Cinderlung

Name: Cinderlung

Classification: Arcane Respiratory Affliction
Alias: Ember’s Breath, Smoker’s Curse, Ashlung
Severity: Terminal (untreated)
Transmission: Inhalation of alchemic residue, cursed soot, or necrotic fumes; not contagious person-to-person

Initial Signs (Days 1–7): Subjects report a dry, rasping cough, often mistaken for seasonal illness. Sputum may appear dark or tar-like. Some claim a faint burning in the chest, akin to breathing smoke.

Progression (Days 8–20): Breath becomes labored. Subjects exhale thin wisps of dark vapor, particularly in cold air or moonlight. Voice becomes hoarse. Skin may pale or take on an ashen hue. Appetite wanes.

Final Stage (Days 21–30): Breath grows shallow. Lungs harden, blacken, and seize. Death occurs through internal suffocation, even as the body remains lucid. Pain is described as akin to drowning in flame.

Treatment Options:
No salve, tincture, or poultice has proven effective.
Complete restoration is only possible through the following:
Lay on Hands or Lesser Restoration if treated within the first three weeks
Greater Restoration or Divine Intervention from a deity of healing, air, or fire if the disease is in its final stage

In early stages, symptoms may be slowed using elixirs of mountain mint or black lotus sap. These delay—but do not prevent—the inevitable.

Cultural Notes:
Cinderlung is most commonly found among:
Workers exposed to unregulated alchemical fumes
Miners in magically cursed caverns
Those who dwell too long in burned or blighted lands

In noble cities, the disease is almost unheard of, cured promptly by court clerics. Among commoners, however, it is often a death sentence. Many rural families call it “The Quiet Burn.”