Dreamlands (Open)

[shadowoftheheart]

IN light slumber you descend the seventy steps leading down from your Dreams to the Cavern of Flame, and its guardians the priests Nasht and Kaman-Thah. They regard you in quiet judgment, and nod their pshent-bearing heads. With a blessing, and a warning to not go where Man is not welcomed, they allow you to pass and descend the seven hundred steps down to the Gate of Deeper Slumber, and pass through into the Enchanted Wood.

This SRP is inspired by H.P. Lovecraft's tales of the dreamlands of Earth, a place where humans that are judged Worthy can travel in their dreams to experience adventures beyond the confines of Human Mortality. There is beauty here, and danger. The Old Ones are never far, and one is always but a misstep away from the Clutches of Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos, or other Terrors of his breed.

This RP is inspired by Lovecraft, so his settings, characters, creatures, etc. are not mandatory (though not prohibited either). The Earth's Dreamlands are a massive place, as large as a dreamer's imagination. This SRP can go anywhere (including sailing off into space in a moon-galley) and can have any characters whatsoever, so long as they are on Earth at the time and capable of sleep and dreaming. There's no set plot, nor even a necessity to adventure if a player simply wants to interact with characters Beyond their normal Reach.

Technology is entirley pre-gunpowder. It is mostly fantasy/medieval. Note too that this is not a D&D style fantasy. It isn't hack-and-slash. Combat is quick and bloody, and magic requires longer rituals and greater preparation. Native magic aims towards the summoning and control of Things, or the cursing of others, rather than the flashy "fireball lightening bolt magic missile" paradigm of D&D.

Any characters from other SRPS are welcome, also, so long as they are on Earth, and all powers from Earth carry over to the Dreamlands. Vampires remain vampires, for instance.

For the feel of the Dreamlands, read Lovecraft's The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath which chronicles Randolph Carter's quest for an ancient and unreachable city he has seen in regular dreams. As a side note, this is not the RPG Call of Cthulhu's Dreamlands, but a less well-formed place, that Dreamers can subtly shape to their own will. It is intended to be a fun and creative thread with -almost- no limits.

Finally, I'll be running a character which I'll post shortly, but am willing to GM for groups or individuals that might want a little more structure.

 

[shadowoftheheart]

Within the depths of the woods the zoogs tittered their amusement as the New One stepped out from the Trunk of the great Tree.

She was tall and lithe, bright red hair spilling in curls from her head to her waist, and in a trim line between her legs. Her bright green eyes looked around at the dark forest, the opalescent glow of the fungi in the dark, and the Eyes that followed her, tittering in their loathsome and disturbing way.

She was my self. I saw through her eyes, and felt what she felt: Her delighted terror at the darkness of the woods, the soft crunch of leaves and Things that were not leaves beneath her feet, beneath my feet.

Forward, slowly and carefully I picked my way around giant tree-trunks, impossibly huge and equally ancient. Around me were the leathery slitherings of Loathesome things that coveted my flesh, stalking and leering at me as I moved.

Before me loomed a gigantic stone, engraved over its length with symbols I did not recognize. In wonder, I gaped, walking slowly around its mass, tracing with my fingertips the swirrling scrawl of the characters, which were inset in to the stone with the smooth perfection of a pen gliding along paper. Unknowing, unrealizing, I stopped and traced over a section, again and again and began a low muttering sound.

"Sthlath con ga'anto, Ubar cnaa Kthope."

My eyes widened as before me I saw the vastness of a plain open up, streching for leagues in all directions, and upon it the foetid stench and rot of a battlefield. Scores of corpses bloated under a gibbous moon and Unhealthy Things slithered amongst their number. A ruinous city loomed beyond, upon the horizon. Lit by a pale blue light, its toppled towers and broken streets lay heavy on the land. About the whole a miasmic vapour lent an air of sickliness and evil, and yet Within I heard a Call, a beckoning like the distant soft shriek of a pipe played loud.

I was awoken from my reverie by a Clutching and a Tearing at my shoulder. I felt flabby fingers sink into my flesh with a razor-sharp bite and I twisted away from the Touch, running through the woods, around trees, feeling branches, and Things not branches, grab at me, ripping my arms and my legs and my belly. I ran until I broke out into the bright sunlight that that was blinding and I heard a shrill petulant call behind me, a last clutch at me, and my ankle seared with pain. I fell hard onto the ground, but I was away from the wood and its less than hale denziens.

 

[Original_Cyn2]

Chandri

Radiant and unrepentant in its brilliance, the blue light filtered through the depths above her, teasing Chandri’s senses to almost painful delight. Her mind, dazzled and unfocussed, tries valiantly to put things into perspective.

Before her eyes lies the realm she’s visited often, in her dreams. Deep beneath the warm waters of some mystical tropical sea, the city sprawls before her in a vibrant rapport of color and architecture. The buildings, magnificent in their size, resemble the halcyon days of old Rome, a civilization that in her world resides only in textbooks; even the remnants of that culture, the bones of their colossal construction, erased from the landscape to make room for the masses.

She swung her arms experimentally, feeling the gentle pull of the current around her, beset by a sense of vertigo. Chandri's fists curl as she fights back the terror that trembles through her, trying to understand its cause. Around her…space…empty of all humanity, open as far as her eyes can see in three directions, the city the only thing before her. She shivers, beleaguered by apprehension, inundated by a glorious sense of freedom and epiphany, and overwhelmed by the disparity of her own emotions.

Deep within her mind were memories tinged distinctly dark. A vague recollection of holy men with disapproving faces, of endless stairs and immense journeys… and …of promises made.

Behind her and to both sides, the blue light swims into utter darkness, a shadow so deep it feels alive. Alive and vengeful, she admits to herself. Ahead, a city that held…what?

Answers? Adventure? Well, if nothing else it holds her future. Her road of the moment holds only one path. A lonely path and she wonders, briefly, if she will get used to the silent isolation that surrounds her. Shrugging back a fear that threatens to engulf her she hoists her carry sack to her shoulders, feeling the warm, reassuring caress of its magic like a friends hand and strides forward toward her destiny.

 

[ACursedDreamer]

Marcus

On shakey feet the Dreamer emerged. His senses long clouded, now finally awake. His eyes searched out the vastness of what lay before him, uncovered for the first time. Dear Gods, where am I?. He felt like he'd been walking for miles, hours, days. His body was exhausted but energetic. He wasn't exactly sure how long he'd have to explore, but deep down inside he knew he didn't even want to leave.

He pulled his long blackish brown hair back into a pony tail, containing it all with a rubber band he'd placed around his wrist long before sleep had claimed him. His emerald green eyes were burning with desire, longing to find someone he could speak with. Someone who might be able to tell him more about this place... black slacks, and a black button down shirt kept him clothed. The shirt mostly entirely unbuttoned showing off a fair many scars. Mostly all self-inflicted. A handful of silver adorned his body. Mostly in the shape of rings on his fingers, a pendent around his neck, and a pair of thing barbell peircings through his nipples.

He walked barefoot along a rather strange beach. To his right, the crashing tides. To his left a dense, thick beautiful forest. Something in that forest beckened him... and with that he walked barefoot into it...

 

[Asa]

Kira

*Here... in the dreamlands she roamed once more. Free to take on the form... her true form. There female werewolf steps out on to the plains once more of this sacred place. Towering form not standing with the slump and gorillaish pose prepared to attack that artists of hollywood portray but a tall true being Of timberwolf fir... China blue steel eyes long flowing "mortal" raven black hair. The Feathers and animal hide dress of her native birthright adorns this form as she moves through the dreamlands. Walking more as man but with the beauty and grace of her Wolven blood.*

*It is here she finds more friend than foe... more that can understand and accept the true form hidden from mans eye in their world. Walking out on to the cliffs that now solely rest here in the dreamlands... cliffs she played on as a child. Overlooking the vastness of this place. smiling as the power and the desire overtakes her. WIth a howl she summons to her the creatures and wolves that went before and now live purely here born unto this place and timeless existance and... the hunt begins.*

*There is no prey just the intoxication of the hunts of old . The freedom of not having to hide her form in the trappings of her human appearance nor the callings of the wilderness ignore for the sake of humanities fragile sense of what is or isn't. Knowing this could never be her home her visits here more precious than air itself she lives for when the stress of the mortal world threaten to ravage her control*

 

[shadowoftheheart]

I was coaxed back into awareness by the rich hearty smell of boiling Kaana root. I opened my eyes to find myself in a dimly lit hut. I sat up and felt a homespun tunic covering my body.

I turned to see a hag sitting in front of a collection of small cauldrons, hanging over an open fire. I could detect more smells now: the meaty smell of broiling Trank Beef, the sharp herbal odor of Lin Tea, and the honey-sweet smell of baking mead pudding.

She smiled.

"Hello young Dreamer. Nearly didn't make it out of the Enchanted Forest. But I saved you. I will feed you. You need strength for the Quest you have chosen."

"Chosen? Quest?"

"Aye, or the Quest that has chosen you. Either case, don't talk. Eat."

She lifted a wooden bowl, and ladelled a big helping of Trank beef and broth, and handed it to me with a plate piled with blue-corn Tortillas.

I had seen the customs if the Trank plainsmen. I picked up a tortilla and half folded it, dipped it into the broth, and scooped out some of the sharp, spiced beef. I bit into the tortilla, taking in the broth and the meat all in one bite. I continued doing this until the bowl of beef and two tortillas were eaten.

She smiled, and took the wooden bowl from me, rinsing it in a bucket of clear water. Next, she ladeled out a bowlful of Lin tea, and handed this to me. I drank it down in sips, in between eating a tortilla that I had folded into quarters.

She next cut off a large chunk of mead pudding, and I ate this with relish, feeling the sweet, heady mead syrup in the middle of the breadlike pudding rush to my head giving me a sense of euphoria.

Finally, she handed me a Kaana root.

"This will bring you luck, and give fortitude to your dream-body"

According to custom, I took it with a nod, and ate it in five bites with closed eyes. It had the texture of a baked potato, but a sweeter flavor.

"Good. I have taken you in, applied a healing poultice to your wounds and bound them, clothed you, and fed you. Now, I insist from you my payment."

She grinned, revealing a single needle-like fang in an otherwise toothless mouth. She hobbled over to me, and I hesitantly bared my neck to her. I felt a sharp pain, and a burning flow as she suckled softly at the wound in my neck. Soon, I felt her sand-paper tongue lick my wound, which sealed quickly.

She grinned, a dribble of blood on her chin.

"So long as you have blood to give, you are welcome here to a hot meal, and a safe bed."

I stood, and gave her a polite courtsey. As I left, she stopped me.

"Do not forget your belongings."

I saw for the first time a staff and leather pack. I knew they were mine, though I had never seen them before.

I slung the pack over my shoulder, and picked up my staff. I knew in the pack there was a bundle of tortillas in waxed paper, Trank pemmican in a leather bundle, and a skin of cooled Lin tea that would quench her thirst with only a few sips.


Out to the Trank plain, past the squat Trank cattle, and the blue Trank corn that the local peoples ground up and used to make their salty, flavorful tortillas. I walked West, which seemed the right way to go. I did not know where I was headed, but apparently my Quest had chosen me, and was already beginning to guide me in the correct direction.

 

[ACursedDreamer]

Soon he found himself in the dense forest. He stared up into the sky, searching out anything familiar, the moon, a constilation or two that he could recognize, anything. He continued walking north, keeping the coastline as much in sight as he could as he headed up through the forest. He was very uneasy, yet somehow. He felt more connected. More Alive. He hoped he would know what he was looking for when he found it, he couldn't even come close to picturing what it was... he just knew he was looking for something. Or someone.

That's when he heard the howl. Heard the chorus of them. They were echoed which meant they weren't truly close, but close enough to worry him...Maybe it's time I head back towards the coast. Keep myself near the water, maybe it'll take care of covering my scent... He turned, and found himself surrounded by woods...

 

[Asa]

Kira

*The Hunt led her to the city where now in the tall forest around the western edge she did crouch watching sniffing the air. Waiting for what to most would feel like forever but then out from teh treeline she stepped walking into the village looking around. a few old priests hurry over to her and speak with her which she seems to gladly take the time to speak with them and then moving deeper into the city she stops and looks around more have traveled here... new beings have traveled here. Her head tilts sniffing the air of this place seperating out in her mind the scents of food and the scents of what is new here to her*

 

[Original_Cyn2]

Chandri

Weariness enveloped her, a leaden shroud of torpor, each step an exercise in determination. She’d been walking for hours with no sustenance or respite in sight, the walls of the city maddeningly distant despite her resolve.

With an abruptness that was breathtaking, the shimmer in front of her wavered, mirage like, and the brilliant blue waters parted. Chandri’s momentum brought her tumbling through the evanescent curtain to sprawl gracelessly before an immense gate of marble and gold that stood open as if welcoming arms, beckoning her into the heart of the city.

Exhaustion fled, leaving awe and delight to cascade over her senses. Eagerly, she picked herself up and advanced, her eyes roaming the monolithic proportions of the gateways doors, relishing the intricate carvings that graced its surface, each an emulation of…what….

Her eyes sharpened on the myriad images searching for a pattern, some rhyme or reason to the carvings. Everywhere figures frolicked, some recognizably human, some familiar animals. But the majority seemed flights of fancy, half being, half animal, towering giants and eclectic landscapes. Two moons here, a planet with three rings there, a cave that, even carved, seemed to flicker between dimensions, leaving her eyes to search for movement that wasn’t…couldn’t be…there.

She shook her head, as if to clear her mind and her gaze landed on a panel low, near her knees. It reflected, in almost eerie detail, the gate. From it flowed, like a mortar seam, what she could only describe a path that wandered between the glyphs, starting on the outer plane of the gate and methodically winding its way inward, like a box within a box.

A map, her intellect defined, its proportions staggering. A maze, her imagination donated, its detail and possibilities confounding. But of what? Her eyes turned to the walkway beyond the doors where tall marble walls shimmered with light and coruscating color that beckoned the eye.

Curiosity aroused, Chandri moved forward through the gate to stare in bewilderment at the illusion that shimmered before her. On each side an image swayed. Holograms, she acknowledged. A fantasy of whimsical characters and alien scenery in a palette of foreign colors and textures on her left, and more familiar a white sand beach and rolling waves, on her right.

Pulling her eyes away from the beach, she peered further down the walkway, aware that the sense of movement continued, another hologram, set ten feet from the one before it...continuing unabated as far as her eyes could see.

She turned back to the alien visage on her left, staring with fascination at the dark, almost primeval forest reflected there. It seemed to loom from the right edge of the hologram with a sense of malevolence, as if biding its time. Her eyes tracked to the left side and she took an unconscious step forward, peering with wide eyes at the tall, feminine figure that strode confidently over a fertile plain, red hair gleaming in a late afternoon sun that loomed large in the background, the color of ocher.

Movement from the left, from deep within that nefarious wood had her bounding backward without hesitation, her eyes searching for the threat. A soft laugh bubbled from within as Chandri dismissed her over active imagination.

Turning her back on the alien plain, she perused the scene to her right. A glorious summer day, the waves washing playfully over its gilded beach where a young man walked, barefoot and nearly bare chested along the sandy shoreline that painted itself over most of the holographic canvas. She glanced away in modesty, blushing lightly, a flush of color that disappeared as she paled, taking in the details that sprawled over the far left margin. The nefarious wood edged the far end of the beach, its sinister presence unmistakable.

What was this place? Who built it and what was it for? Slowly, her mind fitted the pieces, proffering a theory that was as crazy as it was clear. She glanced back at the gateway…

‘Not her final destination’ a soft, amorphous voice whispered in her mind, ‘simply an Interim. A gateway to destinations beyond belief. Not an ending….a beginning…’

But of what?]

 

[shadowoftheheart]

Abruptly the plain gave way to rolling hills, and the rolling hills gave way to a steep cliff, overlooking a vista of sheer beauty, and soul-numbing terror. A great and shining ocean, foaming waves caressing the beach, and to the other side a dark forest, threatening and filled with hidden Forces. To yet another side, a great and glittering city, of towering bronze spires and great marble-bricked walls, a city bustling with life and death, of possibilities and of dangers.

I could feel a pull to each, knew that Destiny was now a forked road, that my Quest lay along each branch but the branch I chose would help or hinder, would hurt or harm, and I had this moment to decide the Future for myself and for one other at least.

The beach was empty, though foot-prints led from the water's edge into the woods. Ah the woods, the power of night-mare and of cold-sweat terror. Death crouched there.

The city. The city is where to go. No less danger lurked there than the wood: Squat, subhuman slavers lurked there, she knew, and they sought beautiful Dreamers who left themselves open to Capture. There were Humans, and not-so-humans that paid well for such goods. Thieves, mudrerers, and worse. Yet, the City had the promise of of good company, hot food, passage to distant places aboard a great sailing-ship, or up to the stars on a moon-galley that sailed through the aether that filled the interstices between planets and stars.

Yes, the city. She turned her face that way, winding her way down the dirt trail that led to the plank-highway. The boards of the highway were greyed with age, and some bowed rottedly, threatening to collapse and spill the contents of wagons into the marshy bog-land beneath.

Her bare feet padded along the wood of the road, passing by a stubborn zebra that refused to move under its load of baggage. I smirked as the stubborn creature simply hrumph!ed at its flustered owner, a small inhuman looking man with a faintly blue look to his skin.

 

[Original_Cyn2]

Chandri

How long she stood there, staring, mesmerized by the dark forest, she hadn’t a clue. She’d watched the sparsely clad young man enter the woods with fascination, tainted dark by a sense of impending doom. A frisson of prescience skittered lightly over her nerves before the audible growl of her belly distracted her.

Chandri rubbed her stomach ruefully, wondering how many horas had passed since her last meal. The knapsack hung heavily from her weary shoulders, but the contents tingled with magical promise. She glanced uncertainly at the images on either side of her and shook her head. Surely there would be something, somewhere, up ahead that would shelter her better.

Trudging wearily forward she proceeded down the corridor, trying to limit her reaction to each new hologram, gawking mere moments rather than the eternity each deserved. Dry desert plains, storm furied seas, deltas of lush vegetation in blissful and blistering colors…cities of stone, cities of metal, cities that seemed more ephemeral than air…animals in makes and models she couldn’t dream of, or comprehend their natures. And humans of the like that were…unimaginable…in shapes and sizes and colors to boggle the mind.

Ultimately her dragging steps brought her to a covered rotunda, it’s towering walls encircling her as the corridor branched off in three directions. Two of the corridors made a ninety-degree angle continuing the inwardly spiraling square that the map had delineated. The third bisected the middle, a route that would, seemingly, take her deep into the center of the complex.

She fell to her knees against the far wall, facing the third corridor. No holograms adorned these muted white ramparts, no carvings, no detail at all; a welcome relief to her exhausted mind. From within the depths of her knapsack she removed a gorash fiber tarp, wrapped tightly in its condensing cover, fitting squarely in the middle of her palm. With a flick of her thumbnail it opened, springing outward like a frothy canvas that she laid gratefully beneath her, welcoming it’s intrinsic warmth.

Another delicately wrapped package revealed four gleaming chus – objects that resembled simply ornamented gold plates. Subtly, to be caught only from the corner of the eye, their blue shimmer proclaimed a legacy of magic. Chandri placed them in a triangle around the limits of the canvas.

“Eeykaupi yia chus,” the spell, issued with whispered reverence, brought bold flame to each, their warmth and the sense of security they offered deeply appreciated.

Settled and secure Chandri turned to sustenance, removing a flask, a bowl, a small amphora and a cup from their protective sholo wrappings. Engravings, of a language so ancient it was long forgotten in her world, gleamed from their surfaces, twisting with sinuous mystery over precious metal. Digging for herbs, berries and nuts hoarded deep within the confines of her knapsack, she made a nourishing meal. When sated, she placed each treasured artifact deep within the flame of a chus, watching with pleasant languor the lines of blue protection spring up around her.

Night had fallen in this new domain while she’d supped, bringing with it the quiet sounds of familiar insects. She glanced around one last time before burrowing beneath a second gorash and closing her eyes. Chandri slipped into the nadir of somnolence with the easy innocence of a child, deeply, fully, without fear.

 

[Asa]

Kira

*Standing she walked from the forest and into the city her eyes scanning everything near her while her companions from teh hunt went thir own ways back to the wild. Stopping before the city by the waters edge she smiled... it had been a long time since she had ventured this far into the dreamlands. Glancing around carefully she followed casually the scents around her studying this place once more. A smirk crossing her lips for a moment as she felt the Great Old ones ever near this place and knowing with her Dream realm encounters withthem before that here... where she could call on her truest powers she could stand against them if the moment truely demanded it. Her sanity most would say was long gone but in truth with her years of study and training in the occult her sanity was at a level to accept the vast things between heaven and hell that most hould not know about as everyday life. I mean after all she was a part of those vast things normal mortals know nothing about.*

 

[shadowoftheheart]

The city seemed to stretch in all directions into infinity. Above me, tall spires of marble, brick, and bronze. Beneath me, extensive sewers and labyrinthine catacombs containing remains that were best not scrutinized too closely. From there it was possible to enter the Underworld, the bone-realms where the Ghouls dragged their morbid feasts from cemeteries in the waking and dreaming realms.

I knew of the ghouls from the writings of a distant relative, Dr. John Roos who claimed to have negotiated a truce between the ghouls of the New World and the British colonists of Massachusetts Colony. I had read my (insane?) ancestor's treatise on the meeping language of the ghouls, and part of me longed to trek to the dark realms of Nightmare to converse with these macabre beings.

I wandered the streets of the city, seeking an indication of my Quest.

"Ancient, lost Kthope, cyclopean city, massive and ancient when the first men stumbled upon her colossal marble gates. Kthope the City-State beloved by Kla'ar Uun, Thirster for Souls."

The words entered my head unbidden, and unwelcome. My skin crawled at the tonality of the voice that I did not hear so much as felt. Around me, people and not-so-people crushed and crowded. I felt a sudden panic. I ducked into the first door that I found unlocked.

 

[Original_Cyn2]

Chandri

Deep in her dreams voices muttered in languages she didn’t understand, from places she couldn’t quite see. The soft scurry of feet, raspy and oddly cadenced scuttled past her the same way, evading the eyes and ruffling the nerves.

From the depths of slumber Chandri burrowed further into the folds of the gorash to escape the dark ripples of fear both sounds created, entangling her limbs and forwarding that sense of imprisonment invidiously into her sleep, turning dreams to nightmares. She moaned, softly, struggling against the confines more and more frantically.

Gasping, she awoke, shivering beneath the onslaught of this amorphous fear, all senses focused on the dark shadows around her protected camp. The dull, dead silence that surrounded her dazzled her senses by its pure lack of substance, alerting her instincts. Quietly, she untangled her limbs, crouching silently within the reassuring blue beams of security…watching…waiting…

 

[shadowoftheheart]

A dozen pairs of eyes glaned up at me.

Squat, dark semi-humans sporting small horns poking up out of heads of greasy, nestlike hair. Smirking, leering, they watched me, a lone female Dreamer, enter their Domain.

Against one wall, a human. Female. A dreamer. She stood with her feet slightly apart, face passive and turned down, chained hand and foot, collar around her neck. She wore a breechcloth and a brief sleeveless top of a thin gauze that highlighted rather than hid.

And, I recognized her from the waking world. She jolted back in sudden recognition.

"Jen?" She whispered.

"No. No, Jalyssa is the name I go by in this realm."

My Given Name could give Another that knew how to use it Power over me in this realm. And I saw several of the Slavers smirk, and look at me with a Glint in their eyes.

I ignored them, approaching her. I placed my fingertips under her chin, and raised her face to mine.

"What name do you go by in this realm?" I asked her firmly but softly.

"Rose," she replied meekly.

I looked into her eyes for several minutes. Into her Soul. Yes, I saw. Yes, she was on the Path to her Quest. This was for her a Dream.

"Luck to you," I say with a smile, "And may you find what you seek."

I felt a twisted, clawed hand on the small of my back.

"This one is not for sale. She is ... already spoken for. Mistress Jen .. I mean, Mistress Jalyssa," he chuckled knowingly. I could feel the danger that I was in, but I remained calm.

"This way, if you wish to see the merchandise."

What choice had I? There were a dozen slavers, and several I knew could use my Name against me, even if they had only part of it.

"Of course. Lead on."

I would have to be strong. The only way I would leave the slavers' domain free would be in posession of a slave, or a reason that none met my ... specifications. Otherwise, I would be reduced to abject slavery myself.

The sale-room was luxurient, and made a lie that slaves were kept in horrific conditions. No mud and excrement barely covered by straw: The floor was carpeted with a soft, low velvety shag. Walls were marble-panelled, and the candellight glinted off them and was magnified into a soft, glowing ambiance.

There were beds, couches, and chairs, and sitting, lying, and draped about them were the slaves.

Many were human, most were female. Two were dreamers.

One a man, with an expression of languid certainty not very different from that of Rose.

The other a woman. She was clearly having a nightmare. Her eyes were wide with terror, her body shuddering, her mouth slightly agape.

As I approached her, I noted also that she was chained securely to her chair.

"What of this one? How much for her?"

At my words she flinched backward, as though to escape, but unable to because of her fetters. The panic passed quickly as she looked at me and Recognized the trace of a Dreamer.

"1500 gold. Now, before you protest the ... high price, I would note that in certain markets I could get that, and more, from you. 1500 is a bargain to purchase her and your self."

I felt his hand on my lower back once more, his claws pressing slightly into my skin.

No time to panic, or to be light on gold. Fortunately, a full purse of gold hung from my belt (was it there before? Yes, though I had not dreamt it until that moment of need).

"Very well. I have it. But, I first want to inspect the merchandise."

My eyes were locked on hers. I saw fear return to her, and I tried to will Hope to her.

She was unshackled and stripped in quick, expert motions. The slavers forced her to stand and slowly turn around so I could see all of her.

I barely look, just glancing enough to confirm that she is mostly unmarked, and no permanent damage. She was new, a young and inexperienced Dreamer, recently captured by the Slavers.

I nodded, handing my purse to the slaver.

"Good. Have her dressed, leashed, and led to the Main Room."

The slaver returned to the main room, viewing me with respect. Slavers had a strange loyalty to those that purchased from them.

Rose was no longer in the room, apparently taken by an underground passage to the slavers' private dock. Slavery was legal and accepted throughout the Dreamlands, but Slavers still tended to be ... discrete and secretive in their affairs.

"Mistress Jalyssa. A pleasure. Here, a standard contract. Sign, and she is yours."

A parchment, a vial of disturbingly red ink, and a quill pen were shoved in my direction.

Nothing strange. Just consignment of her Self from them to me. I signed, and as though it were timed, she was led into the room. I nodded.

"Once she is worn out, please feel free to return. You will find we have a discount for loyalty."

The slavers smiled widely, now striving to make me feel as though I could safely return to spend more of my gold with them.

I exited the slavers' den with my self, and with the girl. The crowd appeared to give way to me. Looks of awe, of respect, of jealousy. Not a few had seen me enter the Slavers' den alone. More saw me exit with my slave in tow.

I found a place of safety, a tavern. I rented a room.

"Have to charge you half again for your slave."

"Fine." I paid his rate, and retired to the room.

I unleashed the slave, and looked her over once more.

(OOC: Anyone want to jump into the slave's role? I'm open to any ideas of who she is, and can take it in any direction. If no one comes forward, she'll likely just be set free to return to the Waking World with an important lesson about the Dreamlands. )

 

[Asa]

Kira

*Walking through the city there were mixed reactions from those around her in some areas... some dreamers never having seen one like her before here backed away not sure if their dreams were on the road to nightmares or not. Some looked to her in awe while the young dreamers... children and innocents that found themselves here watched her some following for a short time. Denizens of the great old ones would speak to her or hiss as she passed*

*Nearing the section of town for the darker dreamers... Slavers killers and theives flocked to this domain her senses flared picking up the many emotions and scents brought on by such emotions especially fear... a snarl flared her wolven featured face as she walked*

~The human born Beast offspring of Ithaqua comes one of the Slavers shouted. Either toss it a gift to keep it away from here or hunt it..10,000 Gold for its hide if it attacks this place it will be 10000 gold for each of your heads.~

*The careature stopped looking at the place she smelled the fear coming from and growled. Even though she was in basic nature a destroyer the humanity of her mind guided the destruction of th ebeastial side to destroy those that bring harm to others... a Defender of sorts against the evils that the Great old ones bring to the waking worlds and here it seemed no different*

((A vampire that was an old friend of hers in the waking world could be used here to stop her from attacking if anyone wants to hop in with him I will give you the info if you PM me))

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

Katherine had fallen asleep within minutes of the vile sleeping potion had been poured down her throat, once more she was in the place of the dark void, a dream so real, she could feel the sting of the cuffs around her arms and legs.

She was Lady Kate in this dream, not the unwilling Lady Katherine Falcon. Kate now stood in a room surrounded by women of different shapes and sizes, some resembled women like herself, others seemed to come from another time or another place. She had only been in this dream for a short time, when she heard the slaver approach her.

Upon the beginning of this dream, she felt instant fear, it was to much like her current real life, that she became to quiver in shock, and terror. She watched in revulsion as the slaver walked toward her, then stripped her body. Dreams were meant to take one away, but this one was just an extension of the terror she was living.

She heard the exchange of ownership, and she felt her heart drop into her stomach. The woman led her away, and Kate knew she now belonged to this female. Kate looked around her, only wanting to return to her realm of reality, though she knew she'd be back here again, this place was becoming a constant in her life. As long as the nun continued to care for Lady Katherine Falcon, Lady Kate would continue to visit the dreamland.

Her fear was evident in her eyes and her breathing pattern. She worried that she would become “worn out” as the slaver had implied, and she slipped down to the ground, as fear consumed her once more. The nightmare overtook her and soon she and her master were in the castle and Kate was shackled to the wall of her husband's bedchamber. Her back was now bloody and the welts appeared instantly as her new master laid the whip against her skin.

Tears ran down her porcelian skin, and her long black hair hung in curls, mingling with the flowing blood. Her firm breasts were pressed against the cold rock, and her screams echoed through the castle.

 

[shadowoftheheart]

Jalyssa

Unexpectedly, the slave slumps to the floor. Her eyes flow with tears, and I feel in the air a tingle, a Shifting that I am not prepared for.

I glance with sadistic satisfaction at the bloody welts on her back, and weigh the whip in my hand. I shift my weight, twirl the whip, and throw it, a loud KRACK echoes through the castle walls as the whip's tip breaks her skin and the sound barrier at once. She flinches, and a fresh welt is raised on her once smooth skin.

NO!

No, I blink the image away. I will not be a party to this night-mare, which begins to play out in front of me. The slave's smooth skin mutilated by the cruel touch of a Master through the agency of a whip.

The nightmare is powerful. It is not merely in her mind, but in her Past as well. It may be too much to overcome.

"Girl, focus here. Feel my Will, my Dream. Let go the past, let go the future. Here, and now, this is the Dream, the Reality."

The fear, the terror, generates a strong nightmare. It will be difficult to overcome, but I know I will not be overwhelmed again myself. It is almost a Visible force now, a glowing field of energy beyond which is a dank, grey castle, shackles, a cruel Master and his whip. I block this Force from my self.

"Your name. What is it?"

A hook, a handle. Something she can grasp onto. Come on, I think ... Take it. Do not be inundated by this powerful Horror.

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

Kate

Kate heard the voice, it was not her Master, it was the voice of her new owner. The woman, the one that had purchased her. She reached for that voice, trying to grasp it. She heard the question. A name? She wanted her name?

She thought of the names that rambled in her mind, pulling at her. Suddenly she saw it, the name written on a parchment of yellow. “Katherine.. Kate.. ” she whispered. Then felt a small tremor of power increase in her veins. She screamed her name, “Kate!”

Suddenly the chains fell away and the pain was gone, she spun around and faced the woman, the whip still there, but the welts of pain were gone, as were the tears that had flowed so freely.

Kate was free of the evil Master and now stood before the one that had rescued her from her dream, now if she could hold onto the kindness of this one, each time she was forced back into her dream state, then she would be safe, until the black void lifted at home.

Kate hugged the woman, and squeezed her body tightly, whispered thank you's filled the air. She pulled back and with her eyes of blue, offered her thanks once more, this time sliding down to her knees and bowing.

“I do not know or understand where I am, but I thank you for your rescue. Please tell me how to repay your kindness.”

 

[shadowoftheheart]

I am surprised how quickly the nightmare fades. This one has strong Dreams, strong Needs, and it takes little to free them from Nightmare. And as the castle vanishes, as the chains vanish, I can sense growing in her a Sense of frequent Dreaming. No, she has come here many times before, but always Enthralled by a force that oppressed.

She embraced me tightly, triumphantly pronouncing her name: "Kate!" I wrapped my arms around her, my whip (it was not there before, and I sensed a small lingering part of her Nightmare that somehow also was part of my Dream) very softly swayed, the tip brushes the small of her back just above the top of her breechcloth.

She pulls away, whispering a chorus of thanks. Cosmically blue Orbs draw me in, allow me a glimpse of a Tortured soul, broken painfully in the Waking World, the Dreamlands offering a small, faint glimmer of Hope.

Kate falls to her knees, bowing, as I see suddenly a vast marble chamber, feel myself sitting upon a Throne towering ten feet above my head as I sit, the massive furniture all carved from a single ivory Horn of some great beast.

There is a sense of Rightness, of Power flowing inwardly as this slave, one of so many, gives me my Due ....

And just as suddenly, it is just Kate, just Jalyssa, and just the worn, wooden confines of a Tavern Room.

“I do not know or understand where I am, but I thank you for your rescue. Please tell me how to repay your kindness.”

"Kate, in Dreams there are many dangers. Many obstacles to overcome. This is but the first of many that will be seen. Kate, in this realm you are recognized as my slave. In this realm therefore you are marked to be a slave hereafter. My kindness can be repaid and can be continued in this way. As a slave, your duties are light, and simple. Attend to my needs, simple as they are. Stay near me as we pass dangers; two Dreamers have far greater strength than one alone. Obey, be honest, learn to trust."

I am stunned by my words. How easily they flow out, when My natural response would have been to announce her freedom. Didn't I buy her as a token only, to rescue a Dreamer who found her self enslaved within a nightmare? Did I not free her of this? So why then did I so easily accept her as a slave Myself?

I look down at her, as she bows. I shiver slightly at her beauty. Her dark, curly hair, the smooth pale skin visible around and beneath her skimpy slave's clothing, her submissive, bowing posture. It all swirls around me, overwhelming me with a bouquet of sweet and heady power given to me in reward for keeping her safe from that same power that another Took. It is intoxicating, and familiar in a way that stuns as sharply as the Vision of the Ruins, of the battlefield.

"Rise to a kneel. Look up to Me."

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

Kate looked around her, feeling the cold marble on her body. She heard the woman, her master tell her to kneel before her. The dream now was full of white, no longer the dark matter that surrounded her was there, she trembled still in fear. Though the darkness was gone, she wondered if and when it would return.

She brought herself up onto her knees. Kate noticed her body was now clothed and the pains of the whippings were no longer evident and once more the scars were gone. Also replaced by that deep fear was something else, a willingness to do what this woman wanted, and enjoy doing it. She felt as if it were a privilege to serve under this woman's guidance. She did not know what would be asked of her, but she did feel as if she wanted to please her Master.

Kate looked into her Master's eyes, and gazed upon her beauty. She felt an emotion she had never felt before except in her other world when she looked upon Marcus. Those feelings here were increased,and she felt the hunger deep inside her to prove her worth to the new Master.

“Yes Master, may I serve you in some way?” she was surprised by her willingness to serve. She was a Lady in her other realm, and being served was what was done for her, now she was doing the waiting on another, but she didn't mind.

 

[shadowoftheheart]

I winced. That would have to change.

"Kate, you will refer to me as Mistress."

Other words came to my mind, but they seemed imappropriate, so I supressed them.

I looked at Kate. I was slightly surprised since, at this time, there was nothing I could have her do. Not really. The Tavern Room I took so that I could observe and speak to her in peace.

I had a Quest, though still was unclear what I needed to do. Kate represented as much a responsibility for me. Someone I had to watch and care for. Even so, I had the sense that she could become useful, or even vital, soon enough. I had to test her, to see how readily she could follow instructions.

"We are in a tavern. Go down, to the bartender. Purchase for us a meal. Bread, cheese, mutton, two flagons of ale. Bring them up here, that we may eat and keep up our strength."

I hand her a number of gold coins, and will follow her when she goes to the room. I need to see if she will do it, and of course also be ready to help her should she get into trouble.

She wore a collar, which had now a tag indicating she was Mine. By the Laws King Kuranos and others enforced none could interfere with her without dealing with Me. However, I well knew that laws were often broken.

I did not know what she was in the Waking World. I did not know what her strengths and weaknesses were, knowing only that she had been taken quickly and easily by the slavers. I had to operate on the assumption that she was naturally submissive, and that I would have to Protect and Watch her closely.

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

Kate took the coin and suddenly felt herself impowered. With coin in hand she felt like her true self. She was now the Lady Katherine. She felt herself shift slightly in the dream, though she was still the slave of her Mistress, she was also the Lady of her wealthy manor.

She turned and nodded her acceptance of the order and left her Mistress side. Her back was straight and her demeanor was very smart and cocky. She knew she was a lady and all here were beneath her. She walked past many, and received sneers behind her back, that she did not notice.

Kate felt the eyes of a man upon her, and she swept past him. She looked at the bar, and kept her eyes focused on the task at hand. She was surprised to feel the firm grasp of a man upon her arm, and she stared down at the gripping force that surrounded her.

Looking up into his eyes, she smirked, just as she would have if she had been in her real world. "Release me you fool, you've no right to place your hands upon me."

Her voice was strong and she felt the full strength of her postition return to her. She pulled her arm from his grasp and turned to leave once more. Again the man grabbed her and hauled her against him. She glared at him, smelling the breath of ale on his mouth.

"Let me go!" her anger evident on her face, and in her voice.

She pulled at her arm, no longer able to free herself, she reached up and slapped his face, just as she would if she were at home, and was being mistreated by one of her father's men.

The man's face filled with rage and he pushed his lips to hers. Kate struggled with him, and bit his lip, then raked her fingers down his face. She trembled with rage, at the vile man taking liberties with her person.

 

[shadowoftheheart]

I was glad I had followed Kate. I noticed the change in her Person as I had given her instruction, but it was not quite a change that I had hoped for. She displayed no hint of submission or humility. Quite the reverse. She displayed every indication of being a high-class, well-born woman in the Waking World.

I watched, for one moment before interfering, to see how Kate would handle being accosted. She handled herself well, all things considered. I certainly didn't want to 'break' her the way many would. The way her Master did. Who was he, I wondered. No time for that now.

The man was drunk, and distracted. He was also Native, not a Dreamer. It was easy to move up behind him. He apparently had intended to hit or slap Kate, because he cocked his arm back. I grabbed his wrist in one hand, his thinning hair in the other. In a smooth motion, I slammed his head down onto the bar with a crash.

"Sir, you have touched my Property. I would suggest humbly that you leave. Now. If I find you accosting my slave again, I will not be so gentle with you."

I glanced at Kate.

"You have your instructions, slave. Carry them out."

I released the man, who stood, glaring at me.

"You'll pay for this," he slurred, then turned to leave the tavern.

I stayed, watching Kate carry out her instructions, but made no move to help her with her burden. It was her place to carry out any instruction I gave her, succeed, or be punished for failure. Likely a hard lesson if she were indeed high-born. But, if she indeed were enslaved in some form in some reality, it was one she already knew.

It was slightly confusing. I both felt this to be familiar and new. This was a destraction, one I did not need in the Wilds of the Dreamlands. It would be necessary to reslove this first.

 

[RedHairedandFriendly]

Kate rounded away and turned from her Mistress and the man that had dared to touch her. She moved toward the bar once more, this time no one stared, or attempted to interrupt her.

She ordered the meal and the ale, then balanced the plates. One rested in her hand, the other she placed on her arm. Keeping them close, she grabbed the two handles of the ale and headed back to the room above. She passed freely without any trouble, her mind questioning why she was so willing to serve.

Kate knew that she was not a servant and that when the man had taken her from her sisters side, she was beat often, and forced to do horrible things, but this time, her inslavement was different. She did not feel fear, just the willingness to please. She wondered if perhaps it was just gratitude for releasing her from the nightmare of the slavers keep.

Finally, she reached the top of the stairs and headed toward the room that her Mistress had occupied. Opening the door, the room was no longer marble, but drapped in dripping fabric, and lavious gold statues and figures. The lights of the room, were candles and the glittered over the priceless statues, and wonderful jewels.

Her eyes gazed over everything, and she stopped where she stood and stared at the wealth surrounding her. Her father would be envious of this, and her Master would kill to possess just a fraction of the wealth surrounding her.

"Mistress, your meal and drink," she said, looking to the woman, and bowing her head in obediance.