Bite

*Rats have decimated Valois villages. Thousands of deaths have been reported from bites or contagion. It is a divine plague... And this is just the beginning.*[src]
English Soldier discussing the battle with the Bite

The **Bite**, also called the **plague** or the **black plague**, is a lethal illness that accompanies the manifestation of the Prima Macula curse because of the original transmission coming from rat bites.

## History

### Background

While it is uncertain if the Bite symptoms or effects were similar to the ones in 1348–1349, one of the previous Bites tied to the Prima Macula was St. Justinian's plague, 800 years previous. It was equally catastrophic, claiming many lives and what little could be learned about it was seemingly lost over time.

### *A Plague Tale: Innocence*

In "The Strangers", the Bite surfaces shortly after the emergence of the plague rat hordes, starting as bites in the night while people slept or were caught in the dark. Soon the plague festered, infected people spread the disease to their family members, and then those family members spread the Bite to other people. At this point, fatalities swiftly followed as people, young and old, succumbed to the disease. Villages were wiped out, those that were not eaten by the rats quickly were killed off by the Bite. People attempted to quarantine the sick in their homes and painted white X's on the doors to differentiate the healthy from the sick. When it was discovered that it was the rats who first spread the Bite, it was already too late.

Laurentius, the de Rune family physician and a renowned alchemist, contracted the Bite while trying to help the sick in a nearby village hospice. Grand Inquisitor Vitalis Bénévent also contracted the sickness, although it is unsure how. His alchemists discovered that Episanguis crystal infused in blood transplants could stall its progress and keep him alive.

### *A Plague Tale: Requiem*

In "Newcomers", after six months of peaceful respite, the Macula is reawakened, which prompts Amicia, Hugo, Béatrice de Rune, and Lucas to head to the Red City in search of Vaudin, a member of the Order who will examine Hugo. Amicia and Lucas came across the poor district of the city. They found dozens of bodies; poor people, likely from the slums outside, who had died to the Bite. Amicia came to the conclusion that by bringing Hugo to the city they had also brought the plague, but Lucas insisted the plague may have come from anyone infected with the Bite, and the plague in Guyenne is likely spreading.

In "A Burden of Blood", as Vaudin began to study Hugo's sickness, his treatment led the boy to have several seizures. Outside, the rats had started attacking some areas of the Red City and fought against the Count's army, who'd begun a blind purge on the inhabitants in an attempt to contain the Bite.

In "Protector's Duty", Hugo's seizures had caused gigantic waves of thousands of rats to emerge from the depths and wreak havoc on the city, ultimately leading to its devastation.

## Symptoms

Those afflicted with the disease begin to cough conspicuously, and develop large sores and boils on their bodies. This is likely accompanied by severe fevers and other symptoms, but it inevitably proves fatal for anyone who contracts it.

The disease also makes the infected extremely thirsty, as an infected person can be seen drinking water desperately from a small stream full of corpses.

The disease also renders an afflicted person incredibly weak and unable to walk after some time, leaving Laurentius bedridden and Vitalis confined to a chair carried by two of his soldiers.