Edge
A precipitous drop
There are Magisters, those gifted with the power of magic, and the Humans, those without. We are different subspecies: interbreeding carries its own risks.The rare, genetic condition Edge pops up when a family bloodline is close to the levels of genes necessary to exploit the Luck-Intent Magic System, but not quite. This causes the evolutionary fitness of those within a certain threshold of the limit to drastically decline. For some, it causes hallucinations, while others report unreasonable anxiety.
Causes
The cause of the disease is the speciation of the magisters. Being of a different subspecies than humans, there are barriers to reproduction, although we can, and of course still are, operating our interbreeding operation. And, too, there is a price one must pay to gain access to magic.The disease is caused by defects in the genome, although no one in the world knows of this, nor of the existence of the genome. Instead, they attribute it to one or more of three things. The first is "the disease of the mind", a catchall term for all mental diseases. This is mostly used by humans. Within the Society of Magisters, a group of magic-capable people, more direct terms are used. One theory is that those that fail to access the will of the gods pay a heavy price. The other is that humans and magisters have been seperated so long that interbreeding is hard and can cause a significant decrease in offspring's fitness.
Symptoms
My mind... I don't know. There's no explaining it. It's almost like the world is out to get me... I feel this fear, and I don't understand it!The symptoms vary based on the severity of the condition. They also tend to set in during different times: for some, it shows at early adolescence, while others experience it during their adulthood. However, there are some general things in common. Many exhibit the signs shown below. Phase I: Frayed Edge
- Heightened anxiety: higher-than-normal levels of cortisone when confronted with highly stressful issues.
- Withdrawal: many on the frayed edge begin withdrawing from their friends, trusting only those in their inner circle.
- Susceptibility: they are more susceptible to other, more mundane diseases like a common cold or flu.
- Paranoia: High stress on even normal issues, often believes that the world or government is "out to get them".
- Distrust: By this stage, the person has likely withdrawn their trust from nearly everyone. In some cases, they confide trust in one person (the confidante), while in others they trust absolutely no one.
- Hallucinations: These may include voices in one's head, full visual hallucinations (some report "talking to Kali"), and tactile out-of-place sensations. These may be followed by passing out.
Treatment
The afflicted individual is to be contained immediately once symptoms are severe. They are to be kept out of range of any weapons and put under house arrest. That way, they don't do too much damage.There isn't much treatment for this disease, besides immediate house arrest and supervision. The prognosis of the disease is death within anywhere from five to ten years. In some cases, diseased people will be killed immediately, due to their threat to the community.
Type
Genetic
Death within a decade
Famous sufferers
Aryl Aban
Aldrich Aban
Chief Advisor Tahuan
Species afflicted
Human
Occurrence
Rare (1 in 20,000)
The Eye of Edge
I guess if there's one good thing about Edge, it's the Eye. But even that's terrible.The Eye of Edge is an uncommon, but not rare condition within Edge. The Eye allows people to perceive events that will occur, most usually within an hour or several hours. These events observed are all negative towards the interests of the viewer: maybe a great flood, or a fire. However, this Eye allows others to prepare for the coming of the event, and minimize loss of property and life.
Learn more about...
The Setting
An Afflicted Family
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This does read a lot like a medical text, as E.A. Saturn says, and that lends this article an air of authority (as well as some sense of Unreliable Narrator, which is fun). I'm curious, however, as to how prevalent is this condition in the population? Are there any methods used to try and prevent contracting The Edge, any methods the text has to disprove despite prevalent folklore insisting it works (Carl Sagan's The Cosmos had an episode disproving Astrology, and this came to mind while I was reading your article about "Who has spent an hour explaining how this folklore doesn't really work?")? Also, very clever and sneaky, getting your Family Affairs family in connection to this condition. (Am kidding, am kidding.)
Oh! I forgot! Who is this Lieutenant Auriel and why is he important enough to be quoted twice?
Ah, well, I’m pretty sure I put 1 in 20,000 in the sidebar, could you check that it shows up for you? And prevention wise it’s rare enough that it sometimes is attributed to demonic possession and stuff. Lieutenant Auriel is one of my characters, a magic capable person who has to contain and sometimes kill these guys.