Creeping Darkness

"It's not the fact that most beings are susceptible to creeping darkness that worries them. It's the idea that there's something crawling in you and feeding on the magic in your veins that freaks people out."

— Dustin Mersads, 1st year med student

Transmission & Vectors

The "creature" in nature was created to stop the effects of Spell Stress which hits people who have cast either too many spells within a short time period, or who have cast spells needing energy beyond what they possessed at the time of casting. Originally it was a medical supplement, a potion, that was swallowed by the patient to aid in recovery from their mental fatigue. Then there was a potion spill at a factory working outside of the occupational safety standards, and a mutation occurred that allows it to "piggyback" onto other illnesses and diseases.

Causes

The beginning of the condition's cycle normally starts with the mutated version being picked up from another illness, which means that a person is going to be sick from something else first. Because of that, they might not realize that some of the symptoms are from Creeping Darkness and not the other problem they have.

Symptoms

Beginning Symptoms include:

• darkening veins (hence the term "Creeping Darkness")
• enlarged tastebuds, causing foods to be viewed as having too much of the main taste (too salty, too sweet, etc.)
• darkening of the eye whites, when then progresses to a darkening of the iris.

Middling Symptoms include:

• pure black veins protruding from the skin
• mottled skin around major organs
• urine stained a bit dark
• fatigue 
• magic stamina depleting 

Advanced Symptoms include: 

• bruises all over the body
• skin that's tender to the touch 
• a faint haze of shade when using eyesight
• a lack of magic 
• blindness 
• a lowered range of hearing 

Treatment

Treatment is easy enough when the disease is caught early on. When the beginning symptoms show, a person has about 2 days to take a potion and be the end focus of a spell cast by two medical professionals.
However, when the symptoms have moved into the middling range, that's when treatment becomes complicated. The patient must stay for observation and treatment overnight at a hospital. There are four different potions to drink, one to treat the Creeping Darkness and the other three to treat the symptoms its brought about.
These potions are harsh on the body and may end up with results that further harm the body, such as heart attacks, heat stroke, etc.
Each potion much be made by a certified crafter, and the spells needed at both levels have to be cast by a certified castrix.
When the disease is in the advanced range, it becomes almost impossible to treat, with less than 10% of patients being cured by that time.

Prognosis

The condition is not fatal, even if it's left untreated. The problem is that there are too many negatives for most people when the disease has been left until advanced stages.

Prevention

Prevention of the Creeping Darkness is easier than people tend to think it is. A person needs to be hygienic, wash their hands with soap, and to take care of themselves when they first fall sick. The problem comes when a being is required to seek a doctor earlier than most are willing to admit they're sick.

Epidemiology

Most of the starting points come from a singular person. That person, when they were sick, took medicine to mask the symptoms and continued to go out and about. Since they didn't realize they were sick with Creeping Darkness, they were spreading it around the community. 
For the most part, summer is when many more people are infected due to being in places without shoes and socks on (and forgetting to wash their feet). During summer it's mostly seen among school-aged children since they're out on vacation, but can quickly spread to adults who have been on the beach). 
When a flare up occurs, depending on how the city reacts, the resulting "clean up" could take anywhere from one week to several months.

Cultural Reception

Cultural Reception is mixed as there are so many different beings and cultures in Treford. For some people, they will never come into the hospital for treatment as they don't believe in magic (spells) but do believe in potions. Others believe the opposite, that spells are okay but potions are not. There are a few cultures that want to keep the looks gained by the Creeping Darkness (the darker eyes, the bulging dark veins, etc.). 
For the most part, there are campaigns that go to all levels of schools, posters put in public areas, and other ways to remind the general public to go to a hospital or doctor immediately if you suspect you have it.  And this tends to work for most of the city.

Origin

Mutated

Cycle

Short-term

Rarity

Common