Diseases and Illnesses

“The Body’s Betrayals”

“The Rot gets the attention, but mundane disease kills just as surely. Slower, quieter, but just as dead.”
—Priest Valeria, healer

Quick Reference

Healing and Disease in the Aetherium

Overview

Disease in the post-Shattering world is a constant threat, claiming lives quietly while Sky-Rot draws dramatic attention. Medical knowledge was largely lost in the Shattering, leaving survivors to rebuild understanding through trial, error, and fragments of pre-Shattering texts. Modern medicine combines herbal remedies, constellation prayer, quarantine practices, and hope—with varying degrees of success.

The Constellation Clergy serves as the primary medical authority, viewing healing as sacred duty. Priest Valeria in Skyport Eos exemplifies this tradition: combining practical herbal treatment with spiritual healing, working tirelessly despite limited resources and overwhelming need.

Major Diseases

Sky-Pox

Description: Highly contagious disease causing fever, rash, and respiratory distress

Transmission: Airborne, spreads rapidly in crowded settlements

Vector: Sky-Rats (primary carrier)

Symptoms: - Day 1-3: Fever, fatigue, body aches - Day 4-7: Distinctive rash (red spots, raised bumps) - Day 8-14: Respiratory distress, coughing - Severe cases: Pneumonia, organ failure

Mortality Rate: 15-20% (higher in children and elderly)

Treatment: - Herbal fever reducers (willowbark tea) - Hydration - Rest - Prayer to The Radiant - Quarantine (prevent spread)

Prevention: - Avoid Sky-Rats - Quarantine infected - Sanitation - Some believe constellation blessing provides immunity

Outbreaks: Every 3-5 years in major settlements

Last Major Outbreak: 284 S. in Skyport Eos (200+ deaths)

Aether-Sickness

Description: Psychological condition from prolonged Aether exposure (see The Aether)

Not Contagious: Individual condition, not disease

Cause: Extended time in open Aether without touching solid ground

Symptoms: - Week 1-2: Mild disorientation - Week 3-4: Memory lapses - Month 2-3: Derealization - Month 4+: Severe dissociation, catatonia

Mortality Rate: 10% (from accidents during disorientation)

Treatment: - Immediate: Return to solid ground - Severe cases: Weeks of recovery, often never fully recover - Spiritual counseling - Time

Prevention: Regular shore leave (1 hour per day minimum)

High-Risk Groups: Long-haul airship crews, deep Aether explorers

Island Fever

Description: Infectious disease causing high fever and delirium

Transmission: Unknown (possibly waterborne)

Symptoms: - Sudden high fever (40°C+) - Delirium, hallucinations - Sweating, chills - Lasts 3-7 days

Mortality Rate: 5-10%

Treatment: - Cooling (wet cloths) - Hydration - Herbal fever reducers - Monitor (prevent injury during delirium)

Prevention: Clean water, sanitation

Pattern: Occurs in isolated outbreaks (5-20 people at once)

Consumption (Wasting Disease)

Description: Chronic lung disease causing progressive weakness

Transmission: Airborne (slow spread)

Symptoms: - Persistent cough - Weight loss - Fatigue - Coughing blood (advanced stages) - Lasts months to years

Mortality Rate: 50-70% (over time)

Treatment: - Rest - Nutritious food - Herbal lung tonics - Prayer - No cure (only symptom management)

Prevention: Avoid infected individuals, good nutrition

Social Impact: Sufferers often isolated (fear of contagion)

Rot-Corruption

Not a Disease: Sky-Rot is corruption, not illness

Distinction: Disease can be cured; Rot cannot (only slowed)

Confusion: Some mistake early Rot for disease

Treatment Difference: Disease responds to medicine; Rot requires sanctification

Medical Practices

Herbal Medicine

Knowledge: Passed down through generations, partially recovered from pre-Shattering texts

Common Remedies: - Willowbark Tea: Fever reducer, pain relief - Honey: Wound treatment, cough suppressant - Garlic: Infection prevention - Mint: Digestive aid - Chamomile: Calming, sleep aid

Practitioners: Clergy healers, folk healers, herbalists

Effectiveness: 30-50% (better than nothing)

Limitation: Limited understanding of why remedies work

Constellation Prayer

Practice: Praying to constellations for healing

Primary Constellation: The Radiant (healing, light, life)

Effectiveness: Debated - Believers: 60-70% success rate - Skeptics: Placebo effect, natural recovery - Reality: Unclear (some healings seem miraculous)

Ritual: 1. Purification (wash patient) 2. Prayer (invoke constellation) 3. Laying on hands 4. Offering (candle, food, coin) 5. Vigil (healer stays with patient)

Best Practitioners: Priest Valeria, Abbot Silas

Quarantine

Practice: Isolating sick to prevent spread

Effectiveness: High (70-80% reduction in transmission)

Implementation: - Separate quarters for sick - Limited contact - Caregivers use cloth masks - Burn contaminated materials

Social Cost: Isolation is psychologically difficult

Enforcement: Varies (strict in cities, lax in rural areas)

Surgery

Capability: Very limited

Procedures: - Wound stitching - Amputation (last resort) - Tooth extraction - Bone setting

Anesthesia: Alcohol, herbal sedatives (crude)

Infection Risk: High (50%+ post-surgery infection rate)

Practitioners: Rare (few have skill)

Mortality: 30-40% for major surgery

Healers and Medical Facilities

Constellation Clergy

Role: Primary medical authority

Training: Apprenticeship (5-10 years)

Philosophy: Healing is sacred duty

Methods: Herbal medicine + prayer

Notable Healers: - Priest Valeria (Skyport Eos): Overworked, compassionate, skilled - Abbot Silas (Drifting Sanctuary): Legendary healer, mysterious past

Facilities: Chapels with infirmaries

Cost: Free for poor, donations for wealthy

Folk Healers

Role: Traditional medicine practitioners

Training: Passed down through families

Methods: Herbal remedies, folk wisdom

Reputation: Varies (some skilled, some charlatans)

Cost: Affordable (barter accepted)

Availability: Rural areas, small settlements

Alchemists

Role: Experimental medicine

Training: Self-taught, apprenticeship

Methods: Chemical compounds, experimental treatments

Reputation: Controversial (some breakthroughs, some disasters)

Notable: Alchemist Kael Greythorn (experiments with Rot)

Cost: Expensive

Risk: High (experimental treatments can harm)

Medicant Order

Role: Traveling healers

Mission: Bring healing to remote settlements

Methods: Combination of clergy and folk medicine

Reputation: Respected, trusted

Availability: Irregular (travel circuit)

Public Health

Sanitation

Understanding: Basic (know cleanliness prevents disease)

Practices: - Waste disposal (designated areas) - Water purification (boiling) - Hand washing (encouraged) - Street cleaning (major settlements)

Effectiveness: Moderate (reduces disease by 30-40%)

Challenges: Refugee overcrowding, limited resources

Nutrition

Impact: Malnutrition increases disease susceptibility

Common Deficiencies: - Protein (limited meat) - Vitamins (limited fresh food) - Calories (refugees, poor)

Solutions: Aerial fishing, agriculture, trade

Mental Health

Understanding: Very limited

Conditions Recognized: - Aether-Sickness (psychological component) - Storm-Madness (permanent damage) - Grief, trauma (common, poorly treated)

Treatment: Spiritual counseling, time, community support

Stigma: Mental illness often misunderstood

Quest Hooks

1. The Outbreak: Sky-Pox epidemic threatens settlement (help contain?)
2. The Cure: Search for rare herb to treat dying patient
3. The Healer: Escort traveling healer to remote settlement
4. The Mystery Illness: Unknown disease appears (investigate cause)
5. The Quarantine: Enforce quarantine (moral dilemmas)
6. The False Healer: Charlatan selling fake cures (expose them?)
7. The Miracle: Investigate seemingly miraculous healing
8. The Plague Ship: Diseased crew arrives (help or turn away?)
9. The Medical Text: Recover pre-Shattering medical knowledge
10. The Sacrifice: Healer contracts disease while treating others (save them?)

Related Topics

• Medicine and Healing - General healing practices
• Priest Valeria - Skilled healer
• Constellation Clergy - Primary healers
• Medicant Order - Traveling healers
• Sky-Rot - Corruption (not disease)
• Sky-Rats - Disease carriers

“I’ve treated hundreds. Saved maybe half. The rest… I did what I could. That’s all any healer can do—our best, with what we have, and pray it’s enough.”
—Priest Valeria

“Disease doesn’t care about your wealth, your status, your virtue. It takes who it takes. All we can do is fight it—with medicine, with prayer, with stubbornness.”
—Healer’s oath

“The Rot is terrifying because it’s new, alien, unstoppable. But Sky-Pox? Island Fever? Consumption? They’re old enemies. We know them. We fight them. Sometimes we win.”
—Medicant Order saying