Soulfire Dust

Ground from a mineral called Ignisite, Soulfire Dust is a narcotic that, in humans, briefly suppresses the users pain receptors, provides a dilated perception of the flow of time and increases the production of adrenaline dramatically.

Spread and Usage

Soulfire Dust can be found in all corners of Nascindor as it is a widely used recreational substance, but it sees use as a combat drug for the Telothian Legion as well as a popular way to cheat in the many underground fighting rings of Druvenia and Pluthem.

The dust itself can be ingested nasally for its signature hit or spread along the gums and allowed to sit there, providing a longer lasting but weaker effect. The latter is favored by soldiers, who benefit greatly from the dampened effects without them impeding on their focus.

Recreational Use and Addiction

As with all substance abuse, it is possible for an addiction to Soulfire Dust to develop. As the narcotic warps the users perception of time, it is possible for the user to feel like they are experiencing hours while only seconds pass. Due to this, the most prevalent withdrawal symptom is a feeling of dread towards the passage of time, specifically that it is advancing too fast. A fear that, unless time is slowed down by taking another hit, the user will surely die soon.

If the time dilation was the only effect of the drug, this kind of withdrawal could be managed by further use, but as it also heightens the production of adrenaline, it keeps the body in a constant state of overdrive for the duration of the effect. As a spring that is constantly wound tighter will eventually snap, so will fail the heart of anyone who abuses Soulfire Dust excessively.

Use as a Performance Enhancer

The Telothian Legion provides its soldiers with a packaged dose of Soulfire Dust as part of their standard equipment, and the official instruction is that the dust should only be inhaled or otherwise consumed in situations that call for extraordinary measures. In practice, this means that the dust is meant for last stands and other, equally dire circumstances.

The pain suppressing effect of the drug is undeniably useful for those who wage war, but it is also a double-edged sword in that while a soldier might shrug off debilitating wounds while the substance is in effect, they will also fight recklessly due to believing themselves to be invincible, often leading into incurring fatal wounds to which they succumb to after the effects wear off. Wounds that, had they been in control of their faculties, they might not have incurred at all.

In the world of illegal fight clubs, the drug is banned due to the obvious advantage it offers. Despite this, it sees frequent use and rare is the fight night during which none of the contestants take a hit of the dust, even though most are caught simply due to how dominant they are in the ring.

Production

Soulfire Dust is produced legally in Telothia for the exclusive use of their legions and less legally pretty much everywhere else across Nascindor. Specifically the poison-pushers of the Midnight Exchange dabble in the production and sale of the dust.

As Ignisite is a very rare mineral, production and sale of Soulfire Dust is a lucrative business and therefore has not gone unnoticed by the Iron Cartel, the members of which are eager to get their slice of the pie. Theirs is an especially sinister endeavor, as Soulfire Dust has no effect on the S'aue, meaning that they seek to profit solely from the suffering of others and have no ulterior motive of personal, recreational use.

Content Warning: Narcotics, description of drug use

Nothing is named more fittingly than this stuff.

It will set your soul ablaze.

–A Druvenian dealer peddling dust

by Midjourney

_{A vial containing Soulfire Dust}