Codex of Immortal Dreams
Description
A group of talismans enabling its possessor to learn the Art of Dreamstrike. The Codex of Immortal Dreams is divided into 10 parts. Nine talismans (originally one for each House and one more for the FreeSpirit), and a Binder to assemble them. All parts are required in order to recreate the Codex of Immortal Dreams and learn Dreamstrike. The components of the Codex of Immortal Dreams are thought to be sentient and bearing a will to be united again. The Codex of Immortal Dreams and the Art of Dreamstrike are rumored to corrupt the dreamers who come in their possession.
The pieces of the Codex of Immortal Dreams are Artifacts that appear scattered across the City and typically remain in place for up to 7 days. In order to prevent hoarding of the pieces, they will reap back into the fabric of the City if held in one place for too long, and re-emerge elsewhere for someone else to find.
Lyra Era
The parts of the Codex of Immortal Dreams took the appearance of ordinary talismans, each with a unique name recalling the original Dreamstrike Masters. Their function would vary from piece to piece, but all had infinite charges. These artifacts were identifiable as components of the Codex of Immortal Dreams in their description. Some dreamers were able to learn Dreamstrike with fewer than the required 10 components.
Lyra History
Before the Great Loss, Dreamstrike infected the dream until the Council of Elders called an end to it by shattering the knowledge of Dreamstrike into nine pieces: one for each house and one for the Free Spirits, Codex of Immortal Dreams. The Lyran Statx, a mute and a Seeker, appeared occasionally to give hints as to location of the fragments, and an explanation of what they were. The last appearance of Statx has been to Protectors of Radiance in the finding of Kenta's Light. If these pieces are ever reassembled, and the Binder present to bring them together, they will bring with them the power of Dreamstrike. All of the fragments are different talismans: artifacts, alterors, unlimited elements, weapons. Thus far Snowblind is Keeper of the Binder, Order of the Sable Moon holds the Alteror of Aprilic (the Freespirit piece, an unlimited resilience alteror) and Denak; Protectors of Radiance holds Kenta's light, a blind blade; Dreamers of Light holds the Alteror of Kelrith (the Order of the Sable Moon piece) and Jenak. The remaining pieces remain scattered in the chaos, until Statx returns again. Sources: Kard, Luinitari
Also See Dreamstrike Art.
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 Cowled 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 Mindblank 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, 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 Plateau... 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 Prenumbra. 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 indiscriminate 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 Darkmares. 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.
Mirii's writings
Elspet's Story
"The Freesoul Alliance was reformed in those days to punish the Illuminates, primarily Dreamers of Light and Gathering of the Entranced, for their continued harassment and disrespect to all of us Freesouls. House Calenture and the Keeper of Eternal Shadow fought to see who'd learn the art next, one of theirs, or one of ours. A deal was made. Whoever gathered three pieces first, would get the two from Order. Keepers arranged a trade with a houseless dreamer and was first to collect those pieces. So we learned it. They weren't thrilled it was me, but... it was decided by the others. I'm not sure why.
"Pertinax, Synteny, and I were Disciples then, with me as first. They agreed on my learning it, though I'm unsure why, except we worried over Pertinax, his being so young. Conveniently, Pertinax had located the Cowled One's presence the week before, but no one else had. We had him to ourselves, with the primary bulk of the Freesouls going to other planes. No one found us in Albino Caves until it was too late. And so I learned it.
"It was a few days later, or possibly even the night before, that Star Scream joined us. Nobody really knew who learned it, at least nobody outside of the leaders of the Freesouls. A few were convinced Darby had, I do remember that. She even lied on my behalf once or twice. Didn't do much good, not in the end. But very kind, still.
"I hid it reasonably well for awhile, until we were betrayed by Fang X. He emptied our armories, and betrayed secrets of ours to the Gathering, to a woman. He, who we welcomed into our home with open arms. He treated us so. It was determined then that we show that we were not afraid, that we will not ever tolerate traitors to the Shadow. He thought he was safe, when we went up to the Keep.
"I waited with the evoke up, during an attack. Waited until he walked in with others to battle. Waited until he collapsed. And then I used it on him. Him... I don't regret. He was a traitor, a thief, a liar, and worse. He earned his fate.
"The day Lace and the others were 'Struck, I walked Evernight Plateau on the arm of Knave. Foolish, but I didn't think Gerroz would dare use it on me in his presence. I don't think I had any better reason for doing that... than to prove it wouldn't happen. To this day I don't know if his presence kept me safe, or if I would have been safe anyhow. I don't remember if I knew the art then, or not. Time is so blurry now.
"Clarity... was a good woman. Not that the others weren't good people, but she was a Keeper at heart, though she was crested as a Calenturian. She belonged with us.
"Star Scream told you about Avrax? He saved us. Dreamers think so poorly of mares, but look what little Avrax did for us. He begged us to destroy him, once it began taking him over. I tried to forbid Star Scream from doing it, he'd be hurt already so much from using it... But he didn't listen, and he did it before I could. He didn't want me to use it, either.
"Have you seen a soul essence? Does anyone still have them? They have ninety-nine strength. Using corrupt essence on them turns them into something absorb able by primes, but with only one strength, whatever the level of corrupt. I don't recall whose we experimented on."
"Star Scream said that sometimes when Strike fails... it would drain a permanent, single Dreamsoul. I never could repeat that. It didn't matter if I was with other Dreamers, cursed, with soul spheres... I couldn't repeat it. It did improve, but I lost it before I was able to try to train self it to 10. I was very curious if I could."
Clash of Dreams Era
The parts of the Codex of Immortal Dreams all took the appearance of a codex identified as "Immortal Dreams" and bearing a page number in roman numerals, from I to IX. These artifacts all had an identical function, which drained Dreamsoul by -10 to 99. They were differentiated by their description, having different colored runes and auras, and different levels of wear. All had 3 circled binder holes.
When the components of the Codex of Immortal Dreams began re-emerging in the City, The FreeSoul Templar Xun'rok came in possession of the Binder and sought to complete the Codex of Immortal Dreams in order to vanquish the Illuminate Vanguard General Zaxun. The Pages began appearing one by one and were sought after by the Houses, either in hopes of helping Xun'rok complete the Codex, or preventing its completion. Allied Houses would exchange possession of the pages in order to circumvent the Reaping Process.
The Alliance of the Eclipse came in possession of the IXth page and attempted to destroy it in an effort to prevent the Codex's completion. Their attempt did not produce the desired result. While the page was in fact destroyed, its content was not. The blood-red runes inscribed on the page transferred onto the bodies of the 6 Alliance members who took part in the ritual and fed off their Dreamsoul, causing a number of afflictions to the bearers. Over time, some of the runes detached from their bearers and converged onto two of these dreamers before finally being removed and absorbed by the Binder.
Xun'rok was able to complete the Codex of Immortal Dreams and learn the Art of Dreamstrike.
