Rage

Discovery & Occurrence

The Rage is a debilitating disease that varies in scale and consequent impact on peoples' lives.
Discovered by scientists that specialize in the field of pathology in the city of Agano, it has been found to affect different types of humanoids.
It tends to surface in the later years of someone's life, although in rarer cases it occurs in the middle-aged and even younger. From tests carried out in the city, the pathologists believe it affects around 2% of the population, but they believe this is more likely to be an under rather than an over-estimation.

Symptoms

There are many different symptoms, which meant it took a long time before being confirmed as a part of the same overarching disease. In most cases, symptoms appear and then build gradually over time, whereas in rarer cases they occur very quickly without previous symptoms.
They have been classified into clusters as they are often observed together (albeit with some overlap):
Cluster A: Loss of concentration, memory, and communication; reduction in the ability to read, write, and plan.
Cluster B: Reduced faculty for decision making and social functioning; change in personality; a reduced level of speech, comprehension, and language;
Cluster C: Prone to falling; disrupted sleep; intense dreams/nightmares; visual and auditory hallucinations; sudden bouts of confusion.
The symptoms range from mild to severe. In earlier stages, it is difficult to diagnose as it is often not noticeable.

Treatment

It was further discovered that 95% of cases were in those of little to no ability in Magic.
This finding led scientists to a better understanding of the cause of, and to develop a treatment for, the disease.
Using Mind Transference Therapy (MTT), it was possible to enter a sufferer's mind and access their thoughts and memories. In doing so, scientists discovered that there are energies in the mind very similar to the magical energies that swirl around in the atmosphere.
They found 'black spaces' in the mind indicating gaps or breakdowns in energy, and supposed these were the cause of losses of memory and other faculties observed as symptoms of the disease.
Trained practitioners in MTT that had a strong Tuning ability found they could graft their own magical energy into the minds of the sufferer to act as bridges to fill in the black spaces, enabling the mind to function more properly.
More positive results were achieved where the disease was mild and in its early stages. Continuous therapy is required as the grafted energy decayed over time and additional black spaces occurred in the mind, indicating the degenerative nature of the disease.
Unfortunately, in many cases where positive results were first achieved, the passage of time ultimately led to a worsening of the disease and symptoms until it entered the moderate and final severe stage.

Alternative Names

The disease has various names across the region as it shows in so many different symptoms:

• Rage - significant mood swings; changes in personality; feeling of anger and frustration; hallucinations; intense dreams/nightmares.
• Doppelganger Syndrome - unbalanced mind; apparent split personality; delusions.
• Memory Disease - loss of memory, including recognition of family; inability to form words; lack of concentration.

The disease has also been mistaken for Lycanthropy, as some delusions experienced are of being animals. There are reports of tragic cases where sufferers are killed due to the fear this has created in their community.

Mind Transference Therapy

Scientists in Agano heard of the tragic incident in the City of Churiss when Mind Transference Therapy was used.
However, they were intrigued by the therapy and carried out research, finding it to be a useful treatment with no significant risks in the hands of well-trained practitioners.

Final Words

Even in cases with no long term success, it has enabled sufferers to temporarily gain enough of themselves to recognize and speak to their families - enabling them to say the things they want to say before the disease again captures their minds.

Revelation

The close similarities between the two energies have led to a tentative postulation the energies in the atmosphere are from a vast mind.
Most scientists in Agano believe these thoughts to be outlandish, but as scientists, they cannot simply dismiss them.
Effectively, a question has arisen that the whole world may exist in the mind of another being. Whilst incredibly unlikely, this is potentially the most profound of discoveries.

Cover art by: Gerd Altmann https://pixabay.com/users/geralt-9301/