The Keepers of Dreams
Power stirred within the First World, and Dreamweavers throughout the land – though few in number – were the first to feel the touch of the Dreaming upon the Basin of Life. It was not long before the less sensitive masses felt this surge of power too, and speculation began to ripple through the cities and communes as they pondered what such a stirring could be. Was it perhaps connected to the strange dreams that people had begun to experience?
Then, just as adventurers began to seek out answers, flickering images began to appear at the nexii of commune and city alike. Seemingly made of dream motes, these apparitions – which were of several different beings, from trill to tae’dae – appeared long enough to get out a few garbled messages before disappearing. At once people began to speculate as to what the message was, and political minds began to trade their scraps of the message to see if it could be completed.
“People of the First World. We are the Keepers of Dreams. We guard She who stands alone against Destruction. We cannot do so for much longer. We beg you to help us – please. You are our only hope.”
But when they pieced it together, the erstwhile scholars were left with as many questions as they had answers. They began to turn to denizens far and wide for assistance – the Serenwilde Commune spoke with Dain, tutor of the Hartstone, and Miakoda of the Moonhart, whilst Magnagora’s representatives were canny and thoughtful, seeking out Master Quettle of the Tosha Monastery to quiz him regarding one of the dreams they had experienced. They even spoke to the Emperor Ladantine VII himself, renowned to have been one of the greatest Dreamweavers of all time.
From these skilled Dreamweavers the adventurers learned that though the dreaming power was flaring at the nexii when the apparitions appeared, it was originating from somewhere else, deep within the centre of the Basin. As the Serenwilde continued to investigate, the Silver Goddess Herself performed a ritual with Her commune to investigate further. This ritual was the first to sense the two forces at play: a hideous creature of corruption and destruction, and an innocent being struggling to hold it at bay.
As their ritual finished, a monstrous yawn resounded through the Basin, as if something deep below the earth were stirring to wake – but it was pierced by the laughter of a child, bell-like and nervous, which quietened things once again. To scholars throughout the lands, this was instantly recognisable: they recalled all too well the story of a Child so powerful that she could put one of the most feared Soulless Gods into an eternal sleep – and if Great Muud was indeed stirring in His slumber, then the future did not look bright. Could it be possible that the Cursed Child would falter, and He would wake?
But the power of the Sleeping Child held, and there was calm throughout the Basin of Life…for a time.
