The drug's name was starlight, it was an abnormal substance for sure.
A weird, genetically altered plant produced little sparkly flowers that, when dried, could be crushed into a powder that could be smoked to cause euphoric effects.
There seemed to be no ill side effects besides people becoming addicted to the substance the same way they'd become addicted to alcohol.
Soon enough it was wide enough spread that a good portion of the population recreationally used it quite often. This is when masters arrived.
A strange little device they carried would cause a strange effect in those who'd taken starlight. They became docile, obedient, wiling to do whatever they were asked of. The more they'd had the stronger the effect, but even those who'd tried it only once were affected.
See, when starlight was burned and inhaled the resulting compounds would easily enter into the bloodstream via the lungs and head directly to the brain, causing the euphoric feelings.
But among those chemicals was strange substance that stayed inside the brain, becoming part of the brain's structure. In all the tests people did on this substance it seemed harmless and if anything those who took starlight were anecdotally noted as having a higher intelligence than those who didn't, so it was hypothesized that it possibly increased brain function.
But that little device that was carried by the masters did something to that chemical, the bizarre radio waves transmitted by those devices managed to excite the substance in such a way that it fried the subject's brains a bit, giving them the best high of their life, but also making them completely subservient.
Within days of the masters' arrival, nearly a third of humanity was on its knees, quite literally. Many walked into the camps set up by the masters without hesitation. And those few who dared try to stop them? Well it's quite easy to put down some troublesome pests if all it takes for someone to fall under your spell is for them to breathe in...
((OOC I actually wrote this the day after I got told about warhounds, specifically when thinking about the weird drug that turns handler from an egotistical woman to a god, didn’t realize it was so hdg coded until I found it in my notes))
