Stage 0

Although there is debate on the validity of this stage, it is defined as the time where the necrosis infection is taking root within a host.  This stage lasts about a week and is primarily characterized by a steadily dimming glow.  Within 48 hours of exposure, the eyes have begun to fade from their typical white glow into a dull grey reminiscent of that seen in dextroluma taking the ‘cure’.  By the end of the week, the eyes will be black.  The glow seen on fins, freckles, genitalia, baubles, and occasionally horns will have dimmed as well.  Sterility sets in during this stage, and pregnant hosts typically will experience miscarriages or stillbirths unless an early delivery can be managed.  At the end of that week, the host will have entered Stage 1.

Note: Dextroluma who begin taking the cure in the first 48 hours will still have dimmed glows, but they may look off-white or a very light gray as opposed to the darker grays seen in later stages.

Stage 1

The first stage of necrosis is the easiest to manage and involves the fewest changes to the behaviors of the afflicted.  The eyes are fully dimmed to black, while the glow seen on fins, freckles, genitalia, baubles, and occasionally horns will have dimmed significantly.  Hosts in this stage may display somewhat altered thinking - they may have less patience than they used to and may take slights and being wronged more personally.  Not every host within this stage will display this altered thinking, however, and more research is needed to conclude why that is the case.

Stage 2

The second stage of necrosis is a bit more difficult to manage, although not irrecoverably so.  The skin around the ends of the limbs begins to darken, no matter the skin color.  In some hosts, they will also develop cracks in their skin and fins, or even experience a horn breaking.  Hosts in this stage will more typically experience further alterations in their thinking if they displayed that symptom during Stage 1, and some may begin to experience it for the first time during stage 2.

Stage 3

During the third stage of necrosis, hosts experience further deterioration.  They typically will have heavily cracked horns which are prone to breaking, and the cracks in skin and fins will develop into full blown tears through the layers.  In the more severely afflicted hosts, this will even expose muscle in small areas.  Hosts in this stage very typically experience altered thinking, with very few exceptions.  They are also almost always aggressive, as this is one of the most effective stages for spreading the spores within their body.  This is not, however, a rule - hosts will typically seek to spread the parasite in ways according to their existing inclinations.  A gardener is more likely to spend their time growing Elder Mushrooms over attacking uninfected dextroluma, for example - unless they already possessed a violent temperament.

Note:  This is the last stage where the cure is effective.

Stage 4

In the fourth stage of necrosis, hosts begin to resemble the dead more than the living.  Hosts in this stage always have exposed muscle - usually large swathes of it - and may also have some bones or organs exposed.  Organs display the same dull glow seen on baubles, fins, freckles, etc., rather than the healthy and vibrant one that would be seen on an uninfected dextroluma.  Hosts in this stage always have altered thinking, which typically skews towards being more aggressive.  Like Stage 3, this is one of the most effective stages for the parasite to spread.

Stage 5

In the fifth - typically contended to be final - stage of necrosis, it is clear the host is almost dead.  Mushrooms begin to grow out of them, the beginnings of future Elder Mushrooms.  Although these mushrooms typically grow internally, they can also be found growing out of exposed bones and organs, or even on what little skin remains.  Hosts in this stage seem to be decomposing before the eyes of others, with less and less of their skin, muscles, and organs remaining as time passes.  While hosts in this stage do display altered thinking, they are not typically aggressive in nature.  It is debated whether this is purely because they lack the physical capacity to cause much harm due to muscle damage or loss as well as the loss of many bodily fluid functions, or if the parasite simply no longer drives them to violence now that it has begun to grow.

Stage 6

Although most researchers contend that ‘death is not a stage of necrosis’ some consider it relevant to include in their work.  Those who die of necrosis have been observed to experience abnormally rapid decomposition, while the mushrooms that grow on them experience abnormal rates of growth as they feed on the body of their former host.  For safety, it is recommended that the remains of infected dextroluma who have died are not buried, left alone, or burned.  In most nations, these corpses are loaded into secure spacecraft from Galactica and later launched from space to be immolated by Aerius’ sun, which is believed to be the most secure way of properly disposing of them and the parasite they carry.