Casters burn

Caster's burn is an effect caused by Aspect propagation in an improperly maintained magical focus. Most common symptoms are transmutation of living tissue into nonliving materials. Treatment for caster's burn is usually limited to or at least includes an aura heal, wherein the victim's soul will essentially be used as a record of how their body should look, and then restore it to that state.

Causes
A damaged implement is a little like a damaged battery, in that it leaks. In this case however, instead of acid, it will leak radiation and the aspects associated with it. Essentially, an implement is a conduit of your power. When properly maintained it will turn all of that power into a concentrated specific effect on the world around you, and is usually directed away from your body.

However, when a wand is damaged, some of that energy can leak out into the area around it essentially as white noise. It will pick up whatever aspects are within the wand and amplify and propagate them, gradually transmuting things in the effected area accordingly.

Symptoms
Symptoms of caster's burn are often chronic, taking effect gradually, usually in stages.

Early onset
The first symptoms to be noticed are something like a sunburn or rash close to where the user is in contact with the implement. In most cases, this is the hands or wrists. Most users only experience it this far, which is why it's called burn instead of more horrifying terms.

In some cases, however, the user will attribute the symptoms to only being mild, and not bother to have it looked at, or they may wear gloves frequently and assume their skin is just being chaffed by that.

The damage is caused by microtransmutations within the skin and tissues, this causes minor cell death on a wide scale, but usually isn't a problem if caught early.

Stage two symptoms
At this stage it's usually a case of prolonged use and reckless ignorance, the mild sunburn will turn into more serious, and joints will begin to become sore as soft tissues begin to develop microtransmutations as well.

Again, symptoms are reliant on the amount of damage to the wand, but also the amount of power being transmitted through them. This level of burn is more common in staves, as they handle much larger quantities of energy than smaller implements. It can also be a case of needed carelessness, as in a war zone or in an immediate battle, casters often do not have time to drop everything and maintain their wands. Because of this, oftentimes magi in such situations will carry spare implements but that is not always available so many will continue to use them, even as the damage becomes clearer and more distracting.

Symptoms at this level will usually require careful treatment and a well applied raw heal. Untreated, this can cause permanent tissue damage, as the microscopic bits of wood or stone move around and grind into and tear things.

Stage three symptoms
At this point the victim is usually aware that there is a problem, and the only reasons to progress this far is ignorance to what is going on or a desperate situation forcing them to ignore these very serious symptoms.

At this stage the microscopic transmutations grow to about the size of sand grit, and muscle fibers begin to transmute all the way through, causing minor muscle tearing, and incredible aches and pains when the digit or limb is moved. Skin discoloration begins to occur, and most often there will be nasty swelling.

Treatment at this stage will require either extensive surgery or very well applied restorative magic. Transmuting wood back into cartilage is very difficult, and the number of small grits makes it easy to miss a few, leading to tissue damage down the line.

Stage four symptoms
At this stage of development skin discoloration becomes apparent, and muscle tissue rapidly begins to transmute fully; soft tissues such as those in joints will develop much larger transmuted areas making movement agonizing. At this point the grit will become large enough to grind against itself, and the bones and nerves. Nerves affected at this stage often experience paralysis and loss of feeling in the affected area.

No one gets this far intentionally as it is most common in staff users in desperate situations who use a lot of power all at once and are unable to stop for whatever reason. Oftentimes though this is the ceiling for symptoms, since at this point it becomes nearly impossible to hold a grip on one's implement. Most spellcasters will simply drop the staff or wand whether they want to or not.

Treatment is very touchy and difficult, as there are now large sections of stone or wood that used to be several different kinds of tissues. Often they are surrounded by damaged tissue as well, making treatment even more difficult. Amputation is often considered whether it is possible to regrow the limb or not. Leaving it untreated in the long term is usually not considered, as the affected area usually becomes unuseable and immobile at this stage, though there are exceptions.

Stage five symptoms
At this stage, internal damage is almost irrepairable, joints will become completely useless, and muscle under the skin becomes visible in nasty grey patches. Bones begin to be transmuted now, which often spreads the damage even faster. Worse yet, the transmuted materials will often act as conduits themselves, aligned like a poorly made wand, and begin to resonate and cause even farther damage. Tissue death will begin now due to lack of oxygen caused by blood vessel walls transmuting and breaking.

It is also important to note that by this stage full body contamination is a very real threat, as the rest of the body has been showered with the same radiation, just in lower doses. If it has progressed this far in the immediately affected area it is not uncommon to find other parts of the body entering earlier stages of contamination.

Treatment requires extensive care, as the damage is often spread throughout the whole body by now, making it potentially fatal if, say, a small piece of rock in one's arm entered the bloodstream.

Stage six symptoms

This is almost certainly fatal. Expect to see full transmutation to the point of petrification in the effected area, and symptoms as high as stage three in the rest of the body. Most commonly this is found in Orb users, as Orbs do not require very much movement to use. If the victim continues to move, or attempt to move  as they near this stage of contamination it is common for the effected limb to fracture and break internally, usually falling off and hanging limply by whatever soft tissues remain unaffected.

Treatment for this level and type of damage can only be amputation and careful and extensive tissue restoration, untreated in this stage will kill even if one doesn't move very much, as internal organs will have developed patches of stone, and muscles that help with vital organs such as the heart, tend to transmute quickly once they reach a certain stage. The survival rate is very low even in regions with advanced technology or magic.

Stage seven symptoms
This is very rare, and mostly only seen in extraordinary situations, or in a lab on artificial or cultured bodies. The affected area will turn completely to whatever material it is transmuting to, again dependent on the materials in the implement. As mentioned before, orb users are the only real cases of this that have ever been seen as a result of the lack of any need for movement to continue to use them, due to the tendancy of orbs to be made of crystal. Afflicted at this stage are often turned into crystal of some kind, giving this stage of contamination the nickname crystallized or glass death.

The only treatment for this stage is a high quality revival, requiring the body to be either carefully returned to normal, or outright regenerated. Often though, this takes too long and the victim's soul will have passed before the procedure can be completed, that is, assuming it doesn't take residence in the crystal statue of its old body.

An additional note, occasionally the souls of those who are completely transmuted can linger and experience soul death, causing them to inhabit and reanimate their now crystalized bodies into something that is a cross between a golem and an undead. Referred to as Crystal corpses, they are made of highly conductive materials, and can channel large amounts of unstable power, making them incredibly dangerous.

As such, if it is not possible to recover or restore someone who undergoes this process, it is best to shatter the statue, lest they be denied a proper rest.