063 [Video]

[mountain_sage]

[Saleh's been thinking about the Christmas ball and what an...unsatisfying experience it has been. He had never liked alcohol or its negative effects, but perhaps there was some sort of benefit that he did not understand. After his latest experience, however, he still does not see it.]

I am...curious about something. Why do people drink those ghastly beverages at the bar?

[Hopefully mentioning the bar will give away the kinds of drinks he's talking about.]

Comments

[Voice]

[winds_voice]

I tried some recently to try to see what was so appealing about them. Some of them were not as unpleasant, but they seem to have a strange affect on humans. And human bodies. I personally found that to begin with the drinks made me feel more relaxed and warm inside. I suppose these sensations are considered pleasant to humans, though I am not sure why some of them then drink enough to make themselves ill.

It does seem that the effects can creep up on people sometimes however, and catch them off guard. Some drinks are stronger than others, in some cases deceptively so.

[Voice]

[mountain_sage]

Hmm...

[He ponders it for a bit.]

Perhaps the effect does seem to differ for different people. And perhaps some people can handle more than others. I started feeling ill after the first drink. And then the second one was...exponentially worse...

[Yet Isaac had assured him that it would make him feel better. That must have been a trick. Saleh merely sighs as he realizes this. Confronting him about it would only make things worse, so he'll let it go.]

[Voice]

[winds_voice]

The effects do seem to worsen with every drink... It seems that there is a limit to how much you should consume. However, some seem to ignore this limit even knowing the effects. It is... a strange behaviour.

If everyone has a unique limit, I suppose to begin with it is a case of experimentation to see how much you can take. Every drink is unique in its strength as well. I have to wonder why humans have complicated the simple act of drinking so much...

[Voice]

[mountain_sage]

I've no need to experiment anymore, personally...

One of the problems with this kind of drink is that it is addictive. People become dependent on it to feel good, but it is merely an illusion. That is the way it corrupts the mind, hence why I try to avoid it.

[Voice | Filtered 85%]

[semper_cogitans]

[It's not something Robert really wants to talk about, and he doesn't really want to announce it to the whole village, but...

... Well.]

... S-Sometimes... it is to... e-ease one's pains...

[He'll... elaborate, if asked, but his voice seems a little sad.]

[Voice | Filtered 85%]

[mountain_sage]

[Yes, he hears that sadness.]

...Are you well?

Does it work?

[Voice | Filtered 85%]

[semper_cogitans]

It... d-depends what you mean by... 'w-work'.

[Though it's not visible, Robert wrings his hands nonetheless. So many times, he's turned to alcohol as a kind of stopgap, a measure when all else fails to soothe.

It usually doesn't work.]

[Voice | Filtered 85%]

[mountain_sage]

What I mean is, does it truly ease your pain? Is it worth the negative effects?

[Voice | Filtered 85%]

[semper_cogitans]

[There's a brief pause, before...]

... N-No. It... it serves to d-dull it, but... briefly. It is... an i-illogical method of problem-solving.

[And yet, he's used it more times than he honestly cares to count.]

Sometimes... when f-faced with difficulties, b-beyond which one is capable of solving... one feels... u-unable to... to truly cope with the magnitude of the situation...

... a-alcohol is an escape. A... t-temporary respite. The same symptoms that y-you describe - the symptoms of... ch-chemical intoxication - act to dull those e-emotions.

It is... u-unhealthy.

I drank when Don died. [And when Giles died. And when Benjamin left him. And countless other times, when he felt so alone and lost and scared but couldn't tell anybody.]

[Voice | Filtered 85%]

[mountain_sage]

I see...

[At least that provides a perfectly logical explanation of why people drink, though he agrees that it's certainly not healthy.]

I use a much better method of coping. It provides a temporary escape, but also gives me strength to move forward, to either face my problem directly, or to move past it.

[But Robert's stuttering definitely causes some concern.]

...Are you all right? Is something troubling you?

[Voice | Filtered 85%]

[semper_cogitans]

... What method would that b-be...? [Because Robert can always use more coping mechanisms.

His question is interrupted by that last bit, though.]

Merely... r-recollection, of the incidents that I... d-described...

Though death in Luceti is... n-not permanent, the loss remains... a painful one...

[Saleh will have to ask specifically about the stutter, though.]

[Voice | Filtered 85%]

[mountain_sage]

It's called Valega. You sit quietly in a place, preferably in the peaceful outdoors, and you set aside all of your petty desires and contemplate the world around you.

I know what you mean about death. This recent draft was especially difficult for me to cope with.