Felestor

I am watching those I love around me collapse and fall into this scourge. Every day Salen gets sicker, her cough is getting stronger, and the headaches are forcing her to hide away in her bedroom. Carosyne is not doing any better, she has not left the bed for the past 3 months. I can only pray that the pair recover quickly. Please.

— Personal Journal of Syrrex Vanedoth

Felestor, also known as The Dark Plague, was a magical disease that ravished part of the continent during The Shatter. There were many who believed it was created by a wizard strongly associated with the Black Locust.

Description

Felestor was a plague that would often remain hidden within an individual as it was slowly tearing away at their internal organs. The most common sign of Felestor was a black liquid produced when someone infected coughed, this liquid was non-corrosive to those infected, but would burn those un-infected.

As someone entered the end stages of the disease, their forms looked sallow, malnurished, almost as if their body was eating them from the inside out. A web of dark veins patterened their skin, pulsing whenever magic was used either by the infected, or a person within a small radius around them.

After a person passes with Felestor, their form immediately seems to drain, becoming a husk of the person who once was. In some rare cases, this husk was filled with a sense of undeath that had to be dealt with.

Felestor

General Information

Also Known As	The Dark Plague
Type	Magical Disease

Biological Information

Symptoms	Aggressive Cough Headaches Fatigue
Transmission	Airborne
Source	Unkown Inventor

History

The full origins of Felestor are unclear. There are texts that describe the first infections being administered by a figure wearing a mask that seemed to resemble a Death Beetle, covering the eyes and most of the figure's face. This figure is said to have administered the infection through the casting of some dark spell in the southern lands of Fieldas, south of the Uskia Plains. While no exact date has been given for this date, people believe this first infection was in the first millenium of The Shatter.

The first epidemic of Felestor was said to have wiped out all life in the region it infected people. Those in the middle and northern reaches of Fieldas looked for answers to help those infected. After three years of searching for answers, leaders of the nations chose to build walls to divide the infected regions and protect their populous who remained uninfected. This quarantine was successful in curbing the epidemic, with the dead bodies of those infected eventually either decomposing, or being divinely sealed under the ruins of southern cities.

The second epidemic was disasterous for the continent of Rand'vor the largest population centres became infected with Felestor at some point in the last 200 years of The Shatter. Many in the regions now held by the Ossalimarian Empire and Daunka Province were killed by the infection. It took the combined forces of four Heraldic Gods empowering a select few chosen mortals to save as much of the population as they did. Within this party, one sacraficed themselve and took the infection into their form, becoming something else. Sealed in a coffin buried deep within an arcane vault, they were the final infection of the second epidemic.

Curing the Disease

During the first major epidemic of Felestor, many archmages and scholars spent a significant amount of work looking to cure those who were infected. Many of these efforts were looking for an arcane solution to counteract the effets of the disease. However, none was discovered before the quarantine removed the epidemic from being a problem.

The second epidemic was even less fruitful, with many of those seeking divine help in removing the disease, believing that only the work of a god could remove that of another. This was a mistake, as the disease seemed to be resistant to divine magic particularly, speeding up the decay of the disease.

As notes were discovered about Felestor in the first few weeks after The Parting, some modern druids and alchemists worked to see if they could discover a new solution for the problem. Eventually combining arcane secrets with the bloom of an extremely rare flower, alchemists developed a serum that should theoretically be able to surpass the effects of Felestor. Thankfully they've not had to be used, but they exist should the need arise.

Notable Inflictions

Name	Pronouns	Description
Tharin the Bold	She/Her	Orc Warden. Tharin was a Warden in the southern reaches of Fieldas during The Shatter. She was among the first inflicted with Felestor and the only named person from the first epidemic to remain in history books as of 755 AR. She was said to be a great leader, but turned sour after the infection, her cruelty looking to spread the disease as far as possible, without care for anyone else. Her downfall is documented as one of the darker turns in Fieldan history.
Daedron	He/Him	Gnome Champion of Boldir. Daedron was among the chosen champions sent to Rand'vor to help with the second epidemic. As a champion of Boldir, his powerful radiant magic helped to rid the continent of the dark necrosis that was overtaking it. Seeing no way to end the infection without letting everyone die, Daedron called upon the power of Boldir to place the infection in his form, allowing as many people as he was able freedom from the infection. He worked alongside a fellow member of the party to trap his infected form in a coffin sealed to protect the realm from the infection.
Walthan Carenvale	He/Him	High Elf Armor Smith. Walthan is an ancestor to the current Duchy of Carenvale, he was infected during the second epidemic alongside several other members of the Carenvale family. While many of the infected passed away, Walthan ended up freed from his infection by the action of Daedron, leading to his escape from the infected areas and eventually reclaimation of the area that his family were from at the end of The Shatter.