Crimson Plague

The Crimson Plague was a magically-resistant disease that ravaged all three known continents of Baltheron during the Dark Times. The plague began in western Gallorea near Thet around 2011 NC and is believed by many to have been engineered by some dark force. Priests and mystical healers were able to slow the spread of the Crimson Plague at first, but with the Recession of the Gods in 2012 NC, the plague raged on unabated, spreading to Duria and Aurea. By the end of the Dark Times, it is believed that nearly a third of humanity died as a result of the disease. Steelgate Island, once the primary naval base of Koramia, was completely annihilated by the Plague and more than a few of its victims rose as undead (it is unknown if this was because of some dark power on the island or a mutation of the disease itself). It is rumored that only humans could contract the disease and there are no known reports of the Crimson Plague in elven, halfling or orcish lands.

The Crimson Plague typically begins as little more than a mild cold, but within a day the victim begins bleeding from every orifice and their lymph nodes begin to expand. Within two days, the victim is dead, their nodes often having erupted, leaving behind a bloody, bruised corpse. It is believed by many that mere proximity to an infected victim is enough to catch the disease and the victim may be contagious for up to a week before symptoms arise. There are rumors of a very few people that have shown symptoms have actually survived the disease, though many discount these rumors as little more than fables.