Half-life

Prepare and partake to learn. Ignore and imbibe to drink the damnation of the half-life. Ramblings #17, edition 26.

When individuals partake of a certain drink, if it has not been prepared correctly, using the proper ingredients, preparation, and rituals, and done with the proper authority, they risk a condition known as the half-life.
When this corrupted beverage is consumed, the person may be granted visions of the dead, but who and what they will see will be horrific. Not the souls of the contented, oh no. It is the souls of the tormented, the dammed, the hopeless and helpless who will fill their minds and eyes and ears. Creatures who believe there is no release from their pain, beings who rail against their fate and seek vengeance upon the living merely for being living.
The dead may not be the only beings they see. Among the despairing multitudes are the never-living, those who have not had a body, and never will. More than anything they want to be embodied, and try to inhabit the foolish mortals who have opened the door, as it were, to them.
There are several possible outcomes for those who have consumed the Half-life, by chance or by choice. At best, they will have the tumultuous visions of the unhappy dead. They may experience nightmares for days or months. They may continue to hear the voices of the damned during periods of quiet, so you will find that they seek out places where it is never silent. Most of these symptoms eventually fade as the lingering toxins work themselves out of the body. Some afflicted individuals will try numerous nasty purges to try and expel them even faster.
For a few who have consumed the half-life there are permanent effects. Forever they will exist in a sort of between state, neither fully among the living or fully among the dead. They are unable to distinguish between the two states, and may be seen to converse with or be repelled by someone no one else can see. There is no known cure for those who have entered this state.

Causes

Consumption of a corrupted version of a drink that allows a person to speak with the dead.

Symptoms

They vary, and can include the following:

• Visions of the tormented dead
• Hearing and speaking with the tormented dead
• Seeing and hearing the never-living, creatures who have never had a body but desire it above all things
• Attempted possession of the body by the never-living
• Short and long term continuation of the visions and sounds
• In some instances the visions and voices become permanent resulting in the inability to distinguish between life and despairing death

Treatment

There is no known cure for the half-life condition. The lesser results will subside with time, or more quickly if the body is violently purged.

Prognosis

Those who experience the temporary effects may have long-term mental or emotional issues from the trauma, but these vary widely and not all experience them. Sufferers of the half-life condition may continue for years in that state, but unless well cared for they will eventually die from neglecting their own bodily requirements, forgetting to drink or eat or take even the simplest of precautions against danger. In essence, they forget they are still living, with living needs.

History

Actual and anecdotal evidence exists for this condition going back several hundred years. The actual first cases are unknown, however many instances are documented. Because both the safe and the corrupted forms of the beverage are so rare, the number of cases is not large for the half-life stage.

Cultural Reception

Few people in society are even aware that a means of speaking with the dead exists so the impact is mild. Those tasked with contacting the world of the dead do not speak of it outside of prescribed places. Those desperate enough or greedy enough or foolish enough to try to communicate using a corrupted version are very small in numbers.

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