Zerah's disease

This is the report of Alathyn Forestwatcher, son of Teloriël, from the lands of the Elves of Eastern Teria, doctor of his Excellency the governor of the city of Aez Thermyon, a disciple of Cornelius of Dubris, Head of the Medical Research Department of the Blati Academy,and reputed physician whose fame extends across the continent and beyond, about the Zerah's disease and how I was able to discover its origins and its cure.

First studies about the disease

The first attested description of this disease was done by an elf from the desert lands of Karia name Ylthan yn Attyn who treated several of his fellow desert elves from that disease after being exposed to the light of a mysterious lightning with a purple light. This was a couple of generations ago, around 1000 years. In his notes, preserved in a manuscript called "Hundugalpara" (Book of the Disease of Thunder) preserved at the Royal Library at Theloduro, he pointed that at least 2 times in his lifetime he had to deal with people with this disease. He also said that he had known from very old elves that in very ancient times, people with this disease were imprisoned or killed before they could harm someone.

But most of the recorded cases in humanoids happened in the land of the Blatians, who, according to their myths, are descendants from the goddess of Thunder, main his divine grace and judgement guides us always, who they call Zerah. Thunders in their culture are represented as purple beams of light, like the eyes that all afflicted with this ailment have, so in their imagination, the eyes of the afflicted resemble lightning . Because of this, this illness carries the name of their goddess.

Niketas of Oronia and Emilianus of Ikaria were also very famous doctors in past centuries that also dedicated themselves to the study of this disease, yet, they were unable to find a solution, probably because they also lacked the incomplete but quite accurate research of Ylthan. But I, Alathyn, blessed by the gods, I came upon a successful remedy which I'll describe below.

Symptoms

A hundred years ago I came across a case of Sons of Thunder disease when i was studying at the Academy at Blati. The individual was a young human, around 17-18 years old, who turned aggressive after returning from a picnic in the forest. This young man in question was a very good and obedient son but since his return he began to show a series of symptoms; his brown eyes changed to bright purple and became so aggressive towards his parents, like a wild animal, that first he had to be locked inside his room and later he had to be reduced by four soldiers.

Oh my poor child, he was a good boy, he was in the forest collecting wood with his father, and a couple of hours later, he jumped onto the table and try to bite my husband!, thank the Gods he is very strong and could neutralize our dear boy, We tied him to a chair with several ropes, called several neighbors who advised us to call the soldiers to come watch him while we went in search of a priest and a doctor.

— Testimony of the mother of one of the boys afflicted by the disease

This aggressiveness, as well as the bright purple eyes, is common to all species suffering from this disease. But also depending on the species there are also other symptoms. For example, in elves there are also convulsions or even loss of consciousness within a few minutes of the rage attack, while in humans there are also hallucinations along with increased aggression, which may be related to each other.

This disease also occurs in animals, at least two cases are known, one in an Ateri and one in a Dragon Bird. The former, after attacking a member of its own species for no reason, began to modulate itself into terrible wounds and perished from them. In the second, it seems that it also affected his sense of balance. So as you can see, the symptoms are very varied depending on the species affected.

There is also another symptom common to elves and humans which is double vision in the healing process, once the aggressiveness decreases, all the patients I have treated who recovered their senses complained of double vision, so I always recommended that they should not move, and that if they had to do so, they should always do it supported by me or by some of my assistants.

I can't remember nothing sir, when I wake with a terrible stinging in my eyes, and when I managed to open them, I barely could see you, and, although you adviced me to get out of bed a little, I couldn't because of the double vision that caused me terrible dizziness.
The only thing i remember when I woke up was the unmistaken and sweet aroma of sandalwood, I was very confused, I didn't know why I was there in the first place, I could hear the worried voice of my mother, and I couldn't believe what she told me, I burst into tears, how could I be able to attack my neighbours in such a savage way? I thank the gods nobody was killed and I didn't have a weapon nearby, it seems I turned into a wild animal. And not even the tears could stop the stinging on my eyes, they said that they became purple and they shone like the light of the sun or the moon on the water!... If I cut myself in the forest you ask?, I can't remember, everything before I wake up is just very blurry.

— Testimonies of two of my patients, a young Blatian boy and an elven girl

Possible causes

Ylthan yn Attyn in his writings and observations pointed to a poisoning of unknown origin, most likely from a plant, due to a cut. Prior to his studies on the disease, it was believed to be a punishment of the gods and many of these people were executed, to the disgrace of their families. But he did not really succeed in finding the concrete origin of the poisoning.

But I, thanks to my years of study, and after many observations, even using a magnifying lens, finally discovered the possible origin of this terrible condition. The common source and origin of this malady is most probably, and this was the case in all the cases I dealt with, a plant known in the land of the Blatians as Toxus Zerahnis. This plant is native to the Kallian Plains and the Peninsula of Moria, and it has thin, sharp filaments that act as defence against herbivorous animals. This filaments expel a toxin that is introduced in the body once they cut through the flesh and which is the cause of all the symptoms described above. . This plant is very abundant in the forest and villages of this part of the continent and it often grows near the roads and close to daisies and autumnflowers, the latter are very popular both in cooking and for making perfumes.

Treatment

The aggressiveness can last for hours and in order to calm the patient the best method and the cheapest is to burn sandalwood in a censer. The smoke and the smell of this plant calms the patient in a matter of seconds. And once the patient is calm I still had the rooms where they were receiving treatment adorned with incense burners where I continued to burn sandalwood.

by Midjourney

In order to cure the the stinging caused by the bright purple eyes , I found a quite successful remedy. One has to moisten a towel in water with moonflower petals and place it over the patient's eyes for about ten minutes. After this period of time the stinging disappeared in all the cases i treated but in order to the double vision to disappear completely you have to apply this treatment at least two more times. The same remedy is also applied to the cuts produced by the Toxus Zerahnis in the skin with are the source of the intoxication of the patients. The curative properties of these plants are famous through the world and in a couple of one or two days the cuts and the wounds disappear as well as the poisoning. Tea with moonflowers leaves is also recommended to eliminate toxins in the patient's body.

by Midjourney

The same remedies I'm describing above for humanoids are also used in order to cure animals, although depending on the creatures, the task of reducing them and cure them can be more difficult and even dangerous. If one wants to reduce, for example a dragon bird, the best option is to dunk a dart with a flower called Silver Arrow, which normally grows in the eastern regions of Teria, once the creature goes numb then the treatment described above is applied on these creatures.

Origin

Natural

Cycle

Short-term

Rarity

Rare

Affected Species

• Elves

This is an extract from the book "Toxic infections and various diseases" a medical treaty written by Alathyn Forestwatcher in 592 AP. He became one of the most famous doctors of its time, and after serving the governor of the city of Aez Thermyon, he was recruited as court physician to the Emperor Claudius IV in Blati, where he helped cure at least 5 more people afflicted with this disease. His book was highly copied and studied throughout the civilised lands of Teria. Especially in the north and west where no cure of this illness was known and most of this people were imprisoned or killed when they got aggresive because most of the population thought they had been possessed by some kind of evil spirit. Thanks to his research, Alathyn saved many inocent lives across Teria.