Pale Rot
The Pale Rot has borne many names over its long existence, being called the Noble's Curse by the elves, the Red Fever by the aarokacra, the Sunscorn plague by the eastern plains people and The Hallowing by the dragons. Regardless of what name it bears the pale rot is a cruel and insidious disease that ultimately does not take the life of its victim but actually extends it.
Transmitted through contact with contaminated blood, the individual may not even be aware of infection at first. For the first symptom is actually a sharpening of the senses, a dulling of one's survival instincts, and an increasingly acute reaction to pleasure. The result is an individual who feels invincible, seems more skilled then usual, and who takes immense pleasure in even small joys. At this early stage they are at their most transmitable, with even a single drop of blood carrying enough strength to poison a well for days or even weeks.
As time progresses however, these effects slowly fade, resulting in an increasingly frantic pleasure seeking and risk taking. Their natural coloration will also start to fade, the vibrancy they experienced at the start of infection having begun to leave them. Eventually the senses will start to dull, a sense of paranoia will grip them, and nothing will seem to bring them even a single ounce of joy or pleasure. The end point of this stage is marked by the infected individual losing all the color in their skin, hair and even eyes while at the same time becoming thinner by the day. When this finally happens they will shut themselves away, fearing the sun.
The final stage may unfold in three different ways with the majority of afflicted emerging days or weeks later thin, pale, and appearing dead but still very much alive. At this point the disease will have run its course and burned itself out, resulting in an individual who although unaging, will also struggle to feel any sense of joy or pleasure. They will also require frequent infusions of blood, though their bodies will be surprisingly resilient in this way and will accept blood not only of other types but from other species, even animals. Weak, frail and unable to stand directly in the sun without suffering intense burns, the surviving individual may in a sense be immortal their life is a fragile one marked by melancholy and misery.
The unlucky ones who do not fall into the first category technically survive the metastasizing infection though their minds rarely do. The majority of these individuals will suddenly swell up, their bodies producing an excess of blood, causing their veins to expand. When this happens the paranoia and desire to isolate themselves will vanish and they will seek the assistance of others immediately while also losing most higher brain function likely due to excessive swelling in the brain. Unfortuantely they will explode after being exposed to the sun for an extended period, erupting like a overfilled water balloon, spreading the disease through blood to skin contact. A small minority of individuals will at this point undergo a brief but horrifying metamorphosis. Their nails will lengthen their teeth will grow to the point that they almost don't fit in their mouth and they will be overcome with an intense blood lust. Not only that but these growths are not clean, and their fingers and mouths will drop flesh blood constantly, no longer able to clot. Attacking anyone and everyone in sight, they rampage without thought until they are eventually slain, which is difficult in itself as they no longer seem to feel pain or possess any self-preservation instincts. Bleeding constantly, they easily spread the infection with every bite and scratch they make, propagating this illness to any they come in contact with.
Curing the Pale Rot is only consistently possible during the earliest stage of infection. At this time the individual must fast for several days, receive as much sun exposure as possible and refraim from taking any action with may bring them physical pleasure. Combined with intermittent blood letting and moving around as little as possible, the individual will usually be able to fight off the disease with no external assistance. The use of magical healing does little to cure the pale rot, erasing only the symptoms while rarely doing anything to truly help the infected individual. Only high level spells can truly cure the pale rot, though even then it is still a coin flip if they have actually managed to purge the illness completely. Curing Pale Rot during later stages is completely impossible, with most medical textbooks suggesting the euthanization of the individual and the cremation of the body.
Transmitted through contact with contaminated blood, the individual may not even be aware of infection at first. For the first symptom is actually a sharpening of the senses, a dulling of one's survival instincts, and an increasingly acute reaction to pleasure. The result is an individual who feels invincible, seems more skilled then usual, and who takes immense pleasure in even small joys. At this early stage they are at their most transmitable, with even a single drop of blood carrying enough strength to poison a well for days or even weeks.
As time progresses however, these effects slowly fade, resulting in an increasingly frantic pleasure seeking and risk taking. Their natural coloration will also start to fade, the vibrancy they experienced at the start of infection having begun to leave them. Eventually the senses will start to dull, a sense of paranoia will grip them, and nothing will seem to bring them even a single ounce of joy or pleasure. The end point of this stage is marked by the infected individual losing all the color in their skin, hair and even eyes while at the same time becoming thinner by the day. When this finally happens they will shut themselves away, fearing the sun.
The final stage may unfold in three different ways with the majority of afflicted emerging days or weeks later thin, pale, and appearing dead but still very much alive. At this point the disease will have run its course and burned itself out, resulting in an individual who although unaging, will also struggle to feel any sense of joy or pleasure. They will also require frequent infusions of blood, though their bodies will be surprisingly resilient in this way and will accept blood not only of other types but from other species, even animals. Weak, frail and unable to stand directly in the sun without suffering intense burns, the surviving individual may in a sense be immortal their life is a fragile one marked by melancholy and misery.
The unlucky ones who do not fall into the first category technically survive the metastasizing infection though their minds rarely do. The majority of these individuals will suddenly swell up, their bodies producing an excess of blood, causing their veins to expand. When this happens the paranoia and desire to isolate themselves will vanish and they will seek the assistance of others immediately while also losing most higher brain function likely due to excessive swelling in the brain. Unfortuantely they will explode after being exposed to the sun for an extended period, erupting like a overfilled water balloon, spreading the disease through blood to skin contact. A small minority of individuals will at this point undergo a brief but horrifying metamorphosis. Their nails will lengthen their teeth will grow to the point that they almost don't fit in their mouth and they will be overcome with an intense blood lust. Not only that but these growths are not clean, and their fingers and mouths will drop flesh blood constantly, no longer able to clot. Attacking anyone and everyone in sight, they rampage without thought until they are eventually slain, which is difficult in itself as they no longer seem to feel pain or possess any self-preservation instincts. Bleeding constantly, they easily spread the infection with every bite and scratch they make, propagating this illness to any they come in contact with.
Curing the Pale Rot is only consistently possible during the earliest stage of infection. At this time the individual must fast for several days, receive as much sun exposure as possible and refraim from taking any action with may bring them physical pleasure. Combined with intermittent blood letting and moving around as little as possible, the individual will usually be able to fight off the disease with no external assistance. The use of magical healing does little to cure the pale rot, erasing only the symptoms while rarely doing anything to truly help the infected individual. Only high level spells can truly cure the pale rot, though even then it is still a coin flip if they have actually managed to purge the illness completely. Curing Pale Rot during later stages is completely impossible, with most medical textbooks suggesting the euthanization of the individual and the cremation of the body.
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