I'm writing a fantasy novel in which a character has a curse that makes his blood the source of all magic. This curse only afflicts one person at a time. When that person dies, someone else inherits the curse. This has been going on for a thousand years and the current cursed individual has been held prisoner for 15 years, during which time his
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I had anemia due to constant blood loss when I was a teenager, for about a year and a half, before I finally asked for help, and it was not fun at all. Even when I had enough red blood cells by number, which wasn't usually, my body had been fighting so hard to make enough that they were small and thus not as capable of doing their jobs.
I was often cold, so very cold, and often I craved food, especially meat and bone marrow and I chewed on ice all the time, but I wasn't often hungry, if you can see the difference. And I was tired. Oh, God, I was so tired. When I was awake I was alert enough, but once in a while I would just wilt suddenly and fall asleep in class, like I'd just run out of gas. I slept for ten hours a night. I slept for two hours after coming home from school. I napped in math class every day, before lunch, when my energy was at its lowest. I was weaker than I should've been. I was a strong girl, and in ( ... )
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And that someone who was tired, had no endurance, slept a lot, and was depressed would sure as hell be a lot more manageable than someone who wasn't. So, depending on your scenario, keeping him slightly anemic might suit their ends pretty well.
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Anyway, it occurs to me that losing blood probably wouldn't put him in much pain, except for the whole extraction via enormous needle, but being stabbed repeatedly by a giant needle can be really bad for his health if it isn't sanitized or if it's re-used. You might want to look into injection infections (I'm getting this from a half-remembered movie with a spectacular sound track--someone lost their arm to an infection?). Also, re-used needles get dull really fast, according to a PSA I saw once. Bigger injuries over time?
Anyway, infections are pretty painful.
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op, I don't have much to add to what other commenters have said - probably a bonecrunching exhaustion and confusion because of it would be the main symptom.
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As well as being tired all the time, another likely symptom is becoming irritable and short-tempered (mostly as a result of being tired).
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They will want to feed him before and after they take the blood.
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