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Health and Well Being
by Lady
Daelynn
Five herbs in your pocket are worth 10
deeds.
-Anonymous
Welcome back! In the last issue of the Elanthian Times, I discussed healing of the head, neck, limbs and blood loss. In this issue, I'll explain healing some of the most critical parts of the body: organs, eyes, nerves, as well as diseases and poisons.
A lot has happened since the last time that I penned
my words for the Times. Many creatures have been changed (sometimes not for
the better!) and new ones have been added. It's more important than ever
to make sure you have a first aid kit fully stocked and ready to use.
I want to reiterate that you should always make sure you are safe before healing yourself. The first thing you should do upon taking a life-threatening blow is to put yourself in a defensive stance. If you diagnose yourself and calculate that one more hit from the creature will probably kill you, leave the room. Hide if you can, otherwise find a quiet spot and take stock of your damage. An invisibility amulet can really come in handy in these situations. If you feel you can safely stay in the room where creatures are swinging at you and not take on more damage when you disarm to pull out your herbs, at least have someone stand with you and guard you. Please do NOT call on the Amunet or the Voln net for an empath to fog to you for healing. Often, an empath may have to heal a wound on your body that may prevent them from casting, and then they are at the same risk you just faced, without a way to get back to town.
When healing yourself, the most important thing is to stop the bleeding first. Wounds are usually "healed down". This means that you should heal the bleeding first, then the minor wound. To heal scars, you would heal the severe scar first, then the minor scar. Determining the severity of your wound can be a little confusing, however. How can you tell if you need two bites or sips to heal? Very easily: if you're bleeding on the head, for example, and you take a bite of aloeas stem, and you're still bleeding from the head afterwards, you have a major head wound and need to take another bite. If it only takes one bite to stop the bleeding, you have a medium head wound.
Organ Wounds
Organs include the chest, abdomen, back, and
eyes. These areas are susceptible to critical hits, and the very shock of
receiving such a damaging hit in these areas can kill you instantly. Even
so, walking around with your intestines falling out is not recommended!
The following herbs heal wounds of the organs. Remember that when you heal these areas, there is an order that the herbs will heal. Chests will be healed first, followed by abdomen, then back, and then eyes.
Pothinir grass, a slim, dull dark green grass, heals bleeding of organs when ingested in small doses. This grass is not common, but can be found in hot, humid areas such as the Citadel gardens in Rivers Rest.
Basal moss, a dull gray-green moss, is found clinging to the bark of seasonal trees in temperate climates. This moss heals minor wounds of the organs when eaten. Basal moss can be found on the path to Hearthstone as well as in the Trollfang foothills.
After healing your organ wounds, you notice some very nasty scarring of these areas, as well as some problems with your sight. The following potions heal scarring of the organs.
Wingstem potion, a muddy brown syrup extracted from the stems of the Wingstem plant, heals major and medium scarring of the organs and eyes, excluding missing eyes. This potion is very hard to make and requires time and extreme patience; hence Surtey charges a high price for it.
Talneo potion, an infusion derived from dried Talneo roots, is a thin, pale yellow liquid. This potion will remove minor scarring of the organs and eyes. Not as rare as Wingstem potion, this potion is considered valuable by Surtey and he doesn't sell it cheaply.
A note about Eyes
Healing eye wounds has always been difficult. The problem lies in the fact that you may have missing eyes that are wounds, and missing eyes that are scars. Missing eyes can prevent you from casting, searching, or accepting items from others. The best way to differentiate the two is to use your Wizard to see if the wound is an injury or a scar, and heal accordingly.
Missing eyes as wounds can be healed down like any other organ wound. Missing eyes as scars are healed down differently.
Bur-clover potion is a thick milky-white liquid made from the small white flowers of the bur-clover plant. This potion restores a missing eye and does not leave a scar. This potion is extremely hard to produce because the bur-clover plant can only be harvested during two weeks of the year, and it is very expensive to procure.
Nerves
Adventurers in Elanthia often find they suffer
from nerves. Usually this damage occurs when a spellcaster overextends his
mana or runs into a gas cloud that literally scares the wits out of him
The following herbs and potions heal nerve damage. As with eye wounds, sometimes it's difficult to determine whether you have nerve damage or nerve scars. Again, use your Wizard to discover if you need to heal the wound or the scar.
Bolmara potion, a deep orange liquid extracted from the juice of the Bolmara berry, heals medium and major nerve damage. Surtey always keeps a large supply on hand, as it is in demand often.
Wolifrew lichen, a yellow-brown fungus, heals minor twitching of the nerves. Wolifrew lichen is usually found in cold, damp, dark areas, and can often be found growing in the cracks of deep caves. This lichen is plentiful and many creatures actually carry this herb with them, so Surtey charges a nominal price for it.
To your dismay, after healing the nerve wounds, you find you still have problems casting and searching. It seems that healing down the nerve damage is not sufficient, you must heal down the scarring it produces too.
Woth flower, a lovely blue-violet flower, heals difficulty with muscle control and constant spasms. A very rare flower, it can sometimes be found in hot, humid, dark areas, such as the rainforest section of the Trollfang mountains.
Torban leaf, a reddish-orange leaf from the Torban tree, heals slurred speech. Quite common, these trees are found in mild climates such as the Trollfang foothills and around the Abandoned Inn.
All of the herbs I've described can be bundled into 50 bites, and the potions can be combined into 7-sip bottles. You can also buy these herbs in tea or ale form in Pinefar or Teras Isle, and in food form in Icemule Trace.
Diseases and Poisons
There are two illnesses in Elanthia that can kill you very quickly, those being disease and poison. The recent change to box traps can give an unlucky picker an illness that can kill him in less than a minute, if he's not prepared. There are also creatures such as marmots, rabid squirrels, and siren lizards that can poison you with a bite or touch, and panic can ensue when faced with your lifeblood draining away at an alarming rate. Even some trees (such as those near the graveyard) can make you ill.
For this reason, always carry acantha leaf or a comparable herb to restore your blood as you make your way to safety. This very well may mean the difference to making it to town to get healed or dying on the trek back. When you are struck with an illness, note whether is it poison or disease so that you can be healed accordingly. You can also check your health to see how fast the disease or poison is progressing.
A cleric or empath with the spell Undisease (113) can heal diseases. Some older rangers and sorcerers may also have this spell. Sky-blue scarabs can also be disarmed with this spell.
A cleric or empath with the spell Unpoison (114) can heal poisons. Again, some older rangers and sorcerers may also have this spell. Sea-green scarabs can be disarmed with this spell.
If you are hunting in an area where you know you may be struck with illness, you can protect yourself by asking an empath or cleric to cast two illness-resistant spells on you. Disease Resistance (104) or Poison Resistance (105) can help ward off the effects of those creatures (or trees) that cause these illnesses.
There are some products in Elanthia that you can keep in your first aid kit to heal your own illness if you get struck. Firethorn lizards, when skinned, produce a Firethorn that can be eaten and heal the poison that siren lizards cause by biting or touching. Other products are sold at special merchants every so often. However, your best defense against death is to carry a blood restoration herb to combat the effects of your bloodloss.
In the next issue of the Elanthian Times, I'll explain "cleanup" between empaths, as well as protection when doing rescues and the etiquette involved.
Advice for Adventurers: "Knowing when to stay and fight and when to run can mean the difference between life and death. Find your own personal threshold and respect it religiously."
Advice for Empaths: "Take the time to explore all the lands has to offer you. There are so many experiences to encounter beyond the safety of the towns; take risks and enjoy your life to the fullest extent."
Empath Life: The Stagnant
Years
A guide for primary healers aged 15-24
Brief disclaimer: In discussing this article with fellow empaths, I found that they were roughly divided over its validity. Many agreed, but as many felt quite strongly that they had not experienced this. If you feel that this article addresses you, I believe it will be valuable. In the case that you feel otherwise, no offense is intended.
Wehnimer's Landing - Going about my usual business in the Landing, I stumbled suddenly upon a revelation. I looked back at the last six years of my life and saw, rather than the happy memories and humorous anecdotes of my youth, endless days of repetitive healing.
Naturally, it's disturbing to find that one's life has been meaningless. My first response was to panic, to complain, and generally to fall apart. After a brief period of chaos, though, I got up the nerve to ask other empaths, particularly my elders, about the pain I was experiencing. A good number agreed that the years between age 15 and 24 are incredibly trying for primary empaths - not so much difficult as boring. It was told to me that the midlife crisis I described afflicts quite a few primarily healers or empaths who gain most of their experience by healing rather than hunting.
If you are an empath in the stagnant developmental years, you know of what I speak. If not, this article may not be for you. For those who have experienced stagnation, you know the monotony of entering the realms, going to your accustomed healing spot, healing whoever comes by, nodding and smiling pleasantly, asking people to drop tips, healing moreÖ the list goes on and on. What, though, can one do to relieve this? At first, I thought of only one objective, one goal: Reach age 25, learn to fog through the realms, and regain mobility. Of course, many empaths have been free of the town; me and many fellow primary healers are often not. Sadly, some of my elders state that even this is scarcely a relief, without other action being taken.
Yet it is unreasonable to wait ten years, in the prime of one's life, to rejoin the enjoyment of earlier years. Furthermore, it is completely unnecessary to experience boredom and stagnate at any point in life. In my interviews, I have discovered two primary ways in which people broke out of these unfocused years before reaching the quarter century mark. The first, and most apparent, is to hunt. According to its supporters, hunting and healing outside of the enclosing walls of the town reopens role-playing opportunities and gives new vitality to life. Also, hunting empaths seem less prone to experiencing this stagnation in the first place. Mayhap they have life easier, but we as primary healers must deal with the cards we're dealt. As one who will do naught to harm man or beast, I am not qualified to discuss this method. Instead, I shall discuss the second method, which was discovered by me and, apparently, by those before me.
The cause of the stagnation I experienced is repetition. The repetition is caused by having a set amount and type of abilities, which change little with age, resulting in reduced expectations and fewer new opportunities. One of my elders told me that similar symptoms reoccur at ages after most spells and skills have been obtained, as the good Lord Blades would surely attest. The end product of stagnation is loss of role-playing, as one falls into a pattern from which there is little social interaction and little excitement. The method I used to break out of this pattern is quite simple: Role-play, color your character.
Many empaths who have experienced the passivity in these years view it as a barrier to further development. However, I assure you, good reader, that this is incorrect. This time, the prime of one's life, is when one should do the largest portion of their development. Entering the unfocused years, I found my self happy, content, and settled in life. Yet, I had little familial background, little personal history, no favorite jokes. Worst of all, I lacked a favorite food and color! Beyond being indecent, it is unrealistic and out of character to live like this. If you wonder whether this refers to you, answer a simple question suggested by Sierpas: "Why am I here?"
As soon as I received the fateful revelation regarding my recent life, I began to develop my character to degrees I hadn't imagined. Sure, I had pondered over a family, I'd played around with a history, I even worshipped a god or two back in my youth. But I had never once established myself as a person, one who contributes something to Elanthia which could not be found in the next empath in line. Who could ever forget Lord Morandas' cackling? Who does not know of Lord Mustafo's trademark "Bingo?" Lord Thalior's ever-personable attitude? High Lord Strom's tale-telling?
I lacked such things. Indeed, few empaths in the unfocused years do stand out from the crowd to any great degree. This, I believe, is the root of the problem. This, I believe, is also the root of the solution. Breaking the mold and forming a character returns you to the social life of Elanthia, revives in you the spirit of the realms. Indeed, it has been suggested to me that this method is not so much a breaking of the mold as a forming of a new mold which suits you better: Don't play your character, be him or her. Don't ask me how it works - I'm no psychiatrist, nor even a cleric. Yet for me, and for some others with whom I spoke, this gentle push of personality transformed the unfocused, torpid years into the Years of Development.
My advice? If you're an empath of any age, particularly one aged 15 to 24 who heals for experience, and you find yourself undergoing the symptoms of stagnation described above, dare to be different. Indeed, a character of any class or personality can undergo such stagnation. Establish yourself as a person, not a healing factory. Take breaks from healing to talk with friends. Heal in different areas, not just in town. Go hack the head off something, if you must, but whatever you do, be sure to break the pattern. Being an empath means nothing, unless you are enjoying yourself.
The empath Housepath
With special thanks to all of my fellow empaths who assisted in this article, whether in support or otherwise.
