Sanguinesti affliction

The Sanguinesti Virus is a lethal disease native to the Sanguinesti region, a vampyre-infested human farming area in southern Morytania. The virus is most well-known for its mind altering effects, casting its victims into total madness within only a few days.

The virus is first confirmed to have been discovered in the recent Fifth Age. It is most infamous for its effects on Mort'ton, a small town in Morytania which it felled in a matter of days.



Origins
All research indicates that the virus originated in the Sanguinesti Region, where massive human blood farms make up most of the barren landscape. According to Herbi Flax, the disease was brought on to Mort'ton by a strange gust of mist that came from the northeast, the rough area of Meiyerditch.

There is some speculation as to why this occured. It is possible that Lord Lowerniel Vergidiyad Drakan, the vampyre overlord of Morytania, deliberately released the disease as part of his attempted extermination of Morytania's Saradominist settlers. Others theorize that the disease may have originated from the sewage of Castle Drakan. The sewage seems to contain strange chemicals, possibly from the vampyre's human experimentation or from the daeyalt ore refinement facilities beneath the ghetto. Still, it is possible the disease came on naturally, escaping the ghetto by pure chance.

Effects
Due to the virus's rarity, it has been studied very little, and most of what is known comes from those that have witnessed its effects, as well as the writings of the scientist Herbi Flax.

The Sanguinesti Virus is mercifully rare, its effects capable of destroying civilizations in a matter of weeks. The disease has few dangerous physical effects, although it makes the victim sluggish and often brings their skin to a pale green. Nearly all of the disease's effects focus primarily on the mind.

According to the Diary of Herbi Flax, the disease begins very subtly, causing the victim to become depressed and somewhat unresponsive. Others simply begin to slip, staring at the sky in groups and speaking little. This depression escalates to the point of rage, the victim becoming aggressive and confused. Within a week, the victim succumbs fully to the virus, reducing them to an animal-like state. Speaking nonsense, they attack anyone they see and eat any victim they can overtake. This insanity will push even further, the victim losing even the most base of survival instincts.

The disease also effects the dead, hinting at a supernatural origin or influence. Even the dead in the catacombs beneath Mort'ton were affected, reving the spirits as mindless shades.

Cure
A temporary cure for the Sanguinesti Virus was actually discovered before it fully took Mort'ton. Herbi Flax, wanting to save Mort'ton before the disease took hold, invented Solution 194, a mixture of ashes, marrentil, and harralander. This solution was capable of controlling the effects of the virus for several minutes, but its lack of long-term effectiveness made it essentially useless. Looking to improve this, Flax developed a number of additional cures, including Solution 198. This medicine, containing snake weed, proved even less potent than 194.

Herbi Flax's final attempt at a cure was Serum 207, a basic mixture containing tarromin and ashes. This cure offered longer relief than any other mixture, but a lack of supplies in the now nearly empty Mort'ton made mass-production impossible. Both Herbi Flax and his assistant, Liornish Stemplehair, succumbed to the Virus before they could find a permanent cure.

During the Shades of Mort'ton quest, players discover a permanent cure for the virius; Serum 208. This solution, containing sacred energy from the town's temple, offers a permanent cure. Despite this, Mort'ton's isolation has left it virtually unsavable on a large scale, and today remains infected and ridden with shades and afflicted.

Shades, meanwhile, can be cured by using sacred oil obtained from the temple on logs. These pyre logs can be used to create a funeral pyre for the shade's bodies, releasing their souls.