Poisoned Femur Madness

Also referred to as Asclepion Syndrome, Poisoned Femur Madness is a condition that turns any sentient being into a mindless animal for the Lxyfenoid Brood.   

While more evidence is needed to conclude an infused Hellecian can develop PFM psychosomatically.

The primary means of transmission is either the infection of one's femur (the vessel most Hellecians believe their soul is held) by means of a battlefield wound/attack from the Lyxfenoid or a body's rejection of their initial Ichor infusion.

There is no cure. Once a victim starts showing symptoms such as hallucinations, lumpy Ichma formation & severe Xeroderma (or skin scaling). It's only a matter of time before a victim becomes a Lyxfenoid.

The only treatment is banishment to the Barbarous Zone or immediate cremation. If left to complete the cycle, the infected Lyxfenoid will consume and corrupt entire planets within months.  

The fear of catching this disease was so great, the Patrokonoi-Hellecia made the control of Ichor Infusion sites the highest priority.

Declaring Ichor Infusions on unsatisfactory "prospect citizens" and/or without direct authorization from the Office of Genetic Integrity punishable by death and forfeit of one's property to the state.

Corruption of the CHONPS Cycle: 

Loosely based on the pseudo-scientific concept of the CHONPS Spectral Elements. Folk belief is that a Hellecian's soul is made up of Phosphorus gas, stored in one's femur. 

As one completes the CHONPS cycle, dies, & has their final rites administered in their cremation.

Their phosphorus soul is released from their femur, revealing the content of one's character based on the color given off. 

While most Delot medical guilds assert the femur produces the antibodies necessary to control the Ichor in their system.


When a sentient being contracts PFM, their body is unable to produce these antibodies. As a result, the Ichor metastasizes in the victim's blood stream begins the process of escaping the host's body.

In order to accomplish this feat, the Ichor mutates the body using the Cosmic Aurora.

3 Stages of Sickness:

While prevention is the surest way of preventing PFM. This sickness has three distinct stages it takes before turning the victim into a Lyxfenoid:

1. The "Liar" Phase - This phase is the most treatable with a 85%-95% recovery rate. If discovered soon enough and with the proper equipment, medical professionals can flush out the Ichor in one's system and manage the symptoms such as fever, fatigue/weakness, swelling lymph nodes, forgetfulness & difficulty using Ichorized abilities. 
   
   
With any luck, the symptoms will subside and after a thorough, year-long investigation from the Office of Genetic Integrity, the victim will either be re-infused with Ichor or have their citizenship taken away.

Due to these risks, many choose to conceal their symptoms to keep their wealth and status in tact; hence the name the "Liar" Phase. 

This Phase is complete when the victim starts hearing voices in his head.

2. The "Burning Wheel" Phase - This phase is significantly harder to survive with a 10%-15% recovery rate. By now, the Ichor has already started to metastasize in the victim's bloodstream and the physical symptoms such as lumpy Ichma formation, bone pain, Xeroderma (skin scaling), hallucinations & early signs of dementia have already begun to set in.
   
   
The victim will be covered in blood & micro cuts as their skin becomes too tight for them to move without tearing the skin off their bones. The Ichor in their system will be completely useless as their Ichorized characteristics won't activate and won't possess the right viscosity to form properly weighted Ichma for proper use. For all purposes, Ichor in their system should be considered poison and/or biological waste.

This experience will amplify over time as the victim swings between bouts of intense physical pain and moments lost in their own hallucinations.

For family members with no access to health care or nobles trying to save face, victims in the "Burning Wheel" will be hidden from the public. As the penalty for anyone caught within the "Burning Wheel" phase is immediate deportation and imprisonment for anyone harboring this biological weapon.

This phase is completed when the "Burning Wheel" stops and the hunger begins.


3. The "Hunger" Phase

There is no recovery from this final phase. Symptoms include the complete disintegration of one's skin, purple discharge (replacing all bodily liquid in one's body), violent outbursts and/or incomprehensible words/sounds & an endless hunger for any biological material.

At this point, the victim will appear more like a beast than a sentient being of rational thought. The victim will consume anything and everything around it. Neglecting their own safety or digits such as teeth, finger nails, bone to consume everything.

At this point, the only thing any loved ones can do is put the victim out of its misery or send it to the Barbarous Zone before it completes the final mutation. 

Once the victim starts spewing purple bile to digest the material, its takes 48 hours for the old body to be completely eaten away and replaced as a Lyxfenoid (strains within the Brood vary based on the genetic makeup of said victims).

A Lyxfenoid Peon will mindlessly consume everything and infect survivors until an entire planet is either overrun or consumed. Even then, most Lyxfenoids can survive the vacuum of space as long as they have material to consume.

Infection rates depend on the transmission method and the environment s. Faster rates range less than 2 weeks to reach maturity. While slower rates have been between 3-4 months.

A full-grown Lyxfenoid is a mindless 8' tall monster made of black/purple skin with the thickness of steel and ribbed with the hosts' bones visibly jutting out from the monster. Able to survive in the vacuum of space and corrupt any organic being through contact of its purple bile and/or gashes made by its claws or fangs.

While no one is willing to brave the Barbarous Zone to study these violent creatures interact as a pack. Survivors (and/or exiles forced to live in the Barbarous Zone) have witnessed symptoms of a hive mind develop among large enough Broods.

A Social Disease:

While the origin of the Madness are unknown, PFM is believed to be a side effect of being infused with Ichor. 

After the initial wave of PFM nearly destroying Dyloth (for a second time) following the Perxis-Sadem. And following several faulty reports circulated to the public before being properly peer reviewed, the source of the madness was believed to be a symptom of barbarism.


Even though"Patient Zero" showed no infectious agents in its biopsy and it was proven he was stranded in the Zones outside the Taygestronese in extreme isolation for several months. It was never proven Patient Zero contracted PFM due to extreme isolation (especially since the biopsy was lost to history).

As a result, the Delothian Collective (and by extension the other member-patrokonoi) made the citizenship process inside the Patrokonoi-Hellecia even more restrictive under the pretext of protecting their Ichor from corrupting their society from the inside.

Thus the Office of Genetic Integrity was established: to enforce their laws regarding Ichor Infusion, verify large Ichor transactions to non-Hellecian powers & citizenship testing for "prospective citizen" species seeking safe integration into their society.

The member-patrokonoi also made reforms within Hellecian society as well. The most infamous of these was The Collective's social engineering known as "The Symptoms of Barbarism."

These social reforms were made to instill fear that a citizen can turn into a Lyxfenoid at any time and the only way to be safe is to follow a rigid code provided by the patrokonoi.

While there wasn't any proof PFM is psychosomatic or onset by stress/mental illness, many believed the Delots and their "Symptoms of Barbarism." Adopting their own codes and punishment such as ostracism of suspects from their families & homes to live in the dangerous Barbarous Zone.

However, over the course of the war, almost everything the Hellecians once knew about the Lyxfenoid will be turned on its head.

Discovery Date: 150 AD

Greek Comparison: Greek Stereotypes of Barbarians/Athenian Plague during the Peloponnesian War

Causes:

• Rejection of Ichor infusion
• Bacterial infection of Femur Marrow (caused from untreated battlefield injury to femur/attacked by Lxyfenoid Brood)
• Extreme isolation (primarily onset from ostracism or social rejection) 

Symptoms:

• Weakness/Fatigue
• Fever
• Enlarged Lymph Nodes
• Inability to exhibit Ichorized characteristics
• Lumpy shaping of Ichma (when converting Ichor into currency at a Blood Mint)
• Bone Pain
• Xeroderma (or skin scaling/dryness; leading to common lacerations on a victim's epidermis) 
• Hallucinations
• Dementia
• Purple discharge (replacing all bodily liquids)
• Complete disintegration of skin
• Savagery (becomes a wild beast who attacks anything)

Type

Bacterial