Whitebone Virus

Whitebone Virus is contracted and transmitted through skin to skin contact between an infected and a new host. It is entirely zoonotic, and is most commonly transmitted by small insects. After setting into the skin, it will immediately infect the bone. The virus itself will rapidly take over bone-marrow cells, absorbing the nutrients from the bones tissue, before inevitably destroying the cell. The Whitebone Virus will repeat this process inevitably, until the afflicted bone is rendered completely brittle and completely useless, offering up a great pain to the infected. Eventually the bone becomes weak, unable to support the body of the infected, permanently crippling them beyond repair. Those infected with Whitebone Virus will quickly grow pale and soon find their skin and hair turning grey, near white, making the tracking of the disease rather easy.

Any movement of the infected area will snap without fail, causing immense pain. Later and more severe cases will effectively shatter the bone or joint in question. Healing magic can help, but no amount could repair it or reverse the rapid deterioration of the damaged bone.

Treatment

Treatment for Whitebone Virus is known to consist of magic and alchemy. Regenerative alchemicals seem to halt the disease, while some are known to use magic items that idly heal their body to halt its spread through the body. Whitebone can only spread where it can damage, meaning if one could cut it off at the limb it initially infected, it should cease spreading. There is no known permanent cure for Whitebone Virus outside of amputation.

Spread

Whitebone Virus can be spread person to person via skin contact. Due to it being zoonotic, rare cases of fly swarms have been known to carry it to individuals. Only affected areas are contagious.

Symptoms

• First Sept (1 OOC day): The infected area will begin to grow pale. A strange sensation of numbness and pins-and-needles following. No other symptoms seem to present itself, however the exposed area is now highly infectious.

• First Mense (1 OOC Week): After a mense, should the spread not be halted, the entire limb of the infected area will fall victim to a brittle state, falling numb. Movement of any kind will cause the bones to snap.

• Second Mense (2 OOC Weeks): After half a tsel, the infected limb will spread the virus to adjacent bones. From the arm it may cross the chest and begin on the other. For the leg it may join at the hip and infect the other leg, and so on.

• First Tsel (1 OOC Month): After a full tsel has passed, most if not all of the body will become infected with Whitebone Virus. Effectively crippling the entirety of the victim. The hair, skin, and all other body parts have gone entirely greyscale, lacking in any color. In many cases, without a caretaker, the infected will likely die due to the inability to care for themselves.

The World of Aethius • The Multiverse of Aethier