Legendin

Why be a soldier, when you can be a hero?

Legendin is a minty-tasting, viridescent liquid, which in spite of its seemingly harmless appearance is in actuality an incredibly potent alchemical stimulant and one of the most widely used combat drugs in all of Cenorad.
It was developed by the Emerald Guild in an attempt to increase the effectiveness of organic soldiers on the battlefield by removing "bothersome" sensations like pain, fear or fatigue.
To say that the Alchemist managed to archive this goal would a sever understating as Legendin acts not only as a powerful analgesic and analeptic but also as a strong thought and perception enhancer and therefore is able to temporarily turn even an inexperienced recruit into a cold and calculating killing machine.
Yet while its advantages are undoubtedly impressive, its drawbacks are equally potent, which makes the correct timing of its usage a vital factor for its military applications, as while a syringe of Legendin at the right time is capable of turning the tides of a battle, the same syringe taken at the wrong time can be a recipe for disaster.

Application

While Legendin can be drunken without any significant losses of potency, this type of administration notably increases the time until the drug begins to unfold its effect and is therefore ill-suited for the high-stress environment of the battlefield where even a short delay in effect could prove fatal.
Due to this Legendin is nearly exclusively produced in ready-to-use glass syringes, which a soldier can simply jab into his body. More specialized or expendable troops might also carry a Legendin filled infusion into battle, which continuously injects small drops of the drug into their system and thereby forcefully keeping them in a constant state of heightened battle performance.

A Syringe full of Bravery

While the exact duration and effect intensity of a Legendin dosage heavily depends on the quality and concentration of the drug, as well as the presence of additional stimulants, the very first thing all users experience is the rapid disappearance of all feelings of pain or fatigue.
This sensation is then quickly followed by a massive boost to the user's perception and thought process, which is commonly described as the feeling of "waking up while being already awake".
In sharp contrast to practically every other type of combat drugs, which provide a comparable boost to a user's mental capacity, Legendin doesn't interfere with the user's ability to make rational decisions and in fact, even amplifies this ability, which allows the user to remain conscious about the limitations of his drug-empowered body.
Due to this Legendin users are far less likely to make brave but ultimately pointless suicidal charges and instead use their drug-granted bravery to quickly and accurately perform risky but beneficial actions on the battlefield.

/* Mass changes only in a coordinated fashion with other drug-users in order to maximize chances of success */

The Price of Herosims

You either die a legend or live long enough to see your own body rot away.

Despite all the advantages which the usage of Legendin brings to its user, the price an ordinary soldier has to pay for these moments of heroism is s steep one indeed.
The short term side effects of Legendin usage usually appear almost immediately after the effect of the drugs has run out and include a number of unpleasant symptoms such as headaches, nausea and an intense feeling of fatigue.
Depending on how many injuries a user received while under the pain-numbing effects of the Legendin, he will be also be hit with a potentially incapacitating wave of pain once this effect runs out, which makes it vitally important that soldiers whose Legendin is about to run out either retreat to a safe shelter or administer a second dosage of Legendin.
Long term side effects of regular Legendin usage, include an every increasing chance to develop a Legendin addiction, a massively increased risk to develop PTSD and other types of severe mental disorders, partially or complete limb paralysis, potentially debilitating damage to internal organs and a gradual loss of the sense of pain, which causes users to accidentally inflict potentially lethal wounds on themselves without even realizing it.

/* Besides the always present danger of addiction, Legendin also possesses a great number of side effects, whose frequency and intensity tends to quickly rise to intolerable levels. Short term Side effects */

Manufacturing process

Within these halls, we create legends...or at least the stuff that turns ordinary soldiers into people worth singing about.

Because of its highly complex production process, as well as the numerous toxic and caustic waste products that occur during this procedure, Legendin is not produced within the large industrial complexes of the Shimmering Metropolises but is instead fabricated within "Forges of Legends", which are specialized production sites operated by skilled Educated operators under the direct supervision of an experienced member of the Emerald-Guild.

/*

Dosage and Packaging

the dosage form as a ready-to-use glass syringe ("Syr"). Concentration is indicated by colorful-bands around the syringe XXX --> Low grade, added to weekly "motivation packages" for Mudcross worker or added to their Swamp-Broth, especially during food shortages or during "crunch weeks" of increased production. XXX -> Export XXX --> Military usage XXXXX --> Concentration/ High doses only used for combat units whose return is "not required."/ not expected. nIcknamed the "Rainbow Syringe", due to the great number of dosage rings.*/

Item type

Drug / Narcotic / Medicine

Manufacturer

The Vitreous Empire

Rarity

Commonly found in military units all over Cenorad, most prominently within the Vitreous Empire.
Uncommon to rare for civilian usages.

Base Price

22-341 Ribbon-Shards / Syringe, dependant on drug concentration.

Legendin Derivates

Emerald's Embrace

A derivate of Legendin designed for purely medical purposes. It acts significantly slower than regular Legendin and also has lost most of its analeptic properties.
The intensity and frequency of its side effects are also strongly reduced, though it is still capable of causing addiction in regular users.

Stratagem B

Stratagem B is a specialized derivate of Legendin that primarily focuses on Legendin's thought enhancing properties and additionally possess a highly increased duration time.
Its usage is common within the upper ranks of the Glass Legion and the Broken Armada.

Mythicum

Mythicum is a Legendin derivate, which contains several alchemical drugs with an overall similar but significantly weaker effect than Legendin.
When compared to regular Legendin, Mythicum possesses a massively increased potency and effect duration.
Given that it also intensifies the side effects of Legendin even a single syringe of this combination drug can already have fatal consequences.

"Juice of War"

A highly expensive and specialized derivate of Legendin, Juice of War combines the combat-enhancing effects of regular Legendin with the impressive healing properties of Panacea.
While perhaps the most useful combat drug ever conceived, Its usage is limited to members of the Seven Alchemist Guilds, as only the transformed metabolisms of an Alchemist is capable of withstanding the strain of this particular combat drug.
Any attempts of usage by Non-Alchemists so far have resulted in rather "messy" outcomes.

/*

XXX

--> Decreases intensity of the effect but allows it to linger for far longer.

XXXXX

Reduces short term side effects of Legendin usage, but heavily promotes scarring of injured skin tissue, which can lead to the formation of disfiguring or even debilitating scars all over a user's body. Moderators are alchemical substances, which are commonly administered together with Legendin and whose primary function consists of moderating the effect Legendin has on its consumers.

XXX

--> Fast-acting, shortens the overall duration */

Over the Rainbow

Named after the colorful dosage and warning rings located on its surface, the so-called "Rainbow Syringe" is a syringe filled with a lethal dosage of highly concentrated Legendin or Mythicum.
It is generally only handed out to special units whose combat goal is so important that the return of the troops is neither expected nor wanted.