Bulette Fever

When the Powder gets into you and imparts it's frightful capabilities.

Suggested by Many and refined by Dejers.

The victim was seen alive as they left the Blackstaff Factory at 5 bells past mid-day. The victim had complained of being hot and feverish, was worried they had come down with something. According to their co-workers, they were told to approach the priests of HexTank on the morrow should symptoms persist.

The story picks back up at the third toll past morn of the next day. As an explosion issued forth from a residence on the Walls. Fire units arrived on scene in minutes and found busted glass and singed sand nets, but no structural damage. They entered the residence and found the bed of the victim had been left almost entirely untouched by the explosion of scorched viscera that had covered the entirety of the residence. Flesh of varying stages of toughness was recovered from the scene along with an almost entirely untouched skeleton. (Though it was almost entirely devoid of flesh)

Family of the victim confirmed the identity after finding a number of broken bones that matched the victim's recorded injuries. And after much investigation, we are forced to conclude that this is another verified case of Bulette Fever.

— From the Desk of Kannak's Investigative force.

A fever in the morning or at night, a lack of energy, a step too slow finding a priest to help, then a massive boom as you quickly leave this world behind and make your mark by sending your blood and skin everywhere. This is Bulette Fever.

Causes

The protector of Kanak calls down this plague on us, condemning those he finds especially repugnant to die in one of his glorious explosions. However, not to sleep in the Halls of the Exalted, but the dance in the fires of the seventh circle of hell, that of unrequited violence and destruction.

Ay, this is divine retribution and the will of HexTank shall be known to all! Hear the call of his explosions!

— The Ascendant's Barrel

Bulette Fever is an extremely rare condition with heavy investigation surrounding most reported cases. And in most cases the root of the supposed ignition is that of a sentient's endeavor rather than the actual infection itself. However, the few confirmed cases of Bulette Fever occur in areas that have a larger amount of Bulette Powder Creation; such as Kannak and Wetroot.

It is assumed that the infection begins through the vacuous ingestion of Bulette Powder. The vast majority of all confirmed cases of Bulette Fever are people who had a large amount of contact with Bulette Powder, such as Factory Workers, Artillery Men, Train/Airship Engineers, or Gunslingers.

Symptoms

The Bulette Fever is demarcated by a number of factors that can be used by a wise observer to quickly diagnose the fever and potentially put a stop to the infection before it spreads dramatically.
Chief among these is the upset stomach; starting a handful of days before, the victim starts feeling bloated and uncomfortably warm in different ways than usual. As the infection spreads, a fever comes over the victim until their forehead and stomach are hot to the touch. Extreme levels of fatigue generally ensue and send the victim stumbling off to sleep.
And that is where they generally spend their final night, too tired to do much more than lie there and sleep away the few hours of life they have left.

It begins with a stomach that feels as if you've eaten something tainted, that feeling can start up to a few days beforehand.
Then it grows to a fever as you feel it eating into your body, draining your energy for it's horrible purpose, and then you sleep. For that is all you can do, you wake up in the Halls of the Ascendant.

— Bulette Fever; the Modern Plague?

Treatment

Should the victim be diagnosed in time, either by self or via other observant people, a simple healing from a more proficient priest often clears it up without issue. Other groups utilize cuttings and incisions to relieve pressure and help victims to survive this condition should a proficient priest not be found.

Prognosis

The majority of those struck ill by Bulette Fever will die in an intense explosion that tears the flesh from their bones, shatters nearby windows, and damages the sanity of all who witness it. As such, it is considered extremely fatal to all who are truly afflicted.

Sequela

Of the rare cases of affliction, the number of those who truly survive this horrific affliction is astronomically small. The ones who do so without the aid of a priest or some otherworldly power are practically unheard of. However, those who have managed to survive are well documented for their style of survival.

I felt it inside me, it'd been building for the last several days but I ignored it. Nobody gets the fever, it's not a real thing that happens outside the novels and the tales. But even as I was making my way to the temple of the ascendant, I felt it broiling within me and I knew.
Do or die, flee or fight. So I mustered all the years of my experience in drinking and holding the booze down on those sweltering nights when the bluster is real and the ale tastes like it's been gleaned from the ass of an ass on a midsummers day, and reversed it. I vomited like I never have before, my innards stung as if they were producing new types of that harsh potato drink that had never been felt before.
It burnt my beard, that fire. It scalded my innards, that horrible gout of flame. But as I became as a Dragon-kin and shot fire from my throat an nostrils, those inside the temple I had gotten to the stairs of heard as well. They came running even as I collapsed on the earth and waited for my time on this world ta come to an end, recounting my ancestors back to Iwa.
And then they healed me! I can't eat Bulette Eggs anymore and the factory let me go due to the sniffles I get around the powder nowadays, but I've got another hundred years or so left in me.

— Bulette Fever; the Modern Plague?

The very few people who survive a case of Bulette Fever are known to have significant burns of the esophagus and have issues eating varying types of food afterwards, this is attributed to a permanently crippled digestive system.

Prevention

Some say that wearing face masks when dealing with Bulette Powder can help protect you from the horrible death, but due to the rarity of the affliction, it is hard to say if this is an effective tactic.
It is largely agreed that the best way to avoid the Bulette Fever is to avoid Bulette Powder entirely.

History

The condition is as old as the initial creation of the first types of Bulette Powder, with ancient stories recounting the death of rival goblin chiefs in this manner.
However, in more recent years, as the use and prevalence of Bulette Powder has grown wildly, the condition has also grown in prominence with an increased number of victims and a much larger presence in media and religion.

Cultural Reception

While the condition itself is extremely rare, public knowledge of the condition has grown exponentially due to an uptick in media depicting the death of prominent characters via Bulette Fever. It has grown to the point of having the archetypal downfall of a Gunslingers be the fall due to his job and work. Even as they approach their goals or final confrontations.

This week on Sandy Troubles Marcus Din, the gunslinger that had dominated the wild streets of Iwasunna over the last several months approaches his destiny, a massive confrontation with the offspring of the vile lich Vhaskus, Artrasus.
The creature has been creating horrible things that couldn't be called living and attacking the ancient walls that his forefather sacked so long ago. Yet Marcus recognizes the burning sensations within too late! Who can save Iwasunna... Nay! Who can save the world?!

— Trailer for "Sandy Troubles"

Type

Chemical Compound

Origin

Natural

Cycle

Short-term

Rarity

Extremely Rare

Where do these quotes come from?

The Desk of Kannak's Investigative force. is a public log of a curated selection of reports on interesting or high-profile cases in Kannak, it has been accused of being a propoganda mill.
Bulette Fever; the Modern Plague? was written in 1105 after a many year study on the condition in and around Kannak and other areas that heavily utilize Bulette Powder.
The Ascendant's Barrel is a religious guidebook put out by a fringe group of supporters of Hextank, Ascendant, generally denounced as loons, this group has slowly gained a following over the last several years.
Sandy Troubles is a popular newspaper serial in Araetule and Kannak that stars a number of errant heroes saving the world one city and disaster at a time, it has been said that it seems to copy/make fun of reported incidents that the The DraKaise Battalion and Renai Revenge Court undertake.