The Rotting Plague

Introduction

A black mark on the history of Eden, the Plague of Rot aka Rotting Plague decimated all race populations to the point where they are today. It has been a decade since the end of the  pandemic, and the people of Eden are still rebuilding and in fear of another outbreak. The name “Rotting Plague” originates from its symptoms. Those who were infected had limbs and organs rot out from the inside over a period of 8 days. The disease was spread through direct contact, but it could also become waterborne, therefore infecting plants, and livestock. Later in its lifespan it became airborne as infected bodies were burned.    The Rotting Plague’s true origin is unknown, but its first outbreak can be traced back to the northern fiefdoms of Hadriana in the year [tba]. This strange disease would spark into a 5-year long pandemic.

A plague, known to the world, or at least that is the point of this document you are reading right now. This document will tell you about the most vital details of the Plague of Rot. Or, as it is commonly referred to: The Rotting Plague.

This document will be split into sections, each giving information on the plague. The details you see in this document are the primary form of the plague. What we mean with primary is how the plague initially works, as each race in our world was eventually affected differently. An example would be humans having no immune system and thus be affected by all its effects, while elves were immune yet faced other problems. Tieflings would suffer different kinds of effects, and so did other races.

History

The Rotting Plague's true origin is due to the technology of the time, unknown. First sightings of the plague were in the northern fiefdoms of The Kingdom Of Hadriana in the year [...], sparking the beginning of a five-year-long apocalypse onto the world of Eden.

The name "Rotting Plague" originates from the effects the plague had on its victims. Each living being, plant, or even certain foods that the plague touched turned into living yet decomposing husks. The name, just like the pestilence itself, spread quickly throughout the world thanks to nature and merchants, bringing death and destruction in its wake.

Infection cycle

The way the virus or bacteria spread was again due to the time period very hard to point out. It was from direct skin touch with infected flesh, ingestion of contaminated foods and drinks, insects, and saliva. Even certain animals were not safe to approach. Air was later on added due to the ash of corpses being also burned, still holding spores of rot.

Spore cases were rare of the plague. When an infected host would be infected for a longer time, the damaged lungs will cause the infected to cough, making the host release spores of the plague. The dead tissue of the hosts’ body also produces spores in the ending stages up until death. The same was when staying near an infected body being burned, the ashes would still contain the spores of the plague.

Infected bodies, plants, or animals that reached clear waters, such as rivers or ponds or other water sources, would infect the water if their bodies made contact, turning the water either poisonous or giving the person or animal drinking it the disease. Wells in villages and towns were quickly infected, spreading the plague only more.

Symptoms:

Symptoms of the plague and its infection cycle were looked at throughout the apocalypse years thanks to the sacrifice of those who tried studying the plague. Unfortunately, due to their losses, most of their works also failed to reach the majority of the population.

Symptoms of plague mainly were hidden, as the primary way of killing the host was making them "rot" from the inside first rather than showing this to the skin. This meant that living creatures like animals and the races of Eden had a hard time finding out who or what was infected, or showing signs of the disease.

Symptoms varied from each race, but the most notable effect the plague had was the immense fever and skin irritation in the first phase of the disease. Loss of taste and smell followed suit. Many of these symptoms were seen as minor illnesses. Making many people realize the danger until it was too late.

Stages of infection:

An infected lifespan was eight days. Each day represented a stage or phase of the disease affecting the one being infected. It even causes the infected to act as a carrier in particular phases.

Stage one, day one:

Disease lays dormant in the host. The host will suffer an illness known as a common cold. Only in this stage can the condition of the disease be held back by high-tier medicine used for treating the common cold, causing the plague to be cured. But this is only in 30% of the cases.

Stage two, day two:

The disease begins to spread through the body. The spread causes the host to suffer immense fever combined with the common cold. From the second stage, the infected can no longer be cured. The host loses sense of smell.

Stage three, day three:

The immense fever has died down. The disease has now started to ''eat away'' at the body tissue of the host. The skin irritations can be first seen on the host's body. This causes itching and sometimes gives a burning sensation to the skin. The host will continue to have the symptoms of stage one common cold.

Stage four, day four:

The common cold has faded - redness and irritation of the skin increase. The itchiness has now disappeared as well, replaced by the burning sensation completely. This causes no significant pain on the infected host but enough to cause irritation. In most cases, the infected host will begin to suffer hair loss.

Stage five, day five:

The infected host their organs will begin to be affected by the disease, starting at the digestive organs and lungs. The host will start to slowly lose the need for food or drinks and begin to cough. The coughing brings bacteria airborne, turning the infected host into a carrier. The irritated skin has already started to tear and crack, causing the irritated skin to bleed and show exposed tissue.

Stage six, day six:

The hosts' muscle tissue is now in a damaged state too. The host has trouble moving now. Skin tissue begins to peel off, exposing large chunks of tissue underneath, even bone in early cases. The coughing of the host is now painful, coughing up bacteria and gobs of blood and rotten tissue. In 100% of the cases, did the host not feel pain beyond stage six, even though their body began to suffer immense trauma.

Stage seven, day seven:

The brain has now been affected as well. The host will begin to turn into a ''zombie'' like state. Their movements are slow, almost limping or crawling, speech begins to slur, and eyesight begins to be faulty as the eyes start to rot too. Larger chunks of skin, combined with muscle tissue, will begin to turn black, rot and peel from the host's body, exposing more bone. The rotten tissue present in the lungs causes the host to cough out spores. These are also released from the hosts' rotten skin tissue.

Stage eight, day eight:

The host has lost eyesight. The skin on 60% of the body has rotten off, exposing bone and rotten muscle tissue. The infected body continues to release spores. In most cases, the hosts' nervous system is active again, causing the host to feel the pain originating from the trauma that is caused by the plague. The host will begin to scream out, followed up by the complete, literal collapse of the body moments or hours later. The last spores of the plague will leave the hosts’ body as well. The host is then declared dead.

Survival

Only in 10% of the case can an infected host be cured by magical means before reaching stage six. This magic came from the elements of Earth and Water, which held the most healing spells. Yet, using these spells on plague victims was hard, barely even curing the infected and merely staving off the symptoms. Alchemy was also used as a way of healing the bacteria. Yet, none of the alchemic recipes or results of their use survived the plague years.

If the host survived, which was most unlikely and extremely rare, dead portions of the body: arms and legs would be amputated. Some would be so damaged they would be unfit for use. Death could eventually occur due to internal organ damage thanks to the effects of the rot.

If the host survived all these things, damaged skin tissue by the rot would heal, leaving large scars. If people lost their eyesight, this would not return, and you would forever be blind.

Animals of the plague:

Certain animals were not infected. 'Till this day, the world has not been able to find out why. But animals such as rats, fish, and insects were immune to the plague, acting more as carriers rather than dying out. Rats, however, reacted more differently than any other animal affected by the plague. Rats would form massive hordes, searching for food even to the point that the races of Eden were not safe anymore. Being alone was dangerous, and rats would eat a person or larger animal if possible. Most notably left unattended children.

Due to rats living in the dark most of the time, and the rot affecting their eyesight, magic and light would scare them off. Their behavior during the Rotting Plague was matched with that of Rabies. Though, their increased lust for flesh and stacking of numbers was never fully explained. Animals like cows, sheep and chickens were damaged in the same ways humans were, decaying them and making them skinny. Their skin and meat would wither away, flaking off their remains. This means the plague affected every person even if they were not infected their food source became sparse.