The Dreaming One

The Void Dreamer

A woman in a white dress stained red in blood stands in this clearing of snow and tulips. Black untamed hair dangling downwards over a wounded face. A shuddering whisper carried by the sighs of grass, “Do you wish to witness tragedy forever?” She sways, as if a marionette guided by accursed strings, “Or will you wield it?”

A being of etheric origin stretches its dark tendrils across the waking realm towards the dream-sea. A presence always just out of reach looming over the memories left beneath the skin of everyday life. The Dreaming One has only recently found her place within our waking realm after the events of “The Sundering.” Now she is more present than ever.

Values

Do not run from the memories that haunt your every slumber. Be not a puppet to the nightmares that paralyse you when they surface. Do not compartmentalize the repeated trauma that shapes you. Witness your tragedies.

Immerse in that which causes your heart to race so you may reach higher. Embrace that which enrages you to strive greater lengths. Scream and sob over the loss you have experienced, let it fuel you to allow it never again. Wield your tragedies.

The short time you spend in this world must be truly lived. Give in to impulse and temptation. Indulge in that which you enjoy and hate to feel alive. Ride emotions like titanic ocean waves. Do all of this, and share a little with me.

Views on Other Patrons

The Dreaming One views the other patrons with a keen interest and awe. Talented mages typically have quite interesting stories to tell. That being said, there is one patron The Dreaming One doesn’t get along with very well. The patron Ciren'na has a turbulent relationship with The Dreaming One. Events of The Sundering have left The Dreaming One to view Ciren’na in a mixed but unfavourable light, though she remains an ally of circumstance.

Being a Mage under The Dreaming One

Unlike many patrons, The Dreaming One might be the first to act. Somebody experiencing some extremely intense emotion may attract the hungering gaze of the Dreaming One and be offered a pact. That being said, to make a pact is to take on magic for the price of bearing a curse. The Dreaming One sinks her hands into one’s most horrific memories and brightest aspirations, indulging in the emotions associated. Oftentimes, when pacted under The Dreaming One, somebody might trade another pacted’s nightmares. Some nightmares when afflicted with The Dreaming One’s curse are extremely lucid, allowing one to act and shape its path in other directions. The Dreaming One sometimes looms over the pacted in their everyday lives, encouraging white indulgence, temptation, or impulse as a voice in their ear.

Primary Branch

The Dreaming One's primary branch is Cursesmithy.

Patron Cantrips

Self Delusion

Effect: The caster is able to tap into the dream realm and plant a belief or emotion into their own mind. For the next hour, this belief is accepted with complete conviction, whether or not it is blatantly false. For example, the caster may make themselves believe that the sky is green, or that they are happy, or that they are not, in fact, a spy. Even if the caster knows that this delusion is a lie or not representative of their true feelings before casting this spell, they uncritically believe in them for the duration-appearing as wholly convinced and truthful even to arcane analysis. Evidence that contradicts the delusion is rationalized away, but the wording of the delusion should be considered carefully such that it can be interpreted creatively when observable truth rubs up against the fiction.

Method: Repeating the delusion before a reflective surface, accepting it as truth.

1 action | No requirement.

Slumber

Effect: Any Cursesmith can tread the water of the Nocturne with a trance: it takes practice to dive headfirst. The caster works a small enchantment on themselves, allowing them to sleep even in intolerable circumstances: they fall unconscious at a moment's notice, and can wake up at will if not impeded by another spell. The caster has no awareness of surroundings whilst in this dreamless sleep, and is protected from nightmares, intrusions, and anything else that would plague their dreams.

Method: Resting peacefully and closing eyes.

2 actions | No requirement.

Mind's Eye

Effect: An equivalent exchange takes place in the target's mind, like a priceless treasure swapped for a weighted bag of sand. They are filled with eldritch visions in their mind's eye, both confusing and frightening them. In exchange, the caster isolates and learns a single fear of their target-knowing what, but not why. The process is unpleasant for the target, as if icy fingers were prodding through their very brain. The effects can be resisted with a successful HAR: Belief check, while on a mixed success no fear is learned.

Method: Maintaining physical contact on someone while closing one's physical eyes to open the eye within.

2 actions | No requirement.