Cherno’s Curse
Cherno’s Curse is a supernatural pathogen which feeds on crops harvested for consumption in totalitarian states. It was named by Russian refugees from the Earth-666 iteration of reality, who saw the catastrophe it caused as the work of Chernobog. Unbeknownst to these superstitious folk, however, the condition was actually the result of a fairy’s bargain.
From 126–127, the blight infested the Motherland region of Eden and unleashed famine upon royals and commoners alike.
Transmission & Vectors
The curse is transmitted through a contamination in the soil which is general over the whole of Eden. The blight is inactive until the leader of a nation or other large organization is found to be abusing their power. But the moment they begin mistreating their subjects, the pathogen begins its nasty business.
Symptoms
The first sign of infection is a pulsing purple light emanating from the vascular system of the plant. From there, the leaves begin to wilt and wither as the curse sucks the plant dry. And when there is naught but a gray husk left of the afflicted specimen, the light slips down the stem, back into the ground, and seeks out the root system of its next victim.
Treatment
Spread of the infection can only be stopped by prayers of contrition by the megalomaniac whose foul deeds set loose the curse to begin with—genuine prayers, plus swift reparations. The spread can be slowed, however, by the intervention of benevolent fae.
Yikes! That's one way of making sure leaders behave, I suppose! :O
Well it'll make them behave, or inevitably as famine can cause, it'll cause riots and maybe even revolution in which case, said leader swiftly becomes less of a problem and more of fertilizer.
Yep, this one's going to cause lots of trouble. It'll be connected to my ethnicity and conflict responses for this round. Stay tuned!