After a long hesitation, he nods without speaking.

:Anything in particular you want to talk about today?:

Shrug.

:Is it all right if we start by both having a look at your mind, then?:

Nod.

:Do you want me to show you what I see or would you prefer I not?:

He shakes his head without speaking.

She has a look at his gears.

They sure are some very messed up gears!

It’s a bit as though most of his mind was struck head-on with some sort of overwhelming force. Half of the gears are entirely out of contact with each other, knocked out of place and spinning uselessly with no purchase. One of the key drive-shafts looks almost melted, warped and useless.

Nearly all the still-functional pathways run through a different drive-shaft; previously more peripheral to his mind, but now supporting everything. Without context, it’s hard to tell at a glance what that area does, but it’s in the region that corresponds to basic, primal emotions.

In this case, plausibly rage.

More subtly, but quite noticeable after she’s acclimatized to the distracting damage, there are copious signs of very heavy shunts, probably corresponding to what Melody was calling “blocks”. They scaffold the most-affected areas, redirecting some of the pathways that would otherwise end in pointlessly-spinning disconnected gears. 

...And there’s something else, too. Something less familiar. The patterns of his mind are - oddly constrained, in a way that seems neither intrinsic to him, nor done by a Mindhealer. The most comparable metaphor that her Sight reaches for is...magnetic ball bearings? They’re small and tucked in amidst the rest, hard to see directly, but the effects, once she’s remarked on them, are much clearer. In some places they appear to hold together badly damaged paths, taking some of the load from non-functional gears. In other parts, it’s more like they’re gumming things up, or even blocking some routes entirely. 

Aza suppresses a little gasp.

:- Melody? Can I try to show you something?:

Melody’s eyes widen slightly. :Yes, of course:

Brightstar is still staring blankly at nothing.

:Here, look at - that, and that, and that - it looks like little magnets to me, I don't know what it'd be in a tapsestry...:

:Wow! Fascinating. I - think that does correspond to something I was noticing, but your metaphor shows a different angle on it? Here, I can show you mine if you want...?: 

:Couldn't hurt:

Then Melody can show her! 

Melody's tapestry-metaphor is more informative in some ways; it makes the shunts/blocks much clearer, and it better distinguishes which areas are specific memories now associated with Brightstar's horrific trauma, versus emotional tangles, versus non-memory mental pathways that have been thoroughly disrupted.

Large swaths of the tapestry are torn, half-unravelled, or stretched almost beyond recognition; one central pathway is almost entirely shredded. 

The strange distorting effect that corresponds to the mysterious metaphorical-ball-bearings in Azabel's Sight is still noticeable from the way the tapestry is rucked up into folds, in some places, tucking certain mental regions out of reach; other areas are holding their shape inexplicably well despite the snapped warp-threads. It's harder to see the cause of this, though. 

:One moment: And Melody dives in closer, deeper, focusing entirely on one of the ruffled-folded areas. There still isn't much to see; the native-to-Brightstar threads of tapestry are twisted, in a way that could correspond to some sort of knot holding them, but the thread of said knot is nearly invisible. 

:I've never seen anything exactly like this before but the thing it's least unlike is the time I saw someone who'd been possessed - or, probably possessed, it's hard to distinguish from a mundane psychotic break:

:...Huh: Melody gives a little shudder. :You've seen that? I haven't - er, the closest I've seen is a patient of mine who had a conversation with a goddess: Her features twist into a brief scowl. :A goddess who hid the memories of said conversation, afterward. I detest it when divine meddling makes it impossible for me to do my job!: 

:She explained to us that Vkandis had possessed her to heal her friend who was having a difficult time in childbirth. It didn't look that much like this, but it's what came to mind:

Melody nods. :I still don't know how to interpret it, but I don't like it. Anyway, I'd be inclined to coax him into talking to us a bit, now, unless you have other ideas?: 

:He doesn't seem very chatty, do you normally get him to talk?:

:Depends. I don't press too hard, aside from the times I've had to get his input when I was placing a block - though I'd really rather get some of those blocks down, they make it easier in the short run but they're not doing him any favours long-term: 

She shakes her head. :Anyway - sometimes he won't engage at all, sometimes all he wants is to list off the gruesome things he wants to do to Leareth, I really wish I could get something in between: 

Aza nods. :Brightstar, I've heard a basic summary but not from you. Can you tell me your perspective on what-all's going on?:

A flat stare. :Everyone I love is gone. There is nothing I can do to bring them back. I have lost everything that matters to me: 

Nod nod. :- may I ask what brings you here? What are your connections to people in Haven?: