Certainly, there is little in the way of Daggerlander medical study available for analysis dated 6C or previous. Of the few written texts that did endure, fewer still make mention of what can best be translated as "sky sickness," an ailment presenting the familiar symptoms of creeping paralysis. The disease was not typically fatal, as it often takes years to fully present and in those dark times such a decrease in labor efficacy led without exception to the furnaces. But, the grim rosters kept by the Tyrant's Overseers offer a glimpse into methods of transmission. Sufferers were typically exposed repeatedly to high levels of atmospheric pollution, most commonly in the magma facilities of the eastern mountains or in Crucible itself where the furnaces resided. There are records of entire mining outposts being decimated in Harrow, where to this day seasonal inversions bring the miasma down to ground level for weeks at a time. Continued exposure to the thick mists ensured contraction of the disease, while also severely irritating any exposed tissue.
The arrival of Alor medicine within the past century brought formal diagnoses, with most study being performed by Kilais Philaraon of Ciondel. She classified what had become known as "Tyrant's palsy" as being separate from miner's blight and other forms of pneumoconiosis; likelihood of contraction stems similarly from inhalation, but the respiratory system is not directly targeted. Philaraon's research laid groundwork for the landmark treatment of Hann Ashlane last year by a team of Harpers from Tireneas, which failed to cure the patient but provided great insight into the nature of the ailment. From the notes of the chief mage: "It clings to the patient's being, refusing to be loosed. Like the miasma that hangs above this land, it seems to actively defy any attempt to remove it, almost recoiling when we reach for it. Such intelligent malignance can only be sourced from greater magic, the likes of which has not been seen since the Paavic plagues." With a strong deific link established, the affliction was summarily classified as a theurgical disease.
Incidence has steadily increased in recent years as the republic seeks to clean the miasma from its skies, up nearly 9% year-over-year. Inventors have developed a variety of apparatus for removing the viscous cloud layer, which most commonly requires flying through the miasma and attacking it directly. The nationalization of this nascent industry in 7C81 with the Atmosphere Restoration Act brought stiffer regulations and standardization of the now familiar cloudsweeper ships, but safety remains a concern for those who operate the vessels. Exposed to the worst of the pollution at altitudes ranging from eight to ten kilometers, pressurized cabins and ventilation systems provide increasingly effective protection, but skywalks are still required for longer missions. In time, the miasma will corrode even the most resistant metal plating without frequent application of alchemic salves and replacement of sacrificial anodes, and the equipment worn by sailors is not yet reliable enough to prevent exposure in all cases.
Even as the suits are perfected, the pursuit of a cure remains of paramount interest, particularly in the state of Harrow for reasons previously mentioned. It is here that Dr. Parianoc's research provides a new path forward. The team exposed forty Trovhedan grey mice to a sample of the miasma collected above Crucible; half of the mice were first inoculated with a suspension of 0.8% amotava and 1.5% caprotine in 4-thesprate. During the first week of observation, the inoculated mice exhibited difficulty of movement and delayed reaction to stimulus, but returned to normal thereafter. After one month, most of the mice began displaying the characteristic symptoms of neuropathy, including dulled pain responses in the extremities. Beyond six months, the entire sample showed clear signs of affliction. However, at the one-year mark, when paralysis of the far extremities typically presents, the inoculated mice showed no change in symptoms. After two years, the treated mice that had not yet died of age-related causes displayed only moderate loss of fine motor control, which the study suggests may simply be a result of senescence.
Dr. Parianoc's study offers the glimpse of a cure, or at the very least inoculation against new cases of the disease. Advocacy groups around the country have latched onto the possibility, and are even now petitioning the Magisterial Council to fund further research at home. Beyond the medical implications of successfully inoculating against theurgical disease, the moral component cannot be ignored. The Daggerlands have been subject to the whims of the Tyrant for the entirety of its existence, with barely a century in the present cycle to call its own. The great miasma remains a last vestige of his power, poisoning the lands and choking the sun. To render humanity immune to its physiological effects would be to sever the final link in the chains which bind the lands, and in modern medicine there is perhaps no greater goal.
