Bizkarroia (bis̺karoia)
Bizkarroia is a fungal parasite that infests a number of the Floating Forests that travel throughout The Middlesea. It is typically found on a variety of mammals in those strange ecosystems, most frequently bats. Several generations ago, loggers from the Biluzik Archipelago became infected with the parasite, and it became endemic in the Kingdom of Herria. This has shaped the customs in that region ever since, resulting in a near total taboo against clothing that might hide an infected person.
The parasite can grow to be up to six inches long, and its body is formed of twisted white fibers that burrow into the skin. Those who are infected seem unaware of its presence, even when it is shown to them directly; something about the way the parasite affects the brain of the infected renders it functionally unnoticable to them.
This is only one of the notable neurological effects that Bizkarroia creates. Infected people become intensely affectionate, and will seek close physical contact with any person not yet infected, including intimate contacts of all sorts. Threads of the Bizkarroia break off during these encounters and infect the new person. Over the first few months this drive to seek intimate partners increases to the point of obsession, causing them to abandon all other pursuits.
Eventually, the victims grow violent, hurling themselves against the uninfected. This usually happens about three months after initial infection. At this point, the fungus has infiltrated every part of the host's body, and white threads have begun to emerge from their skin, giving them the appearance of having grown a coat of tiny roots that wave and wiggle as they move. They cease to perform even basic care for themselves, and will typically perish of thirst a few days after growing violent.
If the fungus is found early, it can be removed from the host without killing them, and the Uhartekoa have concocted a salve that will kill any spores remaining under the skin, if the condition is not too advanced. Outbreaks still happen occasionally when the parasite manages to remain hidden for long enough, and it seems likely that it is also found a non-human resevoir on the island where it can persist indefinitely. Some people have claimed to see masses of white threads that were swimming and slithering about without a host, but those rumors are quickly quashed by the officials of the kingdom, lest they cause a panic. Visitors to Biluzik Archipelago are routinely screened for infection before they leave, and only those who never disembark from their ships are exempted.
Comments