Well over a century has passed since Eris, Goddess of Chaos placed Her
son, Pandemonium, within the Eileithyian Tree to recover from the harm
sustained in the War of the Divine Child. Encased within a golden sphere
to protect Him from the physical world, the babe was further shielded
from harmful nightmares by Valnurana, Goddess of Sleep and Dreams.

Years later, in the absence of Lady Chaos, the Eileithyian Tree was
relocated to the temple of Aegis, God of War, where the God could keep a
close watch upon His son. All the while, the child-God healed, and the
Aegeans sought a means to wake Him.

After His son had slept for more than a century, the God of War claimed
to have dreamt of Pandemonium and, declaring his purpose to retrieve the
Child by any means necessary, formulated a plan for His army to enter
the Dreamrealm. But chasing His own dreams brought only frustration, as
Aegis emerged from the Dreamrealm with neither His son nor His army,
only a strange seeress who spoke cryptically, sequestering herself
within the Aegean manor.

~ ~ ~

The presence of War had stirred the Dreamrealm deeply, heightening
activity with unpredictable results. From Princess Atlantia in Arcadia
to Talus in Dun Valley, inhabitants of Sapience gradually began to
experience the vivid effects. Drogo of Mhaldor noted that his dreams
grew increasingly realistic, and a young artist of Ashtan mused that he
could stay in his dreams forever. Not all found the developments
pleasant, however, as Lhaya of Eleusis and Aurelia of Tasur'ke
complained that their dreams held only nightmares. Overall, these
changes seemed mild, and few took more than a momentary notice. One
slumbering child, however, was affected more than most, and began to
slip into the realm of Dreams, far deeper than even the spirits of
nightmare dare to go.

After several years of apparent stasis, the turmoil within the
Dreamrealm swelled, and adventurers began to wake from sleep only to
face the physical manifestations of their dreams. Dark knights, ethereal
snakes, and clouds of wasps appeared, sprung from the Dream. Some
afflicted those they encountered with fear, others with dizziness; most
had the effect of returning individuals to sleep, resulting in even more
of these waking dreams.

Puzzled, the Order of Sleep and Dreams sought to return these beings to
their home, though it seemed attacking them was the only possible
solution. Valnurana had not been seen for days, and the nightmare
spirits were distracted and troubled by the presence of dreams outside
their natural place. The spirit Erinyes offered a small measure of
comfort, withdrawing to the Dreamrealm to collect handfuls of sand,
which could be used to peacefully return dreams to their home. But the
sand was rare, and the dreams continued to spread across the land.

Months went by and the effects of dreaming seemed to intensify; some
awoke from their dreams with afflictions, others with gold in their
hands, and the dreams that manifested grew more dangerous. Adventurers
began to fall into deeper states of sleep, from which they found it
increasingly difficult to wake, and experienced even more unusual
dreams. Though cities advised their citizens to sleep under the watch of
peers, where they could be guarded, they remained unsure of a permanent
solution.

Seeking advice from Erinyes, the Dreamers Moire and Ashavarti entered
the Dreamrealm, where they were granted fleeting glimpses of the
nightmare spirit, who cradled a dreamcatcher in her arms. Upon waking,
they discovered the roaming dreams could indeed be caught within the
dreamcatchers, leaving a shimmering, dust-like residue upon the item.
Meanwhile, the seeress of the Aegean temple began to speak of a
shimmering mist, imploring Aegean Luciano Lucoster, and anyone else who
would listen, to capture it in its cage. Connecting the two discoveries,
Keahi Le'Murzen brought one shimmering dreamcatcher to the seeress, who
cast the dust upon the Eileithyian Tree. As the seeress continued to
collect more and more of the strange dust, small changes began to take
place within the tree, and the child sleeping within appeared to grow
older. With two separate goals in mind, the seeress' instructions were
put into action. Some, among them the Dreamers, worked simply to return
the dreams to their home; others, primarily Aegeans, hoped to somehow
help the sleeping Pandemonium.

As the seeress cast a final shower of shimmering dust upon the tree, the
child, now in the form of a young man, stirred. A sudden surge of energy
rippled through the temple, followed by a stream of light that shot
upward into the sky, splitting overhead and falling as five distinct
beams of light to the ground. Adventurers soon discovered five unique
dream manifestations from the sleeping Pandemonium's early memories: a
winged demoness, an armor-plated warrior, a Sartanic dwarf, a woman and
child, and a mysterious cloaked figure. Unlike the other dreams, these
could not be caught by the dreamcatchers.

Entering the Dreamrealm again, Valnurana's followers were granted
another vision, which revealed that they must use the dreamcatchers,
dusted with the essence of dreams, to capture strands of silk from a
very specific dream encountered while sleeping. As Moire succeeded in
doing so, word spread of the discovery, and more began to search for
this elusive dreamsilk. Back within the Temple of War, the seeress
demanded the silk. Both Dreamers and Aegeans, wary of her motives, were
reluctant to comply at first. Finally, upon the orders of Sir Jaret
Vallah, the strands of silk were handed to the seeress, who deftly wove
each into a new dreamcatcher.

Using the silken dreamcatchers, the dreams were led back to the temple:
first, a winged demoness thought to be Indrani, the Demon Queen, whose
resurrection was enabled at Pandemonium's expense. This was followed by
the return of a cloaked figure, the hateful image of Slith, and a dwarf
resembling the Sartanite Stee, who had thrown the kris dagger that
released Pandemonium's essence. Last to return were the manifestations
of a woman wreathed in rainbows, and an armoured warrior: Eris and
Aegis. One by one they were safely restored to the sleeping God's
subconscious, completing His healing at long last.

As the final manifestation faded, a golden glow filled the skies over
Sapience. The image of the Eileithyian tree lingered upon the heavens
before disappearing completely, and with a shudder felt throughout
Creation, the Divine Child awoke.

Pandemonium acknowledged the assistance from onlookers as well as
Aegeans, proclaiming Strife to be His realm, and vowed one day to bring
retribution upon Indrani. Proudly, the God of War appeared, triumphant
in His son's awakening. Despite the numerous casualties incurred within
the Dreamrealm, the Lord of War claimed victory and touted the
sacrifices that completed his master plan.

Aegis' boasts did little to appease the Dreamers, however, who remained
vexed at the reckless treatment of the Dreamrealm. The child-God's
prolonged presence so deep within had compounded what was already
turbulent, thinning the barrier between Sleep and Dream. Now, the task
of watching Pandemonium's dreams complete, Valnurana assured restful
sleep once more for mortals. But dreams continue to trouble some of
Sapience's inhabitants, and the Dreamrealm is far from quiet...

Penned by My hand on the 17th of Aeguary, in the year 467 AF.