-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Letter 5 Date Sent: Mon Dec 11 10:48:27 1995 To: Dreamlands Cc: Moonclaw, Darkstalker Held: Dreamlands Subject: Th' story so far... ========================================================================== Okay, this old and slow-moving plot has been discussed (sometimes very briefly) in various times with Morpheus, Mania, and Mirth (hmm...all M-names!), so here's a summary of what's gone on so far to set the record straight. :) The portal to the Dreamlands from the Tenebrae's Jungle Clearing has been around for... well, as long as any Tenebrae can really remember, though the portal itself has often fluctuated, growing stronger and weaker in cycles. It's never before posed a threat to the Tenebrae -- indeed, they've welcomed it, using it as a place to follow their dream-quests. Until recently. In recent times, especially while Darkstalker (the Sha'cri of the Tenebrae, most attuned to the magical forces of the Tenebrae lands) has been distracted or absent, a number of Dream-beings from Nightmare have managed to make their way in commando-like parties into the portal to Crinos. These Dreams are led by Shade, a dark and twisted Nightmare-being who mimics Moonclaw -- indeed, he's formed from Moonclaw's darker side. Severed from Moonclaw and bound within Nightmare (see the log 'Wolfshade' on Rina's Mush Log WWW page) Shade is *not* happy now that he's managed to extricate himself from his bindings. The Nightmares he's led into Crinos have targetted the Venator specifically -- killing more than a few. (Although some other Verdimm have become victims of the Nightmares, the Venator are the chief targets.) It took Moonclaw a while to figure out the source of this new threat, and when he realized where it originated, he told Darkstalker, who was chagrined at the thought that it had originated within his lands. While the Jungle Clearing is magically warded against threats from the outside, there were no wards to protect from something that originated *inside*... such as the portal to Dream. The Nightmares had never menaced the Tenebrae, but the Venator being allies of his, Darkstalker took matters into his own hands. He made a great working of magic, gathering a tremendous force, and ripped the Dream-portal away. To all appearances he succeeded, and those Nightmares within Crinos were either destroyed in the Working or severely weakened. Doubtless the Venator will finish off those that remain. That's where we are now, IC... But, there's more. It seems that Darkstalker didn't quite succeed as well as he might have -- the Dream-portal was rent from the Tenebrae Jungle Clearing, yes, but what no one realizes yet was that a new portal was quietly opened at the instant of the old one's destruction -- in effect, simply moving the portal. The wards on the Tenebrae lands were sufficient to disallow the Dream-portal to manifest within those lands, but the portal is still within the jungle -- outside of Tenebrae territory. Shade has been temporarily set back, but as he was within Nightmare and not Crinos during the Working, he wasn't harmed. He's not through yet. One consequence of this action is that the Nightmares will now have no qualms about targetting Tenebrae, as well, and will probably seek some sort of revenge. (There was one other consequence of this Working, but that's another TP, not directly involving the Dreamlands.:) ) So, that's it, folks.. for now. :) The log of the Dream-portal's pseudo-destruction will be available on my WWW page soon, and can be emailed too. Of course I'm expecting that someone of power in the Dreamlands might notice what went on, and if the Dreamlands wanted to dispatch someone to 'investigate', that'd be fun. :) \ \ \ \ --------------------------------------------------------------------------