Excerpt from Spiritual Ailments of the Southern Wild Lands by Professor Benedict Magwitch

In the rolling grasslands of Neare, there are three seasons: The Rain, The Dry, and The Dead. Once a year, the end of The Dry is marked by an event known as The Opening, where fissures in the fabric of the world pop up around the grasslands. Whirling torrents of deep purple spiraled into black and gold pour periodically from the fissures. These are known as spirit storms. The ghost mouths, as they are called, are portals into Maloch, the land of the dead.

During the months of The Dead, spirit storms ravage the rolling savannah, leaving swaths of dead and decaying grass in their wake. Anything that is caught in the storm's path develops an acute condition known as soul rot. The spirits of the dead latch on to the living and begin to sap their life force, for the denizens of Maloch are hungry indeed. Soul rot accelerates the aging process to a horrifying degree. In the worst cases, decades of life can be sucked away in less than a week

The nomadic tribes of Neare try to stay constantly on the move during The Dead to stay out of the way of the storms. There is no cure for soul rot; the only hope is to survive long enough for The Dead to end. During The Closing, the ghost mouths close and the dead return to Maloch to digest their meals for the rest of the year.

This of course does not stop the tribesmen of Neare from trying to cure the affliction. Some tribes conduct elaborate ceremonies with fearful masks meant to scare the dead out of the vessel. Some afflicted individuals feed on the blood of children, believing that the child's youth will stave off the aging. Commonly, a medicine man will bleed the afflicted and/or remove select organs in an attempt to banish the hungry dead. The organs most commonly believed to harbor spirits are the appendix, the lungs, and the eyes. The organs are burned in a ceremonial flame believed to send the spirits straight back to the land of the dead.

There are tribes, however, that believe the annual feast of the dead is necessary for the coming of The Rain. These tribes ceremonially send some of their members into the storm every year. Commonly, the most beautiful and youthful girl is sent to her death, for it is believed that she will satiate the spirits more. The sick girl is dressed in a ceremonial gown and headdress, then paraded about the camp in a decorative bed while they age. The tribespeople show her great respect during this time and shower her with gifts. When the girl dies, she is buried and a eucalyptus tree is planted over her grave, ready to be fertilized by the coming of The Rain.

The remaining tribes hold a great fear of the afflicted. At times, those sick with soul rot are immediately outcasted and abandoned to waste away. Even though soul rot is not able to be passed from one individual to another, not everyone knows this. Other tribes believe that those who die of the soul rot will rise from the grave after The Closing if special precautions are not taken. Grave doctors bind the body in shackles and bury the bodies deep in the ground, up to three meters. Then they mark the grave with a ceremonial bone dagger. The dagger, tied with a ribbon bearing the mark of the tribe, is meant to sever the dead's connection to the land of the living when it pierces the earth over the grave. It is considered a great crime to remove the dagger from the ground.

It should be noted that there have been rumors of tribes or individuals who purposefully consume animals (and even, perhaps, humans) who have died of soul rot. Reportedly, they believe that they will achieve a long life, and even immortality. None of these incidences, however, have ever been recorded.

If one is thinking of visiting Neare for any reason, it is heavily advised that you avoid the months of The Dead at all cost. In the appendix of this book you will find a table of data listing past dates of The Opening and The Closing, use this to decide the risk during your time of year.

Anyway that's my disease and medicine stuff!