Baromite

*"Only a soulless individual could conjure a terrible plague such as this one; we must move quickly and efficiently... Holvstead, Candorton & Uvuuksburg will be destroyed. With your permission we could study the dead and reverse engineer a solution. Once the corruption has been weeded out of course... "*

*-Adeon Grimm*

## **Death Rain**

The combined enemy of meteorologists & the doctors of the M.A.H (Medical Ascenders & Healers), this plague weaponizes the very weather itself in order to propagate itself initially. Whenever a settlement contracts Baromites, it is often ravaged by the parasite until none are left. Because of the delayed nature of this plague, the sudden violent burst of death it causes, and lastly the corruption it leaves behind few have been able to truly study and understand it's effects. The Necropolises that have been erected by the Nari family to contain the corruption have been successful at mitigating the spread of the disease, despite their morbid nature.

Due to the squabbling between the Grimm family's backing of the M.A.H & the Nari's interest in allowing the the virus to spread; the Baromites have proven themselves to be a political issue among families. Despite this squabbling, the virus has been figured out to be traveling within clouds, and the meteorologists of the "Institute of Weather" have enacted several techniques in order to prevent large societies (containing more than 1 million people) to be protected. Such costs of monitoring the clouds for signs of Baromites is a highly dangerous & costly endeavor.

### **Common Symptoms / Stages of the Parasite**

The parasite itself has been categorized to have several identifiable stages that can be identified.

Stage 0 - The first stage of the disease is the infection of rain clouds after victims launch the parasite into clouds postmortem, their corpses become an bio-weapon in order to launch the parasite into the clouds. This is the only stage in which the parasite can be wholly prevented, screenings of clouds for the parasite are incredibly expensive even by the standards of the wealth of Acers. To maintain a civilization's protection, billions of credits are thrown into the observation & prevention of Baromites from entering clouds. This funding is secretly why the Institute of Weather has powerful Acers backing it, or perhaps because powerful Acers back does it have the funding, semantics...

Stage 1 - The first "real" stage of the disease occurs when the infected rain clouds infect life below them. Each organic creature or "living entity" even the tiniest blade of grass usually only contains one baromite at this stage. The critters are able to effectively spread themselves out, maintaining the one parasite per creature general rule. During this first stage, the parasite lies dormant, awaiting until the parasite has entered at least 50% of organic life within the radius of rainfall. As of now, the only way to determine if one is in stage one is the usage of divination magic, or if the doctor happens to be able to use / hear telepathy (or is using a thaumic ear), they would hear small "blips" indicating that the parasite is there.

Stage 2 - The second stage of the disease occurs when the parasites begin duplicating using the host's cells as a way to do so. The initial parasite's structure is known as "A", and the duplicated parasite's structure is known as "B". B's structure differs in that it will duplicate itself until the host is consumed by the parasite, removal of the parasite is incredibly difficult as the parasite itself is barbed, causing great damage when attempts to remove it occur. However it is still possible. Inspection of the victim using the "thaumic ear" would hear several pulses of telepathic activity within the victim as the virus is now widespread within the body. At this stage, several vein-looking-structures will form of the corruption, they appear to be purple, pulsating veins that crawl up the arm. Victims often report the feeling of horror, dread & the feeling of movement underneath their skin. In rare cases victims will attempt to head towards a direction unconsciously, this should be prevented at all costs.

Stage 3 - The third stage of the disease marks the moment in which victims have no chance of survival. Their bodies will be nearly consumed by the virus, they will start death-cults & will begin worshiping the parasite. Such psychosis is believed to stem from the parasite's telepathy driving those whose cells it's taking over mad, as they begin to hear voices from "beyond" and slowly begin to break down. The corrupted veins spiral up and down their arm, covering most of the skin with pulsating, broken flesh, peoples infected by the virus begin to spread out into several different equidistant positions (from the original point of infection; in which is seemed to be tracked within the memory of the parasite), coaxed by the parasite into doing so.

Stage 4 - All victims die on the onset of the 4th stage, their bodies now beings of corruption and considered to be aberrations at this point. Corpses begin walking towards their designated equidistant locations, upon arriving the parasite begins preparing the corpse for launching the parasite into the atmosphere. They allow the rot within the corpses to be pressurized, turning each corpse into what essentially is a mortar, launching "A" Baromites into the sky, whose structure is light enough to float within the atmosphere. The last thing that can be observed about the bodies is a large echoing pop, and viscera everywhere. If stage 4 is reached, the floor will be doomed.

### **Prevention of Spread**

The M.A.H's official guidelines about the Baromites are the following: "*Should the cloud-sign be observed, the following precautions should be taken to ensure the safety of the floor in general; especially considering the event of mass extinction of city-states of the Triarchy."*

1. If the disease is caught in stage 1, all infected individuals will be instructed to be isolated from other carriers of the parasite... A M.A.H doctor will be sent to contain the spread of the virus using healing magic and their expertise. The "Counter Corruption" will be administered to kill off the parasites that remain dormant within organic life.
2. If the disease is caught in stage 2, all infected individuals will be forcibly stored within weave-amber, in hopes to prevent the virus from spreading further. The virus needs to be surgically removed by an expert at the removal of Baromites, lest the damage be furthered. Depending on the amount of infected humanoids, there will likely be those who are higher priority than the others, especially learned men & nobles. These men & their families will be stored within weave-amber; the rest will be purified usuing the "Counter-Corruption."
3. If the disease is caught in stage 3 or 4, the floor becomes quarantined during the removal of the parasite. The "Counter-Corruption" will be seeded and spread throughout the entire floor to completely sanitize & remove the parasite from the floor. All of those who have the virus are beyond saving, and will be purified by the counter-corruption.