The White Reaper

Transmission & Vectors

Primarily spread through physical contact and airborne pathogens, the White Reaper was studied extensively by microbiologist and virologist Dr. Adrian P. Kesswick. He determined that the virus was carried for a period of several months, eventually causing flu-like symptoms that were unlikely to cause concern. The infected subject would then travel, interact with others, go to markets or restaurants, or otherwise come into physical contact with people or objects likely to be handled by people. The White Reaper was unique in its ability to survive outside of the body for up to a week, making it especially tricky to avoid, in public and in private.
Once infected, virtually every inch of a person became a dangerous vector, even their bodily fluids contained amounts of the pathogen that could be transmitted if mishandled. One particular case involved the dumping of wastewater that contaminated an entire field, and the farmers working it. Over 3,000 confirmed cases were traced back to the sale of their crop in the following months.

Symptoms

The White Reaper is easily identifiable by patches of skin dyed a pale white. The spots are advanced forms of magical necrosis, slowly growing over the course of the infection, severing entire limbs as it weakens ligaments, bones, and connective tissue into wet paper.
Other physical symptoms include severe headaches, muscle weakness, loss of vision, and a litany of lesser conditions that disguise The Reaper until white spots begin to develop.

Treatment

Rigorous treatment is required to cure The Reaper, and even then it must be highly invasive and proactively performed. Records indicate that those who are treated before a white patch is seen have a 45% recovery rate, those who are not treated until after are lucky to see 10%.

History

Early into the 1100s, seemingly out of nowhere, a viral outbreak swept its way across Norione, just as it began its independence from The Commonwealth. At first, in 1108, a small hamlet named Runimell contained all the existing cases in the world. In a paradoxical way, the spread worked against the virus, it moved from host to host quickly, killing just as fast. Runimell was rocked to its core and ultimately toppled, losing nearly 90% of its population within 2 months, the remainder quarantined by its neighbors to prevent a catastrophic spread. With its fuel nearly depleted and little opportunity to spread further, it was thought the disease would simply burn itself out.
The virus then mutated.
In 1119, the disease spread to farmlands surrounding Runimell, infecting its way through farmhands and village centers and traveling merchants and larger cities. This time, the infected carried the virus unknowingly for weeks before developing physical symptoms. It took less than 7 months for it to make its way into Norione, having infected over 230,000 people. The doctors and medics of the city named it "The White Reaper".

This entry is narrated by Xaro Voss

Type

Viral

Origin

Mutated

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Rare