The Tywellin Scourge
"King Zander of Tywellin wanted to hurt the Empire... He got his wish and paid for it with his entire country. A curse upon Zander. May He rot in the five hells"- Final line of the Ballad of Ode to a fool
Transmission & Vectors
An insididious virus that can be spread via airborne, bodily fluid exchange or physical contact.
Causes
The King of Tywell, Zander, contracted with a rogue mage to create a deadly magical pestilence that he intended to deliver to Mor Daven with their yearly Tithe
Symptoms
The first symptom to show was a sensation of pin pricks in the extremities. This was followed by joint ache. Nausea and vomiting marked the final stage until the infected died from lack of sustenance while their body was wracked by pain and fever.
Treatment
None. Perfectly lethal.
Prognosis
Death will come. Some things can make you more comfortable, herbs, drugs, drugs and some alchemies, but these are only temporary comforts. Some advocate for the mercy of a quick death.
Affected Groups
Integral portions of The Empire that still retained their traditional forms of governence but paid tithe and taxes to the Empire seemed to be harder hit then those who were goverend directly by the Empire. Some blame this is on the Empire's lack of concern or empathy towards those they claim are part of the Empire. Historians believe it is because Imperial Governors were more quick and efficient to enact the Emperor Fendian's order's without regard to the feelings of those they directly ruled.
Prevention
Quarentine was the only way it was defeated. It could only survive in airborne form for a few days at most.
History
The plague was created in a remote abandone castle in the coastal kingdom of Tywell. The mage who crafted it fashioned a release mechanism in a set five jade encrusted candellabra's. They were part of the yearly tithe that the kingdom was required to send to maintain their own rulers and nobility. As the plague began it's transit north, The wagon train transporting the tithe north met with the misfortune of being in the path of a large heard that was stampeding. The clever hiding place for the virus was broken when the wagon it was within was smashed by the heard. Survivers, several senior members of the Imperial Treasury Bureau, managed to make it to the next settlement. From there the Plague began to spread. At one time or another every portion of The Empire was afflicted. It lasted a decade till the last case was reported. Two Holder's of the Imperial Throne. Emperor Fendion Decreed that any infected were to be put to death via bow, sling or crossbow. Their residences burned. Only after implamentation of such a brutal response was the spread able to be curtailed.
The final tally was ten million dead. Some histories say that number be severly underreported. The signifigant loss of life made acturate historical tallies difficult to produce and impossible to verify.
Cultural Reception
If Tywell had survived then it would have been the scorn of the world. But it was decimated and any who could claim Tywellian blood kept it secret, so great was the scorn and hatred. Phrases like Tywellian scum began to appear more and more as the years progressed. Today to becalled Tywellian is to name someone an untrustworthy fould blackheart.
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