CoughLung
Mom took a deep breath through her nose. “It is true that royal and noble women are more likely to have problems giving birth than commoner women. That’s probably why commoners outnumber royals to such a degree. That, and royals sometimes come down with coughlung, but commoners don’t.”
“Will I come down with coughlung?”
“Most of you don’t. I don’t think you will, either.”
“Sunrise says if all the royals married commoners, then all the babies would be healthy. I think it had something to do with breeding pigs.”
Transmission & Vectors
Carried through Sea Predator bloodlines. About 1 in 9 Royals are born with the disease, though it typically does not manifest until the late 20s or early 30s.
Symptoms
A persistent cough that produces thick mucus and/or blood
Wheezing
Breathlessness
Exercise intolerance
Repeated lung infections
Inflamed nasal passages or a stuffy nose
Treatment
There is no known treatment aside from pain alleviation with some kinds of bark or bitefish liver near the end.
Prognosis
Most people don't last more than a decade after their first symptoms.
Affected Groups
Sea Predators, which are a particular race among the Human Variant: Sunfolk
Cultural Reception
Because there is a tension between the Royals/Nobels and the Commoners on StoneShell, many commoners see the disease as judgement from The Giver. These sentiments are tempered when a popular king is in power, and are exacerbated during unpopular reigns.
Due to the known death sentence that CoughLung brings, many Royals choose to do rash and dangerous activities when they see their first symptoms. It is shameful for a Sea Predator to die sick in bed, so males will often adopt bold political moves that have a high risk/reward ratio in the hopes of claiming some fame, whether in life or death.
Bowmark's Father and King of the StoneGrove Archipelago is one of many Royals with CoughLung
by Josh Foreman
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