It's been several weeks since he last saw Xarosse at the Pyr baths. As a result, he's on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Yet, by sheer force of will, he still manages to put on a brave face in front of the others. More or less.
Lyren had noticed lately that something was wrong with him. She felt him tense. And it's true that it's hard to keep from sweating at the drop of a hat. When he feels like he's going to explode, he runs down the scorched corridor to beat up anything that moves. Kitins, cuttler, frahar, as long as it has a response. The use of fury in combat causes him to lose energy, but his blows are more powerful. And when he takes on several enemies at once, after a good battle cry, his strength becomes devastating. But often afterwards, he collapses from exhaustion. That's when the hallucinations start. Matis surround him, their faces threatening and their smiles taunting. So he gets to his feet and swings his axe at the shadows, which vanish into thin air. The matis... More and more of them. Behind the bar counter, coming out of the barracks or his home, in the alleys of Pyr. Everywhere, they're everywhere! Of course, he knows that most of them are just hallucinations. But there's more to it than that. His instincts are never wrong. He knows they're there in spite of everything, somehow. But in the street, he avoids showing it. In front of others, he still tries to remain in control of himself. Willpower, nothing but willpower. With willpower, you can break through cliffs.
Yet earlier, at the children's market, he broke down in front of the others. Practically. As much as he could, he tried to control himself, so as not to spoil the party. Building a fire, cooking meat for the others, joking - all things to keep his mind occupied. But in the end, he burst. Before it went too far, he went off to slaughter some cloppers, naked and with his bare hands, but it wasn't enough. So he pulled out a teleporting bead, something he'd hardly ever done since his return from the Old Lands. This was his last resort: teleportation. The pain he felt, those burns from within, that feeling of decomposition... although the pain was brief, it was so intense that on arrival, he fell almost unconscious. This allowed him to relax for a while.
Suffering, always suffering, because that damned Xarosse isn't there to massage him. Because he's in withdrawal. Lyren asked him if he didn't take drugs. Can massages be considered drugs? Or is it the oil used? What if.... What if he was unknowingly drugged? No, that's impossible. He would have known. He would have known.
He had to hold out. Until Xarosse returns. Don't spit. Isolate himself if necessary. But he hopes the masseuse will be back before the next akenak meeting. We'll have to talk about the water route again. He'd like to do it under the best possible conditions, and not on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Lyren had noticed lately that something was wrong with him. She felt him tense. And it's true that it's hard to keep from sweating at the drop of a hat. When he feels like he's going to explode, he runs down the scorched corridor to beat up anything that moves. Kitins, cuttler, frahar, as long as it has a response. The use of fury in combat causes him to lose energy, but his blows are more powerful. And when he takes on several enemies at once, after a good battle cry, his strength becomes devastating. But often afterwards, he collapses from exhaustion. That's when the hallucinations start. Matis surround him, their faces threatening and their smiles taunting. So he gets to his feet and swings his axe at the shadows, which vanish into thin air. The matis... More and more of them. Behind the bar counter, coming out of the barracks or his home, in the alleys of Pyr. Everywhere, they're everywhere! Of course, he knows that most of them are just hallucinations. But there's more to it than that. His instincts are never wrong. He knows they're there in spite of everything, somehow. But in the street, he avoids showing it. In front of others, he still tries to remain in control of himself. Willpower, nothing but willpower. With willpower, you can break through cliffs.
Yet earlier, at the children's market, he broke down in front of the others. Practically. As much as he could, he tried to control himself, so as not to spoil the party. Building a fire, cooking meat for the others, joking - all things to keep his mind occupied. But in the end, he burst. Before it went too far, he went off to slaughter some cloppers, naked and with his bare hands, but it wasn't enough. So he pulled out a teleporting bead, something he'd hardly ever done since his return from the Old Lands. This was his last resort: teleportation. The pain he felt, those burns from within, that feeling of decomposition... although the pain was brief, it was so intense that on arrival, he fell almost unconscious. This allowed him to relax for a while.
Suffering, always suffering, because that damned Xarosse isn't there to massage him. Because he's in withdrawal. Lyren asked him if he didn't take drugs. Can massages be considered drugs? Or is it the oil used? What if.... What if he was unknowingly drugged? No, that's impossible. He would have known. He would have known.
He had to hold out. Until Xarosse returns. Don't spit. Isolate himself if necessary. But he hopes the masseuse will be back before the next akenak meeting. We'll have to talk about the water route again. He'd like to do it under the best possible conditions, and not on the verge of a nervous breakdown.