Burnout

Catalurgy beyond natural limits

While appreciated, your concern is unwarranted. I can do anything.

— A proud Genesist.

Catalurgy is magic in Cathedris; blood, known as Ichor, is harvested from the God-husks and fed through a Catalurgists veins, where the innate power is then able to be harvested and redirected.
This power comes at a sometimes very grave cost, however -- Burn. As the Ichor courses through the user's body, it lets creates heat and warmth all throughout the body. If not mitigated, the Burn can cause lasting damage known as Burnout, and ultimately, death.

Buildup of Burn

Burn by itself, or momentarily, is not enough to cause lasting damage. To Catalurgists, it is just the same as expending energy -- be it physical, mental, or creative energy. No matter what is being done, it takes energy, and Burn acts just like that. The danger comes from repeat expenditure over a long period of time, pushing the body farther than it can go, or taking on far too many tasks at once -- this is what will eventually lead to Burnout.

If I just push... a little bit more... I can get this done. I just need to hold on a bit longer.

— A Catalurgist under pressure.

For the most part with Catalurgy, this Burn is a physical phenomenon. Heat rises, and the body reacts to that -- burns, fire, charring, ash, all of that may come as a result of too much Burn. However, in some cases, Burn may cause mental damage as well, and Burnout may appear entirely invisible from the outside.

Burn can be handled, and Burnout avoided, through careful planning and usage of both equipment, and Catalurgy itself. For general everyday usage, a Catalurgist must work to keep their limits in mind, and not overdo things by doing too much magic. However, should the need arise for lots of magic to be done, they might need to bring in outside solutions -- this is normally done with ice packs, or heat pumps and cooling systems for the more wealthy Catalurgist.

Burnout

When an excess of Burn leads to Burnout, the outcome is never good; Burnout for a Catalurgist means either death, or the loss of the ability to do Catalurgy. Organs, muscles, and even bones can become brittle and charred from heat cycling and overloads of Burn. It's not uncommon for some Catalurgists to wear gloves or large jackets to hide the burnt skin and scars.

Once the damage is done, it's nearly impossible to recover. If the damage is done to organs and bones, a Catalurgist likely does not have that much longer to live, and effort is spent on making their last days comfortable instead of trying to heal them. Thus every organization, community, or country that employs Catalurgists for extended periods of time generally has an Ash Hall or two at hand for these unfortunate souls to rest within until their time comes.

Sure, I might've overdone it a bit... but look at everything I accomplished. I view that as a win, even at an early end. I just wish I had more time.

— Acceptance at the very end.

Report

Burn. Fresh. Covers about 80% of the Catalurgist's torso. Still in the hot stages, and it will be some time before the true damage sets in.

Survival unlikely. Recommend transfer to Ash Halls for end of life care.

Like the CSS you see?

It's not often we see a patient still walking with Burnout that big and that fresh. Have the Ash Halls been considered?

— Field Medic

Catalurgic Healing

Catalurgy is an incredibly powerful art, only limited by two things; the user's body, for purposes of Burn, and the user's intelligence, as the magic is generally built off of understanding and imagining. Some users, generally Transmutists, use their ability to heal wounds -- done through understanding the human form, the injury in question, and just what needs to be done to fix it.
However, despite efforts from many Catalurgists from across the world, none have figured out how to heal Burnout yet. Either the Burns are too intrinsic to understand enough to fix with Transmutive Catalurgy, or the magical nature of the wounds interferes with any attempts to heal it.

Read Next