Arcane Deterioration

Arcane deterioration is a magical condition caused by extreme overuse of Thyic above one's personal capacity. It is almost always a lethal condition, but it is very preventable with the proper means and education.

Classification

Arcane deterioration is a negative energy disease. This means that it causes the body to have a negative threshold for magic, which then causes imbalances within a patient's body.

Transmission & Vectors

While arcane deterioration is generally acquired through overuse of Thyic, it can also be transmitted to other individuals in its later stages. This type of transmission is much more deadly, as often the person who has contracted the disease is not aware they've contracted it until much too late.

Treatment

When administered carefully, the effects of arcane deterioration can be reduced through the use of Amyth. Because this condition is a negative energy disease, proper use of Amyth in less severe cases can restore a person's arcane threshold above negatives, reducing the condition to the less severe energy death.

Prevention

The practice of knowing one's limits when casting spells and harnessing magic is taught at the most basic levels of any sort of magical learning in schools, and is the main key to preventing this condition. To prevent the disease from transmitting from a diagnosed patient, arcanopathologists work in ABSL-3 labs.

Type

Magical

Origin

Magical

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Uncommon

Stages

Stage 0: Infection

Stage 0 is the stage of the condition when it has just been contracted. This stage has relatively few symptoms, and is sometimes hard to catch. For the first few days after contracting arcane deterioration, a person will experience occasional nosebleeds and soreness around the throat, and feel extremely tired and sometimes fatigued. This stage lasts for a typical minimum of 2 days and maximum of a week.

Stage 1: Temporary Recovery

After stage 0 is over, a patient with arcane deterioration will recover and feel fine. Usually this stage is also accompanied by semi-intense cravings for random foods. The patient tends to feel very energetic during this stage, and will often insist that nothing is wrong with them. Over the course of this stage, the patient will feel the need for less and less sleep, and sometimes will experience insomnia alongside this.

Stage 2: Hallucination

Around 3-4 weeks after stage 1, a patient will begin to experience hallucinations. These hallucinations are believed to be caused with Auras interacting with their visual fields, along with the sleep deprivation caused by the previous stage, and can be either audio or visual, or even audiovisial in more extreme cases. These hallucinations can lead to paranoia and a further lack of sleep, leading to stage 3.

Stage 3: Pain & Hunger

Stage 3 begins around a week after stage 2, and during it, a patient will experience extreme pain, sometimes compared to that of being stabbed repeatedly around the chest and head areas. While some have been able to maintain function during this stage, the vast majority of people are debilitated by this pain and become bedridden. They will also begin experiencing excruciating hunger, which cannot be relieved with any amount of food. When treated by an uneducated professional, this can lead to overfeeding and sickness due to that.

Stage 4: Paralysis

Typically a month or so after stage 3, a patient will begin to experience paralysis, starting from their extremeties before making its way to their torso and head. In order to stay alive in this stage, a patient must be externally fed. They are still aware and fully conscious in this stage, and this is the stage where the condition becomes communicable. This stage lasts for about 3-5 months before progressing into the next stage, and it is the last stage where treatments to regress the progress of the disease are possible.

Stage 5: Arcane Rot

Upon reaching the final stage of arcane deterioration, a patient experiences what is known as arcane rot. This syptom target the body's muscles, which have generally weakened enough due to lack of use from the previous stage. A patient's muscles will begin to disintegrate and dissolve into the body in a highly painful process for the still-conscious patient. At this stage, there is no known cure for the condition, and the patient's loved ones will often request a medically-assisted death for the patient by the time they reach this stage.