Mannacrackles
Content Warnings:
This article will contain reference to a variety of ailments, including various types of body horror, mutilation, and even mutation as well as general trauma and of course death. Reader discretion is advisedThe truth of this unique affliction is fascinating in the implication of the history. Before it was fully understood, before we even started mining manna gems or using the unrefined grindings or cutoff powder in the arts of rune-smithing or enchantment, there exist stories. Tall tales from the time of The Arcanis War and even likely before that, passed on and down, recorded in history. Initially these 'afflictions' were believed to be part of the curse of the Arcanis-Touched condition, but then it was presumed to be mutation or Voidstone corruption. Yet over the last six or seven decades we have come to rapidly understand those assumptions were all flawed and all horrendously incorrect. Now, over the last two decades we attempted to course correct, we still stand amidst the tail end of that health crisis in different areas around all across the world. We have discovered means and equipped the workers with them to protect themselves. How well do such means work. Truthfully we shall not know for another few decades at least until the younger lived races, humans, halflings, whom work in the manna gem mining industry begin to retire, or come down with this unique illness themselves and start suffering from it.
The laments of one Doctor Leonardo Anton, a specialist in magick and manna inflicted afflictions from one of his personal journals, dated 3rd of Henata 1548.
Transmission & Vectors
It is now understood this affliction can affect any living things that breaths, and as such, listing the affected species is simply pointless. Mannacrackles is a unique affliction obtained over continuing long term exposure to manna dust getting into your lungs and airways. It is also quite unique in its symptom patterns, for though it is one condition and the treatments such as do exist, are universal, it has different symptom trajectories based on what particular kind of manna dust you have been exposed to.
Causes
"Mannacrackles has eight unique paths it follows and though their symptoms all start out the same and follow the rough same timeline, your challenge from a medical sense starts in establishing which of the eight paths it is progressing along as fast as possible to give the patient the best chance at a positive outcome. It is without question one of the most difficult conditions to treat in the modern era, a new illness we only have just begun to truly understand, and develop crude but workable methods of treatment. But treatment and its potential for success relies exceedingly heavily upon your ability to identify the contaminent the patient was exposed to that is causing the symptoms. Ideally they are able to tell you, however if not for any given reason, your only other hope is an exploratory chest surgery. You need to get a look at and more importantly, inside of one of the patient's lungs"
An excerpt from Illnesses and Afflictions Esoteric a highly celebrated medical text used to teach about a variety of afflictions, including Mannacrackles in fourth year medicinal studies at various institutions across Valerick.
An excerpt from Illnesses and Afflictions Esoteric a highly celebrated medical text used to teach about a variety of afflictions, including Mannacrackles in fourth year medicinal studies at various institutions across Valerick.
As noted the cause of this affliction is continued long term moderate exposure to Manna Dust. This condition is different from manna toxicity, which is a different affliction, one suffered from short term, high dosage acute consumption or inhalation and is generally only really deadly (though still very unhealthy) to those whom are Arcanis-Touched. There are eight kinds of Manna Dust and though they all present differently in some ways the core progression of the affliction is the same for all, thus they are grouped under one illness.
Symptoms
Perhaps the greatest difficulty in dealing with a case of Mannacrackles can be in identifying the particular type early enough for the best chance of recovery for the patient. This is particularly true if the patient is of a longer lived species whom has worked around manna dust all their life, unless that work has been with only one time. If they have every worked with more than one type or multiple types for different lengths of time your job will become a lot harder. You best course of action in such cases is to either treat directly for the one that the patient would have had the longer amount of time in prolonged exposure to. Though they all start with similar symptoms in their four stage progression and end in the same symptom, though through different means, which is death, the middle two stages swiftly begin to reveal what is wrong with the patient. However once you are in stage two be aware the likelihood of the subject's recovery is cut by one third. In stage three it is less than twenty-five percent. So study well and remember information is key. Family members, neighbors, whatever you can, you need information to give such patients the best chance. If all else fails within the first window, before it progresses to stage two, if you can get consent, do an exploratory surgery. Even with opening up their chest to take a small sample of a lung, it is better you get it right, that will give them the best odds.
Excerpt at the beginning of the chapter on Mannacrackles symptoms and progression in Illnesses and Afflictions Esoteric
Excerpt at the beginning of the chapter on Mannacrackles symptoms and progression in Illnesses and Afflictions Esoteric
The symptoms of Mannacrackles follow a unique pattern based on the containment that caused the manna imbalance in the first place within the patient. In all cases if you must, you can open the chest up to get a view and small sample of lung tissue and the little gem like shards protruding from the tissue will tell you what color and type the Manna was, however doing this will inevitably also accelerate the first stage of symptoms of the patient, risky business considering treating them takes several days. The unique nature of this condition is though the symptoms can present outwardly differently they are caused at their route by the same thing and all follow the same sort of timelines. Thus this table;
| Manna Dust Type | Stage 1 Symptoms | Stage 2 Symptoms | Stage 3 Symptoms | Stage 4 Symptoms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruby | Migraine, Fever, General aches, Unique: Mild Sunburns |
Minor Dehydration no relief, Slightly Bloody Dry Cough, Mild burns that appear randomly |
Extreme Fever, Moderate to Severe burns |
Extreme Dehydration, Inability to hold breath, Exhale ashy looking smoke, Spontaneous Combustion |
| Amethyst | Migraine, Fever, General Aches, Unique: Smell Rotting Meat randomly. |
Sluggish, Lethargic, Sweating Profusely, |
Signs of Necrosis on extremities, Pus filled boils, Loss of bowel control. |
Extremities begin falling off, Flesh starts sloughing free from body, Septic Shock, death. |
| Opal | Headache, Fever, Aches and pains, Unique: Lightning crackle sounds in chest when breath in. |
Hearing sounds when there are none, Noticeable fear of confined spaces, Heavy desire to be under the open sky |
Hyper-ventilating, Swift to panick, Very flighty, |
Brief moments of convulsing, Seeming as if shocked by lightning, Heart ruptures as if a surge of lightning through body. |
| Onyx | Migraines, Fever, General Aches and Pains. Unique: See things at periphary regularly |
Night terrors, Bouts of confusion, Hearing voices, Seeing things that aren't around. |
Hallucinations, Full inability to communicate willingly Patient will need restraints and/or sedation. |
Paranoia, Completely lost to hallucinations, Full unawareness. Will be found seemingly scared to death |
| Sapphire | Migraines, Fever, Aches and Pains. Unique: Unquenchable Thirst. |
Mild Frostbite in limited extremities, In Spite of continued Fever |
Loss of Bladder Control, Body temperature drops, Shivering even as sweating profusely |
Extreme hypothermia, Somehow Drown |
| Emerald | Migraines, Fever, Aches and Pains. Unique, Vomiting as if Food Poisioning. |
Violently sick as if bad food poisoning, Vomit and Diarrhea. |
Rashes all over as if allergic reaction, Lock-Jaw |
Sudden Mass Organ Failure as if Poisoned. |
| Topaz | Migraines, Fever, Aches and Pains. Unique Muscular Stiffness. |
Stiffening of Skin, Tongue Feels as Sandpaper. |
Flakes of dirt or Stone coming off body | Full petrification, irreversible by all known methods |
| Diamond | Migraines, Fever, Aches and Pains, Unique, jumbled memories, memories not their own. |
'Seeing Auras', Hearing whispered voices. Sudden uncontrolled bouts of Second Sight. |
Soft almost blinding gold-white glow emanates from them. Whispered Voices all around |
Body simply begins to fade away Leaving naught but an untethered spirit wandering the Dreamweave. |
Treatment
There is only one known treatment and it requires at least eleven days to do correctly and a very high level of medicinal know how and mathematics. Yet is is simple in its methodology. You simply need to balance the imbalance. For this, this is rare time where medicinal practices and the arcane arts meet.
You simply need to administer careful doses, no more than one fourth of a gram, every day once a day of the opposing type of manna dust until you begin to see improvements or reversals in symptoms, up to a total of eleven days maximum.
However these measurements must be precise! Too little by even a touch you run the risk of it not working swiftly enough, too much you risk simply causing an accelerated symptom rush down a different progression path as you attack a vulnerable system with a different Manna Dust.
You simply need to administer careful doses, no more than one fourth of a gram, every day once a day of the opposing type of manna dust until you begin to see improvements or reversals in symptoms, up to a total of eleven days maximum.
However these measurements must be precise! Too little by even a touch you run the risk of it not working swiftly enough, too much you risk simply causing an accelerated symptom rush down a different progression path as you attack a vulnerable system with a different Manna Dust.
Prognosis
Caught and properly diagnosed and treated in the early stage, that is Stage one, successful in around ninety-five percent of patients. People will recover though they always seem to develop some sort of minor sensory sensitivity to the element they were initially afflicted by. The flickering of flames may mess with their vision for example, or they may see their ability to see in the dark or even lower light conditions drastically drop.
However by Stage two, the prognosis is less promising at only about a sixty-five percent recovery rate, and these people are generally also scarred or marred in some way internally or externally depending on the sorts of symptoms they had.
By Stage Three, the prognosis even if recieving proper treatment drops to around twenty to twenty-five percent. These people suffer a deep psychological scarring as well, oft developing night terrors and other trauma based afflictions.
At Stage Four once this begins, there is no saving the patient. At that point death is a certainty.
However by Stage two, the prognosis is less promising at only about a sixty-five percent recovery rate, and these people are generally also scarred or marred in some way internally or externally depending on the sorts of symptoms they had.
By Stage Three, the prognosis even if recieving proper treatment drops to around twenty to twenty-five percent. These people suffer a deep psychological scarring as well, oft developing night terrors and other trauma based afflictions.
At Stage Four once this begins, there is no saving the patient. At that point death is a certainty.
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