Stryxian Undeath
You have to promise me you won't let me end up like them, please!While Undead are widely known to modern Tairos thanks to leftovers from the Plague of Undeath something new has recently revealed itself. A variant of undead that seem to be able to pass on their curse with a simple bite. Previously, most undeath is spread to the freshly deceased who were killed by undead but now something has changed. Most recently seen within Ghal Pelor during the disastrous tragedy surrounding the recent Color Festival. Those killed during the attack on the city's Counting House quickly rose as ravenous zombies, durable like any of their kind but also possessing a great alacrity and feral hunger. Shocking as these zombies were the most dangerous trait they possessed was their bite. The wound inflicted seems impossible to heal with medicine and extremely difficult to treat even with magic (only a Greater Restoration has proven to be effective). Those bitten seem fated to have their physical health deteriorate until death claims them. Then, moments after passing they will quickly rise, their minds gone and fully replaced by a need to feed. A scarce few souls in the city are aware the true nature of this undeath. They've uncovered a plot by an insidious organization calling itself The Faceless Court who are attempting to resurrect their goddess of death, the Dragon Stryxis. This cult seems to have a particular specialty when it comes to necromancy and undead, and they are putting these tools to use in the name of their goddess. This new variant of undeath may only be the first of many terrible curses they will employ to further their ends.
Transmission & Vectors
So far bite seems to be the primary vector for transmission. Additionally, the disease can be aerosolized and spread to the recently deceased to turn them into Stryxian Undead. Its unknown if other vectors exist or can be created
Causes
Believed to be one of the death goddess Stryxis' "gifts"
Symptoms
Fatigue, cramping, inability to clot the initial infecting wound, wet cough, vertigo, fever, inability to recover from other injuries (advanced symptom), delirium (advanced symptom)
Treatment
No medicinal treatment has been found yet and only powerful magic such as a Greater Restoration spell has had effect. Treatment of the wound and the symptoms has been shown to delay the final prognosis by a few hours at best. Termination of the patient is recommended
Prognosis
Most infected are observed to expire within 12 to 24 hours after receiving the bite. This can be hastened if the bite is particularly deep or damaging.
Sequela
It is unknown what long-term impact the infection may cause to any survivors because of how recent this illness is.
Hosts & Carriers
While there are no known asymptomatic infected carriers/hosts The Faceless Court seem to be largely immune to the effects of the aerosolized version of the illness and do not provoke any aggression from the infected. They seem to be experts at spreading this condition and can certainly be seen as a type of carrier.
Prevention
To date, there has been no known inoculation against this variant of undeath
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