Mind Realm, aka the “Dreamscape”

An unknown amount of time later…

The world was ethereal and pink all around him. It shimmered and warped, and for a moment. He was confused. He’d been speaking with a goddess and didn’t even catch her name. Or had it known it already and simply forgotten it? What had he just been thinking about? He was aware of things being scrubbed free of his consciousness. He was a he, wasn’t he? That much felt certain, at least…

Now he found himself in some kind of psychedelic landscape where the rules boiled down to “anything goes.”

A System prompt appeared in front of him on fiery translucent scroll.

System Info: You have arrived at the Dreamscape. One of the 4 primary planes of reality. In the dreamscape, soul shards merge and form new souls on their journey back to the light plane, the domain of life. The recombination period can take as long as needed while you establish just what exactly you want to be.

“Dreamscape, huh? So I’m… what? A ghost? A soul? What am I? What do I want to be?”

What followed the prompt was a short tutorial of the Dreamscapes systems and rules. He found his health bar. He saw a blank space where his namesake was, so he selected it and filled it in with Akamori Shinjo. He liked Akamori how it sounded. Next, he forged his body with a wild mane of red hair. He noticed he could inspect himself and pulled his character sheet up. Giving it a quick glance. Attributes ranked from 1 to 5, and the System explained that 1 being the weakest and 5 being peak human strength tier.

It explained that once he reached maturity, these stats would represent his physical, mental, and spiritual capabilities. Now that he had a name, he took a moment to think over his stats, then began allocating his points. Once he finished, he enlarged his stat sheet and took a step back to appraise it.

He was leaning for a balance between martial and magical skill. He just hoped this setup would be the correct path for that. The realm offered him a choice in how his casting would manifest, which gave him both mechanical and flavor options. Did he want to be a smart, cold, calculating warrior? Or did he want to present himself as someone more artistic and vain? Or maybe someone who relied on instinct and intuition for their casting?

In the end, he settled on selecting intuition. That suited his preference and his personality. He had good instincts, and didn’t want to not play to that strength. After a few minutes of deliberation, he found himself settled on something he felt comfortable enough with.

***

Character Information

Name: Akamori Shinjo

Race: Gold Seal Enchanted Human

Class: Zero

Life Path: Zero

Hit Point: 5

Aetherpool: 5

Initiative: 0

Attributes

Agility:3

Fortitude:3

Strength:4

Intelligence:2

Intuition:4

Will:3

Appearance:2

Charisma:2

Defenses

Fortify:1

Resolve:1

Dodge:1

Armor:0

Resistance ():

Skills

Melee, Rank: 3, Mastery: Yes, +7 bonus

Spellcasting, Rank: 3, Mastery: Yes, +7 bonus

Perception, Rank: 2, Mastery: No, +6 bonus

Athletics, Rank: 3, Mastery: No, +6 bonus

Infusions

Magic Expression: Intuition

Magic Infusion: None

Aspect: None

Attacks/Combat Spells:

None. You need a Magical Infusion to channel spells.

Abilities/Spells

Perks & Flaws

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

P is for Phobia – Jonah Complex: Fear of fate/destiny

“Show me that again?”– You are the opposite of a savant.

*Superhuman Strength Seal - Seals certain spells, abilities, and attributes. One of the three gold seals of the All Mother.

Aetherically well endowed- +1 Aetherpool

Not buying your bullshit - +1 Will

Miracles & Spells

??? - ???

***

He dismissed the scroll, closing down his stats so he could clearly focus, he noticed a swirl that looked like the beginnings of a portal. The surface of the portal looked like a whirlpool on the surface of a mirror. He watched as colors swirled together and blended together. It had a mesmerizing feel to it.

As he approached it, he peered at the object curiously. What was it? Some kind of doorway? Or perhaps an exit? What lay on the other side he wondered?

“If you want to know what’s on the other side, why not step through?” A voice asked.

Spinning, he saw a small ethereal dragon hatchling flying before him. Even in the distorted pinkish hues of this realm, he could see it was a dark dragon. Roiling void energy radiated freely from it. It did not hide its essence from him. This evoked a sense of wonder and curiosity in him. His perception didn’t pull anything useful to work with.

Unknown.

Divinty: ???

Challenge: ???

“I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to?”

The small creature rumbled a purring chuckle. “There is nothing you are supposed to do. This is a realm of possibility. You are nearly ready to depart it. But before you go, a bit of advice. Your life will be challenge after challenge. You will stumble, and you will fail. When you do, when all seems lost and hopeless, look at the darkness that lives deep within you. It will show the way. Though I fear these words will fade from your mind when you awake in your mortal shell. Struggle. Fight. Always rise.”

Look at the darkness that lives within you? Well, that wasn’t ominous at all. Akamori gave the dragon a polite bow. It blew away into motes of aether as he turned to face the portal again. Reaching out a shimmering translucent arm into the portal, it felt warm, like a hot bath. Resolving himself, he took a deep breath and pressed through. His vision went blinding white.

“Akamori?”

He opened his eyes slowly, as a soft voice said his name again.

“Akamori? Are you awake? Maybe we should get back.”

“Uh, yeah. Sorry. I must have dozed off.”

Kusinaki frowned at him. “You’ve been acting spaced out lately. Is everything ok? Is it the dreams again?”

He sat up and turned, focusing on where the voice was coming from. His perception skill worked its magic. He took a moment to study the information and filed it away for later.

Kusinaki Koshiyoto the Artificer

Divinity: Mortal, Magic Rating 2

Challenge: 2

Kusinaki regarded him for a moment with a curious expression. The look someone gave when they were worried someone wasn’t well.

“What’s wrong Akamori?”

Akamori shook his head, his wild mane of crimson hair spilling out over his shoulders and back with each turn of his chin. “Nothing, I guess my mind was just somewhere else.”

Kusinaki nodded with a soft smile. Relief played across the young artificer’s features. “Yeah, I can’t imagine having the spirit walk coming up soon is sitting lightly on your shoulders.”

The spirit walk? He slapped himself in the forehead for forgetting

“You forgot, didn’t you? Only you could manage that. Still, I heard Amara was the new priestess in training. She’ll handle your walk as the guide. Might be a good idea to chat with her about what to expect.”

A memory floated up of his father explaining tactical wisdoms. His father had spent a great deal of time emphasizing his ability to lead and fight. A set of traits that felt odd for what amounted to a group of backwoods air mages. What could happen to them this far away from the flights?

“It’s getting late Akamori and you look like you need some rest. Maybe we should get back?”

“Alright, don’t want to be out too late that the Manka cats eye us up for dinner.”

Kusinaki’s expression soured. “Ha ha. Hilarious.”

“I wasn’t joking,” Akamori said blankly.

“We really need to work on your sense of humor.”

“Really? I thought it balanced out nicely against my handsome good looks.”

Kusinaki groaned, running a hand down his face.

The two young men got up from their patch of wild grass and started back towards the soft orange glow of the village in the night. The moon began its slow rise from behind the nearby mountain ridge, casting a soft white glow across the land. The stars sparkled in the dark sky above. The cosmos stretched out before them for all to see. Teasing Akamori with the promise of adventures just beyond reach.

As the two crossed a stream, Akamori studied a fish that swam in the current. He felt rather like it looked. Trapped within the natural cage of its life. Only able to swim up or downstream, but never free to leave the confines of the water. For him, the village was his stream. He could move wherever he wanted within it, but he felt trapped within its borders here in this world.

Another look skyward, and he sighed softly. His heart longed to be up in the stars. To travel the galaxy. Somehow, deep down, he knew that was truly where he belonged. To see what the universe offered. There was a whole other life out there waiting for him.

He didn’t want to be pinned down as a village chieftain. That life felt stagnant, and entropic. He yearned to leave, to be free. But perhaps he was just being rebellious? Maybe he should give this spirit walk stuff a chance. With great reluctance, he pressed on. Resolving to himself that he would abide by his father’s wishes, for the time being, at least. After all, it wasn’t an irreparable choice.

He threw on his large blue robe and straw hat. As the cool of evening air settled in, the robe kept him warm. Kusinaki stood, patting down his pants, and smiled. Kusinaki pointed out his sketchbook laying in the compressed tall grass.

“Don’t forget that. You’ll be manic without it if the mood hits.”

With a sigh, Akamori bent down to pick it up, admiring the charcoal drawings inside. Kusinaki leaned over his shoulder and nodded approvingly. “You know, could easily become an artist.”

Akamori shot his friend a flat look. “When is the last time you heard of an artist farming village chief?”

“I haven’t. You’d be the first.”

“Exactly. I don’t want to spend my whole life here. This place is suffocating me. It’s not that I want to leave. I need to leave.”

He turned from the stream back to the starlit sky. Bands of purple and blue brought depth to the night sky of Honshu. He’d always fancied the idea of trying to paint it, but felt like he’d never truly be able to capture how majestic it looked. Some day he wanted to get lost in those depths. To see just how far out the universe went, to touch all the wonders life teased him about.

The two men strode along in contented silence for a time until Kusinaki broke it softly. “So, you plan to leave?”

“Yeah. Somehow.”

“But you have no money, or a starship. We don’t even have the massive spell mechs the old outriders used to pilot. They’ve all lost their magic.”

Akamori nodded softly, “You’re right.”

“But you still plan to leave?”

“Somehow. I can’t stay here. This isn’t where my future is. I’ve lingered long enough, I think.” More than just simply thinking it, he could feel it.

Kusinaki chuckled softly. “Sometimes you talk like you’re leagues older than you really are.”

Akamori blinked, uncertain of what Kusinaki was referring to, and shrugged finally. Sometimes it was best to just let some things go. “Maybe I’ve just got an old soul,” he joked. The villagers always made playful jokes about some kids being wiser than others. It wasn’t often that kind of thing was said about Akamori. He enjoyed showing his playful side more often.

“Not likely.” Kusinaki said, biting back a laugh. “Too many practical jokes prove otherwise.”

“Hey, that bit with the fish was a classic.”

“Except for the smell.” Kusinaki lamented.

“Oh. Yeah. Except for that.” A shiver rattled down his shoulders. Some memories were best left in the past. Kusinaki clapped his back as they crossed the fence line, marking the village’s edge. The two friends making their way back home before splitting up to head to their own homes. The Air mages lived simple lives. Their technology levels were below sector standard since their world was well off the standard lanes of travel.

Wood and mud were the general building materials, with a few alchemical treatments here or there care of Kusinaki. The village was well lit with magical lanterns the young artificer had helped fabricate to make them safer at night. The increased night time lighting also reduced the amount of guards required at night. Just outside the village to the left and right of the main path the two young men had strode sat the fields that fed their village.

Mundane rice and other grains on one side, and Air Rice in another. The Air Rice floated above the soil, using aether currents to pull nutrients up from the soil and ambient moisture in the atmosphere for sustenance. It took precision air magic to properly tend Air Rice. This was what the future had at stake for Akamori. A life of tedium and predictability. Each day spent working in the fields or dealing with some inconsequential dispute that might come up. Deep down, though, he knew he was meant for something else. Just what that was, though, he wasn’t sure.

He only hoped he found it before the boredom of village leadership sucked all the joy from his soul.