Chased in the night, or shell shock

Why, I know not. I know not why they would so evaporate with combat. All baptisms with fire must come with a success, lest the baptized is undone by the same flame. Some men are made of stone, and some have their hearts of iron. Suspect, I do, that more is at play here than mere fear. But what is there to be done, then, but to drive forward and advance? Such is the medication, through-out history, to nub this scourge of all soldiers, modern ones especially. Reform, re-attempt. Those to survive *have* proven to be men of not iron or stone, but non-corroding Bronze-- and such men are rare. Unless brazen men are born, we must accept the breaking of bodies as well as minds.

- L'ostav Victor, observing men returning from fighting the Vaerg'varan, Thems'k Khórr.

Transmission & Vectors

Acquired war trauma. Shell shock on Qaran humans is mainly gained from exposure to war: later psychologists diffrentiate between neuro-trauma as caused by explosives, psychosocial symptoms gained via failed rationalization process post-war, and actual war-time trauma to the mind.

Causes

Being part of a line to break, put simply. This is obviously amongst the greatest fears for an infantryman - being routed from a line, and stabbed to death from behind by pursuing cavalry or infantry with bayonets. Fears in line-combat mainly dealt with either failing the unit, or being pierced in the stomach by a bayonet. Alternatively, being utterly disfigured into pulp by artillery. These fears create a web of neuroses, which carry on far later into life as psychogenic symptoms.

Symptoms

In the 7-600s 'chased in the night' was the informal term, which described common nightmares typical to veterans: being chased in a pitch black, stinking humid and hot place by someone looking kill-- Fever, diarrhoea, bouts of panic and terror, insomnia. At times, a veteran would have a strong compulsion to aggressively undress, and roll on the ground, as if on fire. Aggression, irritability, paranoia, memory loss, personality change, abuse of drink and bub--
Shell shock had been known for millenia, yet by the Battle of Tvbéra, the symptoms had worsened exponentially.

Treatment

Interestingly, continued service after a period of rest was deemed the best treatment by both Duke Harkgan, and his physicians and academic officers. Fear of being gutted, or failing the unit would eventually harden with time into ferocious willpower, and single-minded focus on winning. Prevention was important: extremely well trained, conditioned infantryman was resistant to shell shock, yet could well succumb with stress, killing and seeing men die.

Prognosis

Left untreated, to a soldier poorly trained, prognosis was poor. Thems'k Khórr-tar noted he was always down a full two regiments of infantry at any given time, should he fight a larger battle involving tens of thousands of men: shell shock was common, and serious. As Kiri knew no social security, someone to suffer of shell shock would likely be unable to work and possibly starve, or die of disease. Kiri did not see shell shock as simple nerves-- they were well aware of even their greatest champions having serious symptoms post-battle.
Societal norm was to treat shell-shocked soldiers with humanity, if suspicion, as far more men and women had seen combat in society, and were thus aware of the brutal reality of which.

Sequela

Alcoholism, addiction to drugs, ill-nutriition and a host of mental sicknessess from side-persona disorder, depression to full blown, crippling scizophrenia. Many veterans remained in the armed forces broken men, who, instead of alcohol and drugs, medicated with adrenaline of combat. Berserk warriors with no regard for their own safety were later seen as those chased in the night, seeking death.

Affected Groups

Virtually all those chased in the night are soldiers. Far later, in the 8-100s, fields of medicine went on to discover brain abnormalities in shell-shocked individuals, namely considerable neurotrauma. This was unknown in the 7-600s, and was thought to be purely mental, if not proof of Mihurite 'soul' i.e. the soul knows it is doing wrong, and protesting.
Powerful archetypes were at play, as much knew science at the time. Something was breaking men in their own bone-fortresses, and this was not cowardice, nor the presence of soul.

Prevention

Recruitment young, going through grand-duchess' ball (basic training, nine weeks) and a working small unit were enough to limit the number and severity of shell shock. Younger men tended to harden against psychological trauma, assume Duke Harkgan as commander more readily, and take in propaganda and killing of 'lesser men' with far fewer chunks of salt. Duke Harkgan went on to train and lead one of the most effective armies in Qaran history due to his attempts to circumvent the problem of shell-shock.

Epidemiology

Plagued all combat roles, infantry in particular. Artillery was very low in shell-shock. Cavalry moderately - many dragoon regiments to handle police operations and execution of stragglers were high in shell shock. Mistreatment of veterans, especially males in their early 15-20s (under 30 in Terran years) who may not have trained as tradesmen or had no prior academic training, were especially vulnerable. For older men, officers especially, defensive mechanisms activate, such as Rüavii Yoor-tar, who took his traumas out onto the noble embezzlers in the Coalition, or the Brickspire, a famed female warrior, who turned Adherent and remained spiritually noble and righteous until death.

History

Virtually all history has known the neurosis. However, the advent of plant-based gunpowder created record numbers of shell-shock, so named by Taergaledian physicians, who attributed the condition to being fired at by artillery, especially explosive variety. There is no singular agreement, in 7-640, on what exactly causes the condition. Apparently, combination of plant-based gunpowder causing a poisoning, stress of being fired upon, as well as guilt for having killed - these combine into a cluster of neuroses.
Brain damage is typical to the chased-in-the-night, who usually medicate via bub and drink, and make the problem far worse.

Cultural Reception

Kiri were the first ones to describe the condition as is - a term of modern warfare. Soon enough, the concept spread, and went on to become a staple of descriptions of Haraerlans returning from Mangyn with whole bodies, yet sundered minds. Qaran armies were especially vulnerable to the trauma, as their training emphasized nobility and conduct in battle, and not ferocity and merciless rationalization of the vanquished being sub-human, and thus well below consideration, as much of the Kiri soldiery.
Propaganda is very important in dealing with shell-shock. Modern warfare, at the time, required radical solutions to alden days problems.

Type

Mental

Origin

Natural

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Common