Lightblight

This condition is caused by the consumption of Pragmia over an extended period. It requires years of eating the dish daily to trigger the symptoms, so few outside of Nuxis in Pintra have even heard of the condition, let alone suffered from it.   There is some speculation that eating meat from animals that feed on the core ingredient of pragmia may also lead to the condition developing but little progress has been made on confirming this.

The first sign of this condition is an increased sensitivity to bright light. Being out in the midday sun feels like the eyes haven”t adjusted after emerging from a dark cave, no matter how long is spent in the light. Over the course of about a year this sensitivity to light increases until even a cloudy day can seem too bright.   After the first year the colour of the eyes begins to change, gradually moving towards a red hue. At the same time the ability to distinguish between certain colours decreases (primarily reds and greens). It can take around two years for the eye colour change and further loss of vision to finish.   About three years after the onset of symptoms the effects spread to the skin. Colour starts to fade from the extremities first, with the skin turning a pale white. This pale skin burns extremely easily, becoming red and painful or even blistering with even small amount of exposure to the sun.

For those living in Nuxis this condition was just a part of how things are. Everyone developed this condition so they adapted their culture to account for it. Clothes that completely covered the body were the norm, along with heavy veils that protected the face and eyes from the burning sun.   Being able to run and play in the sun was seen as a thing of childhood, with the proper place for adults being in the dark. Children would look forward to when their eye colour changed and the ceremony when they would be presented with their first veil.   For those from outside of Nuxis the reaction to this condition was very different. Red eyes, pale skin, and an aversion to sunlight sounded far too much like the signs of the legendary vampires (despite the first and last of the creatures having been long since destroyed). Multiple villages were razed by those seeking to exterminate the supposed undead monsters before the truth of the condition was revealed.