Of Dreams

This text has been heavily modified from the forum version. I have deleted stuff I did not like and added other things. Soon I will release the modified version of the Plot 'Within Dreams' which put this information to use.
'Dreams are the only reality' suggests some of the ancient manuscripts. Dreams and the dreamers often reveal secrets long forgotten, or dreams can hide the truth only to make it resurface decades or even centuries later. In some cults the speech of the dreamers is believed to be holy, a revelation of true significance and importance. The Dreamer Cultists believe that the dream world is a real place, a place wherein dwell their own god, the forgotten Dreamer, father of the Gods, the Heavenly Pillar.

What has become known is that dreams are unlike anything else. They connect everything and sometimes, bad things happen when powerful beings have powerful dreams. The Koenigsburg Massacre of 783 was due to the incursion of dream fiends from the dream world which had breached the subconscious fortress of a local Dreamer Cultist and entered our reality through his body. Shadowy beings they were, crawling on four legs, sometimes even slithering on the ground like dark snakes from a horrible nightmare. It took the Priesthood of Fhalgharod, the God of Light, more than a month to restore order. The city had become a living nightmare, the dream world merging with reality, and strange horrors were banished during the month long struggle.

The Priests of the Major religions all agree about the danger that uncontrolled dreams present, which has caused the dreamer cult to be outlawed in many parts of the world.

The Dreamer teaches us of the three pinnacles of power within the dream world:

'Excerpt from The Book of Dreams'
Dreams as a conduit of power:
The Dreamer Cult teaches that dreams are conduits of power, for only in reality (in dreams) can true power be harnessed. While most sages scoff at this assumption, none can deny the power of dream rituals performed by some of the major witches' covens. Neither can it be denied that Cultist dream nectar is a valued commodity, sought after by mages and warlocks alike.

Through controlled dreaming you can unlock doors, open conduits of power which will strengthen your connection to the elemental essences (used by mages and priests as well as shamans). In dreams you can collaborate to create powerful magic, even though the members of the rituals are far apart.

Dreams as a force of prophecy:
The entity known as the dreamer speaks to us through dreams where he reveals the true meaning of our existence. This phenomenon has become known as dream prophecies, which differ clearly from the waking prophecies of the false deities known as the Dreamer's Emotions and Baser Instincts. When your husband or wife talks at night, it is the will of the dreamer that they do so, and their words are considered holy. Furthermore the dreamer might directly speak through a dreaming host. When doing so the speech of the dreaming host will become faint, almost monotone. Then the dreamer will deliver his prophecy, usually in short rhythmic verses.

Dreams as a means of existing:
The dreaming can travel spiritually within another person’s dreams and even live within them. While the dream world is the only reality, it is often shaped by sentient beings and their dreams. This means that controlled dreaming, as practiced by the dreamer cultist, can shape any location by the strength of their will. Other beings can change dreamscapes too, but this only happens at random and in consistency, or lack of such, with their dreams.

The Dream world exists in a timeless (or time cyclic as seen further below) state where everything is connected to everyone, so there is a chance that a host might be from the future or the past. In this way, a young warrior might seek out his ancestor for advice and counsel.

Some powerful mages are rumoured to be able to remain in the dream world, even though any eventual host (the person whose dreams they are in) is awake. This is a special kind of stasis where the mage in effect disconnects from our reality and bonds with the dream world.

The Dark side of Dreaming
Nightmares are the darkest aspect of dreaming. While the Dreamer Cultist claim that Nightmares and Nightmare Fiends are the servants of the 'Flawed Gods', the establish clergy of the major deities counter this by saying that nightmares and nightmare fiends are the agents of the otherworldly evil which the Dreamer Cultists worship. 'The Nightmare Fiends are the will of this entity, cunningly manipulating naive dreamers for their own ends' say these priests, shaking their heads whilst doing so. It is important to distinguish these fiends from demons. They have nothing in common with demons and even Gods and Demons dream say some sages and high priests, and in these dreams, the powers themselves are hounded by nightmares sent by the terrible otherworldly evil.

Entities of the Dreamscape
In the dreamlands there are many different creatures and things to be found. The most notable is the presence of several permanent edifices and landmarks within the dream world. Chief among these is the Golden City, a truly marvellous place in which the lofty Princess Pim-Pim-Pei rules from her Chrysanthemum throne. She is known to be a truly mischievous creature, fey and elusive, but it is rumoured that her charms and heavenly looks is so dazzling that most dreamers awaken just before she is revealed. Thus, it has come to be that almost no dreamer has ever seen her face except perhaps a glimpse of her hair, or the bottom of her chin beneath the cowl she wears while granting audiences in the Labyrinthine Castle. The only known description of her can be found within the Temple of the Dream Cult within the city itself and the Cultists are generous with the praise in their recount.

Any dreamer approaching this city will see the gleam from its tall spires hours before their dreams reach this location, and the city itself is home to many secrets. Among the permanent residences within the city is the Temple of the Dreamer. This temple mirrors the numerous Temples found throughout the lands of the waking, with the exception of their interior and the exit to the Golden City. While the waking lands temples are Spartan and dark places, filled with comatose and drugged sleepers, the Dreamscape version is a lush and grandiose place. Any newcomers that arrive by means of Dream Nectar will recognize the sleepers from the temples, but in these lands, they are vibrant and alive, powerful and learned, most unlike the frail bodies found in the lands of the waking.

The stages of Dreaming
There are three stages of dreaming and presence in the Dream World: The glazy eyed Sleepers, the half awake Starers and finally the Waking Dreamers. The Sleepers are normal men, animals and beasts that dream like all beings do. Their eyes will be glazed and they will remember little or nothing of what they actually did in their dreams. They will respond to threats and such as normal, but will be sluggish in their reactions and won't recognize much. These beings follow the currents of their dreams and have little or no control over their actions, as if they had been hypnotized.

The Starers are the most spectacular of all dreamers. They apparently look like the Sleepers, but on the back of their head is another face, this one awake and alert as that of a Waking Dreamer. Only men with extended knowledge of Dreaming, meditation and dream lore might attain this state and may do so without the aid of spells or dream nectar. This kind of state is one potentially very frightening. When swarms of Nightmare Fiends assault the Golden City, they cannot do anything, for it is their sleeping half that govern their action. So it is that these unfortunate beings, unable to break their sleep or meditation, witness the onslaught of the Fiends while their sleeping half pursue some trivial dream, unaware of the danger. The screams and tears of these individuals are truly horrifying and their brutal demise at the hands of the fiends is no less. Harm done to these may well damage the psyche of the dreamer. It is worth mentioning that the knowledge that might be attained by far outweighs the risks. When the sleeping half of the brain goes to sleep in the dreams, the waking part is free to take control. This is what these men risk all for, this is the purpose of their journey to the dreamlands. Instead of hazarding the dangers of Dream Nectar addiction and the costly services of powerful spell weavers, they risk their sanity and well being to get at the lore lost to time but still present in the dreamlands. For these men know that there is lore and power to be gained from the dreaming.

Finally there are the Waking Dreamers. These are men that have arrived by Dream Nectar or powerful rituals, or they are Gods that dream. They are fully sentient, conscious and free to do whatever they want, except awakening. Harm done to these may well damage the psyche of the dreamer.

In addition to the three kinds of dreamers, the dream fiends and the permanent features of the Dreamscape, there are the Spawned. These are things and people conjured by the subconscious of the dreamers and not real entities in any sense of the word. Still they remain a force to be reckoned with and may harm the dreamer. Most of the Dream World is in fact Spawned.

Time in the Dreamscape
Finally a short notice about time in the Dream World: While time is linear in the lands of the waking, time is cyclic in the Dreamscape. Every day is the same as yesterday, with the exception that something new always does happen (This has lead some philosophers to argue that time is Cyclic-Linear and not just cyclic). The inconsistent nature of dreams mean that some dreams fade while others remain, and there is no paradox in two different dreams taking place in the same place and time without ever affecting each other. “Such is the flow of dreams, that a million different dreams might be the one and the same says some learned Dream Cultists and in this way they explain certain dream phenomena, like recurring dreams commonly found in mankind. The cyclic nature of time within the dreamscape means that in dreams ancestors and their descendants can communicate.