Comfort Worms

Comfort Worms are strange creatures. Symbiotic parasites, they feed on the host's blood, as many parasites do. It's their secretion that makes them unique. It's a tremendously powerful painkiller that can make even the most horrific pain dull and tolerable, and most pain just evaporates completely. There are some complications that are part and parcel of the symbiosis, however.

One is that the pain-killing effect is accompanied by euphoria. Many would say that's a benefit of having a worm (only one worm lives in each host, and they will fight to the death with potentially disastrous results for the host if more than one is introduced to the same body). However, the worm is awake for about twelve of every 24 hours, and the "high" of the euphoric feeling lasts as long as a worm is awake and actively secreting the responsible chemicals. This makes for a groggy host who is not entirely connecting to reality. Fortunately, the worms are nocturnal, but this still leaves the host under the influence of the worm in the early morning and, later, as the evening wears on, since most humanoids do not sleep as long as the worms do--and can be even more problematic for night owls.

Additionally, comfort worms are a one-way trip for many humanoids, as they can live to be well over 100 years and cannot be removed without breaking the symbiotic link...the dependency on the secretions is such that few survive its loss, usually suffering for weeks and then dying of massive seizures and cardiac arrest. However, elves seem to be immune to the addictive qualities of the secretion. The is fortunate, as they live much longer than most other humanoids. A dwarf, however, could easily shorten her lifespan considerably if she ended up with a worm early in life.

As a result, elf blood is highly sought after for transfusions...although the exact properties of the blood are not known in a world where magic often supplants the need for scientific inquiry, weekly transfusions make it possible for beings of other species to stave off the addiction. The cost is enormous and the supply is exceedingly limited, but where there are elves hurting for money, they will sell their blood. This is frowned upon by many elves, but it's often necessary for both parties in the transaction, as one retains the ability to live beyond the parasite and the other receives a regular sum for a regular supply of blood.

The worms themselves are almost always intentionally bonded to a host, as they are rare in the wild...they typically bond to certilians in the far south, and then only to those who live close to a petrified forest known as The Green Echo that's now a desert area with pink sand and the mineral-laden wood dotting the surface, smoothed and broken into chunks in places by frequent lightning storms in an area lit at night by little organic, bio-luminescent puffs like airborne jellyfish, making for a highly unusual and breathtaking desert scene.

Make no mistake, these little worms (administered by simply putting one in food or drink either as an egg or a juvenile worm) have made many lives more bearable, and they are highly sought-after in spite of the problems associated with them. They do not breed readily, nor do they thrive in cooler climates, so they are extremely expensive, more so in the north, and are found for even more ridiculous amounts on the black market in areas where they are extremely scarce.