The Art of Dreaming

[Sonnie Wu]

Like Kramer entering Jerry's apartment, Sonnie Wu came bursting into the Autumn Hollow! "WHOA! Hold up! Am I late?" The Monkey looked around excitedly, her messenger bag and a pillow in her arms and...

... she was dressed in a set of monkey-themed pajamas! Because of course she was. The consisted of a green cami top and shorty bottoms and were decorated with monkeys and bananas and were way too cute! Wait, had she come all the way here dressed like that?

"I'm here, Sifu! Dream Cadet Sonja is ready for class!" Running up to Rhodes, she brought herself to attention and saluted the Ashen King (once she had a hand free by transferring her bag to her tail).

"Hi Sera!" She grinned and waved to her BFF! "And hidey-ho, fellow dream journeyers!" The Beast waved at everyone else just as energetically. Did this girl even sleep?

[Rhodes]

7 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2020-04-27 17:04:22	Rhodes rolls 8 to Spot Lies: Wits+Subterfuge+spec (10 Again)	7, 8, 5, 5, 10, 9, 6, 10, 10, 4, 10, 9	7 successes

This is becoming a habit. We may have to discuss this, dear Anatole.

The Dread Lord looks around the group, eyes lingering on Anatole just enough to be unsettling. "Yes... I thought some of you might," he says with a nod. "Oneiromachy, or "Dream-fighting", for those less familiar, is a specific branch of Oneiromancy that employs similar techniques to ejects other Oneiromancers from the Dream - Rival changelings, usually. The Gentry can walk the Skein far easier than we can, and I would offer the same advice when encountering one as I would in the real world."

He pauses for effect, his words quiet and haunting in the silence.

"Run."

Looking around the rood, he follows to John, and Yami. "Poison, yes.... Well, it depends on the source, but let's not get ahead of ourselves." Eyes hover on Sera for a moment, before Sonnie bursts in. "Ah, Sonnie. I was wondering if you would join us. Close the door, please, before you sit. I was just seeing what experience people have, but I know at least a little of yours and Lady Seraphina's."

He leans against a banister so he can see everyone. There is a serious look on his face. "Lately there has bee a lot of upset in the local dreamscape - a result, I theorise, from the break in the chain of the Courtly cycle and having no Winter Monarch. I decided to teach this class again to ensure those that do venture into the dreams are at least forewarned, and those that seek to train can learn to be forearmed."

He pauses, more for effect than anything.

"So we are all on the same page, some basics. Travelling into dreams is a gift all changeling possess but not one all develop. First, you must be within the Hedge," he waves an am around, "and since that would be most dangerous a Hollow is obviously safest. Second, you must be in close proximity to the Dreamer to enter their dream, usually a room. There is a specific kind of pledge that allows you to enter the dreams of the oath-bound wherever you are. I can discuss the particulars of such later should any of you wish."

The Dread Lord rises, gesturing for everyone to lay down. "Most of dream manipulation involves recognising the key parts of the dream, understanding them, and willing to change them. You must empathise with the subject, before you can learn about them. Since you are all going to enter my dream, I would ask," he stresses the word carefully, "That you do not see this time in my subconscious as some gratuitous opportunity. This is my mind. And consequences of abusing hospitality therein will be dire." The smile he offers projects no warmth.

Did he like hearing himself talk? He was a Fairest, after all. Part teacher, part showman.... all Autumn.

"This part will be the most time consuming - going to sleep. Please make yourselves comfortable. Once you fall asleep, move from your own dream to my own.... and we shall begin."

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2020-04-27 17:40:42	Rhodes rolls 5 to Sleeping: Wits+Composure (10 Again)	1, 7, 7, 5, 9	1 success

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2020-04-27 17:40:59	Rhodes rolls 5 to Sleeping: Wits+Composure (10 Again)	5, 1, 7, 8, 5	1 success

People need to roll Wits+Composure to fall asleep, and it's Wits+Empathy+Wyrd to open a Dream Gate into Rhodes' dream!

If you narrate your own dreams, and then leaving them I'll do the next post in the Dream!

[Anatole]

Anatole sets himself to sleep.

Slowly. It turns out to be a struggle. He switches from the wall to the floor. Rolls around. Eventually he ends up sleeping up the wall again, this time head down and boots up. His broiling beard falls over his face.

The dwarf falls into one of his 'stock dreams'. This one might be described as 'Dragon Hoard in Abandoned Dwarf Hold' and while Anatole would usually spend an entire night endless amusing himself amid the great piles of coins, metal bars, and scintillating gems, on this occasion he goes in search of a suitable Door.

He finds a passable doorway - and carves some extra runes to help punch through into another Dream. The carving is only the first part of his rite: he finds some gold and silver; powers up a long silent forge, melts the metal and pours it into his carvings to give the Door extra potency.

When he is done, he simply rolls the stone door aside and steps into Rhodes' dream.

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2020-04-28 06:23:53		Anatole to Gate rolls 6 to Wits + Empathy - 1 unskilled + Wyrd (10 Again, WillPower)		10, 4, 8, 5, 6, 5, 1		2 successes
2020-04-28 06:22:08		Anatole settles for sleep rolls 4 to Wits + Composure (10 Again)		2, 6, 9, 3		1 success

[James Turner]

In the hedge or Hollow, check. Near dreamer, check. Don’t play around in the Dread Lords subconscious, check. Sleep? That was the hard part. He sighed and laid down, flipping over so he was on his stomach, head resting on the pillow as he closed his eyes and focused. Breath in, breath out, repeat until the blackness turned and shifted.

His world turned and shifted, color being sapped from the world as his consciousness faded and he entered the world of dreams. It was a brisk spring day, perfect weather for a light jacket, the sun shining brightly as he sat out on the hill overlooking the city. The bench at the top of the hill had the perfect view into the bay city, the ocean visible in the distance.

If you listened closely you could hear the crashing of waves, all the other noises of the city were entirely absent. No traffic and everyone’s voices came out as a slow murmur. He sat there and smiled, reaching over to scratch the dog that sat next to him behind the ears.

He wanted to stay here, to stay and enjoy this moment. This brief moment of peace he found himself in but he knew it was a dream, knew it wouldn’t last and that there was work to do. He frowned and stood turning to walk behind the bench, closing his eyes and focusing on the Dread Lord. His desire for knowledge, that bright burning ball of love and then when he opened his eyes there was a plain brown door in front of him, a maple leaf imprinted on the knob.

He sighed and reached forward to the door in the middle of space and opened it, walking from his dream to Rhodes, taking just one moment to look behind him. He wanted to remember that view if he could.

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2020-04-28 07:09:00	Sleeping rolls 6 to Wits + Composure (10 Again)	7, 6, 6, 10, 5, 4, 7	1 success

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2020-04-28 07:09:58	Dream Gate rolls 8 to Wits + Empathy + Wyrd (10 Again)	5, 8, 1, 8, 1, 7, 7, 4	2 successes

[Yamiyo Lillich]

Watching Sonnie arrive, mainly just giving her a look, a gentle wave and then taking in the words of Rhodes, her eyes nearly closing before he is even done talking. She had pushed herself awake for this moment knowing she would need to sleep, barely is he done talking before her eyes are quickly closed and sleep is not long from there, perhaps a lit bit to quickly.

Falling asleep, 3 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2020-04-28 16:00:55	Yamiyo Lillich rolls 5 to Falling asleep wits+comp (10 Again)	7, 10, 2, 10, 10, 7, 1, 3	3 successes

Finding herself in a vast library, a place her dreams often brought her to at least on kind nights, feeling like Belle for a moment dancing around for a brief second before walking over to the newest section of books, each one named after the fellow Lost she had recently met in the freehold, picking up the one belonging to Rhodes in hopes of using it as a gateway to connect with him perhaps she were a bit to quick though, perhaps she were the only one in the dreams for the time being or perhaps her skills were just not that great whatever the case so would she not find her way anywhere in the book instead only finding images of memories from him and her feelings connected to them.

entering Rhodes dreams

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2020-04-28 16:05:45	Yamiyo Lillich rolls 5 to Entering Rhodes dreams wit+emp+wyrd (10 Again)	4, 2, 5, 2, 4	failure

[Seraphina]

As Sonnie entered, Sera waved with a big smile to her. And motions for her to sit beside her, a gloved hand patting the ground. “Hey you!”

See, Sera wanted to fight, to prove she could defend herself. But, she’d learned. A lot. From Rhodes and their experiences. Running was a solid plan most of the time. Hard to admit, but it was.

Maybe when she improved her Dream Fighting skills it would be different.

Catching the hovering look, she doesn’t say anything. Only slightly shrugging. She wasn’t an expert yet on it, it was a little way off for her and her studies. But if asked, she’d share what she knew.

A little smirk appears on her lips as she watches him, in his element. Looking handsome the whole time.

Time consuming? Not really. At least, not for her, a perk of her Entitlement.

Moving the pillow under her head, she gets as comfortable as possible on the floor. And before anyone knew it, she was in a deep sleep, seemingly without effort.

And found herself standing on her beach, the waves lazily rolling against the white sand. The forest to her back had slowly been coming alive each day, the darkness being erased. New trees and flowers taking over, spreading into a field. Which still held cages, broken ones, ones on impossibly tall marble pillars, each reminiscent of memories she could never escape.

But, she had places to be, and she looks across the ocean, its colors matching her eyes. Reaching out with the best tool she had, her heart, she searches. And while it wasn’t as quick as it usually was, she saw it. Out on the ocean, the red flowers growing around it, and she walks across the water, opening the door.

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2020-04-28 16:47:34	Sera rolls 8 to Dream Door (Wits+Wyrd+Emp) (10 Again)	1, 7, 5, 2, 7, 8, 1, 3	1 success

[Sonnie Wu]

With a squeal of delight, Sonnie bounced over to sit beside Seraphina. Oh yes, she closed the door with her tail before moving!

Setting her bag aside, the Monkey fluffed her pillow and made herself comfortable. She'd been through this part before, in Rhodes' previous class, so she had no questions as of yet. Instead, she just listened to the Ashen King ramble on as he was wont to do, and she... mostly... paid attention. There may have been a few moments where Sonnie was distracted by the autumn leaves overhead, but hey, she didn't miss anything important! Right?

It came time to drift away to dreamland, and Sonnie took out her phone. She set some soft, meditative music to play and closed her eyes.

4 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2020-04-28 17:23:40	Sonnie Wu rolls 10 to Meditation Wits + Comp + Wyrd + Equipment (10 Again)	4, 8, 4, 8, 3, 1, 2, 8, 10, 6, 1	4 successes

She drifted off pretty quickly. Apparently the Monkey does sleep.

In the dream realm, Sonnie found herself... in the middle of a kung fu street fight. The city around her was some amalgamation of the Bronx and Hong Kong. Various multicultural gang members in bright 1980s style 'criminal outfits' you'd only see in the movies, were busy kicking and punching each other. A few wielded baseball bats and switchblades.

The Beast, finding herself dressed in ratty jeans and a white tee shirt with Mrs. Donkey Kong on the front, looked about. "Ohh, right, this was my dream from last night." She sighed and shrugged to herself, "This is what happens when I binge too many Jackie Chan movies before bed."

Some of the gang members took notice of her presence. "Get her!" one yelled, all tough-like! The dream actors started to converge, brandishing their weaponry, which is what they were supposed to do. Then, Sonnie would fight them in spectacular fashion, just like an action hero! Except, she didn't have time for that right now. She had a dream gate to locate.

What resulted was the Steepscrambler running around the imaginary streets, checking door after door, all while dodging and blocking numerous melee attacks. As was typical for '80s movie gangbangers, nobody had an actual gun. She'd throw a distracted kick or two back, to keep them off of her as she searched. This was her dream after all. She wasn't in any actual danger. It was all just fun and games!

Finally, the fire door on the side of an old movie theater proved to be the proper portal! And in she went!

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2020-04-28 17:25:52	Sonnie Wu rolls 7 to Dream Gate: Wits + Empathy + Wyrd (10 Again)	6, 7, 2, 7, 7, 8, 2	1 success

[Rhodes]

Light seems to fill the portals.

As the changelings enter thought their doors, one by one, their vision clears. Natural sunlight is bouncing right to the door, creating the aurora, but once the changeling move clear they are in a huge library (think the animated Disney's Beauty and the Beast). Polished wooden panels and red leather are everywhere and the shelves of books tower several floor stories above the deep red-carpeted floor beneath.

The floor is several dozen square feed of open space, with leather furniture to one side and dark oaken desks towards the other. A pair of sweeping staircases rise up away from the door to the first floor. It's clear that some of the ideas from this dream became the Autumn Hallow, minus the glade and giant central tree.

Rhodes stands in robes of resplendent autumn colours - Yellows, Reds, Browns and Golds - in an overlapping leaf pattern from his shoulders right down to the ground. Here, his wrists, ankles and temples are in full bloom with vibrant leaves and the usual bright red flowers, unpruned and free. It is the same dream Sera and Sonnie saw before - the Library of the Autumn King.

"Welcome, everyone," he says with a smile once everyone has arrived into the dream.

"Please, sit. First, remember that we do not have to become visible in the dreams of mortals - we can pass through them unseen, as wraiths, bringing about the changes we can. Fighting in the Dream, however, will always reveal you to the dreamer. Withint he Dream, we can engage in may activities, but the primary tool is the same - Empathise with the dreamer. Interpret what is around you, for they are insight into the dream. Intuition and understanding are key - as is strength of connection to the Wyrd. In plucking the strings of the dream, one can see what manner of dream they are in - nightmare, memory, recurring, or a wishful dream; gain insight into the individual they are occupying the dream of; convince the dreamer of something over time, sooth a psychological condition, or search for the poison of dreams from the Gentry and Loyalists."

The Dread Lord pauses, smiling. "Some of these skills are opposed by the strength of the dream - the Intensity. So I thought we might start small, I can guage your ability based on your experience. I would like you all to reach into the dream. Shape it - make a small change to the environment - and tell me what manner of dream this is. A wish, or a memory."

This is Analyzing the Dream from the Oneiromancy Primer. The intensity is 2, so anyone attempting to alter the dream-library can roll Wits+Empathy+Wyrd-2!

[Anatole]

Anatole can only stop and stare.

"Impressive," he says at last.

He muscles his way forward so he can take the first seat.

He changes the colour of the chair's varnish to a darker hue - which was about the limit of his powers, truth be told.

"Never could read people..." A bare faced lie: before the Durance he had been a master of manipulation. Decades of toil before the forge had burn it all out of him.

"... So my guess this is a memory. You mastered your Fear of your Durance first and turned it into your strength."

And Anatole really might be spit balling. I stuffed up the roll.

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2020-04-30 05:50:48		Anatole is perceptive rolls 2 to Wits + Empathy - 1 unskilled - 2 Intensity (10 Again, WillPower)		9, 4		1 success

I missed my Wyrd score. However, I think the result is pretty much the same because his Wyrd would have cancelled out the Intensity penalty and it would have still been left as a Chance Die without the added WP.

Not sure if I needed two rolls for the Analysis - one to effect change in the dream; one to analyse. So if a second roll is needed, lets say Anatole is spit balling and trying to hide his... inability Xadun Saber Sloth

[Rhodes]

Gah - I knew I forgot something.

First, the Roll is all one - it allows the user to sense the kind of dream. Sorry YYC - that one's on me.

Second:

If you succeed the roll, the answer is in here

The Dream is a Wish. Rhodes has never been in a place like this, and those that successfully shape a part of the dream can feel hints of longing, desire and imagination from Rhodes that make up the dream around them.

YYC - since you got the roll, Anatole realised this was a Wish dream also, and we'll treat it as such. Apologies again.