The Oneiroi

Overview

The Oneiroi are conscious beings who inhabit The Empyrean, the realm of dreams and imagination that exists beyond The Veil. Their existence is sustained by human imagination and collective memory. They manifest in reality as Eidolons when summoned through Alteration.

Nature and Origin

The Oneiroi range from fleeting memories that linger briefly in the Empyrean before fading into oblivion, to ancient entities that have existed since time immemorial. Named examples include Horus, Sleeping Beauty, Amaterasu, Peter Pan, and Fafnir. Prior to The Confluence, the Oneiroi organized themselves into distinct pantheons corresponding to human cultural and regional traditions. As human civilization globalized, these pantheons dissolved and the Oneiroi began forming alliances based on the conceptual ideas underlying their identities rather than regional affiliation. This reorganization fundamentally altered the political landscape of the Empyrean.

Role in Human History

During the Great Wandering that followed The Confluence, the Oneiroi contacted scattered human communities from beyond The Veil. They taught the first Alterers through dreams, guiding them from the edge of their subconscious. Through Alteration, the Oneiroi gave humanity a means to combat the Tumult and shape their environment. They also urged the surviving human tribes to unite, setting in motion the Great Migrations that converged on the Asgarthan Peninsula. The founding of Asgartha and the proclamation of The Concord established a formal alliance between humans and the Oneiroi, binding their fates together. Humans depend on the Oneiroi to fight the Tumult, while the Oneiroi depend on human imagination to continue existing.

Impact of the Confluence

The Confluence devastated the Empyrean as severely as it did the physical world. The Oneiroi were isolated and separated from one another. Some had their realms fractured, while others were annihilated or lost entirely. Their power, once extraordinary, diminished significantly as a result of the near-extinction of humanity, since their strength is proportional to the human population that sustains them through imagination and belief.

Manifestation

The Oneiroi can visit humans through dreams and can be temporarily summoned into reality through Alteration, manifesting as Eidolons. It is common for Asgarthans to call upon them for counsel or aid. Preventing an Oneiros from manifesting as an Eidolon is considered equivalent to a slow death, as their nature as manifested ideas requires expression in the world to sustain them.

Tutelary Oneiroi

Certain Oneiroi serve as patrons or guardians of specific regions or communities. The Phoenix blessed Rune when he became the first Kuningas, and its eventual rebirth is central to Bravos prophecy. Jack Frost was appointed tutelary Oneiros of Caer Nilam in 393 AC, chosen for his capacity to sustain the frozen ecosystem after Kuraokami’s release. Other candidates considered for that role included the Snow Queen, Baron Kelvin, and Dong Da Shen.

Imprisonment

The imprisonment of an Oneiros is considered anathema by the Oneiroi collectively. Kuraokami, a primordial dragon embodying the concepts of rain and snow, was imprisoned within the Nilam by Sylas (the Chrysanthemum Cloaked Warlock), who used lost knowledge to sever Kuraokami from the collective unconscious and prevent any manifestation as an Eidolon. The Mirror is another known anomaly that trapped an Oneiros in a similar fashion. The Oneiroi pressured the Asgarthans, under the terms of The Concord, to free Kuraokami upon learning of the imprisonment.

Becoming an Oneiros

Humans can become Oneiroi after death through the power of collective remembrance. When a person’s deeds and memory are sustained by enough people over a sufficient period, the strength of that remembrance can give rise to a new Oneiros in the Empyrean. Aroro became an Oneiros after her sacrifice during the 305 AC tsunami, her story having been passed down for decades until she awakened to consciousness at the base of the lighthouse erected in her honour. Leocardius Sree similarly became an Oneiros after his death in 322 AC, sustained by the mark he left on countless generations through his teaching and scholarship. The philosopher Odran ruun-Aldana theorized that the Empyrean functioned as a realm of the dead, where the deceased continued to exist through the memories of the living until eventually fading into oblivion. Many Bravos actively seek to leave their mark on the world with the explicit goal of persisting beyond death as Eidolons.

Relationships

• Alteration: The practice through which the Oneiroi manifest as Eidolons in reality; also the skill they taught to the first human Alterers
• Aroro: Yzmir Mage who became an Oneiros after her sacrifice during the 305 AC tsunami
• Asgartha: Nation founded through the alliance between humans and the Oneiroi
• Bravos: Faction whose members aspire to become Eidolons through memorable deeds
• Eidolons: The physical manifestations of Oneiroi summoned into reality through Alteration
• Jack Frost: Tutelary Oneiros of Caer Nilam (393 AC)
• Kuraokami: Primordial dragon Oneiros imprisoned within the Nilam by Sylas
• Leocardius Sree: Ordis scholar who became an Oneiros after his death in 322 AC
• Phoenix: Tutelary Oneiros who blessed Rune as the first Kuningas
• The Concord: Alliance binding humans and Oneiroi to mutual aid
• The Confluence: Catastrophic event that devastated the Empyrean and diminished the Oneiroi’s power
• The Empyrean: Realm of dreams and imagination where the Oneiroi reside
• The Veil: Barrier separating the Empyrean from reality
• Wanjiru: Yzmir Oneiros and founder of the Qorgan
• Yzmir: Faction most closely associated with Oneiroi relations and summoning