Mor'kiin

Also called “Death’s hold” in the common tongue.

Origins

Around the year 257PT discoveries were made in an ancient tomb in Esuna that appeared to carry a highly infectious spore that used to lay dormant, but got activated as soon as they came in contact with a new host, resulting in a deadly disease. From there on, the spores rapidly spread through animals and the trade of textiles.

The name originated from the fact that the disease was strangely not as contagious from person to person, though new spores would spread from a patient’s body soon after they had deceased. This lead to the early belief that the disease was actually a curse that caused the patient’s vengeful spirit to latch onto nearby victims to drag them along to the afterlife.

Symptoms

Symptoms varied based on where an individual contracted the spores, though the areas most commonly infected were the skin or lungs.

• Contracting the disease through the skin would result in blisters, sores, ulcers and other lesions that would gradually become larger, often causing permanent disfigurement. If the infection reached the bloodstream it could cause fever and eventually death, though infections of the skin had the greatest chance of survival.

• Inhaling the spores would result in pulmonary disease, causing a high fever and chills, chest discomfort, shortness of breath, confusion or dizziness, cough, nausea, vomiting or stomach pains, headache, drenching sweats, extreme tiredness and body aches. The infection could easily escalate and it resulted in death for most who contracted this form of the disease.

Treatment

Early attempts to battle the disease consisted of rituals performed on the dying patients, as well as the recording of their last wishes in the hopes that they would move to the afterlife peacefully. This was often performed by designated individuals and most family and friends were discouraged from remaining around the patient near the time of death.

As people discovered more about the disease, attempts to control it mostly involved the destruction of suspect crops or removing or killing infected animals.

Before a medicine was found, treatment of patients mainly consisted of treating their symptoms and around the clock care for the critically ill. Those who were fortunate enough to be taken in by clergies or wards that had Clerics present would receive daily healing to minimize the damage as much as possible. These individuals relatively had the highest survival rate.

Geopolitical tensions

Through the trade of textiles, the spores spread further to Avalon and the Eastern Kingdoms, resulting in tensions between the continents. Especially leaders in the Eastern Kingdoms were wary of the potential for a new method of warfare, and the common people were led to believe that it was mainly an Elven Curse bestowed upon them.