Cobalt Plague

During a period of cold war preluding the Great War, a terrible plague struck the Fine Line between the three regions of Toussaint in 1379. An aggressive natural disease of the soil that would be known as Cobalt Plague poisoned the lands to an extent never seen before. Nobody knew its cause or origin, only that it seemed somehow magical in nature and incredibly contagious.

The Cobalt Plague would manifest itself initially in fruit and vegetables, turning them blue and slightly rotten. If one was to eat these poisoned crops, they would often die within a week. However, as the plague spread, it would evolve in a strange way. It would manifest itself in humans during an incubation period of four weeks. During this period, the disease would be most contagious. After the incubation period, the victim's blood would turn a vile cobalt blue and thicken, often causing all sorts of internal organ-failure or suffocation, leading to a quick but painful death.

The first deaths caused by the plague caused a massive panic and as tensions kept rising, it would take less than a year before the Empire would declare war on the Republic of Montclaire, believing the elves (being magical in nature) to have started it somehow.



Containing the Plague
City-life in the Empire was put on immediate lockdown to prevent the plague from entering. Trade stopped almost immediately, causing great famines not only on the poisoned Fine Line, but also in most big settlements in Doren as smuggled goods came in immensely high demand. Only Alberean cities were left with plenty food storages. This is part of the reasons tensions kept rising as drastically as they did. Many also believe that the famine that raged through Doren explains the immense increase in hatred against both elves and witches during the later years of the Great War.