Believer's Disease

"Even now I feel it. Through me, the goddess has enacted her might upon the world. I have been shown the path on which I must guide you to salvation. Look upon the beauty of your goddess and your savior and weep." - Aediana, a woman who believed she was the reincarnation of the goddess Aeda.

Transmission & Vectors

The disease is transmitted through the ingestion of infected blood into the body. Not all who consume the blood are infected, as it relies on multiple factors including blood-type, age, and what you had to eat earlier.

Causes

A virus located within the blood on infected individuals which, when it interacts with stomach acid, may activate and enter the bloodstream of the consumer.

Symptoms

The infected individual will begin to hallucinate and have delusions about their own nature. Many also begin to lose feelings of pain as well as sensation in their extremities. This is usually paired with a general 'tingling' sensation in the body, which has led many infected to believe that they have a special energy within themselves.

Treatment

Oftentimes the only effective treatment for Believer's Disease is through blood transfusions or through magical or divine healing. This only halts the progression of the disease and does not reverse its effects (unless treated within a few weeks of infection).

Prognosis

Symptoms of the illness progress to more extreme points. Delusions and hallucinations grow more frequent and more intense over the course of decades, with periods of stability followed by rapid progression. Occasionally the progression may seem to reverse for a period of time, perhaps months or years, but this will eventually continue to become worse. Most times the disease is not fatal, although it does cause gradual paralysis until nothing is felt below the neck towards the end of the afflicted individual's life.

History

Many of the most famous priests and leaders in the world have been infected by the disease. Many who believe that they are empowered by ancient magic or reincarnations of gods, such as Aediana of Sarves in the Second Age, are in fact affected by the disease. It would be false to assume that all preachers or believers are infected.

Cultural Reception

The reception of the disease varies wildly according to the religious beliefs of those around the infected individual and whether the beliefs appeal to a large amount of followers.

Type

Neurological

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Extremely Rare