The Bloom Plague of Razlo

Cause and Symptoms of the Bloom Plague

The Bloom Plague was cultivated and spread by the inhalation of the spores and/or seeds of the Impatient Gem Weed, a plant that is commonly found on both Livio and its moon Razlo. The plant has been widely seen in both locations for generations — it was a common game for kids to poke at their exploding seed pods and run away before they could be showered in their spores. 
However, at some point in time ten-plus years ago, a selection of Impatient Gem Weeds on the moon Razlo were infested by a malicious parasite of unknown origin. The parasite infected the plants with a virus that would eventually mutate into the Bloom Plague. The parasite, though likely long gone, manipulated the plant enough that mutated into its current virulent form. Spreading the Bloom Plague via the same exploding seed pods in which children used to casually play.
Once a victim inhales a large enough dosage of spores or seeds, they will contract Bloom Plague. After a short initial gestation period of a week to ten days, the victim will begin to show first-stage symptoms. These initial symptoms begin with a rash, often starting near or on the throat and spreading outwards. The rash is characterized by its purple and yellow spotted pattern. This Bloom rash will quickly become deeply unpleasant and itchy, forcing the victim to scratch incessantly. This allows the rash to spread more rapidly across the body and allows for a more rapid start to the second stage of the plague.
Patients develop fever, chills, extreme weakness, abdominal pain, shock, and possibly bleeding into the skin and other organs.
Next, the victims will begin to develop a fever, including both hot and cold flashes, extreme weakness in their limbs, harsh abdominal pains, and early signs of organ failure including organ bleeding and rupture. As these symptoms express themselves the victim's rash will slowly begin to cover their entire body, eventually covering them head to toe in a mosaic of purple and yellow spots and splotches. 
Lastly, in the final stage of life, the victim will fall into a deep delirium, their body wracked with pain they will writhe about until their body enters comatose. During these last few days, the victim becomes quiet and rather still, their bodies struggling to take even the smallest breath. This eerily serene stage is broken as the Bloom Plague flowers begin to break the surface of the victim's skin, having feasted on enough of the victim's lifeblood to wriggle free. 
Their dark blotted tendrils rise from the bloodied holes of the victim in small spirals and curl towards fresh air. The process is extremely painful and the victim will assuredly experience system shock and expire during this final stage, if they haven't already. Lastly,  a large sunflower-like bloom sprouts from the victim's upper body reaching towards the sun. This late bloom typically erupts from the neck, ears, mouth, or eye sockets.

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A field of Bloom Plague-riddled corpses

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Bloom Plague Puppets

Now that the victim has expired, the semi-sentient Bloom Plague plant can puppet the corpse about as a vehicle to wander the land, spreading more of the plague's diseased spore and seeds about to infect more and more life. Each puppet corpse quickly becomes teeming with infectious seeds, which it either slowly expels in small puffs of spore while it shambles about, or intentionally expels in large clusters of spore-like seed clouds.
These puppets have a strong desire to spread their seeds and expel their seeds whenever they are near life that can be contaminated. Which they do by tracking the heat signatures of warm bodies. They will travel for days on end without the need for food until they find living matter to contaminate. All they require to sustain themselves is the light of the sun and the occasional drink of water. Finding a collection of puppets standing in newly formed rain puddles is not uncommon.
Some puppets will even root themselves in place to leach off the land to survive longer to complete their macabre tasks. Fields of Bloom Plague puppets can be seen near what used to be thriving communities and towns. Hundreds if not thousands of discarded corpses are rooted in the ground, many of which have died after they have sucked the land dry of nutrients. Their sunflower-like heads limp and dead after completing their task.  

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Collapse and Quarantine

Razlo once had a population of one million citizens. The Bloom Plague has effectively wiped out. 
In a matter of a few months, the Bloom Plague erupted and began its ravenous spree across the moon and its communities. Causing chaos and the eventual collapse of the society Razlo and its people had carefully cultivated for itself. The plague spread rapidly, slowly gestating in thousands of unsuspecting people who before long grew ill and perished as vines and eventually flowers bloomed from their expiring flesh. 
Soon hordes of corpses staggered forward in an unsettling and unnatural gait puppeteered in a macabre dance to spread more of the Bloom Plague's rotten breath. When the planet of Livio below heard of the Razlo's plight they sent what supplies they could, dropping them from low orbit and fleeing.

Afterwards, they sent word to the moon below stating that they had been forced to enact a quarantine. No one could come, and no one could leave. No help would be coming for the people of Razlo.
Further, anyone caught attempting to leave would be shot down. For the safety of the Livio's people and the wider communities of the Federate Territories of Vash, Bloom Plague could not be allowed to leave Razlor. It could not be risked. 
Only one small sliver of hope was communicated to the people of Razlo. A cure was being developed, and it would be deployed as soon as it was ready. That was ten years ago, a cure never arrived, and the population of Razlo dwindled to near-nothing only to be replaced by a wandering horde of bloom-laden corpses. The surface of Razlo now looks like a mass of shuffling sunflowers.

Summary

The Bloom Plague is a disease that is currently present on a small habitable moon in the Federated Territories of Vash. Ten years ago, it wiped out the entire population of Razlo, which orbits its much larger sibling planet of Livio. Bloom Plague after a fairly quick gestation period kills its victims and uses them as shambling semi-sentient puppets used as a literal vehicle to spread more plague. This stage of the disease is characterized by a sunflower-like bloom that erupts from the victim's head, neck, or upper torso.
Razlo was quarantined when it became obvious that no cure could be discovered and implemented fast enough to save anyone; Leaving the victims of the plague to fend for themselves against the brutality of the disease.
Razlo continues to be a no-fly zone, nobody is allowed in or out. Even if an emergency landing is made on the moon they will be left to their fate and shot down if they try to escape. The risk of the disease spreading is far too great for even an ounce of sympathy. While research for a cure continues no tangible progress has been made.

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Table of Contents

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Impatient Gem Weeds

A common planet found both on Razlo and its orbiting sister planet of Livio. The Impatient Gem Weed is a simple plant, it grows in small viney nots of about a dozen each, its long spikey vines brambled together each ending in a small fuzzy green pod. When disturbed, or when it reaches adulthood, the pods burst open and spread their spore-like seeds in all directions in the hopes of finding sufficient soil and nutrients to grow a new crop of weeds. 
The Impatient Gem Weeds have been a common sight amongst the populations of both Razlo and Livio, they are as common as a dandelion. They were never known to be harmful and were a common fixture in many people's lives, whether they liked them or not, they weren't known to be dangerous. They were even the topic of many children's songs and rhymes over generations. Especially when they bloomed their annual sunflower-like heads in the middle of their viny brambles.

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Rumours of Survivors

Recently, a communication from Razlo was received by a passing trade vessel heading to Livio. The message stated that a surviving community still hangs on to life on the moon's surface and that they believe they may be the last. 
They describe, in short, an existence of constant fear and flight as the bloom puppets slowly parade about seeking the last vestiges of life to infect. They do not know how much longer they can hold out, they need help, and if anyone had any sliver of humanity left they would come and rescue them. 
The trading vessel reported this to the nearby Livio planetary police, he was told that it would be taken under consideration but that the risk of the disease spreading abroad was too great for direct intervention. Feeling pity for the community, the trade vessel dropped supplies as near to the community as he could. Able to do no more he flew away. Leaving the last community of Razlo to fend for themselves.

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