The Scaling

Although disease is common in all of Karnum The Scaling or simply "scaling" is one of the most painful and drawn out deaths one can suffer caused by a disease.

Transmission & Vectors

Scaling is spread by the bite of carnivorous dinosaurs commonly found on the plains of Yuruk-Tar as well as well as many other parts of Karnum, although it is not as common to see as one might think simply because few survive a dinosaur attack, but for those few that survive the initial attack there is still a chance they won't survive still.

Causes

After a contagious bite from such a dinosaur as previously described the disease spreads through the saliva into the open wound of the victim. The virus then begins to mutate and kill the cells in the body in an abnormal fashion which gives it its name.

Symptoms

The first sign that the disease is present is that even after the weeks that despite bleeding having stopped long ago the wound will not have healed, this often causes the bearer to die from another disease however for those that survive for these few weeks the worst is yet to come. The wound will now begin to cause the infected pain at all hours of the day or night, anything touching the wound is now extremely painful and any attack, even the most minor, causes unbearable pain which will make the victim keel over in pain and howling. The exposed flesh will begin to harden, forming hard, dry, and coarse chunks of flesh or "scales" which will easily tear off, although not without significant pain for the bearer. If they are not torn off whether by accident or purpose the color of the flesh will change over months from red to a dark yellow and slowly darken to black, becoming more brittle as the colors shift.

Treatment

Although rest and herbs can cure the condition most of the time they merely slow the process and ease the pain, although this is not to be taken for granite in and of itself. The most reliable way cure the disease is through magic. Although it can be cured the parts that were rotted away cannot so easily be restored. As it is impossible for the body to regrow muscle and sinew naturally survivors will often have chunks of their body missing which forever cripple them. Besides curing the disease immediately or using regenerative magic there is no known way to restore these parts of the body.

Prognosis

After a few months of having the first stage of black flesh it will become so brittle that it breaking off will be inevitable, with it crumbling to dust and falling away. Despite the pain lessening as the process continues the flesh falling or breaking away still causes significant pain. Underneath the old wound will be yet another wound with no signs of healing. Depending on how bad the infection is the wound underneath will already have begun to shift in color however will be just as strong as the wound above was when it first started "scaling". This wound will go through the same process as the rest and this process continues until the infected person either dies from another outside cause or another disease or until their body has been too heavily damaged by the disease to function, usually anywhere from half a year to 5 years depending on where the infection started and what treatment has been attempted. The heartiest of the infected spent their last days with exposed internal organs. Those who were wounded on non-essential parts of the body such as the arms or legs find that after they have lost their limb the infection will spread up towards vital parts of the body and rot those away as well. Because of how insufferable the symptoms of the disease are many victims who cannot find or afford treatment will resort to suicide.

Type

Viral

Origin

Natural

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Uncommon