The Mind Eater
There is no fear like that the Mind Eater brings.
Officially declared a parasite by the Orchid Obelisk in the 3rd century after the war, Intellectus Consuminum strikes fear in the hearts of communities everywhere. A parasitic disease that figuratively and literally devours a person's ability to think, reason, and even experience anything, robbing someone of their entire identity, it has been said to wipe out whole villages within a week, leaving empty husks and corpses lying all around. Most records kept are unverified, however, and, while a very real affliciton, the myth and folklore surrounding it make the fear of it that much worse.
Transmission & Vectors
No one is quite certain exactly how the parasite is transmitted, as it is often difficult to determine who patient zero of the disease is, and by the time an outbreak is discovered, several people have already died from it.
The best guess of the Orchid Obelisk is from unclean water sources, or infected wildlife found specifically around and in dark caves and isolated areas. No recorded infestations have come from a populated area, only transmitted after a journey into an isolated area. Once the parasite has infected a person, it can spread through contact, blood, food, or drink.
The parasite requires only a few hours to spread to the mind, and it causes death within 5 days. Transmission is still possible up to 36 hours after death, after which the parasite seems to die completely.
Causes
The formal name of the parasite is Intellectus Consuminum, and is colloquially known as the Mind Eater. Reports of outbreaks come from small villages on every continent, though primarily focused on Kelestra and Iliathi. No one survives contamination, but quarantine measures seem to work to isolate those infected. It does not appear to be transmitted by air, only through blood, food, drink, and contact. The custom for mountain villages is to have a home specifically devoted to quarantining those suspected of being infected.
Symptoms
What makes this parasite so dangerous and terrifying is it's quick, and painful degredation of mental, followed by physical functions.
The early stages of infection present as a fogged mind, forgetfulness, slight confusion. The patient might have a mild headache, but the symptoms closely resemble those of a poor night's sleep, exhaustion, or any number of common minor ailments.
After approximately 24 hours, the parasite begins to eat away at the brain matter of the head, resulting in increasingly worse headaches, loss of cognitive recognition, and mood changes. Depending on where the parasite makes its home, the patient can become violent, inconsolable, or, most often, prone to staring off into space. Many suffer from ravings and manic gibbering, talking of minds not being our own, and that the true masters will free us, come for us. Many commit suicide before they lose all ability to function, with the last dreges of coherent thought. Blood often seeps from the ears, eyes, nose, and mouth.
In 48 hours, the patient becomes riddled with severe agony, a complete break down of cognitive function, loss of speech, inability to walk, their communication reduced to screaming, whimpering, or no communication at all. At this stage, most patients stop all raving and violence, unable to form coordinated actions, limiting their danger to themselves or others. Most patients die between 48-96 hours.
Those that 'survive' to the 4th and 5th day are completely still, motionless, barely breathing. There eyes have gone pale, pale white, and their jaws slacken to a silent scream. Only the barest twitches and breaths indicate any sort of life left in the body. They are, in essence, a mindless husk.
There are historical reports of these husks getting up and walking into the wilds, though these may be ghost stories and folklore nonsense. No first hand accounts have been recorded.
Treatment
The Orchid Obelisk has been researching treatments for this affliction since the Dragon War. At best, they have stopped an infection with magic and heat within the first 12-24 hours. Disease curing spells, as well as spells protecting from evil influences have the best effects, while the parasite cannot seem to live if a fever over 105 can be induced for at least 6 hours. The most effective has been a combination of both.
There is no treatment yet discovered after 24 hours of infection.
Prognosis
If specialized treatment can be managed safely, within the first 24 hours, the patient will likely suffer from constant minor headaches and permenent long term memory problems.
Anything after 18-24 hours is death.
Prevention
If an infected person can be quarantined, with no contact to others, it prevents the spread of the disease. Any other measures are too ineffective. Hygiene does not appear to make a difference in the contamination, nor does the amount of contact, be it brushing against someone, or touching someone for a single second. Only complete isolation will prevent the disease from spreading.
Several mountain villages, where historical cases have become folklore, have a specialized house, next to the temple or shrine, called Eater's Crypts. When someone starts to show symptoms, they are moved into the Crypt for at least three days. Once more symptoms manifest, they are locked in the Crypt until they die, and 3 days after. A few places have a hermitage, outside the city, where those coming from expiditions, or have gotten lost stay for the three day quarantine period. Most call these hermitages the Eater's Lament.
Type
Parasitic
Origin
Mutated
Cycle
Short-term
Rarity
Extremely Rare
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