Until recently, there was no known remedy for Ink Sickness. Healers had tried tonics, herbs, and even spells, to no avail. In the last decade significant advancements have been made towards treatment and ultimately a (very expensive) cure.
A rather large, but rare, rodent can be found hiding amongst the grasses in The Shallow Rift. A young, ink sick man was searching the bottom of the crevasse when he startled one of these creatures and was bitten. Within just a few days he found himself feeling better than he had in his life. He soon noticed that his seizures stopped and the powers that were supposed to be granted by his Brand were actually granting him strength and wisdom rather than sapping him of them for the first time.
Since that discovery, alchemists have worked to procure more of these rodents, and formulated a cure for the sickness from a mixture of its blood and saliva. Due to the rarity if the creatures it remains an expensive process that yields a very expensive cure.

Prevention

Those receiving their Brand must be certain to only get tattooed by state sanctioned Brand Tattoo Artists. While there is no guarantee that one can't get sick from even the most reputable inkers, it is rare enough to be of little concern. Using black market artists or hobbyists in small towns and villages has a far higher rate of infection.

Cultural Reception

Those with ink sickness are generally pitied and relegated to menial labor or even begging. The sickness brings an automatic membership to the lowest rungs of society unless cleverly hidden. The rare few who are afflicted and are more affluent have generally done their best to hide the malady. Since a cure became available it has been those few with significant wealth that could easily obtain the cure and, in a sense, renew their membership in society.

Type

Magical

Origin

Natural

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Rare