Mummy Rot

Several major strains of mummy rot exsist, the longer the undead has exsisted the harder it is to treat and the worse the symptoms.

Transmission & Vectors

Mummy rot is transmitted via contact with undead creatures- most commonly found among mummies and liches of the Masoud Desert. Odds of infection increase dramically to someone with open wounds or injuried by the creature.

Causes

Mummy Rot is perhaps the eldest supernatural disease. Though the exact cause of it is unknown there are two primary theroies as to where it was born. The first is some freak accident, a disease truely born in the undead. The other is a bit more insideious, some beleive that Mummy Rot was not infact natural but instead created by a powerful undead spell caster inorder to spread more fear amoung the living. While its origin is an ongoing debate it is certain Mummy Rot is suceptable to magical influence, famously the Oracle of Bones mutated Mummy Rot to act as a biological weapon durring her Crusade of Unlife.

Symptoms

Several powerful strains exsist, each fatal.

Original

While the verasity of it truely being the original strain is unknown, what is conventionally called the original strain starts as a simple cut or scratch. These slight wounds take weeks, or even months to heal. Slowly the disease spreads, causing flesh to rot off the still living body.

Systemic

Systemic Mummy Rot is most often noticed by its distinctive cough, once it enters the body via the lungs it begins eating away at them, dead falling to fill them with a thick dust. Eventually systemic mummy rot leaves the inflicted breathless.

Chronic

The final major strain is called chronic. Though all strains do lead to an inevitable death chronic acts like systemic, though on a much slower scale. the cough and lack of energy can stay on for years, or even decades.

Weaponized

Weaponized Mummy Rot is the only source known to be created; Jolene Canterbury is known to have taken samples of the disease and experimented on them with magic- though the extent is unknown what is known is that this version of the disease is not only the fastest to spread- but also the most effective in its use. Though it isnt as deadly as others it tends to be totally crippling, symptyoms include loss of limbs- both through paralysis and often in a way similar to original mummy rot, it also causes cateracts over the eyes, inability to hold limbs still, and rarely even a repulsion at the sight of food- leading to starvation.

Hosts & Carriers

Mummy rot lives almost exclusively on undead creatures, but is able to survive in areas around them like tombs and long inhabitated areas as long as theyre around.

History

Mummy rot has an ancient history in the region, dating back to before the influence of Caelsimilian culture. For a long time it, and Wandering Syndrome, influenced the people of the region to avoid the tombs of the dead. However as the Oracle of Bones influenced the region her dark magic altered the disease to something worse.
The Oracle Jolene turned this already dark desiease to something worse, modifying it like a biological weapon. An attack that spread not just from focused strikes but instead one that spread from any contact. Her army would infect areas just by being in them; attacks would decimate the other forces- even in victory enemy armies would slowly die in the comming days.
Though in her death and fall from power much of Mummy Rot disappeared from the Caelsimilian Peninsula as a whole and returned to just its native area of the desert and ancient tombs.

Cultural Reception

Sufferers of mummy rot are often seperated into two groups- usually seperated by their age and location. Thos living in the desert, or who are younger, afflicted tend to be portrayed as grave robbers and looters of the dead due to a beleif that even in death these dark undead deserve to be left in peace- if after all they are leaving others alone.
Older inflicted are given a major benefit of the doubt, those of a certain age are revered. These older people are recognized often as survivors of the War of Life and Strife, given reverance by those who remember the old days and support from the government.

Type

Supernatural

Origin

Magical

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Rare