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The
Dreamer Wars
The Dreamer Wars
began as nothing more than a series of skirmishes
among the new breed of Dreamers. These Dreamers had
no part in the construction of the City but were
eager to learn the ways of the Dream and had more
time on their hands than those who'd come before
them. As the Freesoul-Illuminate debate grew, these
Dreamers began to form groups around the most
popular beliefs. There was no such thing as death
in the Dream, and so many of these Dreamers
practiced little restraint in evoking their Arts
upon each other. The problem grew so profound that
Mohteq the Elder formed the Order Patrol to
suppress the open fighting between the FreeSoul
Knights and the Illuminated Front, but it was too
late. Soon there were grudges and arguments
everywhere, and the city of Underlight was no
longer the place of peace it had been designed for.
As the feuding Dreamers grew strong in their
abilities, the chaos only spread. Threshold was a
hub of constant combat as one faction or the other
fought to hold or gain ground. And then one of the
greatest achievements of the Dream came at the
worst possible time: the construction of
Talismans.
A group of
Dreamwrights had become specialized, advancing
their power to manipulate essence into matter. As
they developed this to a fine Art, they found a
process that allowed them to create Talismans of
Power. The first was created by Poantes of Vorsage,
and was called an "elemen"... a talisman forged of
one element of the dreamstate in its purest form.
Then Aybol the Determinus perfected a means of
instilling in a talisman the energies of an evoked
art, forging the first alterors. It wasn't long
before talismans of many different types and
abilities were being produced. The specialized
Dreamwrights who developed this process became
known as Dreamsmiths.
The impact on the
Dream of talismans cannot be overstated. Suddenly
many powers that used to take months to master
became available in talisman form to any Dreamer.
Many of the Dreamsmiths supplied talismans only to
their own clans within the Dream. The demand grew
so great that Markosh the Dreamsmith eventually
perfected a process called "spawn-shaping". By
specially treating areas in the City which
possessed specific energies, Markosh created
"essence fonts" which regularly spawn-shaped
talismans of power. These spawn-shapers automated
the process of talisman creation, producing an
endless number of talismans, and making the rival
factions in the Dream powerful. However, Markosh
jealously guarded the spawn-shaping process, using
it for his own gain, and the secret of how to do it
died with him.
It was perhaps
predictable that the first faction of Dreamers to
build a significant surplus of talismans was the
now-extinct Srechethan Kabal, which had always
coveted complete rulership of the Dream. But their
rivals were also large in number and well armed,
and with the Battle of Sunroof Cavern open warfare
ensued. No one was safe in Threshold or anywhere
else in the City of Underlight. The Dreamers warred
with abandon, reducing their enemies to soulsphere
on sight. There was no death in the Dream, but a
Dreamer's power could be eroded with every battle
that ended in his dissolution. With this in mind,
the warring Dreamers attacked one another endlessly
in a bid for dominance in the Dream.
The carnage
became so widespread and so prevailing that the
Master Dreamwrights became alarmed. Their creation,
the City itself, was being abused for the purpose
of warfare. One group of Master Dreamwrights, led
by Hartisan the Red and Turgin Lambent, became
determined to put an end to the conflict once and
for all. Their group would later become known as
the Dreamstrike Masters.
Dreamstrike is
the ultimate punishment any person can suffer, for
it causes not only death of the body in the Waking
World, but also the soul of the Dreamer. It is true
death, final and complete. With this Art perfected,
the Dreamstrike Masters entered the war-torn
Threshold and moved through it as a group,
collapsing and then Dreamstriking Dreamer after
Dreamer. This infamous surprise assault, the
Dreamstrike Offensive, changed the Dream forever.
The boldness that fueled so many of the warring
clans became fear as they were forced out of
Threshold. They retreated to the far ends of the
lands and began constructing great fortresses to
guard themselves. So reigned another shaky peace,
as the Dreamstrike Masters occupied Threshold and
the organized factions of Dreamers squatted in the
lands beyond. Skirmishing still continued in the
open lands, but open warring had been put down by
the coming of Dreamstrike. But this was only the
calm before the storm.
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