Altered State and Substance
Alteria’s water and air contain a material known as substance. Substance makes those who consume it Altered.
A common Alteration for a first-time human consumer will be enhanced strength, senses and durability. The Altered state varies greatly beyond that. Different people react differently to substance, even during the first consumption. Plants and animals react differently as well.
The substance source has great effect as well. Substance can be consumed directly from air or water, but also indirectly through eating plants, animals, or through birth, from the mother. The effects continue to vary beyond the consumer itself, so a baby born to vegan mother will experience different Alterations to one born to an omnivore mother. This applies to every ancestor all the way back to the first Alterians.
Internally, the temperament and character of the person also affects his or her Alterations.
Even though the different combinations of heritage, eating, drinking and character are endless and make it harder to see any patterns, patterns do exists on a more abstract level. The different peoples of Alteria have some Alterations in common – related to their culture, cuisine and genetics.
Substance and Altered state “wash off” a subject when it crosses from Alteria to Earth, except for a single transfer of water done by Everett and Carolyn Clark when they built the forts.
A human in Earth drinking the water or inhaling their droplets or steam will be temporarily Altered. The limit is not of time but of usage of the altered state (some of which is happening even at rest).