Graycrust Plague

A fever became fear, which ended in stone. The Graycrust Plague taught us just how quickly a society could crumble from an invisible foe…

- Danrion Uave, herbalist and member of the Embermyst Fellowship

There are many illnesses that harass the living and a few that bother the dead. But among those ailments, only one silent stalker lurks in the quiet corners. A plague that, if left unchecked, will steal a victim’s life by jagged inches until they’re sealed into silent stone. This would be the insidious condition called the Graycrust Plague.

The first mention of the Graycrust Plague was in the remote fishing villages along Hodami Bay in northern Wolheim in 1185. Local healers mistook the symptoms for a common fever, or winter cold. Given the harsh winter that year, colds and fever were already a common problem. This allowed the illness to spread rapidly until it was clear this was no ordinary winter fever.

Path of Pain and Death

In winter’s chill, beware the mold,
Frostmire dust so gray and cold.
In shadows hidden, dark and deep,
A silent curse, wakes from sleep.

- First stanza of the rhyme, “Graycrust Lament”

Plague Town in Winter by CB Ash *

Type

Fungal

Origin

Magical

Cycle

Short-term

Rarity

Rare

Once infected, a victim of the plague suffers a slow series of symptoms over a course of five to six weeks. Each symptom compounds on the last as the supernatural fungal infection slowly takes over the victim in a lethal transformation.

Initial Stage

In the initial stage, victims suffer a mild fever and fatigue. This is often mistaken for the cold or flu. At this point, it’s difficult to determine the person is suffering from the Graycrust, but there are some subtle signs. A victim’s eyes will reflect a dull silver in the light and their skin will take on a light gray under their eyes. This is easily overlooked as being from a lack of sleep. This lasts a few days to a week.

Intermediate Stage

This is the longest and most painful stage. In this intermediate stage, the victim’s skin discolors, turning a pallid or even gravestone-like gray in wide blotches. These markings are most often seen on the neck, arms, and face. Along with the skin change, the victim suffers intense pain while the fungus takes root in their skin, hardening and cracking it.

As part of the magical nature of the fungus, the victim will radiate a mild magical aura. In rare cases, this has caused mystical side effects near the victim. What some call ‘wild magic’, but the magical effects are always harmless. Flower petals magically appear after a victim sneezes and so on. This aura is strong enough that any sagecaster can sense it from sixty feet away.

The plague progresses in this stage for at least two to three weeks. During this time, the magical aura will grow stronger, but the ‘wild magic’ will grow weaker.

Advanced Stage

In the advanced stages of the plague, the victim’s skin takes on the slate or stone-like appearance the plague is named for. Their skin is transformed into gray scales that resemble chipped and cracked slate. Here, the infected suffer extreme fatigue and trouble moving as the fungus releases mystical spores that petrify the victim’s hands, fingers, and feet.

Any victim at this point will suffer this for a week at most. Toward the end of that week, the final stage and transformation takes hold.

Terminal Stage

In the last stage, the fungus spores spread the mystical petrification throughout the victim’s body. At this point, they only have hours to days left as the fungus works to transform the victim into a slate or stone-like statue covered in Frostmire mold that is the source of the fungus.

Death often results when the spores and petrification reach the lungs before the entire body is transformed.

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A Case of Mistaken Cause

Graycrust creeps with icy breath,
Seeping through and slow with silent death.
Wash your hands and burn the dust,
For in this mold, no one should trust.

- Second stanza of the rhyme, “Graycrust Lament”

Graycrust plague is transmitted through skin contact with anyone infected, as the fungus can travel through sweat. In the early stages, victims are highly contagious, with one victim easily being able to infect five more in close quarters. This brought about rapid outbreaks in the Hodami Bay region like wildfire.

At first, the cause was blamed on rats and other vermin before healers understood the actual way the plague spread. This was aggravated by a persistent rumor that the Graycrust plague was spread by Briarwolf bites. It caused a panic which lead to widespread hunting of Briarwolves. A distraction that only gave the plague time to spread tenfold across the Bay region.

The World Turned Upside Down

In cellars damp and corners dark,
Slumbers mold with corpse-light spark.
Seal the cracks and air the room,
Keeping out the creeping doom.

- Third stanza of the rhyme, “Graycrust Lament”

The Graycrust caused widespread death and uprooted families across the Hodami Bay region and beyond in northern Wolheim. The plague consumed entire villages, leaving a settlement of statues covered in the blue-white Frostmire mold. But while the plague could spread quickly, fear and mistrust spread far faster.

Villages became isolated as trade routes were abandoned. Despite the help from skilled vitalists, alchemists, and other healers, the death toll rose. Traditional structure of authority and means of communication broke down. Isolation became quarantine, which turned into a death sentence for many inhabitants as the sick were left to die. Those not sick either faced long, frozen marches to cities or starved in the harsh winter.

Shadow of the Betrayer War

Run away from whispers soft,
Where Frostmire’s touch aloft,
Keep your hearth and fire bright,
To fend off the gray blight’s bite.

- Fourth stanza of the rhyme, “Graycrust Lament”

As trade dissolved and fear blossomed in the plague's wake, the region became fertile ground for unrest. In the deadly chaos, the Shadow Council used the Graycrust plague as a weapon and a keystone. Building an opportunity off of tragedy to gain influence and power. This plague drove Dagen Yir’vass south for help. Finding none, he turned to darker means and sources to save his village, eventually becoming the Gorgon Lord for the Shadow Council’s plans. Meanwhile, in the end, his village was never saved.

Frostmire mold has a foot in the supernatural, but many have wondered how closely it was tied to the Shadow Council. That perhaps the appearance of the mold in northern Wolheim was part of a larger, broader plan by the Council that lead to the disaster of the Betrayer War. If any record exists, it lies in the dark heart of the dread fortress of Oz Malid. So, no one may ever know the full truth.

Prevention and an Ounce of Cure

Remember now, both young and old,
In winter’s chill, beware the dead mold.
Graycrust spreads where shadows play,
Keep it far and burned away.

- Last stanza of the rhyme, “Graycrust Lament”

Rumors of cures spread as fast as the plague itself. Some were lethal mixtures of plant sap and honey, while others a mild tea that dulled the pain. Even magical attempts weren’t useful, as the necromantic nature of the Frostmire dulled or corrupted healing spells almost to the point of useless.

In the end, the correct solution came from prevention and a flower mentioned in the last records from the Age of Twilight, a time before the First Age. The glowing Rimward Orchid of the Thanspire continent.

Prevention was simple and straightforward. The Frostmire mold needed a deadly combination of winter-like cold, darkness, and wet to thrive. This mold first starts in damp graveyards, then spreads to nearby root cellars. The essence of the dead, pieces of lingering hungry spirits, inhabit the mold. Living creatures moving nearby cause the mold to wake, then release a whispering fog toward anything nearby.

But a regular monthly routine of scouring cellars with an acid wash and holy water will kill and prevent any mold infestation. Graveyards are given a similar treatment once a month as well. While this prevents outbreaks, it will do nothing for anyone already infected. That would be what the cure handled.

The actual cure for the Graycrust plague originates with the Rimward Orchid found only in the lands of Thanespire, the eastern continent. A mystical plant with a glowing blossom, it has been mentioned in more than one ancient record as a curative for many ailments. Cultures as ancient as kingdoms from the Age of Twilight before the First Age made use of it. Many attempted to cultivate it but it only grows best in the elemental rich forests of Thanespire.

To cure the Graycrust, blossoms from the Rimward Orchid are dried, then ground to a powder. This is placed with honey and water and distilled into a thick syrup. That syrup is then mixed with water. Plague victims can either drink it as a tea or the syrup can be applied directly to the skin with more severe cases. Most victims recover provided they are treated before the last day of infection.

A vitalist at work on a cure by Prometus at Deposit Photos

A Legacy Set in Stone

The Graycrust Plague has long since subsided and what few outbreaks that happen are treated swiftly by healers or members of the Embermyst Fellowship. But the specter of the plague remains and with it fear. A nursery rhyme, the Graycrust Lament, is taught as both a warning and to commemorate the tragedy.

Along northern Wolheim, silent villages still stand, populated only by slate gray statues. In winter, when the snow lies deep, they are covered with the blue-white Frostmire mold. Those places stand as a grim reminder of how thin the curtain of society is between peace, order, and chaos.

The statues stand a lonesome watch. Ever frozen in their eternal stone, they call to us across history. Their silent warning telling us that understanding, not fear, will see us through the dark night of tragedy.

- Danrion Uave, herbalist and member of the Embermyst Fellowship