Greenfeather

Greenfeather was only ever reported following the opening of the Noctaliyan Gate and once trade in Saranjum had been underway for several years. It took many more years before epidemiologists using statistical population studies in conjunction with medical laboratory work were able to identify high consumption of saranjum fruit as the risk factor behind greenfeather.   Susceptibility to greenfeather is now thought to be linked to a particular uncommon genetic marker and a combination of this vulnerability and long term exposure to saranjum is required to trigger the condition.

Prologued exposure to the chemical substances that dye saranjum green can cause a change in the melanins that control the colours of an owlblood's feathers, inducing an irreversible sympathetic modification.

The feathers of the affected owlblood take on a prominent shade of green similar to that of the saranjum fruit itself.

There is no known way to medically reverse the process. Cosmetic dyes can be applied over the top of the green feathers but whilst this might mask the change, it cannot hide it permanently and requires repeated applications as new feathers grow.

Greenfeather does not cause any known biologically harmful effects, although it is possible there may be subtle physical consequences that have not yet been identified. As far as we can tell, an individual with greenfeather should be able to live a perfectly normal life, however there is an acute social stigma associated with the condition. The ignorant associate it with gluttony and also with the sins of wealth made manifest, since saranjum is a "luxury" item many individuals cannot afford to indulge in regularly. Thus greenfeather comes with a burden of shame and prejudice which blights the life of the sufferer.

Individuals who are known to carry the genetic markers for susceptibility, should avoid consuming saranjum or its derivative products any more frequently than once in seven days. At that rate, the concentration of the chemicals in the berry should never exceed the threshold required to trigger the condition.

Individuals afflicted with greenfeather are treated with contempt in many sections of owlblood society. This is especially true on Noctaliya and even more particularly on the moonside where saranjum consumption is widely thought to be decadent at any level. More enlightened and cosmopolitan members of Owlblood society do not necessarily feel the same way and that generally applies on Magicians' End where greenfeather is more common.