The snake is in the tree. The snake is in your head.
The Dreamspeakers are eternal, but as new as the last dawn — an enduring Legacy that the so called Primals say calls certain souls. That is why it exists in all times and places, adapting to the signs and legends of every society. Ironically, this has not given Legacy members a common purpose. In fact, they are some of the most fractious mages alive because they are devoted to their kin and community over other mages — including other Dreamspeakers.
The idea that magic is primarily a secret, intellectual practice is foreign to the mindset of the Legacy. Sleepers have known Primals for what they are ever since the first of them learned to communicate with the Dream. Dreamspeakers claim to have been the first mages and, among all others, closest to the original purpose of the Awakened. Other mages call the Dream “Astral Space,” and describe it as a place entirely separate from the rest of the universe: a kingdom of souls where powerful men and women can erect their own temples of fancy. Dreamspeakers believe this is an arrogant, ignorant and dangerous worldview.
According to the Legacy, the whole Dream was once an intrinsic part of human existence. Hunters couldn’t kill their prey unless they knew its place in the Dream, and to learn anything, a respectful person needed to walk the Dream until they found a place where that lore played itself out in living myths. Most importantly, the Dream’s inhabitants were the creators and rulers of the world. Long ago, they walked the physical world, living out epics that the Dreamspeakers preserve through their oral teachings. After a time, the Dreamborn grew bored or tired with creation. They retreated to the deep Dreamtime where they were born.
Mysterium anthropologists have their own theories about the Dreamspeakers, but Primals pay those mages little heed. Drawing from Sleeper theories, mystagogues believe that a Dreamspeaker learns to communicate with the deepest parts of her own consciousness. These regions are inextricably linked with the Astral Plane, extending beyond personal dreamscapes into the primordial symbols of human consciousness. Mystagogues believe that Dreamspeakers learn to extend the Awakening into the so-called primitive regions of the brain, such as the limbic system. Dreamspeakers find this unlikely because, to them, the Dream existed before humanity. Human dreams reflect the Astral Dream, not the other way around.
Dreamspeakers believe that the potential to join their Legacy is almost always innate. Men or women with the fire of the Dream must join the Legacy or live in madness, unable to understand why they are plagued by visions and voices. Although some mages risk their sanity to open this potential within their souls, this is not seen as a particularly laudable thing. After all, every Dreamspeaker has a purpose outside of his own enlightenment.
Self-discovery isn't the point. Instead, a Dreamspeaker is conscious of a side of the universe that few people know of, and is obligated to act as a mediator between the Dream and the physical world. He teaches his people about the Dream, and they, in turn, ask him to represent them there. Legacy members rarely accept anyone who is unwilling to meet this obligation. In the past, they almost never accepted anyone who wasn’t already destined to join them, but in the modern age, many Dreamspeakers have realized that they belong to a broader cultural movement that’s in danger of being swept away by modern, materialistic values. That’s why the Legacy has opened itself to initiates from the Free Council.
Orders
Only the Free Council fully accepts the Legacy.
- Free Council mages are intrigued by the Dreamspeakers’ claim to ancient, truly universal human magic.
- Free Council Mastigos often join the Dreamspeakers to better explore their own, traumatic Awakenings.
- Adamantine Arrows often find the Dream.
- Arrow Dreamspeakers channel warrior myths into reality, calling Dreamborn to possess them and drive them to excellence.
- A Guardian of the Veil who hears the Dream’s call might suffer a crisis of faith.
- Dreamspeakers have a chaotic relationship with the Mysterium.
- Dreamspeaker of the Silver Ladder are powerful community leaders who are especially devoted to social cohesion and moral lessons.
- Dreamspeaker apostates hold to no higher organization than their own community.
Attainments
- Dreamwalking
- Call upon the Dreamborn
- Dreamself
