Withering

"Think of the most excruciating pain you can, doubled with disembodiment and dementia. Think of your body rotting away slowly, whilst you live forever and bear the pain, until you are nothing but ash. You turn into a monster, until finally, you are dust in the wind; Only then will you come close to realizing the effects of Withering."

- Chrysantheraj's account of 'Withering'. Withering was an affliction found pre-dominantly in the Ages of Chrysanthemum Alternate Universe, on Aqua Magna predominantly.

Day 1 of Contact;
Upon first sight of the symptoms of this affliction, it appears that the disease eventually grows and grows, assisted by bacteria and algae - Although they are swiftly consumed by the affliction, as it rots away at the host of what I will call 'Withering'. I have only heard of this disease, thinking it a rumour; although it appears I was thoroughly wrong. After doing many medical checks which did not involve the rotting tissue in question, I could confirm that the heartbeat had been slowed to a near halt, even if the Matoran which had undertaken this 'Withering' was gasping for air as if he was being suffocated by his own lungs. Oddly enough, he also seemed rather trance-like, and later gave his body up for my research. I shall have a vaccine and cure made in no time, I tell you.

Day 3 of Contact;
It had been a day since anything drastic changed within him, even under the most un-sterile of conditions I forced him into - Like a germ on a plague infested petri dish, and yet - nothing happened.

Until now, that is.

I recently woke up to find that the tissue and protodermis consisting of the Matoran's ankle was rusting, and rotting away to such an extent it was about to fall off - I was woken by the Matoran's screams of pain, and yet I could not find a solution to the reversal of this disembodiment - Which I doubt would have soothed his pain anyways, as the procedure would not have destroyed the Withering mould stuck to some parts of his body, mainly where his muscle tissue is. I would not be surprised if this causes paralysis, no matter how minor - Although I can easily say that in the small room I have put him in, whilst completely free to move; He wishes not to as he writhes against the wall. I fear only the worst for him, and am about to work on a prototype vaccine based on the samples of the Withering mould I have gathered - With a slim chance of it working, it's all I can do.

Day 4 of Contact;
It didn't work - It did ''nothing. ''I fear that this 'Withering' has an essence of mysticism to it, which Metru-Nui grade Science simply cannot cure. With much of our money being put into defence, due to the Son's attacks, I do not believe I will be granted the equipment I need to do a further study - The least I can do is observe, not cure or vaccine. So much for me being a hero amongst the people, identifying a threat to the people and destroying it. I see now why they leave this job to the Toa.

Back to the subject at hand, however, it seems the mould has consumed his limbs and that the muscle tissue is shrinking away, and that the protodermis which consists of his body is doing so in turn. I fear he is becoming more beast-like every day, as he claws against the walls, froths at the mouth and mutters something in a tongue I cannot comprehend. I invited a teacher, who is also a friend of mine from Ga-Metru to see if she could identify the language, although she had no knowledge of it; to quote her, "In all my time I have never heard such linguistics; and I doubt it has been written down, or heard of before. It truly is a language; the words translate to any other language, but it is un-known what it translates to."

Day One-Hundred and Three of Contact;
It appears that the Withering has reached a new level in my absence. The mould is spread across the walls of the abandoned lab, and yet the Matoran - No, the monster the mould has created seems to stay dormant - Directionless. I'll make a large assumption that only those of strong will can stave off the infection, based off the factor of it's mysticism and the files I was lucky enough to recover from the archives. I'll leave my own research halted, before the beast that the Withering has created finds me - And takes me under it's plague.

A curious case indeed.

True Effects of Withering
Withering, as an affliction, has an air of mysticism about it - Although it does involve some forms of science which makes it notable as a disease. For instance, the way it grows is that the 'magic' involved attracts the attention of harmful bacteria and algae and almost re-purposes their DNA, to create a rotting infestation which targets protodermis and muscle tissue. These effects can go on for many, many years - Multiple times the average Matoran, Toa or Turaga's lifespan - Retaining the 'life' of the afflicted, even if they are mostly brain-dead due to the disease rotting their brain.

Their extended life-span is unknown to an exact number, although it can be from one million to one-hundred million years - A rough estimation by the archive's records. During this life-span, those who have the pure will to stave off the mysticism will be able to live longer and retain some of their sanity, whilst others may become burbling beasts withing a matter of months, or at the very least weeks; the infection itself can take it's sweet time based on the will of the person afflicted.

It has become apparent that disembodiment, and regrowth of odd variations of limbs happen during the early and middle stages of Withering - Although it is less likely for these to happen near the end stages of Withering, when the beast is fully formed or the afflicted persons are of high enough will to resist the later stages, which happen to be the weakest ones - Almost as if the infection has given up. Claws, tendrils, spikes and other deformities can be created in place of disembodied limbs during the early and middle stages of Withering, and the later stages simply refine these deformities.

The afflicted persons behaviour can become rampant, should they let go of their desire to stay untouched, and the dementia will kick in - Creating, eventually, amnesia - although it is good to note that during any stages of the infection, there will be a slight lack of awareness - as if their mind has been usurped. When left alone with no others, it appears that those afflicted hibernate, or shut down, as to conserve energy - Even with the infection eating away at them.

Trivia

 * This disease is slightly based off of the affliction the Forgotten Warriors suffer with, although the effects are much more imminent.
 * The origin of the disease is unknown, although some scientific theorists speculate that the disease itself stems from the blood of an Old God, leaked into the seas of liquid protodermis. However, these are just rumours.