[✓] [Alchemy] The Draught of Incite

[Swgrclan 2632]

The Draught of Incite

“All you need is but a little… spark, to light your soul back up.”

[ https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/144322-the-darkhollow-the-yoresigil/ ]

Note: This lore has been updated via: 

https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/160255-update-the-draught-of-incite/

 

https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/169122-draught-amendment-proposal/

It will be merged into one piece soon. For now, make sure you read the update followed by the amendment as it alters how the draught functions.

 

To Know

 

True life is a dream which most undead covet, whether they hail from the Gods or the godless. They, who shamble across the earth as husks, are they true subjects of suffering; Men cannot compare in what they may come to know, for it is the undead who fall into death, only to go beyond it. What waits on the other side of demise is either what path the Soul Stream sets the spirits of Men upon, or a second, more rude awakening; and to be awakened from a sleep which should not be disturbed malforms the soul, denying those who suffer such a fate afterlife. But to live again… that means something. It’s all that some undead have; all that gives them hope.

 

And rightfully so. To regain warmth and flesh and the mythical “Flame of Life” again is a drive for many undead, so desperate to undo their affliction. No magic known has conceived the ability to give unto the undead life again; neither arts from the Gods or the godless, whom both share due cause of many unliving specimens. There are many who suffered the path of reclaiming the Flame of Life, from the first of the Necromancers, the Old Lords, to the one said to be responsible for what is known as “Further Alchemy” and the horrors which it spawns this day. These wretched Men, in all of their darkness, saw the merit in giving undead life again. Whether they were undead themselves or only scratched the surface of what they endured, they all knew it needed some kind of… reprieve.

 

They always relied on one side. It was either the light or the dark that would solve it, yet they did not realize both sides were but pieces to the puzzle. There lies that shattered miracles within the souls of undead Men, the Darkhollow, which is understood by little, and its former form known of by practically known. The Yoresigil, which was once cited by the Ashkeeper Abdiel as the “source of warm life”, is what drives mortals to exist as they do. Without it, their Lifeforce would be astray, and they would be imperfect and astray from the image of their lost, unspoken Creator.

 

In its reanimated form, which breathes ash and exudes only remnant embers instead of the warmth of fire, the Darkhollow exists to erode and punish undead. Where the Yoresigil acted to moderate, the Darkhollow drains and breaks the unliving down until they are mindless husks, craving for the reprieve of Lifeforce, or whatever their madness leads them to desire. It is through the undead known as Liches and Darkstalkers that the Darkhollow is truly embodied, for they naturally gain the power of lifedrain, and tear from the living and all that flourishes their Lifeforces so their soul does not crack and drive them into a madness. Undead, without sustenance, soon become the serpent which gnaws its own tail.

 

 

To become whole again, Men must peer beyond the machinations of the Gods and the godless, and take from both sides the very core of what drives them. They must look to the art which communes with the very plane they stand upon, Alchemy; they must rip from what lives which drives  them to breathe and die, Mortality; and they must pull from the Gods which allows them to last through aeons, Immortality.

 

“The undead are of Men as you are, young moth. They live, and fight, and die…

… and it is their persistence of life which frightens our kind. But the nature of

their existence is beyond what we can see. The spirit hidden within the shell

of an undead is marked by a force which has long since lost its flame… so

we must kindle it again, so they may come to know warmth a second time.”

- Old Lord Dhurzumkal

 

To Gather

“We must rip away the nature of both sides,

you see. It allows us to shape the mimicry…”

 

The regents of the Draught of Incite demand that both the essences of Mortality and Immortality be bound to one concoction, one binding which reforms the flesh of undead, yet does not make it defiant to time and the corporeal nature which communes with a mortal coil. To obtain the essence of Mortality, one must merely look to Lifeforce itself in all of its untouchable abundance. What is desired is such a concentrated amount that it takes material shape; something that can usually be found as what houses the souls of Liches and Darkstalkers. If one is not willing to sacrifice that which keeps a fellow undead operable for the sake of regaining their flesh, they must seek a master Necromancer and ask from them a coveted Lifeforce Gem - mortal essences confined to the shape of a dark crystal.

 

 

The second reagent is much more daunting. To find a physical embodiment of a God, an Immortal, is folly; they are incorporeal by their very nature, and dwell realms which do not bend to the laws of the World of Men. Yet, upon the very same plane, they have embedded seeds of their being which has adhered to these laws without losing the everlasting of those who planted them. Those who are beyond mere connections to the Aengudaemons, such as deific entities that carry ichor or “gold blood” in their veins, must be found and robbed of their essence if not given it without resistance (a rarity, given the circumstances). There are other alternatives which demand more strain and struggle in order to obtain the embodiment of Immortality. It is said Dragonkin blood carries within it the vestiges of their great Father, Dragur, and thus contain the secret to great power and a lasting self. Such a resource works just as well as the gore of Godly slaves.

 

 

The binding agent which forces both the light and dark of these two mediums is what runs through Men themselves - flesh. It is the flesh and blood and matter of mortals which carries the warmth of the Yoresigil and the Lifeforces which filter through it according to natural law. Without direction and cast astray, both light and dark, especially together, may be purposeless and cold. But with the remnant fire of the flesh to guide it together, it mixes into a substance which defies the Curse of the Undead, and brings unto them a second chance at life. But alas…

It is a mimicry.

 

To Create

 

In order to fashion the Draught of Incite, one must first be skilled in Alchemy, and have atleast an introductory involvement in the field known as Further Alchemy. Both the concentrated modicum of Lifeforce and the essence of Immortality must have been obtained within the same year as the creation of the Draught, lest the process fails. The crystal must be shattered, and then ground into a black dust before being poured into a mortar, and then the gold blood must follow. If a third foreign component is added during this, the already unstable mixture begins to become erratic, and may combust before the Alchemist. This could result in violent death.

 

Should one be patient and careful, mingling these two aspects of existence will produce a bizarre, almost ethereal substance of glowing gray shade. It is calm and lingers like ectoplasm, however, this shall not last long, for the worldly forces which define both Mortality and Immortality will soon take notice to this affronting binding and cause the concoction to once again explode. This is why fresh flesh or blood of a mortal must be added -- it acts as the binding agent and establishes a “familiarity” between these embodiments of the cosm.

 

 

The decoction soon adopts the crimson hues of the lifeblood of Men, and retains the unearthly glow which it formed a time before. The Draught of Incite is created through these methods.

 

To Become

 

It is only the undead, either Godly or godless, who may imbibe this potion and feel its effect. The living react to it like a poison and an acid in the veins; it invades their enfleshed systems and confuses them, causing organs to fail, blood to turn to ash, and skin to crumble. Death is imminent once one among Men drinks the Draught.

 

But the opposite shall transpire for undead worthy enough to get their hands upon the Draught. The skinless Darkstalkers and Liches, who had lost the warmth of their coil after it decayed away amid the passing ages, would find the visage of their past life embedded still in their soul awaken -- and painfully regrow upon them. Sinew, muscle, vein and skin and organs would all take shape as the Draught communes with their spirit and gifts to them the Flame of Life, kindling the Darkhollow upon their soul and returning it the fire which once made it bright. This is one example upon many -- many undead may drink this, may wash themselves in the Draught, and rise again as true Men. But they must know to find caution in defeat; for when their new flesh is torn asunder, they shall awaken as the undead once more, and would have forged the Draught for nothing.

 

To Be

 

Though many undead are able to use this potion to become clasped in skin and warmth once more, if not for a temporary time, there are certain restrictions and guidelines which each undead must follow, lest they are unraveled and made dead again.

 

Darkstalkers

The Darkstalkers of Xion are affected by the Draught similarly to Liches, in which they reform into living beings at the cost of retaining the nature of their undead design. Darkstalkers are known as the “perfect” soldier, for within their bodies carry the strength of honed humans and, without flesh, they can carry on through battle without so much as a flinch in the face of normal steel falling upon them. As “Incited Darkstalkers”, they find themselves with flesh again and inclined to reach the peak of mortal strength, yet are still unable to cast magic. Their Curse of Undeath looms over them like a persistent shadow and refuses to fade, for Incited Darkstalkers must continue to drain to keep sane and functioning, lest their flesh falls away and they die, only to awaken as they were in the beginning.

 

Liches

Like Darkstalkers, Liches are capable of reforming into “mortal” beings by imbibing the Draught. They regain their flesh and blood, yet like all Men brought into this world, they once more gain the weaknesses of the arcane and suffer what pains mana exhaustion brings. They are cursed to remain thin and almost frail, much like they were as undead, and even by abandoning magical arts are afflicted with an inability to gain proper muscle mass. Liches are cursed with the hunger to feed on Lifeforce like Darkstalkers, but decay brought by ignorance of this is slower, albeit more painful.

 

Dreadknights

Incited Dreadknights can breathe once again, if not for a few details which they peculiarly share with their Paleknight kin. As the Draught communes with their souls, Dreadknights reform on the inside of their armor - and because the runes which bind their spirit to it cannot be broken by the Draught, they are cursed with the inability to remove a majority of their armor and must be forced to choose what they must lug around on themselves, lest their runes break and they are unraveled. Like Darkstalkers, Dreadknights cannot use magic as the Incited, and must use their martial prowess in order to protect their coveted and reclaimed Flame of Life.

 

Paleknights

The spectral nature of Paleknights does not clash with the nature of the Draught of Incite, but rather embraces it much like other corporeal undead do. The ectoplasm within the stone-plated frame of Paleknights is given the warmth of life, and like Dreadknights they reform inside their armor. As their being is designed around inhabiting their unusual stone cages, Paleknights are rebirthed as naturally strong mortal beings in order to handle the weight forced upon them. Some pieces of armor may be removed from their body, but substantial amounts must remain - such as an entire plated sleeve and gauntlet or the sabatons and greaves.

 

Gravens

Gravens are like Morghuul in a way where the Draught is able to commune with their Soul Shadow, but are lesser on account of containing a false spirit. Their ectoplasm reforms into flesh and blood and veins and bones and their bodies are remade as they were in life, yet with no soul, Gravens are unable to reproduce, and with the purpose of their existence tied to their “duties”, they are still driven to commit to them but with the pains of mortality to get in the way.

 

Morghuuul

Morghuul are granted life by the Draught, if only to become an even more convincing shell of what they once were. With their Soul Shadow bringing to them convoluted mental agonies and scattered thoughts, Incited Morghuul are able to embrace the life they lost, if not as lesser Men. They also cannot reproduce alongside having to endure the afflictions of the mind, shaping them into outcasts of mortal society. Like Liches and Darkstalkers, they are still cursed with a slow inner-decay, and thus must cannibalize upon the living in order to keep themselves healthy and sustained.

 

Wraiths

As adherents of Mordring, the Draught convenes upon the undying Dragaar’s powers and meddling with the inherent nature of the new-age Wraiths. Instead of reassembling into living creatures once again, they instead are “contained” within enfleshed bodies much like how Wights may possess the living, and thus act as they are if they were husks. Their black scar remains upon them, but they can come to truly feel alive once more without the degradation of magic intervening upon what martial skill they bear. Mordring is able to detect this infringement of form, however, and may seek these Incited Wraiths out so he may destroy the coil they have regained.

 

Concluding Details

 

There are guidelines which each Incited Undead must follow in accordance of what they are in undeath. These details are listed here, and behave in a general fashion, applying to all undead who turn Incited.

 

- Most weaknesses which the listed undead share, such as an aversion to gold and holy magic, no longer work upon them once they are Incited, as the flesh they wear is living and rejuvenated. The only exception is Ascended magic, which is able to detect blights upon the soul of the victim and thus damage them regardless of form.

 

- By reclaiming the flesh, Incited Undead also reclaim its weaknesses. Though some are inclined to reach the peak of performance, only because no other alternatives are viable, pain and suffering are reintroduced to them and thus they may die as all other mortals can.

 

- Once an Incited Undead is killed as any other mortal Man can be, they awaken as their old selves once again. They are forced to either carry on as they are, or struggle to find another Draught.

 

- All resistances brought on by forms of undeath are nullified by becoming Incited. As most of these resistances are from lacking flesh in the first place, gaining it once more reintroduces them.

 

- A Draught of Incite can only be created by an approved Further Alchemist.

 

- A Draught of Incite is not a regenerative concoction, so if it’s used to try to heal wounds, it will act as though it is acid to living flesh, and only worsen the condition of the victim.

 

- An undead cannot have a stock of Draughts of Incite, they may only have one at a time  for when they wish to turn, and can only obtain or have one made for them until they are undead once more.

 

- Each ingredient has a limit on how long it's "fresh". Whereas the Lifeforce Gem has no limit, the blood or ichor of an Aengulic being only lasts a week after collection, and the mortal flesh or blood needed to complete the Draught must only be one day old. If there is error in these time limits, the creation of the potion may result in some kind of violent combustion.

[Harri 4813]

p l e a s e

[excited 10833]

A beauty. 

[KBR 1484]

Sure

[Matheus 525]

Awww hell yeah.

[Norman Osborn 247]

What if the undead took the draught and then killed themselves? Would they revive as an undead or would it be a PK?

[Kardel 1047]

This is the only recent alchemy lore propsal I approve.

[Swgrclan 2632]

27 minutes ago, _SuitAndTie_ said:

What if the undead took the draught and then killed themselves? Would they revive as an undead or would it be a PK?

 

They would revive as undead because they're still innately undead. The best way to describe the Draught's effects is that it "muffles" their curse, so they're like faux-mortals. All this really does is make them a mimicry of normal people, even though its very much a fact they cannot die.

[HurferDurfer1 2584]

alright i guess

[GodEmperorFlam 3447]

Doesn't this essentially just remove one of the biggest drawbacks to playing an undead?

[_mkkk_ 193]

Just now, The Pink Lion said:

Doesn't this essentially just remove one of the biggest drawbacks to playing an undead?

I feel as if me being a debbie downer on cool lore like this (which I've done many times before) will bite me in the butt but honestly, I can see people who play these affected individuals overusing the solution to basically remain mortal as long as they want and suddenly before any sort of battle or need of their undead abilities, they'll stop using it. Also, I feel this item wouldn't be monitored properly in use where someone would make batches of it without actually obtaining any of the real resources. Sorry for this comment... but good lore though, sounds inventive!

[ScreamingDingo 16792]

Just now, _mkkk_ said:

I feel as if me being a debbie downer on cool lore like this (which I've done many times before) will bite me in the butt but honestly, I can see people who play these affected individuals overusing the solution to basically remain mortal as long as they want and suddenly before any sort of battle or need of their undead abilities, they'll stop using it. Also, I feel this item wouldn't be monitored properly in use where someone would make batches of it without actually obtaining any of the real resources. Sorry for this comment... but good lore though, sounds inventive!

For it needing to require an FA, I would presume that it would be regulated. This is just a way for undead to strive for something if they have not accepted their own death, allowing them to perhaps pursue this in an endless, crazed way which'll create rp for the ingredients. Perhaps further uses could lead to drawbacks and a weakening of the draught itself if used before? If one keeps abusing it, their physical form will eventually decay and make it nigh-impossible to actually regenerate through the draught.

Otherwise this is a beautiful piece of lore cam, make the skeleton men proud

[Swgrclan 2632]

19 minutes ago, The Pink Lion said:

Doesn't this essentially just remove one of the biggest drawbacks to playing an undead?

 

At most, it's a temporary fix, but a lot of the demands of being Incited draw heavily from the Incited's form of undeath. Dealing with both that and the fact that dying returns them to undeath doesn't really nullify the drawback at all.

 

11 minutes ago, _mkkk_ said:

I feel as if me being a debbie downer on cool lore like this (which I've done many times before) will bite me in the butt but honestly, I can see people who play these affected individuals overusing the solution to basically remain mortal as long as they want and suddenly before any sort of battle or need of their undead abilities, they'll stop using it. Also, I feel this item wouldn't be monitored properly in use where someone would make batches of it without actually obtaining any of the real resources. Sorry for this comment... but good lore though, sounds inventive!

 

One detail I think I forgot to add is the idea where an undead can only make or hold one Draught at a time, meaning several cannot be made for one person. I could add this now.

[Harri 4813]

It's not something you can flick on and off, so it's not abusable in that sense. Also, if you think about what this actually entails - an undead needs to either beat a high tier Holy Arts user to gather their ichor, quite a task as it is, or get them to WILLINGLY pass it over, which - lets be real - is hardly ever gonna happen. On top of that, they have to defeat another elite undead and actually find their phylactery.  These are kept under such

 

I'd imagine this be a very very hard to achieve thing, on top of being very rare. If it was abused and spammed, it'd be noticed.

[Jistuma 1995]

Quite interesting actually. I would just add at least one drawback from using the potion, as it stands, the drawback is becoming mortal, which is also the objective. Also something to stop repeated use of the potion.

 

As for a few questions, will ghouls still have to eat/drain lifeforce somehow?

Will darkstalkers still have to obey their master?

Will liches and darkstalkers still be pk'ed when their soul gem is destroyed?