The Wasting

Disease and death are part of the natural world, but the Wasting has come to be seen as something... different. 

Infection can be smelled. Spotted Fever comes from ticks, and it kills or it doesn't. Rabies will make itself known with a bite, within a season, and the madbeasts that carry it are easy enough to identify and flee from. Distemper is savage, but shows by half a moon, and targets mostly the sickly and young. There are a great many illnesses and killers out there which might undo the weak or inexperienced, but wise wolves know well to avoid, and healers can treat or separate to prevent devastation.

The Wasting is a rare plague regarded by many as some form of divine retribution. Young and old, feeble and fit, it seems to strike without warning or reason. 

The sick first manifest some distractability and imbalance - but easily the result of too hard a day, or some temporary malady. As the weeks turn to months, their condition worsens. Eternally parched, they drink far more than their share of water. Speech slurs, disorientation becomes more and more frequent. They progressively lose impulse control and caution. Death comes easy by this stage, from mistakes in hunting and territory disputes, or even careless footwork. 

But those that endure continue to deteriorate, often rapidly losing weight. They forego grooming, and may be covered in their own waste. Eventually they lose the ability to carry conversation entirely. Their bodies become spastic and unresponsive, leading to a shambling gait and a tendency to wander aimlessly, even in circles. 

Unable to recognize friend from foe or food, and with no impulse to hide or protect themselves, some become docile, and many others become frighteningly violent. Starvation is inevitable; even those with family to care for them will eventually be unable to swallow or chew effectively - if they can remember food at all. 

It seems to spread, the ill are known to decimate entire families, even packs, by proximity alone. No herbs or prayers can stop them wasting away. Some territories long disused have been marked in blood and bone to warn off dispersals - the land they tread upon carries a curse with it, and should be swiftly abandoned forevermore.

Significantly, it has been noted that black-coated canids do not catch the Wasting. What divine blessing or luck of color spares them remains unknown. 

The secluded and little-understood Lavras Colony devotes most of its resources to studying this plague, and seeking to contain it as they search for a cure. 

What exactly is it?

While wolves do not have a complex understanding of illness or disease transmission, The Wasting is inspired by zombie tropes and CWD in real life cervines. It follows some general rules:

• It is always fatal within two years, and visible symptoms usually only begin about ten months in (the main reason it is so difficult for wolves to identify how it spreads.)

• It is a neurological disease and can be spread through saliva, blood, feces, and urine. Saliva is the easiest way for it to spread (grooming, kisses, sneezes, bites.) 

• It can survive on the ground for up to two years, making it especially easy to transmit in highly trafficked areas.

• All Canidae are susceptible to it - native species include Wolves (& associated subspecies), Coyotes, Jackals, Dire Wolves, Dhole, Racoon Dogs, Bone-Crushing Dogs, Foxes, & viable hybrids thereof. 

  • However, melanistic individuals are immune. 

The guide is intended as a quick and easy way to decide if it's likely your character would be immune, loosely based on real life genetics. But you will not be pitchforked and set aflame if you push the envelope or bend the rules! If you really want, you can make your ginger badass coywolf lady who kills bears single-pawed while dispensing the wittiest one-liners known to wolfkind immune, too.