Starmap Insanity
This degenerative condition affects those who spend significant amounts of time studying the Celestial Stratagem (also known as the Starmap.) In its advanced stages, it's claimed the lives of multiple well-known scholars and mages.
Transmission & Vectors
Starmap madness only affects the minds of people with a habit of closely examining the Celestial Stratagem. The use of telescopes to observe the Stratagem seems to increase one's chance of contracting the madness and/or hasten the speed at which they show symptoms. Simply glancing at the Starmap or admiring it on occasion has never resulted in a person losing their sanity, nor has reading about its contents.
The condition cannot be transferred between individuals, though on the rare cases when two affected people have been in close proximity with each other, their state seems to worsen significantly.
Causes
The reason why this condition exists is still unknown. It's believed that the answer lies somewhere within the Stratagem itself, but seeking it out comes with the risk of acquiring the very ailment the searcher is trying to find the answers to.
Symptoms
Starmap madness manifests itself in three known stages. Each stage is progressively more intense and damaging than the last. Rumors exist suggesting a horrific fourth stage involving the self-removal of the sufferer's eyes, but its existence has yet to be confirmed because patients are usually confined and restricted from continuing to view the Stratagem any further.
- First stage: the madness is only just beginning to take hold of its victim. The affected individual begins to act "odd," withdrawing from family and friends as they start to reverse their wake-sleep cycle. (In the Middle Realm, this results in the person sleeping during the day and becoming active at night.) Their pupils will appear dilated at all times and they will develop a sensitivity to light.
- Second stage: the madness has fully taken root at this point. The afflicted person regularly spouts seemingly-nonsensical phrases at random intervals, regardless of the context of their surroundings and any conversations they may be forced into. They will not notice the strangeness of their behavior, thinking only of the Celestial Stratagem, even going so far as to neglect their health and hygiene. On their own, they are driven to spend hours peering deeper and deeper into the Stratagem, constantly searching for the answers to their questions, only to stumble across even more questions in the process. Their appearance has changed dramatically by now. Along with changes related to their personal neglect, the person's eyes now seem wild at all times and their pupils nearly engulf their irises.
- Third stage: the madness has overwhelmed the affected person by now. At this point, they are incapable of normal conversation, seeming only to constantly ramble on about assorted cryptic topics, ignoring what's going on around them. The things they say make little sense, but are noted by listeners to make them feel increasingly disturbed the more they hear. They will not take care of themselves and require others to do it for them. In the Middle Realm, regardless of whether they're purely kept indoors, they appear to know whenever the Celestial Stratagem begins to show itself with clarity in the night sky and become frantic in their attempts to view it unless they are sedated. By this time, they have become a husk of their former selves and are entirely unrecognizable to friends and family.
Treatment
If the condition is caught in its first stage, the person can be brought back to full health with minimal complications. They are even able to continue observing the Stratagem, but they are at increased risk of beginning to contract the condition again. There is no known treatment for those who have passed into the second or third stages.
Sequela
The condition itself isn't always the technical cause of death for many affected people. It's oftentimes the side effects of starvation or dehydration that result in a patient's death.
Affected Groups
Starmap madness only affects the intelligent races. Because the Celestial Stratagem isn't visible in the sky of the Lower Realm, it does not affect the Nalkarn.
Prevention
Studying the Starmap in moderation is the only known way of preventing this condition. This can be difficult for those who want to build their studies on its contents.
Cultural Reception
Several specific misunderstandings about this condition tend to repeatedly crop up across populations. The most common is the near-superstitious fear of the Celestial Stratagem. Despite its beauty and its constant presence in the night sky, a fair few people are perturbed enough by the possibility of contracting starmap madness (and uneducated enough about the way it works) that they avoid looking at the Stratagem for more than a few moments at a time.
Sufferers of the madness are typically viewed in a slightly contradictory way. Simultaneously respected and pitied, they're looked up to for their dedication to their studies, yet seen as irresponsible for "allowing themselves" to fall into such a predicament.