Dreamwalkers
Dreamwalkers are human - always human. It is impossible for any other than a full blooded human to be a Dreamwalker. Dreamwalkers have the ability to literally walk in other people's dreams and affect the course of the dream to a greater and lesser extent. To understand how a Dreamwalker works, first is required an understanding on how dreams work.
Every person (save for Dreamwalkers) dreams and each person has a greater or lesser control over what they're dreaming. This varies from Dreamer to Dreamer and sometimes from day to day (you ever had one of those dreams where you know that you're dreaming but can't do anything about it? That's the kind of thing we're on about). Some people have no idea that they're dreaming, ever - they're at the bottom of the scale. Most people move up and down the scale on a nightly basis, sometimes having a greater or lesser awareness.. A person can also learn to control their own dreams - this would probably be done through education - reading up on dreams, dream analysis, that kind of thing or by being taught by a Dreamwalker how to control their dreams. By increasing one's awareness of the dreaming world, a person naturally gains a small element of control over their own dreams, but you cannot learn to Dreamwalk this way - Dreamwalking is not something that can be acquired through education. You either are a Dreamwalker, or you're not.
What is a Dreamwalker and what can a Dreamwalker do?
The ability tends to follow bloodlines. They definitely used to be more of them around than there are in the present day. There used to be families who were almost all Dreamwalkers. These days they pop up in family lines only sporadically and some Dreamwalkers are born to families who have no apparent history of it.
DreamWalking ability first appears around puberty. Before this time, there is rarely any sign as to whether or not a child will develop any kind of ability or not.
A Dreamwalker can enter any person's dreams. To enter a person's dreams, a Dreamwalker simply has to have met them. The better a Dreamwalker knows someone, the more likely they are to be able to find their way into their dreams. Emotional and geographical closeness is important to a Dreamwalker.
All Dreamwalkers enter a dream 'blind' - that is when a Dreamwalker first enters a dream, they have no control or say over it. It is the Dreamer's dream, not the Walker's. (So if you are dreaming about a horde of demons slaughtering everything in sight, then the Dreamwalker will be in big trouble). Before a Dreamwalker has any control over the dream, they must find the meaning behind the dream (known as the 'key').
A Dreamwalker's power revolves around the fact that there is meaning behind every dream - and, at any one time, this is a single thing. It is in working out what that single thing is, what the key is which unlocks the dream and allows a Dreamwalker to take control. This key could be anything - it could be an emotion, such as loss, it could be worries about a specific thing at work, it could be a fear of spiders. It could be anything at all, but once the Dreamwalker has figured out the meaning behind the dream, has found the key, they can basically control and manipulate the Dream in any way they see fit. (There are ways round this for the Dreamer as set out below)
However, although a Dreamwalker can manipulate a Dream once he has found the key, he or she is usually limited with what they can do within the dream by the imagination and memories of the Dreamer (the most proficient Dreamwalkers are an exception to this, see below). Therefore a Dreamer with more imagination and memories is more susceptible to manipulation. The Dreamwalker can use this either for or against them. For example, a Dreamwalker who wanted to do harm could bring out a Dreamer's fear of spiders or a memory of being attacked or a nightmare they had as a child, something like that - the worse the experience or whatever, the worse the manipulation, the worse the harm. On the flipside, a Dreamwalker can bring out good as well, soothing a person's dreams by finding a good memory, dealing with a nightmare by creating a defense against it from a person's imagination.
So, how does this dream manipulation thing actually work?
The Dreamwalker must find the key to the dream to gain power. The key is the cornerstone, the thing which makes the dream work. It can be anything - a word, an emotion, a fact, but there will be one single thing which is the reason behind the dream. (note - the key is determined by the player of the Dreamer, not by the player of the Dreamwalker.)
There is no guarantee that the Dreamwalker will always find the key to a Dream.
If and when the Walker discovers the key to the dream, he or she will access the power of the dream and make it theirs.
A Dreamwalker can actually find the key to a dream by accident - they don't have to purposefully think 'this is the key' or even understand why something is the key - it is simply enough that they stumbled across it.
For example, say that the Walker is in a dream where there is a small girl sitting in the middle of a field of flowers. The grass is green, the sky is blue, the birds are singing - you get the picture. The girl is the Dreamer (who is always present somewhere in the dream, though not necessarily in human form). The key could be any number of things - it could be obvious, it may not be. If the Walker knows what the key is (for example, if they have been in this Dreamer's dream before and recognise it, or if they know the Dreamer very well) then they can simply metaphorically reach for the key and the power will be there. If they do not know what the key is, they can guess it simply by running possibilities through their mind - grass, fields, sunshine, springtime, renewal, happiness, flowers, youth, innocence, childhood etc etc. If one of them happens to be the key, the power will be unlocked - it is not necessary for the Walker to know which one was the key.
The Walker doesn't actually have to physically do anything to gain power - it is all done via thoughts, there need be no outward sign. Bear in mind that, whilst the Walker is trying to do this, they may be in a dream which considers them to be a hostile intruder. Though some uncontrolled dreams are benign and safe for the Walker, some most definitely are not! (note - whether a dream is benign or malevolent is up to the player of the Dreamer!)
Once the Walker gains power, the dream is theirs to manipulate. There is a major power shift the moment the Walker discovers the key. Although the dream will not change until the Walker makes it change, the dream is, in fact, the Walker's to command now. A Dreamwalker can take power in a dream, do nothing with it and the dream will run its natural course with the Dreamer knowing nothing different. The only difference in such a case would be that the Walker would no longer be at risk of injury at all in the dream.
However, should the Walker decide that they do wish to make changes to the dream, they have an almost unlimited power to do so. Almost because their power is limited, not by themselves, but by the Dreamer's imagination.
With all the power in the world, they are still, in fact, in the Dreamer's dream and it is the Dreamer's imagination which creates the dream world. Thus, for example, an AK-47, or a flail, or a 1847 claw-footed couch would have no place in the dream of a Dreamer who didn't know what those things were, or have never seen one - even if the Dreamwalker was intimately familiar with them.
Those limitations aside, the dream is the Walker's to control and manipulate. They can change the scene, control the weather, change their own appearance. The normal laws of physics do not apply to them. They can hide themselves from the Dreamer, should they so wish. They can change the direction of the dream, or alter it completely. They can be a force for good, for evil, or neither. They can create nightmares and they can banish them.
What are the downsides?
Firstly, Dreamwalkers do not dream. Ever. If they sleep, unless they know a way to stop it, they DreamWalk. All the time, every night. If they dream, they enter somebody else's Dream. Dreamwalkers with full control can choose whose Dream to enter, those without tend to enter the Dreams of those close to them - either physically or emotionally.
DreamWalking is tiring. Every minute Walking is a minute in which the Walker does not sleep - the energy used up Walking is the same as if the Walker had not gone to sleep.
A Dreamwalker can die in a dream they don't control. The Dreamer can't die in a dream unless it is controlled by a Dreamwalker. It's the Dreamer's dream, controlled by their subconscious and the subconscious of a normal Dreamer will not let the Dreamer be hurt or killed - it would be against its own interests. However a Dreamwalker is an invader and so the subconscious doesn't feel the need to have the safety on when dealing with one.
A Dreamwalker has no power in another's dream at first. When a Dreamwalker is in a dream which they do not control, they are susceptible to injury and even death. Any injury sustained in a dream which the Dreamwalker does not control will be an injury which will still be there when the Walker wakes up.. If a Dreamwalker sustains a mortal wound in a dream and cannot awake, they can and will, for example, bleed to death in their sleep. The only way to ensure his own safety is for the Dreamwalker to find the key and control the Dream.
A Dreamwalker cannot leave a person's dream without waking up. Once in a Dream a Dreamwalker is stuck there, though an experienced Dreamwalker may be able to cross to another Dreamer's Dream. Most Dreamwalkers can't though and are stuck in the Dream until either they awaken or the Dreamer wakes up and ends the Dream.
Although the Dreamwalker can control a dream by finding the key, a Dreamer with a certain amount of control can change the key by changing what the dream is (you ever had one of those dreams where you seem to jerkily move from one scene to another to another). A Dreamwalker then loses control again unless and until they find the new key.
A Dreamwalker is only ever a Dreamwalker. Although they can develop near God-like powers in dreams, in real life, they are only ever normal people. They have no abilities with magic of any description and cannot even cope with witch magic. Awake, they are nigh-on helpless.
Although a Dreamwalker uses the Dreamer's imagination to manipulate dreams this does not in any way mean that they can read minds! A Dreamwalker uses power instinctively and mindreading requires a level of direction to skill. A Dreamwalker's ability works differently - they reach for something and it is either there, or it's not.. They wish to make a change, they decide what the change is and it will happen, unless the Dreamer doesn't have the requisite imagination to make that change, in which case it will fail. A Dreamwalker cannot go rooting around in people's heads for specific pieces of information. Doesn't work that way, sorry.
Generalised Special Abilities and Personality Traits
Somewhere along the line, the brain of the Dreamwalker got screwed. They lost that ability which most people have to gloss over things which they would rather not like to see. They cannot be fooled by their brains. As a result, they see things which most others don't - they see the world the way it really is. Their minds do not filter out the unusual or weird the way a 'normal' person's brain would, which means that they can firstly see ghosts and spirits and secondly that they can see through fae glamours. They cannot, however, see through demon or angel seemings (nobody has ever quite worked out why - the latest theory is that angels and demons work their seemings on a higher Lvl than fae, but honestly? Nobody has dared to bring attention to it and find out - it's just one of those questions you Don't Ask).
The way Dreamwalkers see ghosts and spirits, however, is the same way they would see the next person on the street. Even if a spirit would, to another person, appear as a ghostly visage, to a Dreamwalker they appear solid. If a spirit naturally appears to have wounds etc, then the DreamWalker would see those – but they would appear to be a ‘real’ person with injuries. If a spirit passes a Walker in the street, unless they did something obvious like walk through a streetlight? the Dreamwalker probably wouldn't even notice them, since they're look like just another pedestrian. In no way does this ability mean that a Dreamwalker is constantly shocked by seeing dead people everywhere.
Dreamwalkers do not tend to play well with others. In the world of a Dreamwalker they either have total power, or they have none - it is not a mindset that makes them a naturally good team player..
Levels
Lvl 1 - The Walker has a totally uncontrolled ability to enter dreams. When they fall asleep, they enter other people's dreams - specifically the dreams of the people they are either geographically or emotionally close to, so generally best friends and family members they live with, or their next door neighbours. Often the people they have a crush on or are dating. A Walker at this Level is often exhausted throughout their daily life and finds it hard to maintain any kind of social life, work or proper schooling. Once in a dream, they can only exit it if they or the Dreamer wakes up. It is not easy for the Walker to find the key to a dream at this Level and often they are helpless in someone else's dream - it is not uncommon for a Dreamwalker at this Level to suffer from insomnia for fear of falling asleep and entering dreams. Some Walkers do not live past this Level.
Lvl 2 - The Walker is starting to gain control. They have developed the ability to stop themselves Walking if they meditate and concentrate before falling asleep (something which appears to come as a spontaneous idea, almost inspiration-like to a Walker at a given time). The Walker is also learning how to target people's dreams - though they are far from having 100% success in this - and the Walker can still only exit a dream if either they or the Dreamer wakes up. The Walker now also finds it much easier to find the key to a Dream.
Lvl 3 - The Walker now has total control over when they Walk, and when they sleep. The Walker can fall asleep wherever and whenever. By now, meditation before sleeping should be an ingrained habit. The Walker can also specify whose dream they Walk into. Geographical proximity is less important, though the Walker still finds it easier to Walk into the dreams of those who they are emotionally close to. The Walker can also move at will between the Dreams of two (or more) Dreamers.
Lvl 4 - At this Level, Walkers can bring their own memories into play in another's dream, though it should be noted that there are definite downsides to doing this. Firstly it is highly debilitating. Whereas Walking alone takes up energy equal to simply staying awake, imposing one's own thoughts and memories onto another's dream takes five times this amount of energy - to do this for an entire night would mean that the Walker would wake feeling like they haven't slept for five nights (bearing in mind that once you haven't slept for 72 hours you can be declared legally insane and if you stay awake for this long it is entirely possible the Walker will undergo vivid hallucinations, brain damage and permanent personality change). Secondly, what the Walker can bring into the dream is far from solid or powerful. So, for example, they may be able to project an image, maybe even make it solid, but using it as a weapon would be hard. Also, as the Walker reaches this level, they begin to lose an ability - the Walker now finds it progressively harder and harder to day dream in a normal way - a level 4 Walker cannot seem to let their mind wander the way it used to - if they want to daydream, they have to really concentrate at it, it takes effort. This will get steadily worse as they work towards the next level until the ability is gone completely.
Lvl 5 - The Walker no longer requires being fully asleep to Walk - they can, instead, do this by entering a trance state, almost a form of day dreaming. This is much less exhausting than Walking whilst sleeping. This ability arrives seemingly spontaneously, the Walker having lost the ability to day dream naturally. At this level, when a Walker allows their mind to wander, they will, instead, dreamwalk. Gaining control over this ability takes the same steps as gaining control over normal dreamwalking - save for the fact that as this daydreaming isn't as tiring, there will not be the accompanying exhaustion and also there is no way to switch this off, no meditations to stop it. As a result, a level five dreamwalker needs to develop focusing skills to master their new ability.
What are the risks of Dreamwalking?
Obviously the big one is that a dreamwalker can die in a dream they don’t control! But aside from that, the latest threat to dreamwalkers in dreams are Shroud Eaters. A dreamwalker who enters a dream is trespassing where they don’t belong, according to the Shroud Eaters. They have a 50% chance of encountering one or more Shroud Eaters whenever they go into a dream and if they encounter a Shroud Eater(s) then the shadow being will attempt to kill them. The only way that a dreamwalker can fight back against such an attack is either to leave the dream, or to gain control of the dream, however even if they gain control, they will find that Shroud Eaters are not so easy to kill in dreams as most things are – the dreamwalker will be able to hurt/kill the shroud eater, but their powers will not seem to have the near-god-like effect that they normally do.
If you are the dreamer in whose dream this battle occurs, there are certain things to bear in mind. If the dream is not controlled by the dreamwalker, there is no risk to you. If, however, the dream is controlled by the dreamwalker, you lose the protection of your own dream and you can be hurt or killed by anything that occurs in the dream.
Dreamwalkers and the Dreaming
Dreamwalkers are considered by many fae to be a bug in the system at best and a downright pest at worst. Dreamwalkers don't dream, and so they are of no use to the fae, their existence adds nothing at all to the makeup and existence of the Dreaming. And, what is worse, is that once a dreamwalker takes over someone else's dream, that dream stops being affecting the Dreaming. Many fae consider that dreamwalkers are thieves - foxes in the chicken coop.
Most dreamwalkers don't realise that what they do affects anybody else, or the effect that their abilities have on the dreaming. A dreamwalker is able enter a dream which is being affected or influenced by a fae. They will be able to tell that this is not a 'normal' dream and an experienced dreamwalker who knows about fae will be able to tell that the dream is being influenced by one of the fae. To a dreamwalker, a fae-influenced dream has a certain 'signature' which is apparent once the dreamwalker has learned what to look for.
On the other side of things, a fae will be able to tell the presence of a dreamwalker in a dream they are influencing, even if the dreamwalker has not made any effort to take the dream over. To a fae, a dreamwalker in a dream is like missing letters in a book. Their very presence is jarring to the dream (though the dreamer may not be able to tell the difference).
A fae-influenced dream is much harder for a dreamwalker to take control of, though it is not impossible for them to do so.
Many fae consider coming across a dreamwalker in a dream as an opportunity not to be missed.. A dreamwalker who wanders into a dream being influenced by a fae is at their most vulnerable, and many fae take the opportunity to rain down horrific nightmares on the dreamwalker in the hope that another pest will be removed from the world
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Notes for the Dreamer
A Dreamer can die in a dream controlled by a Dreamwalker. This will depend on the Dreamer and his or her imagination. Basically, if someone has imagination enough to allow them to dream that they have died in a normal dream, then the Dreamwalker can use this to kill them in your dreams. If a person is killed in their dream in this way, they stay dead in the waking world. Just as the Dreamwalker can die also in dreams and stay dead in the waking world.
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