Minerval

"*This is the only shot that can give you the boost of creativity. However, it only works if you have talent. So those things you see haunting around Brooke's Lake? They took a zip of the drink, but they're just... nobodies*".- Lochlyn Slade

The **Minerval**, also known as **The Brain of Minerva**, is a concoction that greatly enhances a person's ability and talent to create art through any medium (writing, singing, painting, etc.) at the expense of needing to feed on blood. It is a pivotal item in Burn the Ships, being a key element of the main storyline.

The concotion was created by Vanessa Feldman and was spread through a small circle in Brooke's Lake, Massachusetts, mainly by Minerva's Pantheon. The person who ingests the drink will begin to feel immediate effects and must keep ingesting the drink and drinking blood if they want to continue their success, becoming Menessapiens in the process. However, those who take the drink and do not have talent to develop are converted into Seethers that roam the streets and attack anything with blood.

## Physiology

The concoction is a drink with an unnatural purple color that faintly glows a foreboding light. It works by firing neurons in the Occipital Lobe of the human brain at anywhere from 1000x-5000x their normal firing rate, increasing the users ability to do artistic activities by an immense amount. A caviet of this effect however, is that it used up four vital minerals in the user's blood to make this happen: Magnesium, Calcium, Sodium, and Potassium. These minerals must be replenished soon if not immediately after ingesting the drink, as if they aren't replenished in time, the host will die. Although, those who took the drink are capable of subsisting off blood from one feed per week.

## Effects

How strictly these "rules" are applied varies and has never been clearly defined in the series itself.

* Creativity Empowerment - Those under the Minerval's effects will have exponentially increased ability to be creative amongst their fields, be it writing, singing, painting, etc. They become more motivated and extremely enthused about their own work as their work becomes masterpieces.
* Retractable Fangs - Those under the Minerval's effects develop abnormally sharp fangs and can deliver a deadly bite with them. The fangs are even retractable.
* Irritative - Those under the Minerval's effects become much more angered and irritated by those around them if pushed the wrong way, becoming verbally abusive and protective of their work.
* Blood Diet - Those under the Minerval's effects require to feed on blood, particularly fresh blood. This is because the drug depletes the major minerals in the bloodstream, which have to be replenished in massive amounts. Lochlyn Slade has noted he does his best work when he drank the blood of infants and children.

## Weaknesses

Despite the abilities that the Minerval can bring, it does not mean any limitations.

* Mortality - Those under the Minerval's effects are still humans and share many of the same weaknesses as non-supernatural beings.
* Creative Depowerment Withdrawal - Those who withdraw taking the Minerval after they started will experience a lower drive for creativity than before they took the drink. They also can never achieve the height of creativity they had before they took the drink.

## Post-Ingestion Transformation

The drink has different effects based on the person's talents:

* Menessapien - Those who are talented with a gift in the arts will become Menessapiens. These beings retain their human form, but their body will need to feed on blood; because in order for the brain to become superior in the arts it uses up the previous stated nutrients in the host's blood.
* Seether - Those who aren't naturally talented will transform into Seethers. They will lose their hair, to the point of becoming bald, their skin will become pale, and also their bodies become lanky. These individuals will suffer from uncontrollable twitches and unnatural movements.

## Cure

Although Heather Feldman stated that there is no cure for the concoction, Abigail Montgomery discovered that the Leprose Lichen that grows in the Eyrie of Crows can reverse the effects of the Minerval and restore the normal functionality of the host's Occipital Lobe, to the point of bringing back the human condition of the Minerval's user, whether is a Menessapiens or a Seether. This was proven when Cindy Calico, under her Seether form, bitten Abigail's hand while covering it with a portion of the supernatural lichen used to protect herself from the bite, which brought Cindy her humanity back. However, the side effects of Leprose Lichen ingestion include deep fatigue, loss of apetite, vomiting, fever and also hallucinations.

## Known Users

### Menessapiens

* Heather Feldman †
* Lochlyn Slade †
* Electra Sheridan †
* Vincent J. Camden †
* Thomasin Rosewood †
* Stanley Toledo †
* Matthew Calico (cured)
* Keenen Calico (cured)
* Ashton Cortez †
* Quentin Tarantino (implied; possibly cured)
* Jack Nicholson (implied; possibly cured)
* Many unnamed others (possibly cured)

### Seethers

* Eddie Mott †
* Cindy Calico (cured)
* Many unnamed others (possibly cured or killed)

## Trivia

* The only member of the Calico family that didn't drank the Minerval was Valentine Calico.