Glamour Bound

The main way a mortal becomes glamour bound is ingesting food or drink that inherently contains glamour while in Faerie. It should be noted that not all food in Faerie contains glamour. A good rule of thumb is that if the plant or animal the food is sourced from is the same as in the mortal realm, it probably does not contain glamour. So a normal apple that happened to grow in Faerie would be fine, but an apple with a literally silver skin, would not. Any food unique to Faerie almost certainly contains glamour.

The other way a mortal may become glamour bound is if a fae deliberately transfers glamour to them in it's pure form. This can be done one of two ways: A large transfer all at once, or repeated small transfers over time. Either way, it is not something that can happen accidently. The fae must deliberately transfer the glamour to the mortal, and make sure the mortal's body absorbs it all.

A mortal becomes glamour bound when their body becomes exposed to glamour in a way that the glamour is actually absorbed and the energy used to fuel biological processes. As stated above, this can happen after eating faerie food, i.e. food that has glamour as an essential part of its existence, or if a fae transfers the energy to the mortal deliberately. Either way, the mortal's body becomes addicted to the glamour, requiring it to process any food at all.

The mortal can no longer digest food without having glamour in their system. This means that once the glamour has been exhausted, no matter how much food they eat, unless a portion of that food is both from the fae realm and inherently magical, they will starve. Regular food stops tasting right unless they have glamour in their system, as their body learns that it doesn't help. The mortal craves glamour, and keeps remembering the taste of the faerie food that caused the condition, or the feeling of having glamour transferred to them by a fae. Nothing else seems good enough, anymore, and if left untreated, the effected mortal grows depressed and spends all there time listlessly lost in thoughts of the experience that caused the condition. Eventually, they waste away, and die.

While it can not be cured, as long as mortal who is glamour bound regularly receives glamour in a way that allows them to absorb it, they will show no effects. This is most easily acheived in Faerie, where foods that have glamour down to the cellular level are common, hence the myth that eating or drinking while in Faerie traps you there forever. However, a mortal who is glamour bound can be treated without being Faerie, if a fae in the mortal realm gives them glamour on regular basis, or if they are brought faerie food on a regular basis.

Generally, for most people effected by this condition, eating an item of food that contains glamour inherently once a month, or receive a glamour transfer from a fae once a month, is sufficient to allow their body to continue to digest all food. Some particularly sensitive individuals may need faerie food or glamour more often, but it is unheard of for anything more than about once a week to be necessary.

Just as in the case of someone who is malnourished or starving, if the condition has progressed to a certain point, reintroducing nutrition must be done carefully, or it can cause refeeding syndrome, which can be fatal. In those cases, a journey to Faerie is usually necessary, as a fae healer can both provide the needed glamour at a controlled rate, and magically monitor and assist to prevent complications.

While treatable, it is not possible to cure this condition. Once a mortal becomes glamour bound, they will need glamour to digest food for the rest of their life. If they do no not regularly receive it, they will die

Depending on the individual, how sensitive they are to glamour, and how much glamour they absorbed the last time they received glamour, a glamour bound mortal will waste away and die within three to six months of the last exposure to glamour.

The best thing a mortal can do to avoid becoming glamour bound is to avoid eating the food and drink of Faerie. If they are a mage, they may also prevent fae from transferring glamour to them by using their magic to create a shield to absorb glamour and prevent it from reaching their biological systems. The Ordo Venatorum de Magicis Malignis has its main base of operations, Campus Dei, in Faerie, and has developed enchanted objects, usually a ring or medallion, that prevent mortals from becoming glamour bound while the object is on their person.

This first case of this condition is lost to the mists of time. Some scholars of the Ordo Venatorum de Magicis Malignis theorize that Sidhe may be the descendants of humans, or even earlier evolutionary cousins, who found natural Portals, made their home in Faerie, and having become glamour bound in large numbers, evolved to be able to process energy into glamour. Human mythology is filled with stories that could potentially describe an ancient case of someone who became glamour bound. For example, the story of Persephone, who had to return to the "underworld" on a cyclical basis, because she had consumed "the food of the dead."

In the modern world, the treatment of people with this condition depends on whether their community is aware of the supernatural or not.

For those whose community knows Faerie is real, it is treated as a serious condition from the get go, although the exact reaction depends on the individual communities' beliefs on the wisdom or morality of interacting with the fae. For those whose community sees interacting with the fae or going to faerie as taboo or shameful, it can be extremely difficult to get effective care or help finding treatment.

For individuals who become glamour bound who were unaware of the supernatural, and whose community is generally unaware, the prognosis is even worse. It is likely to be treated as a mental illness, with the physical symptoms being considered psychosomatic. Fortunately, it is extremely rare for a mortal with no knowledge of the supernatural to find themselves in Faerie, and thus eat something that would cause them to become glamour bound.