Soul Based Illnesses

Within the world there are several illnesses which exclusively affect the soul, however unlike illnesses which affect the body, all soul based illnesses are not infectious.

### **Essence Build Up**

A progressive condition which occurs when a soul vessel has too much essence within itself and is generating more than it naturally loses, it should be noted that this condition can only present in individuals who are casting attune, with those who have undergone soul refinement at any point being more at risk. Individuals afflicted with essence build up will show the following symptoms;

* Physical hypersensitivity
* Emotional hypersensitivity
* Mood swings
* Restlessness
* Heart palpitations
* Subconscious/unexpected casting

The most effective treatment for essence build up is prevention; the patient should regularly expend their essence, either manually via casting, or using essence draining equipment such as soul forges, and forge stones.

### **Unwinding**

Patients who undergo unwinding are those who have left their essence build up unchecked for too long and their vessel is at its bursting point. The condition is acute, being triggered when a strong enough emotional state has been reached, after which the patient will be only able to feel said emotion as it effectively consumes them.

While afflicted, patients will erupt into one specific form of refined emotional energy, their body will rapidly begin to deteriorate, and their vessel will undergo soul shattering until there is eventually nothing left of the patient.

The main method of treating a patient while they are unwinding is to either contain them to avoid further casualties, attempting to get through to the patient by distracting them from the emotional stimuli they are stuck within, or more commonly, sedation.

After a patient has been stopped, all that is left is to treat the resulting soul burn and soul shattering, as well as any physical wounds.

### **Soul Burn**

An acute condition which occurs in soul vessels that don’t have enough soul essence within itself to function properly. When an individual is afflicted with soul burn they will show the following symptoms;

* Numbness
* Confusion
* Vertigo
* Loss of appetite
* Inability to retain short term memories
* Difficulty in recalling long term memories
* Weak or non-existent casting ability

The typical treatments for soul burn involves either a long rest period with frequent observation, or an essence transfusion. Resting allows for the patient to recover their essence naturally, however it can take several months to recover based on the severity of the soul burn; whereas an essence transfusion, while a more complicated procedure, can almost completely negate soul burn upon completion, with only a few days of recovery needed.

It is safe for soul burn patients to recover from home as long as the patient has caretaker(s) available, said caretaker(s) are instructed to frequently encourage the patient to eat, and also give them memory tests, as the first major sign of recovery is memory recall.

There are a few ways which can cause soul burn, mainly overextending oneself while casting, or having essence drained from a vessel by an external source, such as a soul forge.

### **Soul Severing**

An extreme form of soul burn, soul severing occurs as a result of a soul vessel being depleted of essence almost completely. When a patient reaches this stage of soul burn, they slip into a comatose state and often expire shortly after if they do not receive any treatment.

The only treatment available for patients suffering from soul severing is an essence transfusion, even then it is not guaranteed that the patient will ever emerge from their coma.

### **Soul Fracturing**

An acute condition which occurs in soul vessels which have been put under extreme stress, often confused for soul burn due to some overlapping symptoms; soul fracturing involves the vessel boundary being unable to maintain its natural shape due to the development fracture lines around the boundary, typically where the most stress has applied to the vessel. When an individual is afflicted by soul fracturing they will show the following symptoms;

* Difficulty in recalling long term memories
* Low energy
* Difficulty sleeping
* Difficulty casting
* Excessive essence loss
* Soul burn

Due to the principle of essence distribution, soul fracturing can only develop mild soul burn under natural conditions, however those afflicted are particularly vulnerable to essence extraction, and all forms of casting arts, as the vessel is the main form of protection against direct attacks or manipulation.

The typical treatments for soul fracturing involves resting until the fractures have healed, depending on how severe the fracturing is this may last for several months. There are some alchemical remedies can be drunk, or applied to the body to accelerate the healing process, but are usually reserved for more severe cases, or for individuals who rely heavily on casting.

Soul fracturing can only be caused via casting, either by direct attacks on the patient’s vessel, or by the patient casting too intensely themselves.

### **Soul Shattering**

An extreme form of soul fracturing, soul shattering occurs either when a soul fractured patient has their condition exacerbated, or as a result of unwinding. The vessel boundary breaks into defined pieces, referred to as shards; these shards are only loosely kept together where the original boundary was, with larger shards having their own gravitational pull which affects smaller shards.

While the symptoms of soul shattering are almost identical to soul fracturing, the treatment is where there the major differences lie. The additional symptoms of soul shattering are as follows;

* Reduced or absent senses (touch, smell, taste, hearing, vision)
* Numbness
* Inability to recall long term memories

Typically, when a patient undergoes soul shattering there is a high chance larger shards will be expelled from their original positions and left to exist independently within the world, although it is also common for large shards to be simply dislodged if a patient suffering from soul shattering is left untreated.

Treatment involves retrieving all large shards using specialist Resomancy casting techniques, or runic containment vessels, rearranging the shards appropriately around the patient, and inducing soul harmonising to fuse the shards back into place. Patients will still experience some mild soul fracturing symptoms for some time and should be allowed time to recover fully.

### **Spectral Limb**

A condition which only occurs in individuals who have had parts of their body amputated or otherwise removed; patients occasionally feel sensations as if the missing part were still there, with it occurring more frequently in patients who had lost the part recently.

Observations have revealed that spectral limb is likely caused by essence being inadvertently expended in the area where the part is missing, as the soul vessel of the patient is unaffected by the physical loss. Over time however, the vessel will naturally stop generating essence in said missing area, and the symptoms will be more sparce.

If the sensations created in a spectral limb are painful, Vigormancy can be used to treat to the area which involves moving or extract any lingering essence, however it will require multiple sessions before the symptoms stop appearing.

In some cases, specialist rune limbs, referred to as limb vessels, can be commissioned to act as a replacement; these devices are able to hybridise a connection between runes and a patient’s soul vessel to allow them to feel and act upon sensations once again. It should be noted that limb vessels cannot be used on patients who no longer feel spectral limb symptoms, also due to the complicated nature in creating, as well as the risks involved in using limb vessels, they are typically reserved for Spires, and Royalty.

### **Ash Bite/Bitten**

A rare condition where an individual is intensely driven to remove an otherwise healthy part of their body.

Observations have shown that both before and after a removal, the patient’s soul vessel excludes the targeted part which is the likely cause of ash bite; however, as permanent vessel deformation is not possible, the best treatment is to allow a qualified party to amputate the part, after which all symptoms are relieved.

### **Spirit Buds**

A rare condition where an individual is born with a soul vessel which has abnormalities in its boundary, often presenting in singular or grouped bulges. Those with spirit buds show no obvious symptoms or issues, however the abnormalities can cause some complications during Vigormancy healing sessions.

It has been observed that spirit buds can be inherited, as well as occur randomly. The abnormalities are present from birth in either case, but extremely difficult to identify, however as a patient reaches adulthood spirit buds become more prominent.

## **Trivia**

* The duration of a patient unwinding correlates with their soul capacity, with larger capacities lasting longer.
* Large independent shards caused by soul shattering have been observed absorbing essence lag spots when in close enough proximity.