Eumilnor's Jitters

The drakiss of Sbrithnir's Crew discovered the use of Gethubane in treating Ruffwither towards the catastrophic outbreak in 423 SY. This chance discovery came following the observation that drakiss involved in the treatment of the sick who were using an infusion of the herb as a stimulant seemed to be unaffected by the the disease. Alas, though the treatment is effective in curing ruffwither, around a fifth of the treated drakiss will succumb to Eumilnor's Jitters. This condition is also seen in long term, habitual users of the infusion though it is rare and usually much milder than the version seen in those treated for ruffwither.

Causes

The condition is without doubt caused by some component of Gethubane, and the symptoms seen in drakiss are similar to those seen in gethu that have grazed on the herb. Exactly what component of the herb is responsible for the condition is unknown, but the Alkiss of Sbrithnir's Crew have established that it is not the same component that provides the stimlent effects seen in gethic tea - the alcohol used to make the treatment for ruffwither seems to extract more than just the stimulant component and, given the known prophylactic powers of gethic tea against ruffwither is is now believed that Eumilnor's Jitters cound be avoided with an improved extraction process.

Susceptibility to the jitters seems to be a heritable characteristic, for those drakiss descended from Jorrath's Crew were noticably more susceptible to it during the outbreak of 423 SY and cases from the use of gethic tea were almost entirely limited to these drakiss. With the passing generations there are now few drakiss who's descent is predominently from Jorrath's Crew so as a heightened risk factor, this is not what it once was, and the Kinkiss keep an eye on the lineages known to be at risk.

Symptoms

As might be imagined from the name, Eumilnor's Jitters are characterised by a tense nervousness, combined with small involuntary movements most notably in the hands and facial muscles.

Prognosis

There are no known cases of the condition proving fatal do drakiss, though it is disabling as the ability to eat and drink is compromised and fine control of the hands is also affected - in the worst of cases this virtually prevents their use for any labour. Thus, without direct support and assistance starvation would be a significant possibility - as is often seen in the more severely affected gethu in flocks with an absent or neglectful herder.

Although there are no known treatments, in mild cases the symptoms will reduce in the longer term with further use of gethic tea not seeming to provoke a relapse.

History

The Jitters were first described by Eumilnor "Blacktooth", who was the first to try using the alcoholic extract in treating ruffwither. Eumilnor became heavily reliant on gethic tea during the outbreak and remained a heavy user through later life and in old age sufferred from one of the first cases attributed to long term use of this drink. Later generations noted that Eumilnor's lineage traced back to an unusually high proportion of Jorrath's crew providing a cue to the insight into the genetic susceptibility to this. Over the following centuries, the Jitters have continued to be seen in a significant proportion of drakiss treated with the alcoholic extract but as the generations passed cases linked to the over use of the tea have reduced and are now only seen once or twice in a generation. Use of the extract was for many years confined to Sbrithnir's Crew, but Hrafkell's and Kamgrimmur's crews have inherited it and more recently it was adopted by the Morton Drakiss so cases of the Jitters will be encountered in those groups too.

Cultural Reception

The arrival of the treatment for Ruffwither was grasped with both hands by the drakiss of Sbrithnir's Crew with the side effects seen as a price worth paying. In general sufferers are treated well by the community for they are seen as having paid the price for the community's not suffering further outbreaks of the far more deadly disease. Those cases linked to overuse of the tea are slightly less well regarded - but since around 750 SY these have been few and the knowledge of the impact of lineage and the centrality of gethic tea to the crew's way of life mean the condition is accepted as part of life and not seen as fault or deficiency on the part of the sufferer. It is to be noted though, that some drakiss with a higher proportion of their ancestry from Jorrath's crew (or for some reason pretending to this) will avoid the tea despite the loss of its stimulent effects.