Reliquation

The cost of progress

It might be a little grotesque, but it could be a lot worse. I needed that surgery after my accident, and sure it left me with a few too many eyes, but the amount of Lightblood could have just killed me.

— Epignomus Leptis, discussing his condition

At its simplest, Reliquation is a physical response to a high concentration of Sorcery. Like the sorcery that causes it, the amount and variety of effects caused it to be called many different names. The term Reliquation comes from the fact that rare deformities caused by this illness were inerpreted by religious folk to be the impression of a deities' essence into a person. These afflicted individuals became living holy relics, until they passed from the illnesses' continued effects.

Health and Safety

Reliquation primarily affects those living in cities and near industrial centers. As the industry of the Blue shifts from worker-driven to gem-driven, the workers of the factories are more likely to be affected as well. Currently, less than 1% of the population of the The Trade Union is documented to be affected by Reliquation, but as people age they are more and more drastically over-represented in those numbers. The Empire provides no numbers on their cases, but it is assumed to be similar.

Cause

Reliquation is caused by a buildup of sorcerous energies in the body. A few studies, namely On the Prevention of Sorcerous Overflow in the Workforce, have proven that individuals are largely immune to the effects of their own sorcerous blood, even in extreme quantities. A Flameblood, even exposed to an uncased high-energy Flame gem, will not develop this condition. Anyone else, however, almost certainly will. A small to medium amount of this energy is almost entirely harmless. The Aether gives off a similar energy constantly. It is only with extreme doses, or over a lifetime of exposure, does this condition manifest. Most commonly, it is caused by the over-use of Lightblood healing. Unless the healed person is themselves a Lightblood, a large amount of magical healing will quickly induce Reliquation.

Transmission

Despite what sensationalist newsrags might claim, there are no confirmed cases of Reliquation being transmitted to a completely unaffected person. While there are some stories of a person in the late stages of the illness causing outbreaks around them, proof of direct transmission has never been found. It is possible, though highly unlikely, that the affected individual became suffused with sorcerous energy through a chronic symptom, which then caused people around them to start being affected. This claim is doubted by Academic scholars who have shown that the amount of latent energy needed to achieve something like this is very hard to achieve.

Treatments

As discussed below, Reliquation has a plethora of symptoms, and most of them require unique treatments. In some cases, there is only circumstantial evidence of their effectiveness. All of them need to be repeated for as long as the symptoms persist, as they have never been cured and can, or in the case of chronic conditions, will resurface. The following treatments are the most common.

• Excision: The affected part of the body can simply be cut off.
• Lightblood Pulse: The sorcery of a Lightblood can be used to temporarily halt or slow the effects of Reliquation. However, unless the afflicted is themselves a Lightblood, this only speeds the later development of effects.

Effects

Reliquation goes through several stages. Initially, it will appear like a natural illness, and the symptoms will fade over time and with treatment. However, the condition has not actually been cured and instead lies dormant. Eventually, new, more permanent symptoms will emerge, that only strengthen over time. All symptoms, chronic and temporary, can be separated into two groups: lethal and non-lethal. Lethal symptoms can be survived, at least for the temporary ones, but require drastic action to avoid killing the affected person.

Temporary Symptoms

Non-Lethal

Lethal

• Discoloration. Colors appear on the body and can appear to shift or swim across the flesh.
• Hallucination. Afflicted individuals hear and see things that are not there. Most commonly a voice is heard that speaks in an uncomprehensible language.
• Pyschosis. The belief that the individual's life is false, created to entertain some cosmic onlooker, grips them.

• Impermeance. Everything, including the ground, passes through the afflicted individual. They can still be seen. If untreated, the afflicted individual suffocates.
• Phantom Loss. A severe sense of grief floods the individual. Often, this is for something they are certain to have lost. This sensation will drive people to suicide if untreated.

Chronic Conditions

Non-Lethal

Lethal

• Growths. New appendages grow, varying in level of definition and use. They can be feathered, scaled, or without skin at all.
• Radiance. Individuals give off an aura, though it can be of a variety of things. Light, heat, cold, and darkness are common.

• Cessation. The afflicted individual will simply stop existing. Usually, this is a gradual fade, but has been recorded to be sudden as well.
• Abnormal Aging. The individual's age shifts quickly either older or younger. This can be slowed, but never fully halted.

History

Reliquation has been around for a very long time. However, due to its association with the Fullblooded, much of the information about it was purged from Imperial records. What has been preserved, largely due to the survival of a few sects, is the reason this disease was thought to be related to the Fullblooded. The deities of this religion had a few physical quirks, which largely were representations of their domains. The God of Rain, Ligo, had vines growing through his flesh. The Goddess of Flight, Vola, had several pairs of wings sprouting out of her back. A rare few deformities, caused by Reliquation, can appear to be similar to these quirks. For example, the afflicted person's veins can shift underneath the skin, appearing like vines growing. They can sprout new limbs, which can be feathered, though it would be a stretch to call them wings. These individuals were thought to contain a piece of a deities' essence, and were incredibly influential in their sects. Extremely pious individuals sometimes tried to achieve this status, though few suceeded. During the early industrialization of the Blue, Lightblood healing techniques were developed and expanded upon, which drastically increased the amount of cases.

Discovery

As stated previously, Reliquation was studied under many different names for a long period of time. As such, the discovery of Reliquation is instead when it was discovered that all of these seemingly disparate effects were caused by a single underlying condition. This feat of medical science was achieved by Astaphium Taenaris, who noticed that the aged residents of Boreana had a very high likelihood of developing physical deformities, and tracing the cause back to the Skyblood-operated collection rigs of the town. The sect of the Fullblooded known as Ligo's Blooms had a large presence in the town at the time, and this is likely what caused the name to be used for the wider disease. Later developments, also studied in Boreana, showed that the Skyblood workers of the rigs were far less likely to contract this illness, despite their much closer relationship to the sorcery used.

Effect on Society

Imperial

Free Worlds

The most notable change in Imperial society was the changes to airships, mainly warships. Each vessel is powered by a Flameblood engine, which could easily inflict every non Flameblood sailor with Reliquation. As such, thick casings were installed around each engine. It has yet to be seen if this will have any effect on cases among sailors.

The Trade Union, in a remarkably fast two and a half years, passed sweeping changes to Clans that operate factories. In-factory housing was banned, and Clans were incentivised to move production further away from population centers. However, these regulations only specified worker-sorcery, and so this has also pushed Clans towards more gem-powered technology, which is almost certainly more dangerous.

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General Information

Type of Illness: Chronic, Acquired
Discovery Date: 47 Zenith, 16 RA

Rate of Affliction

Ages 0-10: 0.1%
Ages 11-20: 0.6%
Ages 21-30: 2%
Ages 31-40: 8%
Ages 41-50: 16%
Ages 50+: 39%

Timeline

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