The Khordai Plague
The Khordai Plague was a disease that ravaged the land during the Silver Age and helped end the dominion of the Elves upon the world. The Khordai Plague was first contracted when explorer ships discovered the lost continent of Rarkhen, a lush jungle populated by strange creatures. Those creatures had a plague on them that, when the explorers returned home, they spread across the land. The plague would kill elves within weeks, and turn humans into twisted monsters commonly referred to as khordai(singular: khor). As time went on, the Plague infected less and less people until it almost completely vanished, leaving behind remnants and myths about the strange Khordai that were birthed from it.
Transmission & Vectors
The Khordai Plague is transmitted via contact with the skin of a person infected for more than two weeks, but less than three, the blood of a newly-infected Khor, or the blood of a denizen of Rarkhen. Thankfully, if the newly infected don't infect more people within the span of a few months, the infected Khor lose the ability to spread the disease. That is how the Khordai Plague mostly died off, leaving the Khordai behind.
Causes
When the blood of a recently(3 months at most) infected Khor, or a denizen of Rarkhen comes in contact with healthy human or elven blood, fungal spores from Rarkhen are transmitted into the body, and spread from inside. After a few months, the spores die off if they aren't passed onto another victim. That is how the Khordai Plague was mostly defeated.
Symptoms
At first, symptoms may include high fevers, hallucinations and rage. In about two weeks, tumors will grow around the body, and the infected will appear dead. Within a month, the infected will have turned into a Khor, and will have many feelings replaced with rage. The symptoms are the same with elves, except for the fact that the disease ends in death.
Treatment
The most effective treatments are putting the body through extreme heat to kill off the infecting spores. There are also some magical spells that can be used to cure the disease.
Prognosis
The infected will begin to lose their mind within around a week's time. Within two weeks, the infected will have started to grow large tumors, and can spread the disease via their skin. Within a month, the infected lose the ability to spread the disease via the skin, and their body will be almost unrecognizable and they will have become a Khor.
Affected Groups
Adults, Men, Women...practically anyone at all.
Prevention
There were no known ways of being protected from the disease other than staying away from infected.
Epidemiology
The disease first spread from ports harboring explorers that have been to Rarkhen. The disease spread across the city first, then, after having ravaged the city, the newly created Khordai would spread across the countryside and target smaller villages. Since High Elves lived very close to the point where the disease first broke out, their populations were hit even harder.
History
The first outbreak was in King's Harbor, in the old kingdom of Thessaryn. The disease spread around and reached the dominions of the High Elves, ravaging the population there before making its way West, and North, hitting the kingdom of Wessaryn, and expanding to the other kingdoms of man. After the first outbreak, the disease petered down, and left ten of thousands--perhaps even hudreds of thousands of Khordai out roaming the lands of Terras.
Cultural Reception
After the outbreak and petering down of the original disease, Khordai were viewed as sad victims. As time passed, people started to realize that the infected had lost all sense of compassion, and human feeling and only cared about rage. Khordai became creatures to be feared. If you were a farmer, you'd call the local militia to attack a Khordai camp before the Khordai decided to raid your village.
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