Before we talk about the pharmacology behind the Draught of Draconic Surge, we must step back a little and discuss the principles behind longevity.
For most creatures of flesh and blood in the Galaxy, longevity often is an indicator of something else — cancer. It describes cells proliferating beyond their designated lifespan and order, becoming immortal, and eating away at the host's body until both perish.
In fact, after tens of thousands of years of competition as well as trial and error, some cancerous cells have mutated to be capable of living independently of a host, and can even corrode other creatures with their longevity. Year
From a purely medical standpoint, us long-life species are entirely composed of immortal cells, yet we maintain an equilibrium within our bodies. This is quite an impossible feat.
Put simply, the secret of the Xianzhou natives and Foxians is that our cells can shift as needed between differentiated cells and stem cells. This conversion obeys specific rules that will never create a single error.
The rule dictating this conversion is the ultimate secret among secrets. It is not set according to internal hormonal levels or any other parameters, but a "standard" set in stone the moment the individual was born. As the cells shift between differentiation and omnipotence, the person's bodily characteristics are forever set at their original "standard."
We call this phenomenon, which goes against the fundamental creed of biology, as the miracle of the Plagues Author. At a certain critical point of the long-life species' life cycle, this power from the Plagues Author will suddenly enter a new stage — The original standard will be over-written and the body will start to develop catastrophically, turning a civilized "human" into a mindless "abomination." This is what we commonly call "mara-struck."
It is commonly thought that the source of Vidyadharas' immortality is different from that of Xianzhou natives and Foxians. The Vidyadhara race did not gain immortality from the Plagues Author. Instead, as the descendants of Long the dragon, the majesty of the Permanence flows in their blood.
Due to this unique characteristic, Vidyadharas also exhibit a life cycle different from other long-life species. Their life, consisting of reverting from maturity to an infantile stage in an unending cycle, relies upon continuous cellular transdifferentiation. This is the reason why Vidyadharas do not face the ailments of immortality that many other long-life species have to contend with.
The core principle of the Draught of Draconic Surge is to transfer this draconic power into a different organism. Daiyu angelica, frost mulberry, and lunarescent sea cucumber... All these ingredients have only one core purpose, which is to maintain and re-animate the stem cells within the Vidyadhara bone marrow, allowing it to function within the host after the injection.
For long-life species, this medication can trigger mara in a more controlled manner, making the bodily organs "go out of control in a more controlled manner" under the dragons' guidance, instead of growing haphazardly with the Plagues Author's power. The host would then gain power only available to the mara-struck while retaining their sanity.
As for short-life species, this medication would forcibly graft the power of the dragons into their body. This brutal transplantation will cause a rapid elevation of bodily capacities for a short duration, significantly improving the short-life species' fragile physiologies. However, once the cells from Long's Scions have all perished to the host's immune system, the host's physiology will suffer a catastrophic regression. The only thing that can suppress or revert such a decline might be the other miracle drugs developed by the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus.
As stated above, though the Seat of Divine Foresight tasked me to analyze the pharmacology of this medicine with the likely goal of preparing an antidote, no "antidote" can possibly exist for the Draught of Draconic Surge. The core of this medication's pharmacology is to manually trigger mara in people using the power of dragons.
If we can prepare an antidote for such a medication, then being stricken with mara will no longer be a fatal condition.