Chakra Decay

The official term decided upon by Phoenix physicans to describe the degredation that exposure to maho-the corrupting energy of Jigoku- brings on in the afflicted.

Transmission & Vectors

The condition, thankfully, is very rare. There are currently only two known vectors of transmission: ambient exposure, usually caused by a person moving through a Maho-corrupted area without the protection of a jade amulet (or other sacred object constructed of jade,) or direct contact with infected bodily fluids- be they human or demon.

Causes

When the corrupting energy of Jigoku comes into contact with a mortal's chakras, it corrupts their life force, causing their cells to replicate incorrectly or out of control. Because of the linked nature of chakras, eventually the condition will metastasize and spread to the different chakras along the body. While amputation of an affected limb can sometimes save an infected person, once the disease reaches the Heart Chakra, the condition is irreversible.

Symptoms

Depending on the severity of the infection, the symptoms are myriad, both physical and mental. Phoenix physicians have categorized the symptoms into "grades," to help distinguish how far along a person's infection may be:

• Mild symptoms: uncomfortable rashes, discolored hair, frequent nosebleeds, muscle spasms, momentary lapses of memory, irritability, mild paranoia, auditory hallucinations, irrational fears, repetitive speech patterns. A person with these symptoms could live a fairly normal life with regular administration of Jade Tonic
• Moderate symptoms: extremely off-colored, almost corpse-like skin, profuse and constant sweating, moderate to severe hair loss, extreme paranoia, radical and frequent mood swings, vivid hallucinations, speaking gibberish or unknown languages, fits of violence. A person with these symptoms is usually asked to remove themselves from the public eye. Sometimes the person lives at home, with a support staff, sometimes they are put up in a monastery, where they are close to Shugenja clerics who can monitor their condition.
• Severe symptoms: rotting flesh, additional limbs, new orifices (with or without teeth) profuse bleeding from the pores, development of inhuman body parts (claws, chitinous plates, etc,) unnatural hungers, extreme psychoses, aversion to sunlight, delusions of identity. A person in this condition is too far gone to really even be considered human anymore, and usually is executed to avoid the condition being spread by an errant bite or other attack.

Treatment

Though the affliction is incredibly destructive to a person's body and spirit, and there is no known cure, there is a form of treatment that can be administered: a sect of Phoenix physicians have discovered ponds with high concentrations of jade sediment. In these ponds, a particular breed of lotus flower can bloom, which will have absorbed the divine purity of the jade silt. By boiling these petals in alcohol, Phoenix physicians can then take the resulting resin and administer it as a tincture against Chakra Decay.

Prognosis

If caught early enough, Chakra Decay can be controlled: Consistent administration of Jade Tonic could theoretically keep a person's condition from worsening for the rest of their natural life. That is, if Chakra Decay did not affect the mind and the soul as sinisterly as it does the body: the corrupting influence of Jigoku causes a person's desires and ambitions to twist in the same manner as their physical body.
Being the influence of a creator goddess, maho is extremely powerful, allowing someone to tap into it and achieve superhuman feats. It is also an intoxicating energy: the more someone uses the gifts of the dark realm, the more they become addicted to the power and the sensation it gives them. But as with any addiction, the person requires more and more maho each time to achieve the same sensation, and so the Chakra Decay is hastened by the afflicted's own desires for power and longevity.
In theory, someone of steadfast will and great moral fortitude could resist their Chakra Decay in perpetuity, using just enough of the power to keep themselves alive and enhance their strength, without becoming caught in the vicious circle the disease traps its victims in.

Hosts & Carriers

Suprisingly, the nezumi people can carry the disease, but are not themselves affected by it. The nezumi are a constant subject of study by Phoenix physicians, and local populations of the ratfolk have been driven to near-extinction by The Imperial Medical Office, in their attempt to acquire samples.

Prevention

Jade amulets, or other objects, which possess the proper blessings from a shugenja can protect the bearer from the ambient accumulation of maho in the chakras. There is very little one can do against bloodborne transmission, save physical protection against the an Oni's fangs or other such natural weapons.

History

The condition is technically ancient: Izanami's grief over being seperated from her husband, and the anger she feels at his betrayal, is a palpable energy that corrupts and twists everything around her. Kami corrupted by her rage became Oni. Humans did not discover the effects of maho until humans began dabbling in dark magic and exposing themselves to the corrupting influence of Jigoku.

Cultural Reception

Carriers of this disease must constantly hide their symptoms from those in both high and low society: people with Chakra Decay are seen as on their way to becoming Oni, the demons of Hokkaidan mythology. People with obvious symptoms are ostracized and forced out of their communties, if not outright killed.

Type

Magical

Origin

Magical

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Rare