Cataclysm's Breath

After the Great Cataclysm, a new disease was found to affect grifix. Luckily for most, it only occurs when a grifix sets foot in a high radiation area.

The Great Cataclysm left behind high levels of radiation all around Equestria, which decimated populations of most species and reached as far as the Crystal Empire. It caused radiation poisoning to almost every species in Equestria, and persisted for hundreds of years even far from the epicentre of the Cataclysm. 

The centre of the Cataclysm was no other than the Everdeep Lake in the Everfree Forest. By then, the grifix had already retreated to a place where they didn’t get wiped out by the waves of radioactive water, but no place in Equestria was safe of radiation, which forced them to travel as far as the Frozen North, far beyond the already inhabitable borders of the Crystal Empire.

To this day, high levels of radiation still persist in the Everfree Forest, which is now a swamp of radioactive water, home to strange mutant life forms. Scholars approximate that radiation will only leave that place in 20,000 years from the Great Cataclysm.

The Cataclysm’s Breath is the name that grifix use for Radiation Poisoning. All species can contact it when entering high radiation areas, including Changelings, though they seem to have much higher resistance to it. 

On grifix, however, Cataclysm’s Breath manifests differently than on other species, due to grifix’s strange magic nature.

Herbalists and other Scholars that travel to the Kirinaria Mercenary group must be very careful around the Everfree Forest, or if they are exposed too much to the radiation they might contact the Cataclysm's Breath.

Symptoms

The symptoms count as fatigue, migraines and loss of appetite, and even if the grifix eats, the food isn’t absorbed by the body, leading to emancipation. The grifix may also start throwing up blood, but besides migraines they don’t feel any pain. The grifix will also start losing hair and fur, and their skin will lose its healthy aspect.

Once the physical symptoms start, mental symptoms will follow as well: the grifix will start being more aggressive, getting annoyed easily and snapping at everyone. The symptoms will reflect clearly on the sphirix, which will look less shiny and vibrant, and later it will begin to “hollow out”. In the hollowing out stage, the sphirix will start to have holes, which will reflect on the grifix as lack of memory and parts of the self disappearing, until eventually, the sphirix will disappear completely, and the grifix will have lost their mind, together with any memories. This is called the zombie stage.

Zombie Stage

In the zombie stage, the grifix is hyper aggressive, they are unable to think, communicate or remember anything from their lives. They lack any magic manifestations, such as hair sparkles or sphirix, but their magic still flows, causing corrupted magic to leak in the atmosphere. Healthy grifix that breath in corrupted magic can get light symptoms of radiation poisoning, but they never get past the first stage, and there are no effects on the mind or sphirix, only on the body of the grifix. It is very important that grifix eggs are not placed in areas with corrupted magic from a “zombie”, for it will cause dysfunctions in the development of the embryo which can cause the grifix emerging from the egg to be dead or disabled.

Zombies will seek out magic sources, such as sphirix, which they can now see. They will always follow the strongest magic source they can see, so they will go after the most powerful grifix’s sphirix.

They can only see magic in this stage, but strangely they are able to avoid most obstacles, especially in grifix settlements, due to magic residue on buildings and such. When taken to a forest or area where grifix don’t live, they will be completely blind and walk into things.

When around other magical creatures, they seem to not see them unless they are using magic. Because of the grifix magic flow, they always see the grifix, but if the grifix covers their gems with the magic flow stopping lotion, the zombie will act like they don’t see the grifix anymore.

If the zombie sees a sphirix that has a close resemblance to their own, such as a similar animal, they will follow that one even if it is not the strongest magic source they see.

“Zombies” can hurt and consume sphirix and other magic sources. If they eat a sphirix, the grifix the sphirix belonged to will also become some sort of zombie, but they will not show a lot of symptoms related to radiation poisoning. It seems like the zombie stage is unrelated to the Cataclysm’s Breath and can actually occur without the disease, when the sphirix is destroyed in a certain way, erasing all information that it was holding from the grifix’s mind and causing them to mindlessly seek out a new sphirix.

Cure

For Corrupted Magic neutralization and early stages of the disease

In order to neutralise corrupted magic from an area where a zombie has been, the grifix use a special solution with which they wash all walls of the building, even if it’s outside, and they also give it to grifix that might have breathed the corrupted magic to drink.

The solution is made of Amber dust mixed with oil made from Solaris flowers. Soap is added when the solution is used for cleaning something, but not when it is used for drinking.

Amber is known to have magic restriction abilities, but it usually acts as a barier against magic. Solaris seems to trigger an effect causing it to absorb magic and be especially effective against radiation.

In order to cure a grifix that contacted the Cataclysm’s Breath, the same solution can be administered if the disease is not in an advanced stage. While these grifix must drink the solution, they are also required to take a bath where the water is mixed with the soapy solution. This water will absorb the radiation from the grifix, but don't let them stay in there for too long, cause it wil absorb all the magic. Because of that, they must take such baths for about 15 minutes regularily, until the disease is cleansed.

In small doses this solution can be used as a protective lotion against radiation as well, but in large doses it is strictly forbidden to use it on the grifix, since it can organs that rely on magic absorption on the surface of the skin, and cause temporary or permanent skin infections or diseases.

For the zombie and hollowing out stages of the disease

If the grifix is already in the zombie or hollow out stage, a mixture of dried Solaris and  Rewind Flower petals must be burned and the grifix must be exposed to the smoke many times each day, until they will start recovering their reason, but the memories lost and the sphirix can not be recovered. 

If the grifix actually has Cataclysm's Breath they must still take baths and drink the amber solution, but if they only got in that stage because another zombie consumed their sphirix that isn't necesarry.

If the sphirix hasn’t disappeared yet, it will remain with holes, but the hollowing won’t advance. In stange cases, the grifix could grow other parts from those holes, but sometimes such parts are completely unrelated to the original shape of the sphirix, such as an extra leg that belongs to a different animal.

If the grifix was already in the zombie stage, they will simply have to re-learn everything about life and who they are, as their entire mind has been wiped out. They can start putting on weight, but none of the magic manifestations will apply to them anymore, they will no longer have a sphirix (but won't be bothered by it because they can't remember having one), and they can still leak corrupted magic sometimes, though in most cases the magic flow completely stops. They will lose their mind again if they aren’t fed any magic, but can live pretty well off of light beans, as they can provide enough magic. They don’t need any other food.

Such grifix can not see regular light, the only thing they can see is magic. In a grifix settlement such as the empire, it isn't a problem because every single thing is covered in magic residue so they can quite clearly see every building and grifix. They can't see through buildings, but they can see sphirix very clearly, as well as magic manifestations like yokai. If taken to a pony settlement or anywhere else outside a grifix inhabited place, they are completely blind due to the lack of magic residue. Unicorn settlements still have a bit of magic residue, but it's far from what a grifix settlement has, so they would still have trouble with seeing things.

If they don’t eat light beans or other magic sources for a long time, they will return to the zombie stage, and they must be exposed to Solaris and Rewind Flower smoke again. The smoke can be addictive, some will refuse to eat anything so they are exposed to the smoke more, but the smoke can lose its effect after too many uses., and then there won’t be any saving the grifix.

Light beans aren't edible for normal grifix. Only “zombies” can eat them. 

Thanks to Dawn-n-Night, Emizu_TH, kazoowary and MidnightStar for creating this