#Scourgers

[essektheylyss]

I think Orym is a fascinating character in a way that is often underappreciated, because he is fundamentally a soldier, he was trained as a soldier, and that's... not a bad thing? It has no moral indication, and certainly doesn't imply that Orym is going dark. In fact, in the current circumstances, Orym acting as a soldier is very important and may actually get them through this in one piece.

I do feel that this aspect of his character is frequently approached in the fandom as an afterthought or even swept under the rug, or flat out viewed as a flaw to be overcome (especially given the overall landscape of military conflict in the real world), but being a trained soldier is not inherently indicative of specific morality or ideology. I think it's a judgment that also gets levied against paladins, because, much like any organized forces in fantasy are equated with modern militaries, fantasy worship is equated with Christianity (sometimes in the guise of 'organized religion' with all of its problematic connotations). It's incredibly black and white, and it doesn't fundamentally make sense in much of Exandria, but in this case especially.

You cannot fundamentally map the Tempest Blades onto any real life military, because the task of the Tempest, and Ashari culture as a whole, is protection against both extraplanar threats and also the malicious or misguided intentions of those on the Material Plane trying to fuck with the elemental planes. This is distinctly different even in universe from, for instance, Caleb, who was trained as an assassin in the name of nationalism, or Yasha, who was trained to be a leader in the name of tribalism.

And these two threats that the Ashari are tasked with resisting are both frequent, credible, and existential! Failing at this task is liable to have major sweeping repercussions for the rest of Exandria! It is highly probable that a soldier with Orym's training is expected to need to make incredibly difficult decisions in defense of the common good at more than one point in their life—decisions that would make every person who laughs at the premise of the trolley problem shit their pants.

And crucially, Orym wants his friends to get out of this. He has in fact already promised his entire life to ensure that they do, because he also fundamentally needs them to be able to do what they came for, without hesitation, because the singular mandate that he has devoted himself to is protecting the Material Realm from extraplanar threats, and regardless of the fact that the rest of them do not have the same training, that is also the task that the Hells have chosen.

If Nana Morri can get the Hells out in one piece, regardless of what choices they make, then their personal risk doesn't matter. I imagine that Orym isn't going to tell them that, because given the scope of the threat, there's not necessarily a guarantee that Morri can make that happen, so the rest of the Hells have to make the choice themselves to take the risk and trust that the others have their backs. And in the end, if Orym has to live with that no matter which way fate plays out, he will. He's already had plenty of practice.

They're at war, and that's how soldiers operate. Because when they're behind enemy lines, it's the only way missions get completed and they have a chance of making it back alive.

[artofcarmen]

Caleb Widogast - The Butcher of Rexxentrum

Evil AU art of Caleb (Bren) if he was neutral evil, met Essek while he was a full scourger, and instead of healing each other, fed into their darkness and conspired to remove the rest of the Assembly and Kryn elite from their way.

[elliotofmakinstuff]

The Horrors are Endless but Bren Stays Silly :3

I’ve been rotating Caleb/Bren in my brain bc of a delightfully horrible fic on ao3- a body in absentia by nonwal. I read it all in one day and then promptly needed to scream about it

doodles 👀

[nonwal]

each half blind without a mirror

(AKA, the time travel shadowgast fic that I'm not going to finish writing. So here's the beginning and the plot outline. Be warned, it’s not technically an unhappy ending but it’s certainly bittersweet, with a lot of alternate timeline MCD.)

Bren Aldric Ermendrud does not like Vergesson Sanatorium because deep down, he knows that he belongs there. He's been a little mad for a long time, but he's never told anyone about it. It has yet to interfere with work, and that is what matters. If his dreams are filled with smoke and blood and vague prophecies in his own voice, that is his own business. If he is occasionally convinced that he is being watched--well, who is to say that he isn't? Trent has eyes everywhere. But it does mean that he answers the summons to the sanatorium with more trepidation than strictly necessary.

"Sorry," Astrid says when he arrives just outside the gate. "I didn't know how to explain the situation over Sending." "It's fine," he says mildly. "You can apologize by explaining now." She hesitates. "I don't know how to explain now. We captured Thelyss. He tried to kill Master Ikithon. And as far as we can tell, he's gone mad." That is…a lot to take in. Bren quashes something that might be hope or might be simmering fury. "You need me to verify that it's him," he guesses after a moment. "He was your contact, and our master is very interested in learning why he is here and not in a grave in Ghor Dranas," she says dryly. "Ah." Bren connects the dots now, recognizes what she isn't saying. Essek Thelyss had been Bren's charge, at least until he’d been executed after his plans to steal the beacons were revealed by an unknown party. It was an inconvenience that Bren has…already paid dearly for. But if he’s faked his death, if he has made an attempt on Ikithon’s life--that reeks of a conspiracy. Bren is in danger. But isn't he always? "You said that he's mad?" he asks as Astrid guides him inside. "We thought he was faking it at first. But even under a Zone of Truth, he speaks contradictory nonsense." "Such as?" "He is convinced that Vess died due to a disagreement with a cultist over a city made out of meat, that I am the Archmage of Civil Influence, that he is friends with a cleric whose powers come from a talking weasel, that he successfully stole the beacons but they were given back, that he was born in 715 PD and he is one hundred thirty-seven years old--" "He doesn't know what year it is?" "He's aware that it's 832. He insists his math is right anyhow. We've already tried removing any curses he may be under, healing, a Greater Restoration--anything we can think of. He isn't a shapeshifter, he isn't under any magical effects. He claims that it was him who got executed, and the execution did kill him, but also that he's never died before." She lets out a frustrated breath. "He also insists that he is perfectly sane, but what madman doesn't?" "Interesting," says the madman walking next to her. "Do you have any theories?" She sighs. "I was hoping that you would," Astrid admits. “He’s your responsibility.” "I watched him die. I verified that it was him. This could be a clone? Or some other attempt at transferring his consciousness." "Did he mention dabbling in necromancy?" "That really isn't the sort of thing he would have admitted to me." Their conversations were always more…complicated.

(and then the outline below)

Bren gets summoned because the Assembly has caught Essek Thelyss during an assassination attempt on Trent. The same Essek who definitely got caught and executed by the Dynasty before he could steal the beacons. The same Essek that Bren had been working very closely with

Bren talks to the captured drow. It is Essek. It is not the Essek that he knew

he eventually determines that this Essek is a time traveler who has been stuck in the past and has subsequently altered this timeline, and that this Essek knew him in the future timeline

he asks Essek if the future Bren came with him to the past. Essek admits that yes, the original spell was supposed to bring them both back to the past for a short period of time and then back to the present, but for some reason Essek got left behind and the timeline didn’t loop smoothly the way they had intended

he asks Essek if the future Bren came with him to save his parents. Essek asks how he knew that

Bren knew that because for the past seventeen years, he has been working under the assumption that he was delusional. When he killed his parents, he wandered behind the house for a minute and “hallucinated” seeing them escape through an unblocked window and disappear with a stranger, and thus he never broke

Essek is relieved to know why timeline didn’t loop correctly. I think I know why you got left behind, too, but you won’t like it, Bren adds

Essek demands to know anyway. Bren refuses to tell him until he explains what happened to his Essek. Essek explains that in the timeline he’s from, the theft of the beacons led to a war. He tried to convince his current self not to steal them, and failed—so he planted the right evidence to prevent the plot a different way, leading to his own death

“I’m not surprised that you couldn’t convince him. You are very different.” “In a good way.” “No, not in a good way. I think I loved him. I do not think I would love you.” “…I’m sorry.” “No, don’t be. I assume you loved that other version of me, ja? I killed him, too. So we’re even. Fair play.”

it turns out this Essek was not left behind. The spell failed because after Essek teleported his parents to safety, Bren saw Caleb inside the house, panicked, and killed him. The spell failed because one of the people who cast it died

Essek is. A little despondent over this, understandably. He isn’t stuck in a shitty AU past where everything is going wrong, futilely hoping that Caleb will come back again and rescue him—he’s stuck in the only remaining timeline, and Caleb no longer exists at all

Essek proposes a pact: in his timeline, he helped defeat Trent Ikithon. If Bren frees him, he can help do the same in this one

Bren agrees. They flee together, and go into hiding, begin plotting for the years ahead. They are both mourning a version of the other that no longer exists. They have both murdered each other’s lover. They are both wearing the face of each other’s lover. It is not easy company

Essek knows how to track down most of the Nein, still a year before they all meet. He doesn’t know exactly how Bren could play the part of Caleb—but Caleb did leave behind letters

Bren goes to visit his parents. It’s weird. He’s missed them, and an insane part of him has never really believed that they were gone—but they have the letters from a version of him that never came to be. Much like Essek, they were hoping he would be someone else. (They try to be happy for him regardless. But he can tell they thought he would be a better man.)

the Mighty Nein still meet in roughly the same fashion, except Veth and “Caleb” just…have a strange tension between them. Things start to deviate at Alfield. The ruse gets harder to maintain. Beau is paranoid that someone is following them, watching at a distance. In Zadash, Bren manages to keep his mouth shut during the Zone of Truth but has a panic attack prior to the Victory Pit and has to tap out because he knows that Trent would be watching

the beacons were never stolen, though. So there is no broken tower, no declaration of war, no push to get out of town as quickly as possible. Bren convinces the group to head north, but—they get as far as Bowlgate, and things properly escape his control. Essek has to intervene. They explain the ruse, the time travel

people are, to put it lightly, kind of fucking pissed

they do still go to Hupperdook, now with Essek. It’s a little bit tenser than the original timeline, between the Nein being extra wary of Bren and Essek, and Bren and Essek still being wary of each other

no one gets kidnapped. Molly doesn’t die. They take out the Iron Shepherds and recruit Caduceus. And then it’s…boat time? Caleb didn’t leave great notes about that and Essek doesn’t exactly know what went down, but they do end up becoming pirates

they get the Happy Fun Ball and the Mighty Nein have to restrain Essek from immediately returning to explore it. He tries to explain that the key to taking out Ikithon was found there, but Bren would rather bide his time than risk the Archmage’s Bane with a less-seasoned adventuring group, and takes the Nein’s side. They finally begin to bond with him after the incident. Essek tries (fails) not to be jealous

they discuss next steps as they sail back to Nicodranas. There is no war, no stolen beacons, no burned Felderwin and kidnapped husband to bring them over to Xhorhas. They decide to still tackle the Angel of Irons cult, this time keeping Yasha safe

they arrive at Nicodranas. To news of a war and a burned Felderwin.

Essek holds it together for long enough to verify that Veth’s entire family made it out okay (having never begun working for the Assembly) and then he fucking falls apart. The Nein have never really bonded with the weird time traveler who keeps trying to manipulate them into following a specific path, simultaneously following his own agenda and wishing they were future versions of themselves—but they try to comfort him as best they can

Later, when everyone else has gone to bed, he says to Bren, “It was all for nothing. I didn’t stop it.” “The way I see it, this means the war—the one you remember—wasn’t your fault. It would have happened without you. Silver lining?” Essek is quiet, a very unconvinced sort of quiet. Finally, he says, “I got myself killed. For this. And it wasn’t enough. He died for nothing—I was him, once upon a time, I was almost exactly him except that I never knew you—“ This is the first time that Essek has ever expressed proper regret for killing the Essek that Bren has always privately thought of as his. Softly, he says, “You didn’t know. It’s okay.” “I killed him for nothing. It is not okay.” “Ja, well, sometimes you kill your mirror self and you entire life goes to shit. I wish I hadn’t killed your Caleb, either, but it’s a little too late for that.”

they reach a new understanding of each other after that. Not exactly romantically—they have sex, a few weeks later, and both agree that it doesn’t feel the same—but at least they become tentative friends with occasional and probably inadvisable benefits

the war did not happen over stolen beacons, and there is no beacon to return in order to end it. They stay far away from the Dynasty, struggle their way through the Happy Fun Ball with Yasha’s help, manage to kill the heart first and take down Obann when the ritual to free the Laughing Hand fails as a result

there is no peace treaty. There is no way to end the war. They go out of order and tackle the hag next, turn Nott back to Veth. They get the residuum for the Blooming Grove, Fjord becomes a paladin, Travelercon is still a clusterfuck

the war gets worse. They discuss the possibility of stealing the Pride’s Call beacon as leverage, and head back to Zadash to begin investigating—and then Yasha disappears

the first thought is more Angel of Irons shit, but when they scry on her they see her traveling with Cree. Turns out Lucien didn’t need Molly to be dead to come back

there’s a race to the north, trying to stop them, trying to unpossess Yasha. They don’t read the book, don’t get any eyes—but this is so far off the original timeline that Essek doesn’t know what to expect. They go through Aeor, they take down the Tombtakers, they reach Cognouza, they fight Lucien-as-Yasha…

but unlike Molly’s body, Yasha doesn’t die

things go bad. Very bad. Molly goes down first, and then Caduceus when he tries to reach the body. Then Veth, then Fjord. When Jester goes down, with Bren on his last legs, Essek manages to get within range for a plane shift—but Beau refuses to leave Yasha behind

Essek Thelyss and Bren Aldric Ermendrud return to the Material Plane and prepare for the end. But nothing happens, no hungry flesh city arrives to wreak havoc. The war is getting worse, far bloodier than the one Essek remembered—but nothing beyond that

eventually, they return to Aeor, find their way back to Cognouza and the remains of their friends. Turns out, after Lucien killed Beau, there was nothing left to keep Yasha standing. Very tidy, how that one played out

They return to Aeor. The ice is preferable to flesh. Bren asks, “Did any of it go like this, in yours?” He already knows the answer, but he wants to hear it again, just in case Essek has a different one this time. “No.” Essek sits on the ground, not bothering to float. “If we could raise one of the clerics, maybe—“ “Caleb was a transmuter.” Ah. And Bren is not. “We could find a powerful cleric—“ “With the war the way it is?” Essek’s voice is brittle. On the verge of tears or on the verge of an angry outburst, he can’t tell. “And the chances of getting everyone back—“ His voice breaks. Tears, then. “My apologies. It seems the plan to kill Ikithon has fallen through.” This is such a stupid apology that Bren has to laugh at it. “Do you really think this is still about killing him, for me?” A quiet sigh. “I’m sorry, Bren.” “Ja. Well. It could be worse?” Essek glares up at him. “How, exactly?” Bren doesn’t actually know. “We’re both still alive? And Veth’s family is safe, and Jester’s. And mine.” Even if he is a stranger to them, and a bit of a disappointment compared to who he could have been— Bren wonders if it was worth the trade. The war, the Mighty Nein, the miserable elf curled up on the ground. He sighs. “No. You’re right. This is—yours was better.” And, “The chamber that we stumbled across. That was how you two…?” “Yes. But your—“ “Maybe we should go back one last time. Tell our better selves to leave things as they were. Untie the knot you made trying to form a clean loop.”

they do go back, just a few moments before Caleb and Essek arrive. Essek immediately launches himself into a hug around Caleb, explains that he got left in the past because Caleb died—and already, the other Essek is convinced

Caleb asks Bren if he was happy. If his parents were still alive. Yes to the latter, not really to the former. They read your letters, you know. They were so proud of you. But—a little less proud of me. I didn’t—it’s a long story. I never broke. My name is Bren.

Caleb asks if they’re here to stop him. If he should let it be. They say yes, and also Essek had to kill his past self to stop the beacons from being stolen but eventually there was a war for other reasons and because the Nein didn’t have any beacon there was no political leverage to stop it and it’s still getting worse and now every member of the Nein is dead—

look I just think there should be a lot of wizards hugging their traumatized alternate universe selves here

eventually Bren—seventeen years old, about to make the worst decision of his entire life—arrives in the distance. The older Bren asks if they should stay close or not. He’s only seen it as an illusion. Caleb tells him that he doesn’t need to watch the real thing. The pain won’t fix anything

they move into the woods, so far away that they can’t hear anything. Eventually there is a faint light at the distant horizon from the blaze, but nothing more. Bren and Essek—the Essek who got left behind—begin to fade into a pair of dark voids. Echoes. Just alternate timelines, shadows of something that never happened

Caleb and Essek return, a little haunted by the versions of themselves that they could have been. They go destroy the T-dock. It takes them years to tell the Mighty Nein what happened

for the rest of their lives, whenever they cast Resonant Echo, the echoes are always the same ones

[last-hourglass]

hahahaha WHOOPS

GUESS WHO DISCOVERED A PARALLEL I DIDN'T INTENTIONALLY CREATE BETWEEN KRANGIFIED LH!DONNIE AND OL SHREDDY BARRY

THIS IS FINE

[astrid-beck]

Offended on behalf of bren aldric ermendrud whenever there's a scourger au shadowgast and caleb is the weak link. For the obvious reason (bren is a supersoldier/trained dog whose only hobby is espionage) but also crucially like. Essek is just not that good at keeping secrets. Like he would obviously fold first. Broken shell of a man caleb widogast quickly and successfully charmed high level government secrets out of essek thelyss when he was years out of practice do you expect me to believe bren "daddy's best child soldier" ermendrud would be so overcome with stupid lust for this one lonely easily manipulated self-important elf in a cloak that it would override the metaphorical wizard L-pill of his training. Bitch they put rocks in his skin.

[wizardnuke]

the thing about caleb is that he is arrogant. the thing about essek is that he is arrogant but also very proud,

[feuerwizard]

for @sanguisarcana || scourger bren (baldur's gate 3 verse)

It had been years since Bren set foot upon the bustling streets and felt the blistering sunlight of Baldur's Gate's undercity. Air thick with the scent of spices and sweat as people bustle about their daily lives, their voices blending into a cacophony of noise around him. Despite the chaos—or perhaps because of it—it is surprisingly easy for Bren to blend in and go unnoticed amongst crowds. Though rumors of past mind flayer attacks and dragon sightings still linger in the minds of those along the Sword Coast, such things have little relevance to the task at hand.

Fashion Couture.

Nestled along the western side of Baldur's Gate, sits a quaint clothing shop with its elegant windows closed shut and adorned by billowing curtains. Bren straightens his shirt and brushes away the dirt from his pants before running a hand through his unruly mop of short ginger hair. With a huff of a sigh, he enters the shop, filled with rows of neatly displayed garments and the sweet scent of perfumes and fabrics.

Cerulean eyes clock him immediately, like a predator tracking its prey, a pale elf with snow-white curls upon his head. Bren boldly strides towards him, clearing his throat to announce his presence before approaching any closer. “Hallo,” he greets the elf, accent thick but full of faux charm, “I am looking for a new coat… I don’t suppose you would be able to help with that?”

[amsayshi]

Okay.

Hear me out.

I have this idea that hasn't left my head since the end of C2 and I need to let it out. I am of the mindset that the intricate web of wizard spies were kind of overlooked and underpowered towards the end of the campaign AND I can't stop thinking about them. Like they were spoken of as if they were an urban legend... So what happened to them in the aftermath? They were basically mist. How could they possibly catch all of them?

So here's some prompts that I want to write but have never gotten around to or can't write because of my disorganized head.

Prompt #1:

What happens next.

Volstruckers in the aftermath of Trent's capture. What happens to a shadow network of wizard spies when their leader is taken into custody? Do they surrender, slink back into the shadows, or reorganize into an independent spy network?

Prompt #2:

So pretty much the same as the above but cozy second chance romance for a bunch of assassins.

Haha So we follow a volstrucker who disappears into the shadows and reemerges as a tavern owner who refuses to look back on their time as an assassin spy until a familiar face pops into their tavern for a drink.

Anyway I still am fascinated by the wizard spies and wish we spent like...so much more time with them.

Give me an EXU series on former volstruckers finding their way in this worlddd. Would they all be ludinus followers!? Would the leftover volstruckers be on the moon?!

Ugh... Every few months I get wizard spy brain rot and it takes a while to push through the hyper fixation.

[euchariis]

Scourger/Volstrucker Bren Aldric Ermendrud is the most pretentious asshole ever. he suffers from SEVERE "smartest person in the room" disorder. Hes a mansplainer. He says "errrrm actually". He's the love of my life. He's my greatest enemy. Imagine if he did not break that night. if he continued studying and learning under Ikithon, if he became a fully realized Sexy Evil German Wizard. I'm obsessed with him. I need him six feet under. I need him on his knees. I need him at the altar. I NEED SCOURGER CALEBBBBBBBBBBBBBB. i need evil caleb. i need morally gray bren. i need to dissect him. i need to blow him up into a million tiny pieces,

[quinn-of-aebradore]

robes and leather armor… maroon and grey… we don’t know the current state of the Volstrucker program, all I’m saying

[essektheylyss]

Honestly, I'm very excited to find out what happened to Caleb and Beau, but specifically because Ludinus's current status is WILD for Caleb's epilogue in particular. It means his boyfriend is basically free and clear of everyone who has explicit material knowledge of the deal he made. It means the goal he planned to dedicate his life to is basically complete within six years. It means that virtually no one left on the Assembly cares much what kinds of changes he makes to Soltryce from here on out.

Ludinus is on the moon and probably not coming back, given the general expectations of the heroic fantasy genre, and the rest of it is a whole lot of "not Caleb's problem".

What does this man even do with the rest of his life?

[artofcarmen]

Did some background work and got the start of the flamelight on our murder son. Its been a struggle but I think the face is closer to what I wanted. ❤️‍🔥

We also determined im doing neck tattoos in the art stream today lol

[acespaceacepilot]

still think it’s fucked up that wyll ravengard has to use his warlock pact to be able to wield his literal family heirloom weapon effectively

[nonwal]

Chapters: 1/20 Fandom: Critical Role (Web Series) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast Characters: Caleb Widogast, Essek Thelyss Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Scourger Caleb Widogast, Angst, Demisexual Essek Thelyss, atypical modes of consent (see A/N), Internalized Acephobia, ongoing boundary negotiation, Touch Aversion, Trans Caleb Widogast, (via true polymorph—see A/N), Blow Jobs, Mutual Masturbation, Hand Jobs, Intercrural Sex, Frottage, Dildos, Rimming, Anal Fingering, Light BDSM, Under-negotiated Kink, Sub Drop, Safeword Use, Cuddling, Vomiting, Torture, Feeblemind Spell (Dungeons & Dragons), the horrors are endless but Bren stays silly :3, he's a decent guy if you ignore the atrocities Summary:

“You accused me of treating this like a game. I am sorry if I’ve led you to believe that it is only a game—though I won't deny that part of it is.” Bren gives a disarming smile. “My life is either games or murder, after all.” “Or mail fraud,” Thelyss says dryly, not even a little disarmed. “The mail fraud is a sort of game as well.” A sigh. “Is this your way of telling me that you intend to continue playing?” Bren smiles again, sharper. “If you would let me.”

(In which Bren Aldric Ermendrud decides to seduce the Shadowhand and finds that the best way to convince someone to be vulnerable with you is to be vulnerable in turn.)

so, funny story, I’ve written 100000 words since the beginning of the year,

[demenior]

trick or treat! for anything fealty and/or volstrucker related 🫶

i'm still working on it, but bc of this i started writing up a whole thing about the volstrucker and how i think they function/work

here's a sample

The Residuum:

I consider residuum to be, effectively, fantasy magic cocaine (yes, functionally, that’s suude, but that's made from residuum so i'm doing a same-same here). It should not be ingested, but ironically, that’s what most people do with it. Absolutely addictive.

Volstrucker are walking around with a small fortune implanted within them

They keep the knowledge of these implants secret not only to protect their identities, but to keep them from being targeted by black market operatives who would steal the residuum for resale

The activated implants function in several mechanic ways (a reskinned Bladesinger, iirc), and I’ve added a little extra in my writing. I figure there should be some really good payoffs for all of the training and getting shot up with the fantasy coke that could kill you from using it:

Rather than a 10ft boost to walking speed, I treat it like being hasted

This comes with the round of exhaustion when it ends, but! The trick is that it's not held to the 1 minute spell time, the Volstrucker can control when it ends

They can keep their implants active until the residuum is burned out, but, how much strain can their bodies handle?

Activating the implants also heightens their senses

Mechanically this would be some boost to perception checks

I write it like they’ve had a veil on, and the residuum hitting takes that away. Colors are brighter, sounds are louder, the world moves slower (because of the haste). This is all good for being alone and moving in on an assassination target.

Amplifying spells

Mechanically, what I call Amplifying allows for casting a spell at a higher spell slot, while spending a lower spell slot.

It is extremely taxing on the body and so can’t be done often (a once per long rest or smth like that)

In writing this means getting to decide to boost just how damaging your spell is going to be

Components

In a pinch the implants are expected to serve as emergency spell components. But due to how expensive residuum is, the expectation is that  Volstrucker should be carrying all of the spell components they require

Trent does not like this, but the Volstrucker discovered that you can burn your residuum at low levels (not a full activation) to push back fatigue.

This is important if you’re working deep in enemy territory and can’t afford to sleep for a few days, but need to maintain your senses

There is a price to pay on the other side—the lethargy that hits is even heavier than the usual fatigue, and often amplified depending on how many sleeps you are in deficit

By keeping the residuum “on low”, you burn through it faster

Restocking

If a Volstrucker lives long enough (5-8 years, depending), they will burn through their reserves

By this point, their body is so dependent on having residuum that if they do not get another round of implants they will go into withdrawal

This has a high likelihood of death, and so is to be avoided

In theory they could be weaned off of the residuum safely, but due to the nature of everything going on with the Volstrucker, this has never happened

This round of implants has a much faster recovery time. Most Volstrucker recover at home, with no need to be drugged as their bodies are accustomed to the excess of residuum and they can control it, so they are not expected to accidentally kill themselves

No Volstrucker has lived long enough to need a third round of residuum implants