14 December 2013

The healers who treated him reported that he barely noticed when they debrided and dressed his wounds. Indeed, he rarely showed any agitation at all when they examined him over the months. They also report, however, that on some nights, he howled like a banshee. When the healers responded to the screams, Loki would hush, as if magically released from his demons. Eventually, they stopped responding to these outbursts. And, after a short while, he stopped uttering any noise whatsoever.


6 January 2014

Another patient died in the night. I'd been treating her with the same potion I intend for Loki. I had been quite certain she was improving with each subsequent vial, so this development is quite vexing. Perhaps the stronger mixture was too much for her chronically weak chest. A little more experimentation is in order before I feed this serum to Loki.


22 January 2014

The bleeding doesn't appear to be causing significant change, except for increased pallor of his complexion. Contrasted against his drab rags, he's turned an uncanny shade of ivory. The bloodletting will prime his constitution for my restorative potion.


18 February 2014

Three amputations in a week - that's a high number for any hospital. I dream of wiggling stumps and splintery crutches. I mumble a prayer of thanks to the first surgeons of the realm - How terrible the screams must've been before they discovered the technique for painless amputation. I can't seem to escape the chloroform's cloying odor.


23 February 2014

Through the windows of my chamber, I can glimpse the garden ward. A healer is leading a group of patients to the airing room. I listen to great shuffling of feet on the pebble path. Will Loki, I wonder, ever stroll the grounds with the others? Will he ever regain his senses? Or, for the rest of his days will he remain cloistered behind these thick, grey walls? Based on his progress so far, it seems futile to hold out much hope for a cure.


24 February 2014

In the firsth months of his treatment, Eir took particular interest in Loki's case. She viewed his early reluctance to rejoin society as quite normal considering what he's been through. The all consuming void. The discovery of his true parentage. The war. The loss of his husband and child. The loss of his parent's love. The rejection by his broter. The shattered and scorched body. It's quite natural for anyone, let alone Loki, to give way under such strain.

Yet, as the months passed, and as Eir became more familiar with Loki, she began to comprehend that the poor man's problems were a manifestation of a far graver trauma. Bones eventually mended, as did the seared flesh: yet Loki remained locked away in his cocoon.

Unfortunate maiden, this Eir. Seems like she had a collapse of his own. One day she was going about his routine, perambulating amongst the feeble and infirm. The next day, though, no one knows why, she turned up every bit as diseased as one of her patients, speaking gibberish and smashing apothecary jars. I've seen it happen here where healers pass over to the other side and, frankly, I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often. At any rate, Eir's tale concludes with a particularly grisly accident with a surgical implement.


23 March 2014

Nothing seems to aggravate with the prince. I've tried restraint - handcuffs, leg locks and straightjackets. I've tried solitary confinement. On the other hand, I've allowed him to smell freedom, leaving him for hours at a time unattended in the garden. Yet nothing stirs him. I still have a number of methods, some of which I haven't engaged in since the old days, but I'm beginning to doubt anything can bring about a change in this one.


1 April 2014

Each year on this peculiar day I pause - exactly at noon according to watch - to ponder the absurdity of such a day. Is it not ironic that we here should celebrate a holiday dedicated to fools?

The prince has shut down completely. If it were possible, I'd say Loki has retreated even further into what we call his "psyche". I'll keep trying different methods, but unless there's some sort of marked improvement, there's no reason to hope. I'll document progress... if indeed there ever is any progress.