Stennenhűm
Transmission & Vectors
A side effect of overdosing on or cold-turkey quitting use of the drug Urplicht.
Symptoms
The body of the afflicted individual calcifies into stone. In the case of an overdose this happens extremely quickly, 15-20 minutes from overdosing the body begins calcifying, starting from sites of weakness/injury and spreading from there. The entire body is solid stone no more than 5 minutes later. Withdrawal calcification takes much longer, beginning within two days of not having at least one dose per day and full calcification occuring up to two weeks later.
Treatment
In withdrawal calcification, symptoms can be reversed by receiving an application of the drug. In the case of overdose, amputation of the affected limbs/areas is required, along with application of the catalytic agent . Particularly skilled/valued sufferers may receive prosthetic replacements.
Prognosis
Stennenhűm is invariably fatal unless intervention occurs before full calcification.
Prevention
The only way to avoid Stennenhűm is through carefully monitored use of Urplicht, with a metered weaning program for individuals suffering from addiction.
History
The first documented case of the affliction Stennenhűm came some 50 years after the Amaranthine Republic first encountered the Gammaeus. This is due to changes in the modern formulation of Urplicht using Gammaean alchemical products. The first documented fatality was the hero of the Republic known only by his given name Vergemart, one of the Belaanheld.
Cultural Reception
The Amaranthine Republic honors those who die to Stennenhűm as martyrs of the State, paying a stipend to the family of the fallen and extolling their virtue and sacrifice. Those of the upper classes see it as a noble sacrifice to the cause, while to the lower strata it is seen as merely a regrettable fact of life. The bodies of these martyrs are claimed by the State, who then (after some careful sculpting) use them as statuary in the capital, complete with a plaque honoring the fallen "hero".
