Approximately five years after originium’s introduction into industrial processes, the first cases of oripathy appeared. The condition was initially dismissed as an occupational hazard affecting a few unlucky miners in Malachite. As cases multiplied and spread beyond mining populations, the dismissals became harder to sustain.
Oripathy progresses through stages—subtle discomfort, increased magical affinity, visible crystallization, enhanced capacity, contagion risk, and finally complete petrification and disintegration to dust. The Labs documented the progression meticulously. What they did not do was disclose the full scale of the problem.
Chrysalis was the first city where Malachite Forges’ new originium-enhanced smelting technique was tested. Dawn Town’s processing facilities handled originium in quantities and concentrations that pushed the boundaries of what the Labs understood to be safe. Workers in Dawn Town exhibited oripathy symptoms earlier and progressed faster than populations elsewhere. The Labs classified this information as proprietary research data and did not share it publicly.
The justification, internally, was sound: causing panic before understanding the mechanism would help no one. Treatment required research, and research required time and funding. Public confidence in originium—and by extension, in the Labs—was essential to both.
This position became untenable three months ago when a Stage 6 oripathy patient crystallised and disintegrated to black dust in broad daylight outside the Labs’ main entrance. The Defense Section contained the scene within the hour, but the damage was done. By evening, the entire city knew. By the following morning, politicians were demanding that the Labs and its medical facilities be relocated outside the walls entirely.