Disorders of the Nerves and Mind: A Treatise
There came to me a woman (whom I shall henceforth call 'R'), greatly distraught at the unusual tempers of her husband (whom I shall henceforth call 'B'). Three months prior, he'd suffered night sweats, crying out from sleep that he bore the 'mark of chaos'. Two months prior, he'd taken to calling himself by the name 'Sarevok'. One month ago, he'd speak of little else but 'the throne for which he is destined'. I attended to B at the couple's farmhouse. He sat calmly at the table, an unknown book clutched to his chest. I detected no curse nor loathsome spirit upon him, nor the presence of magic. Yet upon shining the light of candleflame upon him, he raised the book high and exclaimed, 'The deaths they bring shall awaken the father, and through them he will rise!' I snatched the book from his hand and flung it into the hearth, where it burned not in red or yellow flame, but pure black. It left but a single scrap, reading: 'He foresaw his coming death, and seeded his essence across the land.' B shivered and sighed, as if waking from nightmare. He had no memory of the book, nor the words he had spoken. Diagnosis: Unspecified Neurotic Enthrallment Treatment: Herbal tincture of garlic and drace, sipped thrice daily until exhaustion lifts.