As he was ironing his clothes images from his dream started to come back to him through there wasn't nearly enough to actually understand what the dream was about. There was the image of a rather short woman with brown hair that was sitting on a chair through the image itself was rather fuzzy. He normally didn't dwell on dreams but this dream felt important. His newly acquired guide simply responded to his thoughts by saying:"There is no point in worrying about it. Just relax and it will come to you eventually." in a tone that seemed confident yet gentle. At this point he was near certain that he was going insane but in the end he couldn't seek out help considering even if he managed to receive care it would end up costing him his job and prevent him from getting another job resulting in him starving to death. He had to deal with this in his own terms.

Maybe he could give meditation a shot. He could get a book and read it before attempting to meditate since as far as he knew meditation was useful at dealing with mental illnesses through upon getting the feeling of affirmation from his new guide he felt like this wasn't such a good idea after all or was it a good idea and his guide was pulling reverse psychology on him? Shaking his head in order to get rid of this thought train he started to prepare to head to work since there wasn't an actual solution to be found in that thought process.

After finishing his preparations he locked the door and got on his bicycle before starting to pedal to work. He wished he could use vacation days but his company required him to request a vacation 2 weeks prior unless an emergency was sited and while this situation could be considered an emergency he couldn't exactly tell his boss about it. Upon reaching the bakery he said:"Good morning Haris." with a small approval feeling coming from his guide that was trying to encourage his current behavior and Haris gave him a small nod before saying:"Good morning." in his deep voice before heading to the back of the bakery and bringing him a large hot bagel like he did yesterday. Mark said:"Thanks Haris." and after a quick reminder from his new guide he added:"The bagel yesterday was delicious." before paying for the bagel. It could have been wind but he felt like he saw Haris's moustache moved slightly.

Leaving the bakery and continuing to pedal towards his work Mark looked at the scenery once more and he wondered how long had it been since he last watched the scenery while pedalling. There wasn't much of nature to see as he lived in the inner parts of the city but even then there were birds that seemed to be singing and flowers growing from places you would least expect them to be. Last time he looked around like this was probably when he was 10 and he had just figured out how to ride a bike. Thinking about that time he felt a slight nostalgia and wondered if he should call his mom before deciding to call her later which caused him to feel a slight amount of displeasure from his new guide but he ignored it for now. His mom had her own thing going so he couldn't just randomly call her and hope she wasn't busy.

When he reached his workplace he noticed the fact that despite watching the scenery he had actually arrived slightly earlier than usual which meant he could use an empty elevator through unlike what he had imagined the elevator being empty felt rather lonely and upon reaching the empty office he couldn't help but feel a bit awkward like he was somewhere he shouldn't be at. As he felt like this he felt a small nudge in his mind as if reminding him he wasn't alone. He knew he should be worried about this but he actually felt a bit relaxed as he walked in his cubicle and pressed the power button before going to the kitchen to get his daily donut before getting back to his cubicle and downloading the files he needed to check.

While it was downloading he started eating his bagel and that was when his first coworker entered the office. A 5'5 girl with black hair and glasses along with a long black skirt and white shirt. Well to be fair this defined about seventy percent of the woman in the office but he couldn't think of any other traits that could be used to define her. After looking at her for a second he returned to looking at his computer screen and after the files finished downloading he got to work while trying to prevent his mind from wandering to important questions that had no answers like why wasn't he panicking about this or if these were a delusion or a dream. Considering the things that happened he could very well be laying on a hospital bed dreaming this reality while doctors prepared him for a surgery that was required to remove the bullet.

He sighed as the minutes felt agonizingly slow as more and more people came to the office. In the end after an hour he had to go and wash his face in order to be able to concentrate on his work. He half expected for some illusionary reflection to appear in the mirror of the bathroom but no such thing happened and so he returned to his work continuing to try to focus himself to it. By the time it was lunch break he had reached a degree of uncomfortability that made him want to just go home and hide in his bed. Getting soup as usual and sitting with his coworkers he thought about the things he had to do today. He had to get a book related to meditation and he had to google for aid regarding mental disorders. It would probably be better to do the latter before the former but by the time he could access his laptop it would be too late to purchase a book and he didn't want to postpone it if possible.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the clanking noise made by his spoon hitting the metal surface as he realized he had finished his food. He slowly got off of his seat and headed for his cubicle. As he did he started to remember a bit more about his dream like receiving a vision. He remembered being in a large wooden hall with tea in front of him but other than that everything seemed rather vague. He wanted this day to end as soon as possible so that he could deal with this on his terms. That or for some random guy to come up to him and teach him everything he needed to know. He heard his guide's voice telling him:"Don't worry about it. I will teach you the stuff you need to know. Just try to get used to things for now." in her usual firm but gentle voice. Why did he think about this voice as his guide. The realization that he hadn't noticed the fact that he had acted familiar to this voice made him anxious. By now he was certain he was going crazy but what could he do to prevent it?

Breathing deeply he tried to not to let panic overtake him. Things were going to be fine. There was no reason for him to suddenly go insane and he recalled reading that people who went insane thought they were getting saner so as long as he continued to regard everything as odd then he was okay. There was no need to panic at the moment. After slightly calming down he continued his work to the best of ability and despite his confusion and anxiety he managed to finish his workload around 7 pm and unlike yesterday for when he stayed late at work he decided to head home early instead and drop by the bookstore. Perhaps he could purchase one of those self guide books that helped people deal with their problems without medical help.

Getting on the elevator with just one other person riding it he went to the park and got on his bike before starting to pedal to the nearest bookstore he knew while hoping they were still open. Luckily they were through it was a bit crowded. Nevertheless after browsing for 10 minutes he managed to find a book called 'Meditation for beginners' and 'Power of positive thinking' which felt like a good start. After paying for them he wondered which one he should read first before reminding himself to google issues regarding mental health first and starting to pedal to his apartment.

After reaching his apartment and taking out his laptop and after googling a bit and finding or at the very least interpreting what he found as him going to work and trying to socialize a bit and going to work would have a positive effect through that could very well just be him self deluding himself due to fear of losing his job and his life. Upon getting slightly relieved he got into his pajamas and started reading the book regarding positive thoughts through after half an hour of reading where the book constantly told him to think positively he ended up falling asleep.

When he woke up he was in the room he saw in his dreams with an ornate table in front of him and a brown haired girl sipping tea. The girl was wearing a single piece white top and she was rather tall despite Mark remembering her to be short from the images of the dream. Despite her height and her voice the girl had a rather smooth skin with a chin that seemed to be round. After seeing him open his eyes the brown haired girl said:"I guess yesterday was a bit too traumatic. Let's start over. My name is #I☻§§" through the name sounded like a mix of gibberish and ghost sounds to Mark. Perhaps not noticing Mark's confusion or perhaps simply ignoring it the girl continued by saying:"I am here to explain to you what is going on and help you grow whilst helping me grow."

Name

Mark Hilson

Race

Human

Mage

Attributes

Magical Statistics

Physical

Arete

3

Strength

2

Spheres

Dextery

2

Correspondence

3

Stamina

2

Entrophy

0

Social

Time

0

Presence

2

Life

0

Charisma

2

Matter

0

Manipulation

2

Mind

0

Mental

Prime

0

Wits

3

Forces

0

Intellegence

4

Spirit

0

Resolve

3

Time

0

Paradox

0

Quintessence

0