Patterns of the Mortal and the Vampiric and the effects of Narcotics and Alcohol on each:


It has long been assumed that each creature is in possession of a 'pattern'. This pattern is essentially the picture of the soul or essence of the creature. However, none have tried to describe these patterns in detail to others and thus has left much to pure speculation. Here I will attempt to describe the patterns of mortals and of an example of a mortal pattern twisted into an unliving one - Vampiric. I will also attempt to try and explain how narcotics and alcohol can change these patterns and the effect on the person involved.

For a very long time it has been thought that all creatures hold some sort of pattern. This pattern is basically the same for all mortal creatures {see fig.01}. This pattern is in the form of a wave that may be familiar to mathematicians. The pattern usually remains constant through out life until at death the pattern dwindles away, eventually to fade. Because the pattern is still essentially around after death, thus Incantors can speak to this pattern. The individual differences between patterns occur along the wave in an irregular series of peaks and dips unique to the individual and their species.

Fig.01. Mortal

In the process of Vampiric transformation this pattern is altered. A minor alteration occurs to the individual series of peaks and dips to accommodate the new needs of the individual. The major change in the pattern is the switch in the basic pattern {see Fig.02}. This switch is dramatic change from a positive wave of a mortal to the negative wave of the unliving. Now, I am not implying that the unliving are negative individuals, just that inversion of the wave signifies the massive transformation. It could be this negative wave that the Incantors can detect and therefore distinguish a Vampiric {unliving} pattern as apposed to a mortal pattern.

Fig.02. Unliving

Having theorized on the shapes of the mortal and Vampiric patterns I would like to turn to the effects of narcotics and alcohol on these patterns. Narcotics are, by definition, '. Any group of herbs or potions that induce and stupor, used medicinally but addictive' {Dictionary of Words}. Narcotics slow down the pattern of the wave producing {or as result of} the effects of slowing down the responses of an individual. In a mortal the effect may last some time as the narcotic is worked out of the system. This is the visible effect of the pattern reasserting it's normal wave, and is helped by the functional systems of the mortal to purge the "alien" influence on their pattern at a basic level. However the effects are different for vampires. The infusion of the narcotic must be taken through a measure of narcotic laced blood. Not having biological systems like mortals the effects of the narcotics are highly marked mostly because the carrier {i.e. Blood} is introduced directly into the system without having the usual biological filters that mortals have. In the Vampire case, the pattern's urge to reassert it's usual wave is also prevalent, and either because of the reversed nature of the pattern wave or because of the specialist powers, the Vampiric pattern takes a markedly reduced time to reassert itself. This means that the creatures with Vampiric patterns are affected by narcotics and suffer severer symptoms but also recover much more quickly than mortals.

The effects of alcohol are very similar to those of narcotics in both mortals and Vampires. Alcohol is most widely accepted social drug in use and is imbibed by mortals and Vampires alike for varying reasons. I assume that most people know of the effects of alcohol and if they don't a brief discussion with the Bears will alleviate this problem rapidly. For those who wish to know, alcohol is a suppressant, it slows down the body's response times, increases the sense of well being and overall confidence. It can make the imbiber feel more invulnerable and this is partly due to the alcohol's inhibitor effect. After a while the body slows down, speech and reaction is slowed, the body dehydrates and eventually resulting in unconsciousness. The common complaint - hangover - is mostly due to the dehydrating effect of the alcohol on the body's system.

The problems of the alcohol are mostly because it is a very mild toxin. On a very basic level the alcohol can temporally make minute changes in the pattern, which makes an overdose of alcohol so hard for a standard healer to heal and is why standard purge poisons spells/channelling/potions have very little effect.

Fortunately the mortal is often very well equipped to deal with alcohol in the system, biological systems deal with the toxin, and the minute pattern wave changes are dealt with rapidly. Those with a Vampiric pattern are not so lucky. Alcohol in this case as in the previous narcotic case, has a marked effect on Vampiric patterns and because they lack the biological systems that mortals have they cannot purge the toxin as rapidly. The minute pattern changes are dealt with rapidly, but the lacking on the biological processes, means that Vampires get drunk quicker on much less alcohol than mortals and the after effects last that much longer.

In summary these effects are only a theory waiting to be put into practice. The effects on Vampires may prove useful for both Light and Dark Incantors and I would love hear about the results of any experiments and may conduct in light of this essay.

HPS Gealachlai Fraoch Gealbhan 1102