Fahreed's Disease

A fact of life for people living on Jeharr are Rift Conduits. Rift Conduits are people born with exponentially more powerful connections to the Sea of Sparks. So powerful is the flow in such individuals that their Rift’s flow takes on a distinctive nature, be it like the ordered and concentrated magic lay lines, or the chaotic magics of ancient times. It is believed that an individual’s personality, desires and experiences can influence the nature of this magic, and vice versa. However, the substantial research already made into this subject currently remains largely inconclusive.
The Spark energy that would normally be called a "stream" in an ordinary person, is more akin to a raging rapid or river in a Rift Conduit. Be it the nature of the magic itself, or the inability of the individual to control its raw power, young Conduits can pose severe threats to themselves and those around them. The young Conduits suffer from magical side effects due to their powerful connection to the source of magic. The side effects are called Fahreed's Disease, a condition so dangerous that it proves fatal in 4 out of 5 cases and its dangers also often extend to those around the afflicted individual.

Causes

Fahreed's Disease is a magical condition caused by a Mortal's natural Rift becoming an uncontrolled flow of energy from The Sea of Sparks. This seems to happen at birth, but does not become apparent until the age of 13 among humans, but the age at which the individual shows symptoms of their condition varies based upon effected individual's species.

Symptoms

Symptoms manifest in catastrophic magical effects such as:
Erupting into an ball of flame, engulfing everything in a 20 foot radius.
Emitting a deadly gaseous poison from the ears, eyes, mouth, and nose.
Becoming incorporeal and slowly slipping beneath the ground, never to be seen again.
Turning into a potted plant along with every other living creature in a 100 foot radius, permanently.
Turning everything and everyone touched into crumbling obsidian before becoming obsidian.
And many other, seemingly random, magical effects.

Treatment

As it stands, despite thousands of years of research, there is no treatment for those afflicted with Fahreed's Disease outside of apprenticeships for survivors under older, more experienced survivors. There is no known way to even determine which individuals are afflicted with the disease until they show their first symptoms.

Prognosis

While an individual contracts Fahreed's Disease at birth if they are born as a Rift Conduit, they remain completely asymptomatic in 100% of cases until the creature comes of age. In humans, it is precisely 13 years from the moment of their birth that they show their first, and typically last symptom. Those who survive the initial symptoms and are capable of bending their enormous magical power to their will become sorcerers, arcane casters who draw on their internal well of power to cast spells. Some do not gain control over their magical power and an unlucky few continue to experience uncontrolled, dangerous magical events until their deaths.

Epidemiology

The most dangerous aspect of Fahreed's Disease is that it seems to be almost completely random as to which individuals it occurs in. While it cannot be transmitted outside of the random acquisition that takes place at birth, the disease's effects pose a threat to both the afflicted individual and indirectly to those around them.

History

Fahreed's Disease is the term given to the phenomenon that creates sorcerers. Historically Fahreed's Disease varies in commonality, but is nearly universally apart of coming of age ceremonies all across Jeharr. In most places in and near The Old Ackramorian Empire, this ceremony is called The Walk. The rate at which Rift Conduits are born seems to be related to level of chaotic magic present on Jeharr. Extreme magical weather/planar events correlate to a sharp rise in the rate of Rift Conduit births.

Cultural Reception

While Fahreed's Disease is revered for its potential to create powerful sorcerers, it is generally viewed as an affliction to be feared. In some places, survivors are herded into facilities for containment and study.

Type

Magical

Origin

Magical

Cycle

Chronic, Congenital

Rarity

Rare