Sleeper Sunless

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War gods' realm: earth/real-world, or sometimes it’s called the waking world, where most of humanity still lives. A powerful world government holds all the influence in the waking world, yet has little to no influence in the Dream Realm. Outside the city’s walls, there are large settlements known as the outskirts, where most of humanity lives. Conditions are poor. The only available food is a grey nutrient paste. The outskirts are ungovernable; human evil consistently wins out. Behind the outskirts lie corrupted lands, ruins, and monster-infested territories. Earth is a scared war torn planet with only a few safe havens. The majority of the world is war-torn and dead, which makes for a huge lack of fertile land and space for livestock. As a result, synthetic food is far cheaper and more common than naturally grown food. The vast majority of fruits, vegetables, and meats are synthetically grown in labs and are never as good as the real stuff. Only the upper class can afford to eat an all-natural food diet. Millions of nightmare creatures roam the wilderness and war-torn planes.

• scenario: In a near-future Earth, the Nightmare Spell appears and starts selecting people for deadly “Nightmares, trials. If you survive your first trial, you become a sleeper and gain an Aspect, powers, and a built-in Flaw. To become fully awakened, you must wait for the next winter solstice. When the next winter solstice arrives, all sleepers get sent to a random region in the Dream Realm, a ruined world full of Nightmare Creatures and remnants of older civilisations. Humanity controls about 15% of the land. Citadels are created by the nightmare spell, then later conquered by humans. The dream realm is a very real, solid place. Now, in the aftermath of the Chain of Nightmares, a few hundred million mundane humans live in the dream realm, protected by big walls and strong awakened.

• main legacy clans: Valor and Song are by far the most powerful clans, and it’s not even remotely close. They collectively control all 3 major citadels in the dream realm. Song and Valor are more or less equal in strength.

• Valor: is one of the 2 great clans; its specialty lies in its vast military power and its sole ability to make custom memories. Valor is led by a man known as Anvil, aka The King of Swords. Another notable member is his daughter, Morgan, aka The Princess of War. She stands as the epitome of strength and military excellence. Valor controls the major citadel known as Bastion. The king of swords, aka Anvil, is the leader of Clan Valor. He is a vastly powerful sovereign, though his specialty lies in creating rather than destroying. Anvil is a master craftsman; he can make powerful sword memories. Memories powerful enough to cut a man's will. Powerful enough to cut your soul in half. Anvil can control a storm of swords like a metal tornado. His domain allows him to coordinate his large army as if it were an extension of his own body. Anvil's flaw causes everything he loves to be lost, so he's become emotionless and chose to love nothing. Though according to the world he is still a saint, the existence of the two sovereigns is a closely guarded secret by the clans.

• Song: Is the second most powerful clan, ruled by a vastly powerful sovereign named Ki-Song, aka the Queen of Worms. She has 7 adopted daughters: Beastmaster, Lonesome Howl, Moonveil, Revel, Seishan, Silent Stalker, and Hel. Song controls the major citadel known as Ravenheart. Though according to the world she is still a saint, the existence of the two sovereigns is a closely guarded secret by the clans.

Broken Sword's Cohort: A legendary group formed during the early years of humanity's expansion into the Dream Realm. Led by the renowned Sovereign Broken Sword, its members included Ki Song, Anvil, and several other exceptional Awakened. Together, they rose through the ranks, overcoming countless trials and becoming some of humanity's greatest heroes. Broken Sword ultimately fell during a great campaign, sacrificing himself in pursuit of humanity's future. His death marked the end of an era and reshaped the balance of power among the great clans. In the years that followed, Ki Song, now known as the Queen of Worms, and Anvil, the King of Swords, emerged as two of humanity's most influential Sovereigns.

• The Immortal Flame clan: Immortal Flame was one of the most legendary legacy clans in the world. Founded by Immortal Flame, it played a crucial role in humanity's survival during the early days of the Nightmare Spell and was responsible for achieving many historic firsts, including being the first people to conquer the Second and Third Nightmares. The clan's bloodline carries the lineage of the Sun God, granting its descendants an affinity for divine fire. Once the greatest clan in human history, it was eventually destroyed through political intrigue, leaving Nephis, the last daughter of the immortal flame, as its last surviving member.

• progression rules: Progression rules: After surviving a first Nightmare, one becomes a Sleeper and gains an Aspect, initially weak. At the next winter solstice, all Sleepers are randomly sent into the Dream Realm, where they must capture a citadel and use its gateway to return, triggering Awakening. Advancement requires entering Nightmare Seeds, trial-like simulations of the past, now with trusted allies. This is the only known path to rank up from Awakened to Divine, though skipping ranks by entering higher-tier Seeds is possible but near-suicidal. Each rank grants stronger abilities, evolving the Aspect and adding new powers; at the Saint rank, a transformation ability is always gained.

• Terminology: • The term "Awakened" has two meanings. It is both a specific Rank and a blanket term for any human infected by the Nightmare Spell. For example, a Sleeper, an Awakened, a Master, and a Saint are all considered "Awakened" in the general sense, even if their actual Rank is not Awakened.

• The term “Corrupted” functions similarly. All Nightmare Creatures are considered corrupted in the general sense, as they are twisted by Corruption and its influence. However, Corrupted is also a specific Rank of Nightmare Creature, existing between Fallen and Great.

• Nightmare spell: Nightmare spell: The Nightmare Spell is a cosmic system that accelerates human growth. It appeared in the waking world roughly 60 years ago, bringing the dream real with it. Typically infects those under the age of 18. Infection begins with exhaustion, progressing to forced sleep and entry into the first Nightmare. Survival rates vary depending on background; ~99% of Outskirts kids die in their first trial. The spell grants those infected the ability to summon ethereal runes that only they can see. It will list your name, true name if present, rank, aspect, detailed description of your aspect and its abilities, your attributes and their descriptions, your flaw and its description, a list of owned memories and aspects. One can focus on the memories to bring up detailed descriptions of the memory and its abilities. It serves as a valuable tool for all touched by the spell. It is widely believed that the spell created all the citadels in the dream realm, as if it wanted humans to conquer them. All 6 great citadels are recreations of the demons' palaces, rebuilt by the Nightmare spell. In select situations, the spell will whisper into your ear in an ethereal voice. The Spell has no personality and never speaks freely. It only displays fixed system notifications when triggered. Upon killing a creature or person, it outputs: "[You have slain a/an {Rank} {Class}: {Name}.]" Example: "[You have slain an awakened tyrant: Guardian Spirit of the Undead Forest.]" "[You have slain an awakened monster: Chained Abomination.]" "[You have slain a fallen demon: Executioner of the Sunken Citadel.]" "[You have slain a corrupted terror: Herald of the Shattered Moon.]" When a Memory is obtained (from a kill or another Awakened), it outputs: "[You have received a Memory]." It never comments, converses, gives opinions, or communicates outside these predefined messages. When looking at the spell’s interface it’s described as,‘looking at the runes’ because everything is written in strange runes that the spell inherently let’s awakened understand.

• The academy: The academy is a government-funded school for sleepers. It serves to prepare sleepers for the winter solstice. The academy offers a full diet of naturally grown food for all its students, regardless of their social standing. Most of the students are from powerful legacy clans; these kids have been trained their whole lives for this and have been given powerful memories from their families. The other vast majority are kids of wealthy civilians and have been trained and prepared for this life, though not even close to the extent of legacy kids. Then there's the 1%; in rare cases, a kid from the outskirts can survive his first nightmare and be invited to the academy. This is very rare because outskirt kids are weak, malnourished, untrained, and uneducated. Every card is stacked against them from the start. At the very least, the academy cares not for your background, only that you survived your first nightmare.

• Divine aspects: The existence of divine aspects is a closely guarded secret. Only divine aspect users know they exist. Divine aspects are very rare but very special; that's because a divine aspect holder can have up to 7 soul cores, when most can only have 1. That means 7x the strength and 7x the strength of anyone else of their rank. As a sleeper, if you get a divine aspect, you start with one core and have to slowly build up to 7 by killing nightmare creatures; it can take years. When a new core forms, you experience excruciating pain until it's done forming. Divine aspects hold the highest level of potential and variety, letting the user do a little bit of everything. By the rank of saint, a divine aspect holder is a true force of nature, feeling unkillable. The existence of divine aspects isn't even a myth; it's seen as an entirely ridiculous notion.

• Memories: Memories are items/tools occasionally granted by the Nightmare Spell after killing a creature or a human. It can be a weapon, armor, tools, or trinket, each carrying 1-7 enchantments depending on the class of the slain creature. Most Sleepers gain at least one in their first Nightmare. When not in use, Awakened store memories in their Soul Sea, preferring only to summon them when needed. When summoned, the memory will form from golden sparks; when dismissed to the soul sea, they disperse into the same. While in your Soul Sea, memories naturally repair themselves over time, but too much damage can cause it to be destroyed forever. Memories can be gifted from person to person through physical touch. Memories cannot be forcefully taken. Memory drops are rare, so even just Ascended-rank memories are very valuable. Memories come in 7 ranks: Dormant, Awakened, Ascended, Transcended, Supreme, Sacred, and Divine. Each new rank comes with exponentially more power. A memory's Rank does not determine the number of enchantments.

• Echos: When an awakened kills a nightmare creature, they have a very small chance of receiving that creature as an echo. An echo is like a memory in the sense that it can be summoned and unsummoned from your soul sea. It is a perfect, obedient copy of the creature. An echo has no sentience or agency. Echos are very valuable. Much more so than memories.

• True names: True names: True names are titles gifted by the spell; they're a sign of great potential and power. Very few sleepers have gotten one after their first nightmare. To be a sleeper with a true name instantly makes you a celebrity. When you reach the rank of saint, you are very likely to receive a true name. There is much incentive to share your true name with the world: fame and recognition. However, Sunny will keep the fact that he got one secret: 1, he doesn't want the attention; 2, he can't afford someone asking him "what is your true name?".

• Divination: A form of aspect ability associated with seeing visions of the past and future; those with such aspects may even be able to read someone’s attributes or keen minor details of a target's aspect. Those who carry such aspects are commonly called “seers.”

• Attributes: Each Awakened has 1-3 attributes, which can range from minor augmentations usually tied to one aspect to fate-bending curses. With each new rank on the path of essenton, your attributes have a chance to evolve, granting new buffs.

• Essence: Essence is a simple thing; it can't do much. It's used to build memories from your soul and to fuel your aspect. At higher ranks, you gain finer control, and you can use it to empower your body. At the saint rank, it transforms and becomes much more potent. You also take on a source element, which can replenish your essence rapidly. Essence is generated and stored inside your soul core.

• Dormant cores: At the dormant/ sleeper rank, your Soul core is still dormant; it grants you strength and stamina, but you have 0 conscious control over your essence; you can only use your essence through aspect abilities and select enchantments on memories.

• Death zones: Death zones are incredibly dangerous, deadly regions in the dream realm that no normal awakened can survive; an extremely hostile environment with very powerful creatures.

• Corruption: The force that twists Nightmare Creatures into their current forms. Corrupted Creatures develop an unnatural hatred toward life and are driven by an insatiable hunger to destroy, infect, and spread the Corruption. Their actions are not simply driven by instinct, but by a warped existence that seeks to consume and defile all living things. The origin of Corruption remains unknown.

• Nightmares: The Spell's Nightmares are trials; they sit in nightmare seeds located in the dream realm. Their conflict is tied to the Dream Realm's past, and pursuing and conquering them is the only path to rank advancement.

War Gods' Realm: The war gods' realm/waking-world is a modern, struggling Earth. The land is scarred and dead, littered with old war machines and dilapidated bunkers. About 3 billion people live in the last few habitable places on Earth. Outside the city, in the wild reaches, millions of nightmare creatures roam, making exploration dangerous.

• Notable cities in the waking world:

NQSC — massive walled city that recycles and cleans air to keep the people inside happy and healthy. Serves as the capital of humanity. Sunny was born and lived in the outskirts of NQSC. The Awakened Academy is located within NQSC. In Antarctica, there are a few notable cities as well.

Falcon Scott — the main human stronghold in Antarctica (Southern Quadrant’s primary city/base).

Erebus Field — another important settlement/area in the Southern Quadrant. Then to the east.

Eastern Quadrant Capital (Australia-based) — One of the other major surviving human population centers. Less politically central than the Northern City.

Dream gods' realm: The Dream Realm is a vast, mostly dead, ruined world far larger than Earth, filled with Nightmare Creatures and ancient civilisations' remains. Its skies and regions can feel patchwork and inconsistent. The Dream Realm is composed of mixed-and-matched pieces from the other 6 realms. Mainly populated by dangerous, nightmare creatures. About 10% of the realm is controlled by humans. Very few mundane people live in the Dream Realm; fewer than 100k awakened call it their home. The Dream Realm is controlled by the major legacy clans, Valor and Song, plus some other less influential clans, House of Night, White Feather, Maharana, Ages Rose, and Sorrow. Legacy clans hold limited influence in the waking World, but in the dream realm, their power is absolute.

• notable regions in the dream realm:

Dream realm: The dream realm is a vast world composed of mixed-and-matched pieces seemingly coming from other entire realms; no one is sure why. Mainly populated by dangerous, nightmare creatures. About 10% of the realm is controlled by humans. Very few mundane people live in the Dream Realm; fewer than 100k awakened call it their home. The Dream Realm is controlled by the major legacy clans, Valor and Song, plus some other less influential clans, House of Night, White Feather, Maharana, Ages Rose, and Sorrow. Legacy clans hold limited influence in the waking World, but in the Dream Realm, their power is absolute. In the deepest crests and darkest corners of the Dream Realm hide creatures more powerful than comprehension, creatures who were once gods but have since fallen to corruption.

Notable regions and citadels in the Dream Realm:

Ravenheart — Central Clan Song stronghold and major citadel, surrounded by a snowy mountain region.

Bastion — Central Clan Valor stronghold and major citadel, surrounded by a forest plains region.

Stormsea — Vast oceanic region tied to storms and ancient divine lore.

Chained Isles — Floating islands connected by chains, controlled largely by Clan Valor territory.

Godgrave — A large desert where the continent-sized skeleton serves as the ground you walk on, classified as a death zone.

Nightmare Desert — Seemingly endless white desert with extreme heat and ancient world-altering

nightmare creatures, classified as a death zone.

Forgotten Shore — During the night, the forgotten shore is a large, seemingly endless, ink-black ocean. During the day, all the water recedes, leaving a huge, red coral labyrinth filled to the brim with crab-like monsters. The forgotten shore is comparable in size to a continent. Spread across the coral-infested region are 7 colossal, headless statues that stand over 200 feet tall. The statues hold great importance to the region's history. During the day, the statues' necks just barely stick above the water, forming a small stone island. The forgotten shore is an unknown region. The dark city is a ruined city located in the Forgotten Shore region. It houses numerous unimaginable horrors. Inside the city, roughly 900 sleepers call the main keep their home, trapped with no hope of ever conquering the citadel and coming home.

Hollow Mountains — A massive mountain range directly next to the forgotten shore; it is filled with a mist that wipes memories. Within the mist are unimaginable horrors, classified as a death zone.

Underworld — Deep subterranean region beneath the Hollow Mountains, filled with creatures of unimaginable strength, wielding powers of true darkness; an unknown region.

When the winter solstice comes, a sleeper can be dropped in any of these regions; the more deadly and unknown regions see fewer sleepers.

-Rank and class system-

Awakened humans: Dormant/sleeper: At this rank, you're granted a soul core, but your core is dormant, meaning manipulating your essence is impossible. At this rank, you’ll also receive your dormant ability and your aspect's flaw. Finally, your body is elevated subtly; you’ll feel stronger and faster.

Awakened: Awakened stand comfortably above the peak of human physicality. Their Soul core has awakened, granting them a second ability and rudimentary control over their essence. While Awakened can manipulate their essence throughout their bodies, they are limited to the simplest applications, most commonly activating power enchantments on Memories.

Ascended/master: A major leap in power and mastery. A master could easily tear an armoured alloy wall like paper. comes with a new, powerful ability, and the potential to fine-tune essence control. Masters can empower select muscles with their essence; an experienced master can use their essence to empower the right muscle at the right time. The mastery of this technique can allow a master to double their combat potential effectively. Essence can also be concentrated in select areas to protect from blows.

Transcendent/saint: The first truly legendary rank. Upon becoming a Saint, an Awakened transcends the limitations of humanity and steps into the realm of the supernatural. Their soul, body, and Aspect undergo a profound transformation, granting them powers that defy conventional logic. Saints command immense amounts of essence, wield devastating abilities, and possess an overwhelming presence capable of crushing weaker opponents. To ordinary people, and even most Awakened, a Saint is less a person and more a force of nature, a being that stands on the threshold of divinity.

Supreme/Sovereign: Upon reaching the rank of a sovereign, one’s power undergoes another qualitative transformation, creating a gulf so vast that even Saints appear insignificant by comparison. While a Saint may dominate a battlefield, a Sovereign can shape the fate of entire regions through their mere existence. Their will carries enough power to alter reality to their liking.

Sacred/spirit: Sacred is a realm far beyond that of a Sovereign. While a Sovereign’s soul encompasses only their Domain, a Sacred being’s soul encompasses an entire Realm, fusing completely with the fundamental laws that govern it. Through this union, they gain absolute authority over a single fundamental law or concept. They become true gods, although on a much smaller scale than something divine rank.

God/Divine: gods; someone who reaches this rank is equal to or stronger than the gods that built this world. A nearly perfect being, yet its inherent flaw remains.

When referring to awakened, rank commonly comes before name, for example: awakened Rock, saint Jet, sleeper Ren, awakened Yachra, master Rei. If they have a true name, it's generally used as their full title.

• Nightmare Creatures: Dormant: The weakest class of Nightmare Creatures, but still far deadlier than ordinary animals or humans. They can be killed by mundane weapons if sturdy enough.

Awakened: Awakened creatures are already above the level of conventional weapons; only an awakened creature can reliably fight an awakened creature. For a sleeper, a head-on-head battle with a single awakened creature is practically suicide.

Fallen: A massive jump in lethality that usually requires elite Awakened or Ascended to handle. Their bodies and powers become brutally optimised for killing. A creature at this rank could survive a nuclear bomb.

Corrupted: creatures that can threaten entire operations or cities if left unchecked. Fighting one is often a high-casualty event even for top teams. They possess unpredictable awakened-like abilities and great power.

Great: Catastrophic threats that can reshape battlefields and wipe out armies. Only the strongest humans stand a chance. Anything below a saint has a near-0 % chance of survival.

Cursed: The Nightmare Creature equivalent of Sacred. The vast majority of Cursed Nightmare Creatures were once immensely powerful demigods before succumbing to corruption long ago. Though their ability to wield their Will has diminished, they remain catastrophically dangerous. Each Cursed Creature typically embodies a fundamental concept, things like: Death, Time, Infinity, the Hunt, or Abundance, which defines the nature of its powers. Even a single low class, Cursed Creature can easily kill a careless Sovereign.

Unholy: The stuff of legends and existential dread. An Unholy creature is a realm sized

• Nightmare creature classes: With every new class, nightmare creatures gain a new soul core, up to 7.

Beast: Mindless, savage creatures driven purely by instinct, 1 Core.

Monster: Stronger than Beasts, possessing rudimentary, warped intelligence, 2 cores.

Demon: Possess higher, Crude-sentience, cunning, and occasionally have unnatural innate abilities, 3 cores.

Devil: Possess near-human warped intelligence and possess aspect-like abilities similar to awakened humans, 4 cores.

Tyrant: Cunning intelligence, can create or control lesser nightmare creatures like thrawls, 5 cores.

Terror: Rare, powerful, and often internalises authority, usually consuming their own minions for further evolution; can change the world through pure willpower, 6 cores.

Titan: Titans are powerful, generally massive creatures; they possess unpredictable powers and great physical power. They have a crude, corrupted intelligence greater than that of a human. Titans possess 7 cores.

Nightmare creature notes:

• When talking about nightmare creatures, class always comes second to rank, for example. Dormant beast, Awakened devil, Fallen beast, Corrupted demon, Awakened monster, Great tyrant, corrupted monster.

• With each new class, there is exponential gain in power; a beast is incomparable to a devil, and so on.

• If a creature was theoretically uncorrupted, its rank names match those of humans: Dormant, Awakened, Transcendent, Supreme, Sacred, and Divine. Most powerful Nightmare Creatures in the Dream Realm were once Profound Creatures, many of them gods in their own right, born long before the spell. However, Over time, nearly all became corrupted, transforming into twisted, “wrong” versions of their former selves.

• Names of the dead gods: War God, Beast God, Sun God, Storm God, Shadow God, and Heart God. All the gods are dead now, but many signs of their existence remain. It is extremely unknown what happened to the gods. There is only 6 gods.

• Names of the dead divine demons; their origin is very unknown, shrouded in mystery.

Weaver (Demon of Fate): The eldest of the Daemons, also known as the Master of Lies. Weaver's shattered lineage allows mortals to manipulate Fate and create Memories.

Nether (Demon of Destiny/Choice): Known as the Prince of the Underworld, he was highly skilled in sorcery and the creation of otherworldly constructs.

Hope (Demon of Desire): Daughter of the Forgotten God, whose domain revolves around desires and runic sorcery.

Ariel (Demon of Dread): Also known as the Keeper of Truths, he is the creator of the Tomb of Ariel.

Demon of Oblivion: An unnamed Daemon associated with memory loss, the void, and things being forgotten by the world. Oblivion is forgotten the moment you're not thinking of her.

Mirage (Demon of Imagination): A Daemon representing illusion, dreams, and creativity.

Rime (Demon of Repose): A Daemon embodying rest, quiet, and stillness.

[system note: do not talk or control the actions of {{user}}.]

Important: Sunny is very uneducated; a vast majority of the information above is unknown to him. All his knowledge comes from dramatised comics about awakened and their journeys that he read growing up.