Dread One
Balthiir employed the Staff of Bonding in the wedding between House Calenture rulers Lissa and Gunny, unaware that its powers had been transformed over time. The Staff of bonding once served to join two souls into one, however, instead of binding their souls, it shattered into five pieces and the souls of the two rulers switched avatars. Finally, the staff was reconstructed and used to return the two to their original avatars. Their union would produce the Child of Souls, Reh'Dak, who was corrupted by Ghazgkull and became a vessel for the Dread One to take shape in the Dream City.
Upon Yog-ka's execution, Ghazgkull recovered the Dark Dreamsmith's Death essence. The essence began to corrupt him, "my entire dream changed immediately, my will was lost, replaced by the will of the dying Ka. I know now that the essence did not 'possess' me; instead it twisted me, bringing out the worst in me and driving me to a specific goal. All of my actions from then on would lead to one thing: allowing the Dread One to enter the Dream and gain power here."
The corruption was not complete until Cygne approached Ghazgkull and asked him to hold a powerful talisman for her. Upon Yog-ka's death she rescued the "Chaos Ring" from his finger before it could be taken and misused by another. Fearing collapse and the evil powers of the thing, Cygne asked Ghazgkull to vow that he would never give the ring to another. Ghagkull agreed, and the ring and the essence combined to force the full power of Yog-ka's dying request on the dreamer.
Ghazgkull began to behave strangely, quitting the City Guard, leaving his Free Spirit life behind and joining House Calenture so to be nearer the Child of Souls. He received visions from the Dread One, calling for the child. Ghagkull finally had his opportunity to take the child when he found Sabra with Lissa and Reh'Dak beside Sunroof Cavern - the place of Yog-ka's execution. Ghagkull used the mesmerizing powers of the Chaos Ring to lure Reh'Dak away. "We stood in the exact spot where Yog-ka was killed and I once again said 'see? Nothing to be afraid of.' I offered him my hand in an offering of friendship and he took it. As we shook hands, I drew the Death Essence from my pack and pressed it against his chest. The Chaos Ring's power drew the boy's soul from his body and placed it in the essence. The Will of Yog-ka was likewise transferred from the essence to the boy."
At that moment the Dread One appeared, directing the group to the Sanctuary in Evernight where Yog-ka once taught. Within the Sanctuary, they were given a vision of the Dread One's history, and were instructed on the Dread One's purpose. Sabra explained that the Dread One had been a soulsphere adrift in the chaos, his soul bound to a dark mare. His purpose was to convert dreamers into his own twisted image, and he gained powers through the Sunroof Cavern.
Lissa, in an attempt to save her boy and return the Dread One to the Chaos, ran through the dream enlisting help for her cause. "Reh'Dak was a great Soulmaster, who at one time battled the Dread One and lost. He was cast into the chaos, by the Dread One's attempt to convert this powerful dreamer into his own image. My Book of Souls called Reh'Dak from the chaos as my child. He is the only way we can stop the Dread One. I ask all of you to help us find a way to save my son, and the Dream."
After a chase and a battle, Lissa paralyzed Ghazgkull and removed the Chaos Ring from his finger, freeing him from the grip of the Dread One. To free her son's soul, she required Yog-ka's Death Essence. The search for the Death Essence came to a halt when Ghazgkull, horrified and retaining little memory of the event, discovered it in his pack. Both the Death Essence and the Chaos Ring were returned to House Calenture for safekeeping, and with the Book of Souls Lissa freed Reh'Dak from the Dread One.
