Afflictions of Nakti

A list of all the diseases and afflictions one might suffer on Nakti.

* **Symptoms**: Euphoria, Compulsive grasping of appendages and jaw clenching, Claustrophobia, Agoraphilia (Sudden and consuming love of open spaces)
* **Treatment**: None known, ultimately fatal but can take years or decades to prove so.

A disease which originates with and most commonly effects Diggers It is characteristic of a slow progression of growing happiness. This begins subtly with a mildly improved affect but quickly develops into acute claustrophobia and near delirious joy. The claustrophobia is prone to inducing hyperventilation and laughter as the euphoria and terror intermingle. Agoraphillia becomes acute in diggers near the late stages and tends to coincide with a propensity to grasp onto and cling to things involuntarily. Within days of the onset of grasping behavior it becomes almost impossible to drink or eat between fits of raucous and pained laughter. General death by dehydration sets in shortly after this.

In this last stage of laughter spores are being laced with the exhalations of the afflicted and it is at this stage that the disease is most contagious.

Entire digger cities can be wiped out by a terminal infection of laughing bloom. Likewise other mammal species can be at risk of contracting the disease although the effects are less consistent and generally settle into a general respiratory infection. The long onset time generally proves the disease less of a danger to none-diggers as usually some other natural cause will set in before the disease can run its course if contracted later in life.

## Non contagious diseases

### **Thunder Rock Fever**

* **Method**; exposure to molds in mines in the Land of Dread
* **Symptoms**: Fever, coughing up mucus and blood
* **Treatment**: tea brewn from the Lazuli Lotus

Increased mucus production and mucus hardening. The victim is struck by a hot fever as they attempt to cough up the slime. This moves the slime around and stimulates its production; the slime then hardens, turning the afflicted's estophagus, nasal canals and throat rock-solid. The illness is named after the thundering cough it causes and the bits of solid mucus the victim coughs up.

## Parasites

### **Qarabu Vine**

* **Method**; physical penetration of orifices/wounds
* **Symptoms**:Plantlike features, depending on stage.
* **Treatment**: Depending on stage, treatment ranges from unnecessary to nonexistant.

Slow creeping, plantlike parasite. Depending on original exposure, victim will end up in one of the following stages of infection:

1. Greenish coloration of the skin.
2. Rootskin: Brown coloration of the skin, which thickens. Mobility is hindered. Fur will cease growth.
3. Barkskin: If the parasite did not manage to sufficiently root itself, it will turn the skin into a tough, bark-like layer. This prevents the loss of water through evaporation. This state will lay dormant for many years.
4. Vineskin: Once rooted sufficiently, it will assimilate the skin around it, The surface of the skin turns green again, thickening into a flexible new organ. Mobility regained.
5. The vineskin sprouts tentacles, the tentacles become bigger,  grabbing things and becoming difficult to detach. The Qarabu will attempt to link nerves with the host's to prevent the amputation of the new limbs.
6. In rare cases, a fully symbiotic infection.

## Poisonous substances

### **Lapis Lotus**

* **Method**; consumption
* **Symptoms**: comatose hallucinatory experience.
* **Treatment**: None. Victim must be fed and kept alive by others until the poison wears off.

Consumption forces the victim into a prolonged period of unconsciousness. During this period, the victim can't eat, drink or defend themself, which often proves fatal. Should they be force-fed and kept safe, waking up is to be expected within a couple of weeks. The sanity of a woken up victim cannot be guaranteed.