It was time for their dream bestowal. Some could say this was one of the most important moments in one’s life, as it has a major impact on one's future.

The initial dream one received was incredibly significant as it had a lasting impact on an individual's future dreams and nightmares. The type of dream received would often dictate the subsequent dreams and nightmares that an individual would get to build a kind of synergy.

Dreams were the magic that moved the world. Basically it could make the impossible possible, and it came with all kinds of skills and abilities.

When the new year came, every child that had completed 10 years old would receive in their sleep mystic power of the most diverse variety and forms.

It was fair in a way, and pretty unfair in another.

It was fair, because it was mostly random. Every kid had 50% chance to get something related to their parents and 50% chance to get something completely different. So it was possible for the kid of a very weak couple to receive the strongest dream of the group as well as the Clan leader’s son to receive a useless dream.

But it was also very unfair.

Depending on what the kid got, their future path was already decided, no matter how much they struggled. Dreams could be trained and improved, but never changed.

Today was a special day for the children of the Clan, including Tomas, Lucien and many others, as they had finally reached the age of ten and were to receive their first power during the first night of the new year. As the sun set and the children retired to their dormitory to sleep, the anticipation and excitement among the adults was palpable.

The children stood in a huddle, their faces aglow with anticipation and excitement. Lucien, his eyes filled with a mixture of wonder and nervousness, glanced around the vast dormitory. A large number of beds were displayed one beside the other, they were simple but comfortable, and the kids quickly started to choose their own.

-Lucien-

As Lucien made his way to the bed of his choice, he couldn't help but feel a sense of awe. The room exuded a grandiose atmosphere, resembling a large meeting hall. The walls, composed of very thick wood, gave a sense of security to the kids.

He settled onto a soft and comfortable cushioned fur, and started to feel his eyelids getting heavy. The room seemed to expand around him, as if it were accommodating his presence. Lucien closed his eyes, his mind filled with thoughts of what awaited him in the realm of dreams.

As sleep gently embraced him, Lucien found himself transported to a realm that resembled the vastness of space, yet carried the essence of his beloved planet, Taknoa. He stood upon a celestial platform, the stars twinkling beneath his feet, and a breathtaking view of the entire planet stretching out before him.

Lucien's heart skipped a beat as a figure materialized before him, taking the form of his mother, Artemis. The being emanated an aura of wisdom and serenity, her eyes shining with a gentle warmth. It was then that Lucien realized that he stood before God, the one who would bestow upon him the power of dreams.

"Welcome, kid," the god spoke, her voice resonating with a melodic tone. "It is as you guess, I am the God of this planet and also the one who guides you and everyone else along the Dream Path."

Lucien's voice trembled with a mixture of awe and excitement as he replied, "Thank you, honored one. I am ready to receive the power of dreams."

The god smiled, her ethereal form radiating a soothing energy. “Not so quickly kiddo, I have to explain some things first before we move on to the interesting part”.

Sitting on an ethereal throne that just manifested, Artemis (God) started talking “So, from this part onwards you will remember our conversation, usually you would only remember the explanation about the dreams or nightmares you receive, but this first one is somewhat special.

Clapping his hands, the God started “So, let's start with the basics: Dreams and nightmares are the name your people gave to the powers I bestow, my child. They are powerful forces granted by me so the whole Taknoa can keep its balance. Dreams are like muscles. They grow stronger with continuous use and practice, and its use consumes stamina. As you harness the power of dreams, you will discover new uses for your powers and unlock your untapped potential."

Lucien listened intently even though he already knew all of that. The god continued, her voice gentle yet filled with authority. "Nightmares, on the other hand, are a similar kind of power but with different costs. Similar to dreams, they are powers bestowed by me, but their use demands something more than stamina, and usually carry some collateral effects beyond your control. Mastering nightmares requires great discipline and self-awareness, so if you get one be extra careful when training alright?"

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Lucien nodded vigorously “So ms. God, can you give me a dream please?” The boy asked using the classic puppy eyes.

“That’s not how it works hehe, but it’s quite hard to get a nightmare so don’t worry too much” The God answered. Then God kept going on with the explanation “Where was I? Ah yes! So, either way, no matter what you get, be it a dream or a nightmare, you will need to get a minimum mastery over your power to move on. When I recognize you got the basics of the power I bestow, we will meet you again in your dreams so I can give you the next dream from your dream path so you can move on. Any questions?”

Without leaving any time or space for Lucien to voice his doubts, God followed on her schedule “Now it’s time to see if you will get a dream related to your parents or not!”

After saying that, she took out a coin “That's the most interesting way! You see this coin here? It may look normal, but I paid a huge price for it, a true random coin!” Full of happiness in his face the God continued toying with her golden coin “It’s so special because not even I, a God, can predict the outcome so it’s completely fair!”

Without delaying it anymore, God tossed the coin up and it instantly turned ethereal, mixing past, present and future and breaking the space and time, the coin suddenly disappeared, only to be found right after in God’s right hand. “Unrelated dreams it is” God spoke looking at the coin.

“Damn I wanted my father's power…” Lucien complained.

Ignoring the boy, God moved on “Now, let’s get to the juicy part”. With a flick of her finger, a modern desk and notebook appeared in front of her throne. God opened the notebook and an excel table of gigantic proportions opened up. “You see this list kid? Every single cell is a different power and they are joined through synergy to build your dream path!”

Lucien was astonished, he looked up to the giant table with ancient runes written all over, ‘I can’t read anything!’ he thought. And God answered “ Of course you can’t, it would be weird if you could, after all it’s all written in divine runes.”

With another flick of her fingers, a small device with a single cavity to house a coin appeared. Right after, God pulled a cable from who knows where and connected the notebook to the strange device. Then, she inserted her special coin inside and the machine started to work.

If Lucien could see at the speed of light, he would notice that the device was flicking the damn coin, an impossible number to measure per second. Just like that, God was generating a completely random binary number to input in her excel table and see the magic notebook do its work.

With a look full of apprehension and expectation, both Lucien and God stared at the table to do its work. Arrows keep going from one cell to the other at amazing speeds to find the dream path Lucien would get. Everything was working fine, and it looked like only a few more seconds were needed, until it crashed.

With dumb look on her face, God looked at the bug report the program was showing. “Just for the record you will not remember this part ok? It seems I messed up at some part of the process…” God kept mumbling about what had gone wrong and the poor boy kept looking at her face dumbfounded.

Two hours later, as Lucien was already bored of waiting in silence, “I see!!! So that's what happened, now it makes sense…” She said, looking back at Lucien. Flicking her finger one more time, the desk and her PC disappeared and she explained “It seems you will have to receive a different dream as your first, and the first dream I calculated for you will be your second and so on due to a problem on my end hehe, my bad” She explained.

A bit anxious Lucien questioned “But won’t this screw my synergy? Putting an unrelated dream as my first one…” But God quickly responded to his doubts “It won’t. I will make sure it won’t, so you will be fine” and then she added “And also, this first dream of yours is quite overpowered in your world, so don’t worry”.

A bit more relaxed, Lucien then questioned about his much desired overpowered first dream “So ms God, can you tell me about my first dream?” With an enchanting smile, God gladly answered “Of course Lucien, that was the last part of our meeting!”

And then she started talking, but contrary to his expectations, the more she talked the uglier Lucien’s face became, until he exploded “How can this be a strong dream?! This is completely useless!” With a mocking smile, God answered his cursing while laughing “Easy there kid, I didn’t want to give you this power any more than you want to receive it, but it is what it is, so no going back now. And also, if you can’t make use of this, then you are not smart enough, and that's on you! hahaha”

Lucien's eyes started tearing up. It was not what he expected. Not at all. He was the smartest, the strongest, the most talented and the most hard working, of course he deserved the best! But this first dream was a cold bucket to his hopes. And that crushed him. At least this first and the next dreams were not related, but what if his next dreams were also not good? For the first time he felt fear, fear for his future.

Standing up, God walked slowly in his direction. Every step made that illusory world tremble like its stability was being affected. When she got close to him, God lowered her head and gave a cute smile looking in his eyes, she raised her arm and … flicked his forehead. At that moment the world started crumbling apart and he was thrown away at an absurd speed in the direction of space. His vision started turning dark and then, he fell to the floor. Just like that, he woke up.

-Dalton-

Tradition dictated that the parents would stay awake throughout the night, waiting for their children to awaken and reveal the powers they had been bestowed.

The leader of the Clan, Dalton, was no exception, as he was the proud father of Tomas and Lucien.

Along with Jason, they waited eagerly for the moment they would find out the path their children's lives would take.

The mixers Clan was known for its diversity, as they didn’t care about who was marrying who and, as a result, they had a wide range of dreamers among their ranks.

Given their ample number of different dreams and nightmares his Clan has already seen and documented, they had a deep understanding of how dreams and nightmares worked, and the adults knew that just a glimpse of a child's first power was enough to gauge their potential and future path.

As the night wore on, the adults found company in each other's presence and in alcohol, making the time pass more quickly as the moon traveled the sky carrying the night along with it.

When the sun finally rose and the adults emerged, bleary-eyed and somewhat inebriated, the children began to pour out of the dormitory, their faces alight with excitement, fear, or disappointment. During their sleep, each child was granted a basic understanding of how to use their powers, but it was up to them to learn and improve upon what they had been given.

Unable to contain his excitement, Dalton rushed into the dormitory, eager to see what powers his sons had been granted.

WHOOSH

With the force of a professional American football player, he pushed aside any children who stood in his way, shouting and laughing with joy "Out of the way, kids! Let me see what my boys got! If I'm lucky, one of them will have my explosions! Haha!" he exclaimed, his eyes shining with pride and excitement for his sons' future.

When Dalton finally caught sight of his sons Tomas and Lucien, he rushed over to them, disregarding anyone in his way, and grabbed them both by their arms.

"God damn it, Dalton! I knew you'd do something like this," cried Jason, his right hand man, "look at the poor kids you trampled over!"

But Dalton was unrepentant, shouting, "I don't care! Nothing matters more than my kids! So now, boys, tell papa what you got!"