The Bloody Scourge
This letter is torn and dirt covered
To Burkhard, Archmage of Remia Academy of the Arcane,
I, Matthias, priest of the village known as Tusch, am writing to you in the faintest of hopes that this letter somehow reaches you in time. Our small village has become victims of the Bloody Scourge and in addition to a number of sick adults and elderly; we have over two dozen children who are showing signs of the disease. Enclosed is all the coin we have in our village in the hopes that we can purchase the services of one of your rune casters to at help these children pass the test the Gods have set before them. We've sent this letter and payment with our fastest rider in the hopes of reaching you before its too late to save anyone.
May Eher bless you,
Matthias
A scribbled note is attached at the bottom
Guess that God of Judgment found them wanting; the rider got attacked by bandits and his coin taken a day away from Llyne. Must have been one of the parents, he refused to leave the building until I promised I would take this to the Archmage personally. Add this to the archives as a record of the outbreak in 573. - Magus Augusta
Transmission & Vectors
Airborne. The spines of the pollen are covered in a shell that protects it from the high heat of the volcano's lava it is in this shell that contains the bacteria that causes the Bloody Scourge in people.
Causes
The Bloody Scourge is caused by microscopic spores attached to the pollen released by the Resurrection Tree. The Resurrection Tree is a type of tree found on the uninhabited volcanic archipelago south-east of Aryia, east of Rushil, and south-west of Tasnal Imperium that can only blossom when exposed to extreme heat. Until exposed to this heat, these trees are completely devoid of foliage, but when exposed to the heat caused by the fire and lava flow from volcanic eruptions their branches become covered in bright, colorful flowers. These flowering trees, release a large volume of pollen that gets picked up by oceanic air currents and can travel up to a thousand miles if the wind is fast moving enough. When a human breathes in this pollen, the spores that allow the pollen to survive the heat and journey across the ocean is buried in the lining of the person's lungs.
Thankfully, because the trees can only germinate and produce seeds with assistance from extreme heat, there aren't that many around, and the Bloody Scourge only happens every few decades. Unfortunately, the cause is not known to the people living in surrounding countries as there is no equipment powerful enough to see the spores. Due to this ignorance, some incredibly wealthy nobles who like the flowers have been trying to figure out a way to bring the trees to the mainland.
Thankfully, because the trees can only germinate and produce seeds with assistance from extreme heat, there aren't that many around, and the Bloody Scourge only happens every few decades. Unfortunately, the cause is not known to the people living in surrounding countries as there is no equipment powerful enough to see the spores. Due to this ignorance, some incredibly wealthy nobles who like the flowers have been trying to figure out a way to bring the trees to the mainland.
Symptoms
First Stage (days 0-8)
The patient is completely unaware of the pollen and spores that they have breathed in but, when the spores become attached to the lining of their lungs, it immediately starts to irritate the lining. This irritation causes an occasional cough, but the patient shows no further symptoms.
Second Stage (days 9-17)
The irritation increases until sores begin to form on the lining of the patient's lungs where the spores have become embedded. The patient develops a severe fever, and their cough becomes harsher and bloody.
Third Stage (days 18-28)
The sores begin to spread, forming on the patient's trachea up to their mouth, nose, and ears. The patient's fever worsens, and some will fall unconscious. Fainting is seen as both a blessing and a curse as with the increasing fever the patient's muscles will painfully spasm but even while unconscious they continue to bleed and are more susceptible to choking on their blood. The patients begin to show signs of weakness from blood loss. Children and older adults who already had weak immune systems or health issues will die at this point.
Fourth Stage (days 29-37)
The sores spread down the patient's throat and esophagus to their stomach. The patient is unable to eat heavy foods as anything beyond water or soup will be thrown up along with blood. The patient is typically incredibly weak at this point. Nearly every child under the age of 5 and adults over the age of 65 will die at this stage.
Fifth Stage (days 38-45)
The sores have covered the patient's stomach, and they are no longer able to keep down even water. At this stage even rune healing has a 50/50 chance of working and the patient will either starve to death, die from dehydration, drown in/choke on their blood, or die from fever.
Treatment
Runic Treatment
This is the most expensive method of treatment but also the most effective. The Rune Caster needs to cover the sufferer's torso, back, throat, neck, and face in runes as well as place the victim on a large flat surface that is also covered in runes. The rune caster must remain in contact with both the flat surface and the patient until the patient stops coughing up blood and bleeding from the nose and ears. This can take a few hours depending on how many sores cover the patient's lungs, throat, stomach, esophagus, mouth, nose, and ears.
Only the rune casters most proficient in healing can perform this treatment and because of this as well as the time and effort needed the treatment is incredibly expensive and viewed as being practically useless even though the patient is guaranteed to survive.
Non-Runic Treatment
This treatment is moderately effective and far less expensive. The patient is given salves and potions that boost their energy and increase their body's own ability to heal. Because this treatment is less effective, there is still a large chance of death. Especially if the patient's sores have spread to their stomach and are so numerous and large, they cannot keep even soup down. Most of these treatments are salves that can be rubbed onto the chest, back, neck, and ribs of the victim or potions made from herbs and plants that increase the victim's vitality.
Prognosis
People between the ages of 7 and 65 are more likely to survive the illness but survival is not guaranteed. Children younger than 7 and adults older than 65 are almost guaranteed to die from either blood loss or starvation.
Sequela
If the victim survives their bout with the Bloody Scourge, they are no longer affected by the spores.
Affected Groups
Any human who has not been infected before is susceptible.
Hosts & Carriers
The Ressurection Tree is the only carrier of the spores that cause the disease and they are only affected by the spores in that its part of their pollination process. Animals don't seem to be affected by it.
Prevention
In parts of Tasnal and the more religious areas of Aryia because the people believe the disease is a test placed upon man by the Gods they do nothing to prevent the arrival of the disease. In the capital of Tasnal, Lakgaria, and other large cities, the people believe daily worship ceremonies where they bring offerings of their best crops, pieces of meat, bottles of wine, or best trade good items will keep the Gods pleased and prevent the need for mortals to be tested again. In smaller towns on the outskirts of these countries, the people believe that if the Gods are freely given blood they will not unleash the Scourge upon them so every month the town performs a human sacrifice where the person being sacrificed volunteers or is made to volunteer to die for the good of the town or village.
The people of Rushil believe personal cleanliness prevents most diseases, so they use oils and ointments, created from plants that grow in and around the marshy areas they live in when bathing. They also perform daily prayers to their different ancestors where the burn a mixture of herbs and the person's favorite plant to watch over their families and provide those who will die safe passage to the afterlife.
History
Earliest Recorded Case
The first time the Bloody Scourge appears in written history, is in 543 B.R.C when Temmo the Shaman of Rushil wrote about the devastating illness that took the lives of all but one of his children.
Famous Cases
Llyne's outbreak in 423 is the most famous case. Less for the severity of the outbreak and more for what happened afterward with the murders committed by the Rune Caster Baron Gavriil Aukes in his mad quest to defeat death.
Cultural Reception
The common people of Tasnal and more religious people of Aryia tend to view the Bloody Scourge as a test from the Gods and everyone who survives the disease is considered to have the God's approval. They reserve their disdain for those who die as they were proven to be unworthy and rob the deceased of all decency by burying them in an unmarked mass grave.
Non-religious people and nobility of both countries view the victims as people who are to be pitied but unless the dead patient is a relative they do not do anything to prevent the deceased from being buried in little more than a giant pit.
Rune casters tend to view the Bloody Scourge as a mark of their ability as only the best can heal someone affected by it. Secretly they also view it as a challenge to figure out a better way to cure it but because of the legacy of Baron Gavriil Aukes they keep thoughts like this restricted to the company of like-minded rune casters.
The people of Rushil merely view the diseased as someone who has an illness and someone the village must do everything to take care of. If the person dies they are deeply mourned and their bodies are burnt on a pyre and spread on the family plot so they can watch and protect their relatives and descendants from the beyond as part of the Rushil Funeral Rites.
Type
Bacterial
Origin
Natural
Cycle
Short-term
Rarity
Uncommon
Average Length of Illness
45 days
Enjoyed the read of your detailed work. Whether you made them intentionally or not, there are some areas that could be used as plot hooks, such as, "...when Temmo the Shaman of Rushil wrote about the devastating illness that took the lives of all but one of his children." 'Why did that child live? Are there records of others survival?' Could easily be questions players ask. A question the illness follows the pattern between days as 8-9-10-9-8, any reason why that pattern? (There doesn't have to be a reason just a curiosity.)
I did leave those plot threads in there intentionally. They're ideas I just haven't gotten around to writing down yet. The days were just what I thought would be a realistic amount of time for each stage although, I am open to suggestions if there is a better distribution of time.