Diseases

Throughout the history of Eseron, diseases have plagued both common folk and nobility alike, sparing neither strength nor status. From simple fevers to wasting plagues, they shape the lives of villages and kingdoms, often feared as much as monsters or wars. Healers, midwives, and scholars strive to understand their nature, yet much remains clouded in mystery and superstition.

To bring order to such knowledge, diseases are commonly divided into distinct classes. Some spread swiftly from one body to another, while others arise from a lack of nourishment or are carried down through bloodlines. Certain afflictions are born of the body’s own imbalance, and still others take root in the mind and spirit. Beyond these lie the most dreaded of all: diseases touched by magic, which defy all natural cures and are often spoken of in hushed tones as curses or divine punishments.

Classifications

Infectious Diseases

These are maladies believed to pass from one body to another, often through foul airs, corrupted waters, or the touch of the sick. Such illnesses spread quickly among villages and armies, and are dreaded for their swiftness and cruelty. Many uneducated folks believe that those who have done wrong in recent times become sick as a punishment, not from spirits, deities or other sources of power, though healers and scholars note that those diseases often strike hardest where filth and rot linger, rather than where wrongdoings took place.

Infectious Diseases
To be announced!

Deficiency Diseases

Some afflictions are thought to arise not from foulness but from a lack of proper balance in a person’s sustenance. When the body is denied the right foods, herbs, or humours, it weakens, leading to pale skin, wasting, or frailty. Physicians often prescribe richer diets, tonics of rare plants, or special salts to restore strength and vigour in case of such afflictions.

Deficiency Diseases
To be announced!

Hereditary Diseases

These illnesses run in families, passed from parent to child like the colour of their eyes or hair. Some are seen as the mark of divine punishment or ancestral sin, while others are believed to be curses clinging to bloodlines. Few remedies are known, and sufferers are often treated with pity, fear, or suspicion.

Hereditary Diseases
To be announced!

Physiological Diseases

Such diseases are thought to come from within the body itself when the natural balance of humours is disturbed. Too much black bile, too little blood, or an excess of phlegm can give rise to wasting fevers, madness, or decay of the flesh. Treatments focus on restoring harmony through bloodletting, purges, or balancing diets.

Physiological Diseases
To be announced!

Psychological Disorders

These afflictions dwell not in the flesh but in the mind and spirit, though their effects may be no less grievous. Sufferers may be seized by melancholy, mania, visions, or uncontrollable fears, often seen as signs of humoral imbalance, curses, or possession by unseen forces. Remedies are uncertain, ranging from calming herbs and tonics to rituals, prayers, or seclusion from the world's bustle. Many healers view these disorders with caution, for the line between divine madness, sorcery, and true illness is not easily drawn.

Psychological Disorders
To be announced!

Magical Diseases

These are the most feared afflictions, believed to be caused by curses, wicked sorceries, or the wrath of spirits and deities. Victims may sprout unnatural marks, waste away despite health, or lose their senses in fits of madness. Remedies are rare and uncertain, often involving charms, prayers, or the intercession of wise healers and priests rather than mere medicine.

Magical Diseases
To be announced!