Stonemold
Grayskin, Jailer sickness, Doomscale
Curious, Karna stepped closer to the strange statue in the middle of the forest. Why would anyone place a statue here? There was no other sign of structure or buildings nearby. She let her hand slide along the weathered suface, traling furrows where plants had dug into the face of the man. Oddly, they came away crumbling, as if they had turned to brittle stone. "Step away from that Karna!" Ilam shouted, making Karna jump in supprise. "Don't touch it, it is dangerous." Her guide continued. "What is it?" One of Ilams ears made an anoyed twitch. "A cursed man - dead from Stonemold. Touch it and you'll end up like this him. Your skin turned hard as stone, trapped inside until you can no longer draw breath." Karna quickly stepped away from the dreat fate, and hid her hand behind her back.
Transmission & Vectors
Stonemold is contracted through direct touch with a spore covered surface. The fungus is infectious as soon as it is vissible as it is the visible part that contains the spores.
Causes
The condition is caused by a specious of fungus - "stonemold" - that manags to take root under the skin of a host. There it spreads its hyfella slowly through the top layer of skin, burrowing outward from the point of infection. The spores can remain dormant for a long time, meaning that touching a victim of the disease even several years after they succomed, can lead to infection in a new host.
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It is not particullary common, but outcasts living near The Divine Tree seem to have found a way to use the skin hardening effects of the fungus to their advantage. And win or loose, survining an encounter with those are not the same as surviving for long due to the high risk of infection.
Symptoms
DM section contains symptoms until sucha time as it is common knowledge.
Treatment
Secret
Prognosis
Likley outcome is death through asphyxiation, as the victim is no longer able to expand the chest cavity enough to breathe.
Affected Groups
Species that have soft epidermis (the outermost layer of skin).
Hosts & Carriers
Wildlife sometimes carry this disease all over Haru, but are more often encountered in the north eastern region of the island where they seem too survive for longer and thus are able to spread the fungus further.
Comments
Author's Notes
The desease is inspired by leprocy, but added in a touch of fantasy ^^