Stone Bones

Stone Bones is the colloquial name for petrificant magiplasm, a magical disease that occasionally afflicts people who have been turned to stone. Parts of the body, particularly the skeleton, slowly begin returning to stone form.

History
Stone Bones popped up sporadically throughout history, though it was rarely identified, and magicians often simply cast various healing spells to rid themselves of the symptoms. It wasn't until the 1999 petrification of the entire planet of ‎Mirinoi‎ that it became a commonly known illness. During the recovery from the transformation, nearly twelve percent of the native population began to experience symptoms.

Symptoms
Symptoms vary depending on where the infection begins. Typically, it sets into the skeleton, hence the nickname, causing pain, a lower blood count and a depressed immune system, meaning a higher likelihood of other infections. As it spreads, other tissues become infected, causing feelings of cold, weight and numbness. Probably due to being a magical disease, a victim can survive a surprisingly long time as the disease spreads, and it continues after death.

A Stage One Stone Bone patient will have decreased motor skills, feelings of numbness, and increased weight without increased mass.

Stage Two is the spread to an entire limb or reaching the skin, resulting in a greyer, hardening skin, inability to move or feel the affected part, disorientation and confusion, and severe pain where the part joins the rest of the body. At this point amputation is usually necessary.

Stage Three is when the infection reaches critical organs. On rare occasions, the petrification will set directly into a major organ, such as the heart, stomach or brain, and kills much more quickly. The patient loses his appetite and begins to sleep almost constantly, but is very alert when awake. There is typically little pain at this stage because most of the nervous system is compromised, and the memory becomes increasingly faulty. Without magic, death is inevitable at this point.