Moonblight

Moonblight, (ARV. al siraqaa) is a disease caused by the regular consumption of an Arventiri folk remedy for headaches, nightmares, and behavioral issues over a prolonged period of time.

Causes

In more rural areas of the Pāll-tanír, it is believed that chronic pains of the head and chest, chronic insomnia, nightmares, and sleep-deprivation, and behavioral and developmental issues are caused by desert demons that arrive in sandstorms to possess pregnant women and the vulnerable.
In order to counter the influence of these demons and, ultimately, expel them, sufferers of the aforementioned conditions are given a solution of colloidal silver, goldendew tea, and milk. The solution is taken once every day, twice on the three days leading up to the full moon, three times on the day of the full moon, and twice on the three days following the full moon until the individual is better.
To those who believe in the efficacy of this treatment, moonblight is a sign that the treatment is failing and that the demon is starting to take over the patient in question. However, it is the treatment itself that is the cause of the disease known as moonblight due to the buildup of silver and the metabolic byproducts thereof in the patient's body.

Symptoms

The first signs of moonblight are rather difficult to spot as they involve the gums turning grayish-brown. As the condition progresses, the patient's skin turns slate-gray, metallic, or bluish-gray. This can happen in only one area of skin, but it can also spread across a larger area. In advanced stages of the condition, all of a patient's skin might take on this discoloration. The sclera and nailbeds might also experience this discoloration.

Treatment

There is no known cure for moonblight. Individuals who suffer from this condition in the rural areas of the Pāll-tanír are forcibly segregated from their communities. In extreme cases, they are locked away under the mistaken belief that the "demon" taking over them will cause them to go berserk and do harm to the community.
In 340.30 NL, the Grand Rookery authorized an inquiry into possible methods of treatment for moonblight. As part of the initiative, Dominion agents rescued a number of moonblight patients in the advanced stages of the disease from their communities and kept them under observation in a facility in Madras. Over the course of the year, a number of different therapies were attempted but the only one that proved effective was the use of blood magic to manually extract the silver from the patient's body.
Though the treatment was slow to show significant progress, at the end of a six-month round of blood magic treatment, three patients showed a marked improvement, with a 20% reduction in skin discoloration, with the rest showing a 10% reduction. Efforts are being made to determine any way to speed up the treatment or improve its potency.

Prognosis

In most people, moonblight is largely benign. There is some evidence for reduced kidney function in humans, but patients report no ill effects from the condition.

Sequela

Moonblight is a benign condition to most of the population. Complications arise when one who is afflicted with moonblight regularly practices the use of arcane or eldritch magic. Depending on the stage of the disease, as silver is highly-receptive to enchantment and magical energies, when someone who suffers from moonblight uses magic, some of the energy that they harness to perform these spells are diffused around the body. This can interfere with natural biological processes, leading to harm. The precise nature of the harm caused, however, is unpredictable and varies from case to case.

Type

Physiological

Origin

Natural

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Rare