[The following is the official Imperial account of the ‘Great Plague’ composed by Casadian historian Ardren in collaboration with scholars and healers throughout the empire.]
The first accounts of the great plague originate in the realm of Ӧstlond (then Ӧstlaed) during the year 539 A.I. After a particularly harsh winter that left many Ӧstrons malnourished and weak, an unnamed illness spread throughout the realm. Symptoms associate with the plague include coughing, fatigue, and eventually open sores on the skin. Many perished to the plague, including the leader of Ӧstlaed Mark Accynafon I. Though prevalent throughout Ӧstlaed, the plague did not spread to a significant extent beyond the borders of the realm.
Reported instances of the plague were minimal in the following five years, but this would change abruptly with the beginning of the Ӧstron civil war. With war leading to greater intermingling of people throughout the realm and reduced harvests leading to widespread malnourishment, cases of the plague began to be reported again in the winter of 545 A.I.. The volume of incidents would increase steadily throughout the course of the war, though it never reached epidemic levels. With the conclusion of the war in 547 A.I., it was thought that the plague would fade once more.
With large numbers of soldiers returning to their homelands after fighting in Ӧstlond, the plague had a new vector through which to spread. Incidents of plague were reported throughout the empire, most notably in realms that were heavily involved in the fighting. The realms of Pyrencia, Ӧstlond, and Isilioth were the hardest hit, eventually leading to a temporary cessation of trade with these realms. The lack of trade and widespread death from the plague lead to a sharp economic decline throughout the empire that lasted until 554 A.I..
Casualty estimates vary, but it is thought that the plague claimed at least one hundred thousand victims. Rates of infection varied from total exception to twenty percent or higher in the hardest hit areas. Survival rates varied from realm to realm, but it is thought that the plague approximately killed half of those that fell ill.
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What do you guys think of this description? It is certainly open for adjustment/tweaking.
_________________ Guardian of Casadia Master of the Slayers Guild Minister of Hermertian History
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