Titanite Plague

An illness that has plagued Vestria since the Draconic War, the Titanite plague has been a source of great fear and heartache for the continent.

Transmission & Vectors

The current belief is that the plague is transmitted through mana. How this is possible has baffled researchers for ages.

Causes

Legends state that the plague was brought on by ancient dragons in the final days of the Draconic war as one last attack against humanity before the race died out.

Symptoms

In its early stages, victims of Titanite typically experience nausea, fatigue, and headaches similar to that of a common cold. Because of this, the illness often goes undiagnosed early on when it is most treatable.
What sets the plague apart is that even soon after contracting it, victims will begin to feel pain when they use magic. While the pain often starts as a minor, if noticable, discomfort, it escalates as the sickness progresses to the point that even the smallest spell becomes agony for the caster.
Outside of the metaphysical, the later stages also cause the victim to fall into a coma, wasting away as skin conditions resembling scales to begin to appear in patches on the body. If medical aid is not used swiftly by this point, the victim will assuredly die.
Oddly, the disease seems to affect animals differently than how it does humans and elves. While animals still seem to experience similar symptoms and often die from it, they often don't end up in comas. Instead, the scaling becomes more pronounced as well as the animals exhibiting greater hostile behavior. The disease seems to mutate them into lindrakes, allowing for the condition to be passed on to its offspring.

Treatment

It is imperative that victims of the plague seek medial help as soon as possible.
The only known way of treating the illness is to have a trained River mage interrupt the flow of mana in the victim's body, drain it, and allow for their reserves to be replenished naturally.
Because of the high level of skill required as well as the risks asociated with it, such help is difficult to find outside of major cities.

Cultural Reception

The Titanite plague is feared by all. Reports of humans and elves contracting the disease are taken extremely seriously with it not unheard of for entire villages being quarantined after a single home becomes infected. Likewise, should reports come in of lindrakes roaming the area, a hunting party will be dispatched within days to remove them.

Type

Magical

Rarity

Uncommon

Affected Species

• Dwarves
• Human
• Elf
• Half-Elf
• Crystalborne