Magic Burn

Magic Burn is a terrifying condition that haunts mages of all kinds, especially those that wish to craft their own unique spells. It is contracted by having an excess of magic in your body, and as such crafting spells is the primary method of contracting this condition, as spell creation requires the channeling of incredible amounts of magic. Though a rare condition, it is always a fear for mages, even those that don't craft spells, as the effects are horrifying and often times fatal. It had been especially terrifying until recently, as no cure or treatment had been found until 756 4.E. in the form of Segorious plant leaves. Even still, mages are wary to practice spell-crafting as contracting Magic Burn is never a fun experience.

Transmission & Vectors

Magic Burn is non-infectious.

Causes

Magic Burn is caused through a buildup of excess magic in the body, most often the bloodstream.

Symptoms

Symptoms of Magic Burn include: fever, weakness of arms and legs, chronic fatigue and sweating, severe reddening and burning of the skin, severe coughing (often times leading to coughing up blood), and severe pain throughout the body.

Treatment

The treatment for Magic Burn is a fairly recent discovery, and involves sealing the patient in a magic-tight room. This is to prevent more magic from entering the patient's body and exacerbating the patient's condition. The patient must also be wrapped in the leaves of the Segorious plant, which will extract and absorb the excess magic built up in the patient's body. These leaves must be wrapped around their arms, legs, and torso, as well as any other problematic areas, for periods of up to 3 hours at a time, at which point the leaves will need to be changed. Repeat until the magic buildup is gone.

Prognosis

Magic Burn most often begins as a sharp pain in magic-sensitive parts of the body, typically the hands, feet and center of the forehead. Depending on the level of spell that the patient was attempting to create, the condition will worsen at a different pace.
Over time the patient's body will begin to shut down, and this will be expressed through heaviness of limbs and chronic fatigue. This happens because the excess magic will slowly burn away at the patient's body, and the body tries tirelessly to fight it. This process will begin to reveal its effects after no more than 2 weeks. 
Soon the patient will begin to experience heavy sweating and severe pain throughout the body as the excess magic burns the patient's magic receptors. Severe coughing is also likely to begin at this stage, and will often result in the patient coughing up blood. The amount of blood that is coughed up will increase as time goes on. If not treated quickly during this stage, the patient may lose their ability to cast magic at all. 
During the final stage, the patient's skin will begin to turn red (or purple if the patient is a Chrysali) due to the magic starting to burn away at their skin. Once this stage is reached, it is likely that the patient will die.

Sequela

After contracting the condition, unless treated very early, it is likely that the patient will be unable to cast magic to their fullest capability. Strength and limb control are also likely to be slightly reduced (if treated during the early stages), though this effect can be reduced or even eliminated through physical therapy. After the early stages, however, recovery starts to show more side effects. 
Recovery from the middle stage of the condition is often very painful, and might begin to cause the patient to be unable to cast high-level magic or at all, depending on how early the treatment was administered. There may also be damage to the internal organs, specifically the lungs and throat. Treatment of these injuries with magic should be cautioned, and are not to be administered in any less than 6 months from the start of the patient's recovery. This is to avoid damaging the organs further if any traces of the condition are still present, as it will react violently to an introduction of magic.
Recovery from the final stage is not impossible, but the patient will be left with severe damage to their entire body, possibly rendering them comatose, and likely unable to move on their own or use magic ever again.

Prevention

The best way to avoid being afflicted with Magic Burn is to limit spell creation. Magic Burn can only be contracted through this process, and avoiding partaking in it is the only sure-fire way to avoid it. Other methods of protecting oneself from this condition do exist, but are less effective. Completely expelling all magic within your body after magical experimentation is a good way to prevent Magic Burn, and the success rate for this method is over 99%. However, this method can be dangerous if an inexperienced mage attempts it, as they may damage their magic receptors if it is done improperly. Other ways include wearing items that limit the amount of magic that can flow through one's body, as well as ingesting the leaves of the Segorious plant.

History

The first recorded case of Magic Burn was in 592 2.E., during the Great Spell Revolution. The person to contract it was a Human mage by the name of Holoris Retinger, who was a skilled Healing mage. She died quickly after contracting the condition after she tried to use magic to heal it, which aggravated the condition and caused her organs to violently explode.

Cultural Reception

Magic Burn is a terror among mages, and caused spell creation to be heavily discouraged for safety reasons. Contractors of the condition were pitied, as until recently no cure had been discovered, and they would die a painful death.

Type

Magical

Origin

Magical

Cycle

Short-term

Rarity

Rare