Cascadian Madness

A raving madness found only on Cascadia.

Transmission & Vectors

A miasma lives in the fog that surrounds tall mountains, which can occasionally roll down to lower altitudes. If not wearing the proper head coverings, breathing in the miasma-laden fog will cause temporary madness.

Causes

It is thought the miasma is released by a specific type of fungus that is only found on the five islands that make up the area known as Cascadia. The fungus is found higher up in the mountains, and the madness is only afflicted when fog forms on the mountains.

Symptoms

Those afflicted start off with becoming completely mute. However, if one stays an extended time in the fog without the proper head coverings, they stop being mute and start muttering incessantly. These mutterings tend to make very little sense and may not even be said in the afflicted individual's native language. The longer one stays in the fog, the louder the rambling becomes. Stay long enough, and the afflicted ends up yelling at full volume. This could end up damaging one's throat, one of the few long-lasting side effects of the madness.
Sometimes, the ravings will be coherent. They very commonly mention beings that others cannot see, or it can be a description of an event that may or may not have taken place. Interestingly, the description of where the event takes place is often a real-life place the afflicted has never seen before. Due to this, some believe the madness is actually a vision of the future.
If an individual is one of the unlucky few that are permanently afflicted, they will eventually stop eating and drinking, wasting away after a month or two.

Treatment

The madness itself is easy to cure; all one needs to do is remove themselves from the fog and breathe clean air for a few hours.
However, there are recorded cases of the madness becoming permanent no matter how long the individual is removed from the fog. Those permanently aflicted tend to be those who's constant ramblings are only mutters.

Prevention

The natives of Cascadia have developed head coverings that act as a sort of mask, which blocks the miasma and prevents the madness from aflicting the mind.

Cultural Reception

The natives see the fog as mainly a nuisance, although there are some that fear the madness could turn permanent. They tend to wear the head coverings whenever the fog rolls in.
However, the largest island of Cascadia has a large natural cave system on the main mountain of the island. The fungus believed to release the miasma grows abundantly in this cave system. Cascadian natives believe this to be a sacred place where a chosen person can receive visions and prophecies.
Those that are unfortunately permanently afflicted are hidden away from society by their family members, who try and take care of the afflicted as best as possible until the inevitable time when the individual stops eating and drinking.

Type

Fungal

Origin

Natural

Cycle

Short-term

Rarity

Uncommon

Affected Species

• Faerie
• Hapa
• Human
• Elf
• Drow
• Dwarf
• Lycanthrope