168 Itroch, the Spirit of Undying Love (1/2)
After a restless night of unending reconciliation, Reed had finally fallen asleep. He could no longer persist, even with his superhuman endurance. Nevertheless, he had put up quite a commendable struggle for someone who wasn't as freakishly gifted with a ridiculous physique like Lu'um.
Truth be told, it was a primitive remedy that was as old as time. One of the simplest methods to dispel an individual's accumulated stress was to indulge in a pleasurable activity. It did not have to be an explicitly amorous activity, either. Different people handled their stress in a variety of ways.
The Ancient Mulian warriors of yore would partake in grand, celebratory feasts before terrible battles. They would enjoy their most favorite meals and savor the taste of atzintli, an alcoholic beverage of old. These warriors would spend the night with the people they cared about.
Modern Mulians handled things differently depending on the particular race's culture. Humans engaged in all manner of debauched activity, while Avunians spent it meditating or speaking to their many forests. Eisalons often de-stressed by finding comfort in the embrace of another, much like Reed had done with Lu'um.
As far as Lu'um every method was viable and none was better than the other. It was all fair game. The only thing that mattered was that the person got rid themselves of their negative emotions. A warrior had to be both of sound mind and body if they were to perform at their very best.
But she was no fool. She knew that this method only worked to dispel momentary stress that was shallow in nature. The type that arose out of being put in strenuous, emotionally challenging circumstances.
It was not a feasible way to heal deeper wounds of the psyche that were actually serious. Someone affected by a terrible wound of the spirit required the attention of a medical professional. Were Reed genuinely in need of expert assistance, Lu'um's method would have only acted as a band-aid for the problem. In time it would have become a crutch, as well.
She was no stranger to the horrors that came with war. Some of the strongest warriors she had ever come to befriend had fallen in a spiritual sense. They had physically returned alive from the war, but... it had come at a price. Many poor souls ended up finding themselves at the behest of the bottle, the flesh, and other things to abate the pain of what they had experienced...
By the time Reed awoke, the Spirit of Bountiful Charity had arrived at its destination. It solemnly hovered in silence several kilometers away from an abandoned metropolis. The once-grand city was now but a grim reminder of the bloodshed that had occurred there long ago... during the Great Barrier War.
”It seemingly happened overnight in a city located in the northeastern corner of the North. The city of Kymir. We received reports from the contenders stationed there that a series of unexplainable events had begun to occur across the city,” said Lu'um.
”...And? This is Mulia we're talking about. The continent's haunted in some kind of way, no matter where you go. You're going to have specify the type of weird shit that's been going on because there's the normal weird stuff and then there's--”
When Velvund pulled up images of the ”unexplainable events,” Reed's indifferent expression turned into a sour grimace. It was awful. Images of gore, blood, and fine red mist flashed across the holographic projector without end. They were scenes of the unrestrained carnage that the citizens of Kymir had suffered.
The images displayed all manner of unfortunate victims, be they individuals, families, and even multiple neighborhoods. At some point, things clearly escalated to a point that it had become an issue worth reporting to higher-ups of the North. Eventually, the madness reached a point where not even the conquerors that had been deployed to the city could stop it.
”...In the end, the entire city of Kymir perished. All twenty thousand mortals who lived in the city eventually succumbed to what we are calling 'Itroch syndrome,' of which we have found no cure for at the present moment.”
Itroch syndrome? A viral or bacterial infection? Is it the Infestation's plague toxin? Or something else...? Still, this is clearly out of my domain of expertise. I'm no pathologist or epidemiologist; this clearly a job for them and not us...
”Why is it called 'Itroch syndrome'? It couldn't be because a Chosen caught some kind of bug in this city, right? That's not possible. All Chosen are immune to mortal diseases and illnesses by nature of their Alma.”
Velvund nodded and said, ”But that doesn't mean that a Chosen couldn't have acted as a carrier for something, even if it had no effect on them. Something that would end up finding its way to a Mortal.”
Ah... That's possible. Shit. I didn't think of that. I can't imagine the consequences of bringing something like that back to Cem-Elle. Back to the Hartfords'...
Reed felt an awful feeling in his stomach as he observed the various floating images in front of him. A terrible nightmare flashed through his mind, but he quickly flushed the thought down the drain.