Wednesday: October 3, 2007
Who: Sascha, Daiyu and Jia
When: Early evening
Where: Helicharis
What: Talk about a mental overload! (Can we say fainting spell?)


Sascha was, to put it bluntly, a little terrified.

Throughout the last week or so, and especially over the last few days, Sascha had been experiencing a disturbing kind of mental fogginess that prevented him from being able to concentrate and, at times, even to think at all. The fogginess was generally accompanied by a strange sort of pounding in his skull, although he hesitated to call it a migraine because it didn't usually result in any intense pain. It felt as though all his thoughts had been squeezed into a vice-like grip and then wrapped up in a heavy wet blanket, and the pressure and thickness inside his head kept him from being able to function effectively.

He'd also encountered a few dizzy spells during his more severe bouts of brain mushiness (as the fogginess tended to come and go at random intervals), and even some of the library aides had taken him aside to make sure he wouldn't pass out on any unwitting patrons. Fortunately for him, Rowan had been helping him carry a stack of books down from the second floor when one of the spells hit and had prevented him from tumbling down the stairs with a firm hand on his shoulder.

Sascha had waved off the elf's concern and his suggestion to seek out a doctor at the medical pavillion in favor of taking a cigarette break, and after having a few smokes and a little time to wander outside, most of the mental confusion had cleared up. He'd noticed that tended to happen whenever he took the time to do a little impromptu meditation, or as close as he could get to meditation without actually contemplating anything for very long. All of that "clearing of the mind" stuff basically escaped him, so he tended to mentally recite lines (and sometimes chapters) of text from his favorite novels to make the process go faster- when he could remember them, of course. It was getting harder and harder every day.

But even his half-hearted attempts at meditation weren't cutting it right now. "Fuck, I can't be losing it this soon. I'm only thirty, that's not even middle-aged!" Frustrated didn't even begin to describe how Sascha felt as he stalked through the streets of Helicharis, the thrumming in his ears growing louder as he passed various people along the way. The training session with Irei and Emily the previous night had yielded some strange results, mentally-speaking, and Sascha could feel a knot of dread and panic begin to form in his chest as sudden snippets of voices and conversations began to seep into his mind.

The problem was, nobody around him was talking- out loud, anyway.

"This isn't happening, this can't be happening," he said to himself as he paused at the junction of pathways next to the town hall that led toward the marketplace. He rubbed ferociously at his temples and practically growled in irritation, startling a few passers-by who glanced back at him before continuing on their way. "I talk to dogs, to dogs, not to people. What the hell is happening to me?"

Then another wave of dizziness crashed down on him abruptly, catching him so offguard that he staggered back a few steps and nearly plowed into the person coming up the path in the opposite direction. "Shit," he muttered aloud before a sudden burst of white flared up in his vision and momentarily blinded him. All of the voices suddenly stopped, and there was nothing but darkness as Sascha's knees buckled and he collapsed in the middle of the path, unconscious.