Hilan Plague

The Hilan Plague is a deadly infectious disease in the world of Arlec, made worse when it evolved to include magical means. It doesn’t take long for the disease to take control of the victim, killing them after symptoms show within 2-3 days. A cure has yet to be found.

## Signs and Symptoms

Symptoms for the Hilan Plague usually occur after 3 days from the initial infection, but can take as long as 5 depending on the person. The most well-known symptom of the Hilan Plague is visible black veins in the chest area, connected to the heart. Other symptoms include:

* Black veins
* Bleeding from the eye sockets
* Chills
* Coughing
* High fever
* Seizures
* Vomiting blood

Eventually the disease infects the organs, causing them to fail and the death of the host.

## Cause

The cause of the Hilan plague is relatively unknown, but many believe a lack of hygiene and the consumption of certain animals, such as bats, cats and dogs created the initial infection. Infection can further spread through exchanging fluids, exposure to an infected persons cough or blood.

After the plague infected Awakened individuals with magical prowess, the disease evolved to contain some magical components, letting it infect people through simply a touch.

## Prevention

The Hilan plague outbreaks are controlled by quarantining the initial infected and avoiding the consumption of said animals who carry the disease. Since the disease has not been shown to spread through bites or interactions with said animals, pest control is not needed.

During a pandemic, the best thing to resort to is covering all parts of one’s body and wearing a mask to avoid fluids from the infected person touching any exposed area.

## Treatment

Treatment from the plague comes from the various religious churches and their healers, using magical healing that can destroy or cure a disease from an infected person. Outside of magic, there is no known cure.

## History

The Hilan Plague was first discovered in **231PR** when an unknown citizen of Gonarundu consumed an infected animal. He later infected his direct family who all died, spreading the disease no further. Doctors reported the black veins around the heart at the time, along with the bleeding eyes but were unable to find a cause, simply believing it was a monster.

### First Pandemic

The first pandemic that occurred with the Hilan Plague was entirely within the nation of Gonarundu. There, they were able to determine that isolating the infected individuals was the best method to stop the spread. The plague killed around 10,000 Gonarunduns before the spread stopped, including prominent nobles and even some from the Royal family.

The plague would pop up every now and then after the first pandemic, though would be quickly resolved thanks to Gonarundu’s culture of cleanliness.

### Second Pandemic

*See: Plague of the 5th Century*

In the 5th Century, the plague became rampant again, starting in the nation of Ilaka. Through its ports it spread to most of South-East Arlec and soon the world. The only nations in the South-East that weren’t affected were Vosqis, which had closed borders and Aren.

### Third Pandemic

*See: Plague of the 6th Century*

In the 6th century, there was another spread of the Hilan Plague that caused chaos in South-East Arlec. Rather than originating from the region though, it was transmitted from traders coming from elsewhere. Different from the Plague of the 5th, this was much more rapid and deadly, infecting others through simple touch and having much worse symptoms. However, with experience from the Plague of the 5th, governments from every nation were able to shut down quickly and save many lives.