hugtopia | [Video] All that we See or Seem is but a Dream within a Dream

[When the video starts, those who know Regis might notice that his face is a little redder than it usually is. He's also wrapped in what looks his own cloak and a heavy riding cloak, one that a person would expect to see out in the frozen wastes, not in a city like Havenwell. Honestly, he looks a little silly all curled into the cloaks as he is, but since waking up out in the backyard under Peter's silver apple tree, he has yet to shake off the cold. It might be a long process considering he has no idea how long he was out there.

Actually, considering he usually puts off heat like a furnace and still feels this cold, he has an idea and it's one he doesn't like. Cor would have his head if he was still here.]

Those who have been here for a while know that we have been communicated with through dreams before.

[Who could forget the strange warning that came before the break in last October?]

I think it may be happening again. How many people are having dreams with the ghosts who visited us in them? And how many of them are talking to you? Mine had quite a lot to say and in regard to something I have investigated before.

[He takes a moment to fight back a shiver and then quotes what he remembers from the dream, once again grateful for how good his memory is. His hands had been shaking too hard for him to write anything down when he first returned to the house.]

"The world began as thus: it was a rock. He came upon it first, and loved it immediately, this empty rock where nothing lived. He burrowed deep inside and devoured it inch by inch, teeth breaking upon the surface and growing anew. Through Him, over time, the stone became soil. The soil grew fertile through His work, yet all was still naught but rock and soil.

Then the Winged Lord appeared, uncertain of the path He was to walk. He was hungry, so He clawed at the stone to find where His prey crawled."

The natives have just remembered the Winged Lord for some reason, but we still don't know who the first "He" is. Could "He" be trying to contact us in some way in order to keep things in some kind of balance? I am very curious to hear what everyone thinks.

[The video ends here, but once he is done with that Regis sends out two quick texts.]

[Locked to Ardyn:]

Remember when I told you I would inform you if anything weird happened after touching the ghosts? I think I just hit "weird."

[Locked to Honerva:]

By the time you get this, I am certain you will have seen my video post. Would you be willing to work with me on a new investigation if I started one? We have talked before of how strange it is the natives are now remembering the Winged Lord. How far behind do you think his fellow is?

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[Nightmares? Perhaps a different issue, but one that should still be discussed with someone.]

Ardyn heard a similar warning when he was sleepwalking earlier this month, but I heard something in addition. Why?

[Regis falls silent for a moment, caught up in the question, then he seems to realize he is being rude and gives Lunafreya's hand a gentle squeeze before directing her toward the couch.]

Shall we sit? There is no reason to stand here in the doorway.

[Sensing the rhetorical nature of his question, she is silent, left wondering for herself the reason why. Lunafreya finds herself still so ignorant of the intricacies of this world, and can only guess at the answer. She thinks theorizing would be best left to those who have been here the longest.

She gives him a small nod and follows him to the couch, settling herself down and going right back to healing him.]

Your Majesty, in your message, you mentioned the Winged Lord. Please explain this entity to me. Perhaps in doing so, you'll come across some pieces of the puzzle you haven't yet considered.

[Regis nods knowing how right her suggestion is. It is what he used to do when Cor was still here and it is what he will do once he hears back from Honerva and Ardyn, but they have both been here nearly as long as he has. Perhaps while he is explaining things, not only will something click, but she--as someone who has not been here as long--may put the facts together in a completely different way.]

We first learned of the Winged Lord and his fellow god, the Crawling One, a short time after arriving here when we discovered we could read some of the lore in the books we were helping the natives restore. These scraps were short, vague, and from many different sources, so it was only through research and discussion that we were able to link some of them together. The two appear to be this world's creator gods. First, the Crawling One existed alone. He devoured the earth and through him it became fertile, but had no life. Life only came when the Winged Lord appeared and began the strange relationship they have. Some sources say they merely played while others say their relationship was much more like that of a hunter and prey.

When we tried to ask the natives about these "missing gods" as I called them at the time, the natives either had no idea who we were talking about or realized they may have memories tied to them, only to find that part of their memories corrupted and in need of purging.

Oddly enough, just a few months ago, the natives seem to have discovered the Winged Lord again and held a celebration in his honor though none could agree on what exactly he looked like.

[She's done healing him by the time he concludes his explanation. As he suspected, she can't heal away any illness that isn't the Starscourge, but the aches and exhaustion, at least, she can soothe until they're merely an afterthought. Lunafreya holds his hand until he finishes speaking, and then with a warm pat over his palm, she rests it back over his knee.]

Would it not take a powerful sorcerer— or, perhaps, a god— to do such a thing as erase or restore one's memories? To what end, I could not say, but it seems too much a coincidence for the natives to suddenly remember such a being with no other trigger.

They say they suddenly found lore in the Archives about him, but I don't much believe in coincidences either.

[He gives her a warm smile as the healing ends. There is still an unease that rests deep in him, a cold, but until he can find out more about what is going on, he knows that will remain no matter what force is turned against it.]

Considering the robotic nature of the natives' bodies, there is another possibility. More than once theories have been drawn that there is another power that may have control over them. Someone or something beyond the gods. Perhaps something tied to their conversion from flesh to robot. Of course, those theories have not gotten very far because we know so little about the true nature of their existence now.

[Lunafreya takes a moment to mull this over. Being from Eos, of course her mind would immediately turn to Bahamut, the god of all the gods. If there's something at work that is beyond the gods, it could stand to reason that it's simply a more powerful god overruling the work of all the others, like Bahamut would.

But if it's connected to the natives' conversion, then it could perhaps be more spiritual in nature, too, and she nods slowly at his conclusion.]

And I presume this is not something that we could appeal to the four current gods to learn more about?

[Regis thinks on this a moment. Oddly enough, this is not an angle he's thought about before. Perhaps because the gods have seemed so distant even though the barrier protecting them is always there.]

I'm honestly not sure how such a request would turn out. I don't know that anyone has asked to speak to the gods directly. Usually, all communications go through the priests of the temples aside from those who go to pray at the temples. I don't know that any of them have ever gotten a direct answer to their prayers, though.

[He tilts his head as a thought enters it. It has always been the job of the Oracle to communicate with the Astrals. Would Lunafreya be able to connect with the gods here as she would have those back on Eos or would they just ignore her since she is not a chosen Oracle of theirs?

It's a thought, but one he will not give voice to. She is still so new to Havenwell and he doesn't want to put more upon her shoulders than necessary.]

[It's not difficult to follow his line of thinking, and she knows that if or whenever he asks, she wouldn't mind making the attempt. Still, she's doubtful about how well it would work out. As she was born and bred to be the Oracle for Eos' gods, she may not be deemed worthy enough in the eyes of Havenwell's gods, no matter how attuned she is to hearing divine words.]

Perhaps speaking with the gods in this world is a greater feat of magic than it was in Eos, Your Majesty. It could require an opportune moment or place, or a powerful catalyst or medium, instead of only just the right person.

[Even she, with all her powers as Oracle, needed her Trident. Needed to take pilgrimages to the seats of the Astrals' power in order to directly strike a covenant with them.]

Perhaps.

[Regis frowns slightly, considering her words for a few more moments before shaking his head.]

The gods have grown stronger since we arrived, though. It may be time to speak to the priests about the possibility again. We had an outsider who was something of an ambassador between us and the natives for a while, but they have been gone for some time.

[He and Honerva have talked about someone needing to take that position again. This seems like another good reason to start looking into it again.]

[Video] All that we See or Seem is but a Dream within a Dream

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