Celestial

Overview

Celestial is an illegal recreational drug created from the seeds and leaves of the Million Flower and used throughout both the Eoion Empire and the Yzel Kingdom. Its production has been banned in both countries since the year 900. Gangs have spent nearly a two centuries vying for control over the production and distribution of the drug. Several variants exist, many nuances of which were developed by the leader of Seraph Rae, Ires Droor.

Effects

All variants of celestial produce similar effects. The main difference comes from the method of taking the drug. Smoked celestial shows its effects immediately or within a few minutes and these generally last approximately two to three hours. Pill celestial takes an average of thirty minutes for a person to begin feeling the effects and lasts for five to six hours.
When taking celestial, users experience a feeling of euphoria. New users often feel a surge of energy that lasts for around an hour before the regular effects begin. These include heaviness in the limbs, an overwhelming feeling of relaxation, numbness in the fingers and toes, and pleasant warmth. At high doses, users can also experience hallucinogenic effects, primarily visual and auditory, although some report tactile hallucinations as well.
Short term negative effects include itching, burning, nausea, dry mouth, dizziness, and the inability to speak coherently. As the user becomes more dependent on the drug, long term effects are seen. These are often different depending on the user's preferred administration method. Those who smoke the drug risk lung damage, bleeding and infections in the throat and sores. Snorting the drug can cause long term damage to nasal passages and the throat, inflammation, and infections. Lastly, those who take the pills suffer stomach lining damage, infections, and ulcers. Psychological long term effects include depression, anxiety, and severe insomnia.

Properties

Material Characteristics

Raw celestial comes from the Million Flower, particularly the leaves and seeds. Once it is processed, it becomes a pale yellow to white powder. The pill forms can come in many different colors depending on the capsule used. Most are pale green or white, the colors of Seraph Rae.

History & Usage

History

The precursor to celestial was developed by cael-esh around 534 for use in their wind magic practices and for communing with Bolu. These followers of Bolugama noticed hallucinatory and anesthetic effects on themselves and those around them when using the plant. Many cael-esh outside of the group, along with alchemists, began working to concentrate the substances that caused these effects, which resulted in the production of the early variants of the drug. These were mainly used as painkillers and anesthetics. The most famous of the developed drugs was Flower's Balm, a legal medication that was used in medicinal practices for several hundred years along with some minor use as a recreational drug. However, it's recreational use began to overshadow its medicinal purpose, particularly as more effective anesthetics were discovered. This left Flower's Balm in limbo and a black market developed to service those who had become addicted to it.
In order to maximize profits, various groups worked with cael-esh and alchemists to further refine the drug. This led to the rapid development of many different variations during the 900s, including versions which were chewed, smoked, and ingested.
The high risk of production and transport resulted in high prices for addicts and Seraphim, which had just begun to turn to illegal activities, became very wealthy from its sale. However, after the split of the group and the subsequent formation of Seraph Rae, production and distribution fell under the new group, removing one of Seraphim's primary sources of income.
Through the 1060s, Ires Droor, who would become Seraph Rae's leader, experimented with the specific conditions under which the Million Flower was kept and adjusting the ratio of seed to leaves in each batch, finding a way to vary the effects of each type of celestial produced. This led to major increases in the efficiency and addictiveness of celestial, along with the wealth of the gang.
At present, Seraph Rae controls 70% of the celestial black market on the continent. Both Yzel and Eoion are attempting to crack down on the production, along with finding ways to deal with the rising number of addicts in each country.

Manufacturing & Products

Recreational celestial is made from the leaves and seeds of the Million Flower. The seeds are crushed to extract the viscous substance inside and the leaves are boiled to break down the plant tissue, leaving the waxy coating behind. Both are then combined in a pot and mixed with vinegar and acetone, produced through dry distillation, to further break down the leaves and any remaining seed shells. The final washing step is a bath in highly concentrated vinegar. After this, the mixture is strained and the powder left behind is pressed to remove as much residual liquid as possible. The wet powder is died and shaped into rectangles for shipping, at which point it is sent to various locations for further refinement.
If the brick is meant to become an smoked substance, it is dried several more times until it becomes a very fine powder. This is then mixed with powdered leaves before being placed in small individual paper bags that can be easily lit. Snorted celestial is prepared in a very similar manner, but not put into bags. Flour is often mixed in as well to reduce the cost to the supplier.
Lastly, ingested celestial can be formed in hard or soft shell capsules made from the gelatin obtained from boiled animal bones. With hard shells, the interior is filled with the powder form used for snorted celestial, whereas soft shell capsules are prepared differently. Powdered celestial is boiled to produce a liquid and then poured into small iron molds along with gelatin capsules. This is then left to harden until slightly stiff. Due to how complex the pills are to manufacture, these are the most expensive forms of the drug.

Variants

The most common variants of celestial are snorted, ingested, and smoked. Each one is prepared in differing ways (see "Production" below). Within each of these categories, there are subtypes of varying addictiveness and potency. By varying the conditions of Million Flower growth, along with other production steps, producers have been able to fine tune their product. Ires Droor is responsible for the current surge of variants on the black market and is continuously making more to generate increased income for himself and Seraph Rae.
Most common forms and names

• Overall: Dust, Wing, Heaven, Ride, C
• Snorted powder: Fairy Powder, Destiny, Plyxian (a combination of the Eoin words for Fairy Powder that was shortened and twisted into its own word)
• Smoked powder: Lung, Ox, Gold (due to the slightly golden color of the original bags)
• Soft shell pills: Slick (from the slightly slippery texture of the pills), Grapes, Seeds
• Hard shell pills: Croutons, Crumbs, Rocks

Distribution

Trade & Market

Seraph Rae  is the largest distributor of all forms of celestial, although their specialty is the smoked variety. Seraphim has been attempting to gain control of pill distribution but has not made many gains as of yet.

Law & Regulation

Both the Eoion Empire and the Yzel Kingdom have outlawed the drug in all forms and as such the only market for it is illicit.

Type

Organic

Rarity

common

Odor

Depends on the form. Powdered celestial has no smell while the liquid form smells slightly like vinegar. Smoked celestial has varying scents depending on the additives used during production.

Taste

Bitter

Color

White, light brown, pale yellow