Origins of the Condition
Etherwave Burn is as old as channeling the Etherwave itself. The earliest surviving records from Otherworld warn about ‘the scalding tide that sears the hand that washes in it.’
Otherworld historians and wavebinders disagree over what this means. One school of thought says it’s a direct reference to the Etherwave Arcana lashing back from overuse. But another popular idea is that the Burn is simply the mortal spirit tearing under the strain. There are a few who disagree with both. Those scholars and wavebinders say that the Burn is closer to a type of seasickness, when the mortal body is out of harmony with the Etherwave Arcana. What is certain is that all cultures, both from Otherworld and Earth, have nicknames for the Burn. There are as many nicknames as there are cultures—the Scorch, Waveburn, Soul-Seaming, and more. But the one that sticks the best is the oldest term known—the thayan word Shéhral, which literally means ‘the skin that smokes’.
Symptoms and Progression
One mistake many surgeons and healers make is assuming Etherwave Burn is a ‘wound’ or even a single injury. Instead, it’s a range of afflictions, each with its own symptoms.
Early Burn, which some call the Overdraw. This is the first stage of Etherwave Burn that most anyone who can channel the Etherwave Arcana will suffer at one time or another. Symptoms are fatigue, tremors, and nosebleeds. The victim’s skin prickles, as if standing too close to lightning.
Moderate Burn. This stage is more dangerous but still easily treatable by most surgeons and arcane healers. Here the symptoms are fever, glowing veins, auditory hallucinations, or erratic, uncontrolled bursts of enchanted St. Elmo’s Fire sparks along exposed skin. The hallucinations are often a perpetual rushing or whispering, like ocean surf even when no water is nearby.
Severe Burn. At this stage, the person channeling the Etherwave Arcana suffers debilitating conditions. They aren’t always lethal, but can be crippling, as the Etherwave has scarred channels through the body. These symptoms can manifest as scorched fingertips, streaks of ash-like marks across the victim’s chest or arms. In the most extreme cases, the victim’s body rejects the attempt to channel the Etherwave Arcana entirely, even if healing is applied from the outside.
Catastrophic Burn. Here, the caster’s body has become a conduit for the raw, unfiltered power of the Etherwave Arcana it can’t control. This is often lethal if not treated immediately by an arcane healer trained to drain off excess power. Some victims erupt in a blast of enchanted fire; others dissolve into glittering, spectral ash. The last, and most tragic, are ones left alive but shattered—unable to separate dream from reality.
A Dangerous Legacy
The greatest danger of Etherwave Burn is that, in some cases, it lingers inside the victim. Even in moderate and especially severe cases, it leaves scars; visible marks where the Etherwave Arcana once flowed. These often resemble purple-red lightning bolts that wrap over and through the skin. In some ways, they bear a close resemblance to the metal vein marks grimlings are born with. Those scars can flare up again, years later, if the victim draws too strongly upon the Etherwave Arcana. On ancient Otherworld, before Crossing’s Fall, burned wavebinders often retired to cloisters known as Ash Houses. There they served as teachers—and a living cautionary tale—to the next generation of wavebinders. All to demonstrate that the dangers of the Etherwave Arcana should never be taken lightly.
Treatments and Myths
Sadly, there is no known permanent cure. But there are dozens of remedies, many of which work with milder cases. With Early Burn, or Overdraw, the best curative is rest and time away from channeling the Etherwave. This always does the trick.
But with more serious cases, remedies range from alchemical poultices to silver-threaded charms of jade. Both intended to ‘cool’ the Etherwave residue lingering inside the victim. Some morasu surgeons claim that sea-salt immersion baths combined with rest will cure the fever stages. A common arcane healer technique is to channel the residual Etherwave into another vessel, like a charm or other object. There, the unshaped Etherwave dissolves the object, releasing itself harmlessly back into nature. Most healers agree that unless the victim has a critical condition, rest—even months of it—is the slow, true way to restore balance in the body.
But among sailors, a darker myth persists. Those stories suggest that those who die of Etherwave Burn will sometimes rise again as Ashbound. Restless shades whose lightning-cracked forms drift in storms, muttering in ancient tongues while still trying to shape the enchantment that killed them.
A Respected but Feared Condition
Etherwave Burn is a dire reminder that the Etherwave Arcana is a force of nature and not a toy. It cares little for mortal ambitions, and one trying to use this force should remember that magic always comes with a price. To scholars? It’s a fascinating, if terrible, medical condition that begs for a true cure. For sailors, it’s a dire curse and cautionary tale about the risk of tampering with nature herself. But for wavebinders, navigators, and anyone who shapes the reality-altering Etherwave, the Burn is a mark of those who flew too close to the storm.
The Etherwave Arcana doesn’t punish someone with the Burn for reaching too far. It’s simply reminding them just how small and fragile they are.
- Master Healer Arvess Tal, Ash House above Bahía de Fevega
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