Dark Days of Dreamstrike
Dark Days of Dreamstrike: An overview
This most intense period of history is possibly one of the most confusing. How do you know that a dreamer has been struck, if that dreamer is unable to return to verify it for his or herself? Due to the chaotic nature of the period, I have decided to take many dreamer accounts and weave them together into a story of best fit. I have come to realize that one story will not do for this particular topic.Thank you for all the wise dreamers who shared their information, to LightofDark, Patro, Tone, Bear Crusher, Samarina and Hrumm.
Firstly, we must know how Dreamstrike returned to the Dream after being absent for so many years. LightofDark explains this briefly:
"'Strike did not appear post-Loss until Telomir reforged and then shattered the Immortal Dreams."
So how did it appear?
Patro:
"(Learning Dreamstrike) was not too hard. You had to have five pieces of the Codex of Immortal Dreams, give them to (Cowled One) at a set time once a week. For that you would be trained in the art. Trick to it was finding and collecting the pieces. They were Primes. The Coweled one came to the city once each week for half an hour, each time in a different place. It was the same time each week... so like a seek and find game. Locate him, get the pieces, get to him, get the art if you could... Soon after, the art and the pieces were possible to get. Some started to protect the Cowled One and Mind Blank him. Arts did not affect him, nor did any attacks. He would just extend a boney finger, hold up five, and wait."
Tone:
"The first bunch of times Cowled One appeared I didn't bother trying to find him. I think, actually, that first time was in Gloom Peaks, where I met the wonderful people from Union and Calenture... and the little Fatesender who I loved so much. Wait no, there was a time before that. In those moldy caves in Trinity. RavenXR had already used Strike against Guard Dog. I ended up a Soulsphere in the room with Raven. Was a bit... disconcerting. Probably the cause of a few grey hairs. Definitely some worry lines. There were a lot of dreamers there every week. Like, take every single dreamer in the city now, and triple it. And that was just those who could make it that one evening. And I'm probably low on the number."
"I recall quite a few times trying to find where the Cowled One was when he appeared. At first it was a random place. Then trying to keep a Freesoul from getting the art....or just trying to get there. I recall being force restored quite a few times at the order of a certain Union Senechal. And a certain current Gathering Ruler being quite happy to ask for more so she could gain from more of my collapsed. But do I hold a grudge? You betcha!"
Bear Crusher:
"When the Cowled One appeared,, it would be a mob scene Just getting the pieces to him could be a chore. But, obviously, it was doable. And he used to extend one boney finger all the time...it was kinda creepy. I think one thing folks that got strike ever really figured on...was how much of a burden and the repercussions to them would be for using it Some of em left...outta guilt or remorse or just feeling hated. It was sad...Strike sometimes cost us more than the one struck."
Samarina:
"When dreamstrike returned to the dream, Gerroz was one who learned that art and went on a spree with it." (He represented) Gathering of the Entranced. He's no longer a member of any house. He's known to have dreamstruck an elder named Kaive, and dreamers named Purple Lace and Clarity, and strongly suspected of having also struck a dreamer named Black Beauty. Clarity was one of the co-rulers of House Calenture at the time. House Calenture had been closed and Clarity and Kage were leading the effort to reopen it. Gathering was at war with them, so there was some reason for striking Clarity. Lace, I think he was jealous, or perhaps angry that she wouldn't teach him any longer, or there's also the theory that he did it to steal her key to the cache. It's said he struck the elder because he was paid to do so. There were two brothers, Knaive and Knash, who hated one another bitterly. Both were nasty specimens, but one of them paid Gerroz to 'strike the other. To be honest, I can't remember which was which at this point."
Patro:
"(Purple Lace was struck) on Evernight... Lace liked to go there. You know where the Caches is on Evernight Plateau? Lace held a key to that one and was part of the Penumbra. That room-- I believe was where it happened. The other was what is now called LadyBugs room.
"Do you understand that Dreamstrike is not a solo act? The art is slow unplatted, and this art was even slower, like the guild house art. Most would not just sit as a soulsphere, and wait on the art. So a striker would have to clock the art for evoke as another fought and floated the target as planned. But a few times a target just happened to float, and they were the new target. But Lace ... was a prime target, as were a few of us. She was Penumbra. She had a key none had. She would cut you to ribbons with her wit and then spit you out. She was nasty, but to me a good friend. Kaer Gerroz was was a ruler, but who was with him... I want to say LoneWolf was one. There was talk that they were all, well, a little under the influence that evening."
Tone:
"Kaer Gerroz. Another of our cities former strikers. There were rumors that he used it on a few dreamers. Badger. He definitely had it and used it. I don't know where fact of what Kaer did starts and rumor ends. I don't know if anyone can tell at this point. I never saw someone use strike. I know badger struck Luthair from the testimony of eyewitnesses. He also struck someone else... Silent Stalker."
Patro:
"After the city saw this art, it soon learned that the art should be lost again for the benefit of all. The art was stripped. I was one that said the art should never have been learned."
Who all learned the art?
Hrrum:
Kaer, Star Scream, SerialKiller, Badger, Elspet, Starfall had it but never used it.
Who all fell victim to Dreamstrike?
"Fang X, Camenae, Clarity, Purple Lace, Knash, Rikku. A ruler of House Calenture and a ruler of Gathering got struck too. A Keepers member and Order member. Hiro got struck by Loveslight.
"Cowled One himself as well. We were testing him every time. Any chance we had and then he spoke out. When he did that we evoked maybe twenty times art of razorwind and slowly collapsed him. There were about 50 dreamers who showed up that night. Jiovanni collapsed him and Serial Killer dreamstruck him in Ossuary of Dread."
To prevent the art from further spreading?
"That and we also hoped that once the servant of Telomir was no more, those with the art would lose it."
Tone:
"Best person to have that art would be a person who would not use it. Sanity was put to the test. Sanity failed. We were shown, even if Illuminate, to be no better than Freesouls in our indescriminate use of absolute power over peoples ability to Dream. With no care to the consequences."
Many years ago fragments of Mirii's writings were delivered from the chaos by dark mares. Little is known of her except that she was a freesoul, and one of the originals from the elite group of Dreamstrike Masters. Her story gives a few details from Dreamstrike's pre-great loss history.
