The Void and The Dream
In the beginning there was the Void. She was all there was and all she was was nothing, until the day she began to Dream. At first, the Dream merely existed as an ephemeral concept of what the Void was not. It was soft and bright, filled with substance. The Void loved the Dream and as they defined each other through their newly shared existence, they began to imagine all else that might be.
From the Dream sprang forth the idea of Beings, things that could further define the Dream and expand its possibilities. The first of these beings were the fey. Like the Dream, fey could conceive of things which did not exist and will them to be. Wise fey imagined illusions and then willed them into permanence, creating tiny realms like islands floating in the Dream. Some fey imagined darker things, creating the first pockets of Nightmare.
As the fey became settled in their own realms and contests, the Dream ceased to grow, a fact which displeased the Void and the Dream both. The Dream existed so that the Void might understand what existence could be and it was clear that there was much yet unimagined. The Dream visited a kindly fey named Titania, Fey Lord of Joy, whose pocket realm was filled with baubles and toys. The Dream blessed Titania with the idea of elves.
Elves were like the fey but they lacked the ability to create realms of imagination. Their limitations pushed them away from Titania’s embrace, sending them across Dream and Void into the pocket realms of the other fey. As they journeyed, the elves saw the many Aspects of the fey and learned that while they could not will something to be, they could craft the various elements they saw into new shapes and forms. Through elven craftsmanship the first City was built, and around this City grew a great Forest.
As the fey became aware of the elves’ endeavors, they marveled and their imaginations were spurred anew, and so The Dream began to expand once again, birthing new beings. Humans and machina filled the City, creating Industry and Commerce. Beastlings spread across the Forest, making homes in trees and caverns.
This is the world in which you find yourself. The Dream is still young, it’s boundaries still growing. While most beings live within the City or the Forest, many fey realms, known as Aspects, float just beyond the edges of what is. Daring delvers push beyond the boundaries of their homes, traversing the shapeless Dream and empty Void in the hopes of discovering the hidden realms and expanding existence even farther.
Some beings dream of Fire to light the forges of Industry and spur new acts of creation. Some carry dark conflict into the Dream, drawing Nightmare to themselves or becoming the nightmares of others.
Go forth! Reality itself is yours to imagine!
