Whisperer's Tell

Transmission & Vectors

There is correlation between exposure to the disease and the consumption of varies foods and drinks. There is no single dish that definitively causes it, so doctors suspect that impurities in improperly treated salt flakes, that are then used to preserve foods are to blame.

Causes

Usually attributed to bad air or bad intakes of food and drink.

Symptoms

• Dark rings appearing around the neck
• Voice echoing when talking
• Droning heard coming from nowhere
• Inner throat swells and reddens
• Rings darken and talking hurts
• Voice forced into a whisper
• Hearing whisperings and marks appearing behind the ears

Treatment

Gargle deep with alcohol, honey and vinegar or a green salt solution to dispel whatever contaminates settled in the mouth and throat.

Prognosis

Realization that one is afflicted comes fairly quickly, given that the victim is often actively seeking the whisper markings to paint themselves. The first notable effects start with difficulty talking, followed several weeks later with dirty strips around the neck.
Next, the whisper that names the disease manifests as a light humming. As it persists, the dark patches on the neck darken and the whispers turns deeper; and it is at this point when the afflicted treat themselves after enduring a month of discomfort.

Sequela

Once the disease runs its coarse, it leaves temporary dark markings resembling tattoos around the neck which will fade with time.
One drawback not often mentioned, is what the whispers say to the victim. Most keep quiet; preferring to see it as nothing and inconsequential, or something private. For those of a less sound mind, they become tempted to act on the whispers to their own personal detriment. Such instances have involved dissociation of the self, mental troubles and paranoia towards others.

Affected Groups

Prevention

Avoidance of the tainted foods that carry the disease that, more often than not, have been part of caravans that had traveled through Salt Place.

Cultural Reception

The fact that this disease is non-lethal and its progression visibly traceable, it is a more readily sort after to pattern the skin and beatify a person. Though these black markings are usually confined to the head and shoulder regions, they still attract the minority who aim to make themselves and their descendants more colourful than their ancestors.

Type

Bacterial

Origin

Natural

Cycle

Short-term

Rarity

Common

Testimonials

Talking to the Whispers

Enough! Stop talking and listen. You... you are thing one and you're thing two.

— Perception of the Effected