Diseases

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Dragons not only are threatened by dangerous fauna and even the Corruption of alien nature, but also diseases of all sorts, which aren't always possible to cure via Red Gems or Healing Magic.

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Curable

These diseases have been researched and can be cured.

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Common Cold

The common cold does not require a cure, and it is usually encouraged to weather off with some rest and a hot beverage.

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Symptoms

• Sneezing: Uncontrollable sneezes that often puff small clouds of element.

• Slight Scale Dulling: Scales lose their usual sheen, appear matte or flaky.

• Hoarse Voice: Raspy or squeaky voice due to throat inflammation.

• Element Flicker: Inconsistent or sputtering elemental breath.

• Wing Fatigue: Difficulty flying long distances; wings feel heavy.

• Snout Congestion: Stuffy nose.​​

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Incurable

These illnesses have yet to be researched and cures have yet to be tested and/or finished.

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Mana Deficiency

A very rare disease and thus nearly unheard of and poorly understood. This illness occurs when a creature is born with a weak yet not severed connection from the world's lifesource: mana. Therefore, they will see their health decline in a variable period two weeks up to a month until death.​

• It only affects species that are capable or have the potential of wielding elements and/or magic.

• The only way to prevent death in under a month or to prevent its symptoms, is by consuming high quantities of raw magic, and the only source for this, are other dragons due to their meat being the only one that is able to not only retain magic but also do so in saturated quantities to make up for the lack of mana of the afflicted.

manifests with eerie subtlety. In its earliest stages, the signs are often mistaken for mere exhaustion or sensitivity, causing it to go undiagnosed until it is too late.

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Symptoms

• Persistent Fatigue: The first and most common symptom is a deep, lingering weariness that sleep cannot cure. Affected individuals tire quickly, even from minimal exertion.

• Dull Elemental Affinity: Creatures with a natural attunement to elemental forces find their abilities fading. Flames sputter. Water refuses to rise. Winds fall silent. The connection to their innate magic grows faint and brittle. Spells are  more likely to fail.

• Loss of Coloration: A soft draining of pigment begins, not as severe or spreading as the Pale Rot, but more like a gradual desaturation. Eyes dim. Scales, fur, or skin grow muted.

• Cold Sensitivity: Despite ambient temperature, the afflicted often report feeling unnaturally cold, especially in the limbs and extremities, a result of mana no longer circulating properly through the body.

• Shimmer Veins: In some, faintly glowing veins begin to show beneath the skin, especially around the heart and temples. This is believed to be residual mana attempting to flow through a failing conduit.

• Emotional Detachment: As the disease progresses, victims often become emotionally dulled. Joy, anger, fear, it all become distant. It is as though the soul, like the body, is slowly disconnecting from the world.

• Inability to Heal: Wounds, even minor ones, take longer to close. The body’s natural recovery falters without the vital influence of mana, making injuries increasingly dangerous.

• Hollow Dreams: Many report dreams filled with white silence or featureless voids. In folklore, these are known as “the Quiet Realms”: places untouched by mana, where only the sick ever walk.

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Contagion & Containment

Mana deficiency luckily is not contageous, however it can be inherited.

• Non Contageous: Cannot be spread between individuals; strictly congenital.

• No Isolation Required: Afflicted pose no danger to others.

• Bloodline-Linked: Can recur in families with weak or unstable magical heritage.

• Often Misdiagnosed: Early signs resemble magical decay or spiritual curses.

• Scholarly Interest: Rare cases are monitored for study, not containment.

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Treatment & Management

• Dragon Flesh: The only known source of saturated raw magic capable of sustaining the afflicted.

• High Risk & Rare Access: Dragon meat is rare, sacred, or forbidden in most cultures, complicating treatment.

• Temporary Stabilization: Consuming dragon flesh halts progression temporarily; regular intake is needed to survive.

• Magical Infusion (Experimental): Some arcanists have attempted artificial mana infusions: few succeed, most cause magical burnout or worse.

• Lifelong Condition: Even with survival, the afflicted never fully gain normal magical strength and often require lifelong management.​​

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Cultural View

• Taboo and Fear: In many societies, being born "mana-starved" is seen as a cursed fate or divine rejection. Thus it leads to it being kept secret.

• Seen as Spiritually Hollow: Some cultures believe afflicted individuals are “unnoticed” by the gods or elemental spirits.

• Rare Sympathy: Others see them as tragic figures, quietly revered like fading stars: sad, rare, and poetic.

• Hunted in Desperation: In desperate or lawless regions, afflicted beings may seek dragons, leading to dragon hunts and moral conflict. This often leads to the death of the hunters.

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The Pale Rot

A rare, congenital magical-metabolic disorder unique to wielders of magic.

This is a specific strain of Mana Deficiency known for it's extreme aggressiveness on the mind, body and soul, and it's lethality on a far shorter term.

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Coined by Grand Master Healer Erin, the name reflects the visible symptoms: ghastly pallor and progressive decay, and the spiritual cost of its only known treatment: consumption of highly saturated meat, which is usually draconic meat, as all others lack the level of saturation needed to temporarily halt the progression of the illness.

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The Pale Rot is a variant of the chronic degenerative affliction that strikes beings with magic in their blood: Mana Deficiency, which withers the afflicted's connection to their own innate mana "pool" until it fully severs the connection, resulting in an excruciating existence until death.

It’s indiscriminate of magical elements or species, because it attacks the very mana source that powers the soul of all creatures, as well as spellcasting and elemental use. Thus it is not tied to any particular element, but rather to the act of having magic itself.

Over time, the sufferer’s own body begins to consume itself to feed the mana required to keep their soul, power, and life tethered together.

• Highly Lethal: Once symptoms begin, death occurs within a week without intervention.

• Irreversible: No known cure. Only a vile method of stalling death exists.​

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Symptoms

The Pale Rot is a strain derived from Mana Deficiency which is known for it's far more aggressive symptoms that lead to an even faster withering within a single week if untreated. The symptoms are:

• Chronic Fatigue & Weakness: no matter how much the afflicted eats or rests, they will never feel quite replenished.

• Wasting, Nerve Pain & Difficulty Gaining Mass: muscles weaken. Old injuries never truly heal. Nerves falter under pressure from the internal magical imbalance. Even with exercise, the body remains lean and borderline fragile.

• Pain Flares: Pain within the heart is the most common, but also in joints and old wounds.

• Metabolic Imbalance: cannot properly synthesize the essential magic needed for the body and soul to function, unless it comes from magically rich sources. Hence, the need for flesh or blood that is rich in magic, the best source being dragon meat.

• Pallor: skin, scales, or fur grow pale over time. In dragons, the color of scales dims and the luster fades.

• Chronic Weakness: energy is leached away steadily. Even mild spells or magic flares cause exhaustion.

• Mental Decay (advanced stages): without treatment, hallucinations, mood swings, and madness begin until death.

• Seizures: if the afflicted goes more than three days without replenishing their mana, they risk painful seizures.

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Progression & Lethality

Mana pool begins to devour soul energy when not properly regulated. 

Without regular consumption of life essence saturated in magic, the sufferer’s own magic begins to eat them alive, triggering internal fevers, hallucinations, and necrotic flares in the flesh. A being can still cast magics and use their element but it will be at the cost of risking their health.

• Within a week, the disease will kill if untreated.

• Death comes from total mana collapse, resulting in organ failure or catastrophic soul-burnout.

• The more magic one uses while infected, the faster the decline.​

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Contagion & Containment

Luckily, the Pale Rot is not contageous, and unlike it's parent illness, it does not transmit genetically.

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Treatment & Management

The only method of survival (or rather, delay) is through the consumption of draconic flesh or blood for mana replenishment, infusing mana-rich essence directly into the soul, temporarily stabilizing the afflicted body. It can be done on a weekly basis, with the best rate being daily consumption, before symptoms begin to show.

Draconic flesh and blood have the highest level of magic needed to make it viable as a delay. Other species are not as saturated in magic, or the magic in their meat easily dissipates.

• This process is believed to ‘rot the soul.’ A once-pure spirit becomes twisted, haunted, and marked with the stink of death, even if the afflicted never kills to survive.

• Cooking draconic meat is an attempt to civilize the act.

• Magical potions delay symptoms, but they’re expensive and rarely effective long-term.

• High-stress situations, or overuse of magic can cause violent collapses or violent seizures.

• Artificial mana infusions doesn't help at all, as the magic is easily syphoned and depleted, unlike the magic gained via consumption.

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Emotional Impact

• Self-Loathing: usually the sufferer will hate themselves if they find out the way to delay the illness.

• Isolation: few know of this illness and even less of this particular strain. It will often be kept secret.

• Burden of Survival: Each bite is a reminder of damnation, of being a predator forced upon their own kind. Mental strength required to resist madness is immense.

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Cultural View

• The Pale Rot is rumored in elite circles, but few believe it’s real: a ghost disease, a boogeyman for mages.

• Legends claim that those who consume their kin are cursed to rot from the soul outward.

• Victims who succumb to the Pale Rot and go untreated are said to "burn out", collapsing into ash and bone within hours of death

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Mana Saturation

This disease is ever so slightly more common than deficiency of magic. Beings who suffer from this condition will have a much higher output of magic and/or element in general, but it will be severely unstable. In response to being oversaturated, their bodies will work overtime to compensate for it, and thus, their lifespan will be halved. And if anyone were to try and take way from their magic, this would potentially aid in stabilizing them.

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• Things that act on magic can become active around them even without them touching, but overcharges and breaks if too close.

• They are actively immune to pure magic, usually absorbing the effects of spells which will further overcharge them.

• Those afflicted with this rare disease tend to be very emotionally unstable, as unstable as their magic.

• They also show hypersensitivity to magic, able to see others magical aura around them, or even smell it.

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Mutations may also occur but this is yet to be recorded.

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The Crimson Wither

The Crimson Wither, most commonly referred to as “dragon vampirism”, is a physiological disorder that disrupts natural iron regulation and metabolic synthesis in Aethyrian dragons. Most cases are chronic, non-fatal, and manageable, though untreated or poorly adapted dragons may suffer severe fatigue, elemental instability, and in rare cases, predatory compulsions.

The disorder is believed to originate from exposure to tainted Nether-aligned fluids, especially those tied to Blood or Soulweaver elements, though non-Nether dragons can contract it via contaminated drinking sources or wound contact.

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Symptoms

• Chronic fatigue and sluggish circulation: Wings may feel too heavy to lift, even when physically uninjured.

• Diminished coloration in scales: Particularly around the face and extremities. This can give a "ghastly" or pale appearance.

• Lowered hemoglobin levels: leading to shallow breath, dulled elemental channeling, and cold extremities.

• An instinctive craving for blood: especially fresh or magically charged, as a stopgap for iron and protein loss.

• Sunlight sensitivity: more common in Solar-aligned dragons suffering internal imbalance.

• Cotard's Disease or Walking Corpse Syndrome: dragons suffering from the Crimson Wither have a higher chance of developing a rare neuropsychiatric condition characterized by delusional beliefs about one's existence or mortality. The central feature is the denial of one's own existence or body parts, ranging from believing organs are missing to the conviction of being dead'

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In Aether-Aligned Dragons

Highly susceptible to the fatigue and elemental dissonance aspects of the condition. Their life-affirming elements clash with the blood-dependency, often resulting in:

• Diminished elemental potency

• Restlessness at dawn or during intense solar exposure

• Feelings of shame or disconnection from their natural affinity

However, with alchemical supplements, blood-tonics, or ritual purification, many Aether dragons can lead functional lives. Some communities even incorporate bloodletting rituals to manage cravings ethically.

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In Nether-Aligned Dragons

Somewhat compatible with the condition. Their elements, particularly Blood, Toxin, and Soulweaver, can partially metabolize the deficiency through alternative pathways. Symptoms tend to be milder:

• Blood dragons may adapt to the condition almost symbiotically.

• Fear and Umbra dragons exhibit social withdrawal rather than physical fatigue.

• Argent dragons suffer mental fog and diminished focus, particularly during complex shaping rituals.

Among Nether dragons, Crimson Wither may even be seen as a mark of mystic depth or inner suffering, though only in certain subcultures.

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In Neutral-Aligned Dragons (Chronos & Gravity)

Exhibit anomalous symptoms. Their naturally stable metabolism causes the condition to affect perception and spatial orientation:

• Chronos dragons may experience “temporal hiccups” or momentary time-drift during extreme fatigue.

• Gravity dragons may suffer vertigo or inconsistent weight-control during flight, which can be dangerous while airborne.

Treatment often involves grounding rituals, iron-rich sap distillates, and frequent rest cycles.

 

Progression & Lethality

​While not inherently lethal, the Crimson Wither has three specific stages of advancement:

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Stage I: The Waning Pulse

“You feel it in your wings first. The wind feels heavier. The sun doesn’t taste quite right.”

Onset: Weeks to a few months post-infection.
Common in: Recently exposed dragons; mild cases.

Symptoms

• Mild fatigue, especially after flight or elemental channeling.

• Cravings for iron-rich materials.

• Occasional dizziness or disorientation during exertion.

• Faint discoloration of scales: duller luster or ashy tones.

Elemental Impact

• Aether dragons: Slight weakening of breath attacks and elemental surges; Solar and Frost dragons feel particularly "off".

• Nether dragons: Mostly asymptomatic or minor dietary shifts.

• Neutral dragons: Experience slight imbalance in internal flow (e.g., gravity fluctuations, time-blinks).

Management

• Easily stabilized with iron-rich tonics, meditative grounding, and ritual herbal infusions.

• Some dragons are unaware of the infection unless tested by a healer.

• Social stigma is minor, often seen as a “minor imbalance”.

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Stage II: Blood-Longing

“The wind tastes of iron now. You dream of pulsing veins and warm marrow.”

Onset: Months to a year post-infection, or when untreated.
Common in: Poorly managed or high-stress dragons.

Symptoms

• Persistent fatigue, especially in early morning or after casting elemental breath

• Noticeable dulling of color; eyes may darken slightly, especially around the sclera

• Strong, intrusive cravings for blood: not necessarily violent, but urgent

• Reduced healing rate; frequent muscle soreness or breath strain

• Occasionally, minor tremors in wings or limbs

Elemental Impact

• Aether dragons: Struggle to maintain elemental focus. Storm and Solar dragons may produce misaligned effects (e.g. crackling instead of coherent surges)

• Nether dragons: Increased affinity to Blood or Soulweaver, but mental strain may lead to isolation or impulsive feeding

• Neutral dragons: Instability begins affecting their elemental functions (e.g. Chronos may lose short stretches of memory)

Management

• Bloodstone amulets and regulated blood-draughts become necessary

• Dragons often form part of “Crimson Circles”, where they manage feeding ethically

• Public knowledge may lead to social distancing, but not outright hostility in moderate cultures

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Stage III: Hollow Flame

“Your body moves, but your flame is dim. You are not dead… but the world feels like a memory.”

Onset: Long-term untreated cases; rare with proper intervention.
Common in: Dragons abandoned by their clans or with strong elemental incompatibility (e.g. Solar or Nature dragons).

Symptoms

• Chronic, debilitating fatigue; flight becomes difficult or impossible.

• Scales pale or take on a sallow, brittle look; eyes appear sunken.

• Constant, gnawing hunger for blood; some dragons lose their sense of taste for normal food entirely

• Elemental discharges become unstable, often backfiring or failing.

• Emotional numbness, lethargy, or apathy. Dragons may feel like they’re “watching life happen from the outside”.

Elemental Impact

• Aether dragons: Deep elemental disharmony; some become incapable of breath attacks altogether.

• Nether dragons: Risk becoming dependent on feeding cycles to stabilize their power, often slipping into obsessive routines.

• Neutral dragons: Begin “phasing”, Chronos dragons may lose track of entire days, Gravity dragons drift weightlessly, unable to ground themselves.

Management

• Requires intensive care: iron-blood infusions, regular feeding, spiritual realignment rituals.

• Some dragons choose self-isolation in remote aeries or sanctuaries.

• In enlightened societies, dragons in this stage are not feared, but honored for enduring the pain and are provided for.

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Contagion & Containment

The Crimson Wither is transmissible, but not highly contagious.

• Ingestion or infusion of tainted blood or fluids.

• Open wound contact with infected saliva.

• Rarely: consumption of alchemical brews brewed near Nether ley lines.

Most infected dragons do not bite or attack others, modern etiquette has evolved around using iron draughts, or livestock donations to help afflicted individuals manage their cravings without harm.

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Treatment & Management

• Blood-iron tonics crafted by Blood-aligned alchemists.

• Solar-bathed hematite stones infused with iron-rich essence.

• Regular meditative grounding for elemental realignment.

• Ethical blood donations or livestock access, regulated by local councils.

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Cultural View

Though once feared and still a condition often hidden specially in high society, the Crimson Wither is now usually treated with medical and ritual aid, especially in larger or more enlightened settlements. Some dragons wear red-etched runes to signify their condition, signaling need rather than shame. Others form support enclaves, “Scarlet Roosts”, where affected dragons share resources and care. However, some rural or conservative clans still view the condition as a Nether curse, and may exile or monitor infected dragons, particularly if symptoms are unmanaged.