Alkahest's Decay

Alkahest's Decay is a terminal disease that is commonly known as the plague of the alchemists.  Alchemists are prone to early deaths due to the constant risk of their experiments causing violent explosions. But their bodies also suffer from the dangers of the materials that they transmute.  Alchemists use a brazier called a fuuzamatur. It is there that they transmute one metal to another. They create rare elements this way, ones with inherent powers over reality. From heavy swey elements to arcanitides and enigmatides, they manipulate materials at the base of their existence. These processes release arcane energies that damage the body and inflict the Alkahest Decay. Consequently, the disease is ubiquitous amongst alchemists.
The decay of an established alchemist, if left unchecked, can consume their body in just 24-28 days. The progress of the disease can be checked by the daily consumption of the Milk of Sal Alkali. All alchemists know the formula before they ever develop the talent to need it. A powder can be stored to quickly mix up the drink.  Missing dosages can accelerate the advancement, and with too long an absence, permanent symptoms can develop. 
After one missed dose, acute symptoms of fever, sweating, fainting, nosebleeds, and vomiting can occur.

• Four days or more and exhaustion sets in, white patches develop on the skin, hair can shed, and sections of blood vessels will bloat making some veining very pronounced through the skin.
• Seven days or more missed and hair loss becomes severe, teeth and nails can become loose, bleeding from the ear, and the skin bruises excessively.
• Fourteen days and coughing becomes severe with blood in the sputum, vomit may show signs of blood, patches of skin scab a painful brown. At this stage, total hair loss has occurred. Levels of exhaustion worsen.
• Past 21 days and exhaustion worsens daily until death. At this point, milk of sal alkali would delay death, but the condition is likely too severe to return to normal health.

The Sal Alkali is not difficult to produce and doesn't require extreme or expensive materials.  So this does not result in deaths for the vast majority.  But, due to the rare arcane radiations, this disease cannot be cured by spells short of a Wish.  But it does not stop the alchemists, as this arcane plague opens powerful doors for alchemists. The slow saturation of arcanide radiations into their organs, blood, and bones develops their body into a conduit to the power of the arcane.

Type

Magical