Dreamer's Throne

The word that slipped from between Agma-Yoth's clenched teeth was nearly powerless, carrying none of the insurmountable strength that he had shown before. Though Garrett didn't have to answer his enemy’s question, he did, his small smile transforming into a savage grin.

"Slowing down time isn't the only thing you can do in a dream," he said.

Agma-Yoth's eyes flickered, realization appearing in them.

"You sped up my perception of time," he said, "allowing more time to pass in the tomb than I thought!”

“Just enough time to hit you with the flames," Garrett replied.

It had been a gamble, Garrett knew, but ever since he had seen the white flame flickering in the torches, he had started to understand what was going on. As Agma-Yoth had said, this was a trap, one that Garrett had no choice but to walk into. Once he had identified the trap, however, it was simply a matter of finding a way to break it from the inside. Originally, his intent had been to use the flame Cynen carried to destroy Agma-Yoth, but the closer they got, the more he realized that the pale green death flame wouldn’t be enough to do the job. Agma-Yoth had already absorbed half of Lesrak’s flame, and if given a chance, could likely take control of the green death flame as well.

Control was what Garrett specialized in, however, and by adding the influence of the Dreamer’s Throne to the mix, channeled through the guardian flower, he had been confident that he would be able to disrupt Agma-Yoth’s attempts to absorb the flame, transforming it into a potent weapon. It was that moment that Garrett had been aiming for, but the sheer strength Agma-Yoth wielded was beyond what Garrett had imagined, a clear indication that he had underestimated his enemy. Losing Viper had not been part of his plan, and when he saw Cynen about to die, he had been forced to improvise, causing everything to nearly spiral out of control. Only the desperate prayer Cynen uttered and the response from the Dreamer’s Throne had kept everything from falling apart.

A terrible, frantic fear shone through Agma-Yoth’s eyes, but even as he wanted to speak, one of his eyes burst apart, a tongue of mixed flame shooting out. Within seconds, the rest of his body was immolated and a few seconds later, he had become nothing but ash.

[Agma-Yoth, Skeletal Hand of Lesrak has fallen.]

[You have won a Ruler’s War.]

[The territory of Agma-Yoth, Skeletal Hand of Lesrak, has been added to your territory, granting you control of the following areas: First Tomb, Royal Graveyard, Commoner’s Graveyard.]

[A portion of Agma-Yoth’s strength and memories have been granted to you, increasing your personal power. New options for growth have been unlocked.]

[596 experience gained during the Ruler’s War. Current experience: 633/320.]

[Congratulations! You currently have enough experience points to level up. Would you like to level up to level 6?]

Seeing a storm of windows pass in front of his eyes, Garrett accepted the prompt as fast as he could, at the same time controlling the flow of time in the dream to slow to an absolute crawl. His encounter with Agma-Yoth had taught him that a being’s perception of time could be adjusted in a dream space, and now he exerted all his energy to buy himself as much time as possible. How it was possible, he didn’t know, but despite Agma-Yoth’s death, Cynen’s body was still alive, though only barely. Yet she was still burning away like a roman candle, her ability to act long since destroyed by the immolating power of the flames.

Through the tenuous connection of the guardian flower, which had lost all but a single bloom under the fierce heat of the fire, Garrett could sense an unprecedented possibility, though it would require finding a way to keep Cynen alive. As time slowed, Garrett could feel the seconds stretching but it took him almost no time to flip through the notifications, accepting them one after another.

[Each time you level up in the shaper stage, you will be presented with the choice of acquiring a new ability and increasing the skill level of two existing abilities. Please choose which of your skills you will level and then choose your fifth level advantage.]

[Whisper of the Dream]

-You have gained the ability to communicate with those who can walk the Dream.

*NEW* You can now initiate communication without touching your target. You must be able to see the target.

Skill Level: 1 > 2

The first of his abilities, [Whisper of the Dream], hadn’t changed since the last time he looked at it, and Garrett quickly moved to the next.

[Observe the Dream]

-You have gained the ability to see the Dream clearly.

-The energy cost of activating this ability has been reduced.

-You may now use your other abilities while using Observe the Dream.

*NEW* You gain an instinctive sense of the dangers of the Dream, allowing you to see nightmares before they appear.

Skill Level: 3 > 4

About to do the same with [Observe the Dream], Garrett paused, his eyes narrowing as he dredged through his memory. There had been a single, subtle change in this skill, that took it from okay, to potentially amazing. The last time he had looked at upgrading this ability, it had said that he would be able to sense nightmares before they appeared, but in this version, it said he would be able to see nightmares before they appeared. That change, though slight, actually increased the power of this ability drastically.

He was curious about the change and wondered for a moment if it had to do with the strengthening of his soul spark as he leveled up from level five to level six. There was no time to explore it, however, so he marked [Observe the Dream] as one of his options and moved on.

[Dream Seed]

You have seized one of [???????], Crimson Eye of Shalmoroth’s abilities, Dream Seed.

1 EXP - Observation Seed

2 EXP - Communication Seed

3 EXP - Loyalty Seed

6 EXP - Guardian Seed [1/2]

*NEW* 10 EXP - Overmind Seed [1]

[Other types of seeds locked]

You can now plant seeds anywhere in the Dream and nourish them yourself.

You can now set your Dream Flowers to the following states:

Defend [Default] - Dream Flowers will actively protect their hosts, or locations, from nightmares.

Hunt - Dream Flowers will release spores to attract nightmares with the intent of consuming them.

Growth - Dream Flowers will absorb the mental energy of their host or any creature that enters their location with the intent of growing stronger.

Your seeds now propagate naturally, so long as they have a steady source of mental energy.

Skill Level: 4 > 5

The first and most important skill Garrett possessed, and by far the most powerful, [Dream Seed] was always a candidate for improvement. Adding a skill point would bring him up to level five, granting him access to a new sort of dream seed, but when he saw the name of it, Garrett couldn’t help but pause. The ruler known as the Crimson Eye of Shalmoroth clearly embraced the complete control aspect of the [Dream Seed] ability, but Garrett wasn’t sure he wanted to walk down that path. If he was honest, he had some conflicted feelings about the personality overriding abilities of the dream flowers already, so adding an option to increase his control felt a bit suspect. Just to make sure, he opened it up to take a look.

[Overmind Seed: A special seed that produces an Overmind flower. Overmind flowers have intelligence, allowing them to better carry out your orders. Flowers in the influence range of an Overmind will be easier to direct and control. Additionally, Overmind flowers serve as conduits for your power, extending the reach of your mental energy.]

Sure enough, the [Overmind Seed] granted his flowers intelligence and was focused on controlling the large numbers of flowers that were spreading all over the city. Conflicted, Garrett looked at his next options.

[Dream Cloak]

-You have gained the ability to use the Dream to cloak your presence, reducing the likelihood that you will be seen.

*NEW* Your Dream Cloak grows stronger, allowing you to hide more efficiently.

Skill Level: 1 > 2

Of all of his abilities, [Dream Cloak] was one that he didn’t care for anymore, and if he ever got the chance to change out skills, as he suspected he would after he gained his tenth skill, it would be the first that he would get rid of.

[Guide Growth - Beautiful Bewitchment]

Your Dream Flowers grow, guided by your will to become objects of supernatural beauty. Those who look upon them cannot help but become enthralled.

Modify Dream Seed: Increase the bewitchment ability of Dream Flowers, strengthening your influence on hosts.

Increase the bewitchment ability of Dream Flowers against nightmares.

*NEW* Spores produced by the Dream Flowers become invisible, making them harder to detect.

Modify Dream Flowers: Clusters of Dream Flowers will now produce a bewitching scent that will have one of the following effects:

-Distract: Affected targets will grow distracted and forget what they were doing until the effect wears off.

-Enthrall: Affected targets will grow enthralled and peacefully admire the flowers until the effect wears off.

-Enrage: Affected targets will grow enraged and attack anyone around them until the effect wears off.

Skill Level: 3 > 4

While he didn’t care about making himself invisible, the opportunity to make the spores produced by his dream flowers invisible was astoundingly good. Currently, when they used them, they revealed a faint colored mist that could alert an enemy to their presence and effect. By making them invisible, they would have significantly higher utility.

[Guide Growth – Spirit-sucking Thorns]

Your Dream Flowers grow, guided by your will to become fearsome predators, hiding sharp thorns under their beautiful petals.

Modify Dream Seed: Increase the attack strength of Dream Flowers by improving their ability to consume the mental energy of their hosts and enemies.

*NEW* Modify Dream Flowers: Increase the range from which Dream Flowers can attack.

Skill Level: 1 > 2

Just like [Beautiful Bewitchment], the next level of [Spirit-sucking Thorns] was an excellent potential upgrade. Being able to increase the range from which the dream flowers could attack would allow him to overcome one of the greatest flaws of the dream flowers, their frail builds. Any time they engaged in physical combat, there was a high possibility that they would be destroyed before they killed the enemy, forcing Garrett to rely on wave tactics and numbers to succeed. However, if they could attack at range, that weakness would be almost completely solved. Just imagining a horde of dream flowers unleashing waves of ranged attacks brought a smile to Garrett's face.

[Illusory Dream]

You have gained the ability to use the Dream to create illusions, confusing both dreamers and nightmares.

*NEW* Your illusions grow more realistic, gaining a physical component.

Skill Level: 1 > 2

Of all of his skills, [Illusory Dream] was the one that he used more than any apart from [Dream Seed], and the temptation to improve it was significant. Thinking for a moment, Garrett tried to come up with scenarios where being able to create physical illusions would be helpful, and he immediately thought up a dozen. With a wry smile, Garrett knew he didn’t have time to mull it over, so he closed his eyes and made his choices, picking [Dream Seed], and [Illusory Dream].

With his two skills upgraded, it was time to look at his new abilities, and as the web of skills unfolded before him, Garrett focused his whole attention on his weakening connection with the guardian flower in Cynen. It was just about to die, and he knew he only had another second or two at the most. Thankful for the power of the dream, Garrett opened up the connection as wide as possible, and poured the power of the Dreamer’s Throne through it. He could feel the scorching heat of the flame that burned in Cynen’s body, but he ignored the pain it brought and flooded it with the throne’s golden aura.

There was no guarantee that what he was trying would work, and indeed, for a moment, he thought he had failed when the greenish white flame burned away the golden energy of the Dreamer’s Throne. Feeling a great anger erupting under him, Garrett was so shocked, he nearly fumbled the connection, but the mysterious artifact forcefully stabilized it, widening and strengthening it in the process. Seeming furious that the mixture of death and life flame didn’t submit, the Dreamer’s Throne unleashed an overwhelming suppressive force that smashed down on the fire, crushing it so heavily it nearly extinguished.

Desperately, Garrett tried to reign in the power coming off of the throne, only barely succeeding when the flame had been reduced to less than a wisp. The whole thing happened so quickly that Garrett thought he might have imagined it, but a moment later, he could feel a connection to the flame, the same way he could feel a connection to the other mysterious artifacts that he had used the power of the throne to subdue. The way the flame suddenly quieted down and flickered weakly made Garrett wonder if it was intelligent in its own right, but there was no way to tell at this point, so instead he looked through his new abilities, hoping that he had made the right bet.

Sure enough, following a red line off of [Dream Seed], he saw the ability he had been hoping for and a whoop of excitement burst from his lips.

[Guide Growth – Life and Death Bloom]

Your Dream Flowers grow, guided by your will, to hold Lesrak’s Flame.

Modify Dream Seed: Your flowers have melded with the powerful dream fire, Lesrak’s Flame, becoming immune to its effects.

Skill Level: 1

There was no question that this was exactly what he needed. It would not only allow him to keep Cynen alive, but would also drastically increase the strength of his dream flowers. The other abilities, each from the Path of the Watcher, would have to wait. Now that he knew that he was safe, Garrett relaxed slightly and looked over the other abilities, just to check what he was missing out on. The first two were abilities that he was familiar with, but the third was new, and when he read it, he drew in a sharp breath.

Dream Walk

You have gained the ability to slip between the cracks of the Dream, allowing you to traverse great distances without being detected.

Skill Level: 1

Vanishing Touch

You have gained the ability to erase any sign of your existence within Dream, allowing you to remove any trace that you had once been present.

Skill Level: 1

Mirrored Ability

You have gained the ability to copy any supernatural ability you witness. Copied abilities can be used so long as you do not copy another ability.

Skill Level: 1

The higher his level got, the harder it was to choose between abilities, and this was no exception. Mirrored Ability would give him the opportunity to steal the most powerful abilities that he saw, giving himself his enemy’s greatest strengths. Still, given his situation, there really wasn’t much of a choice, and with a sigh he chose to unlock [Life and Death Bloom]. As soon as he did, he felt a wave of mysterious energy spreading out from him and the tongue of flame that he had suppressed with the might of the Dreamer’s Throne suddenly flared, dancing for joy.

Transforming, it went from a destructive force he was containing to feeling as familiar as one of his own hands. Melting into the thick mental energy that he was using to contain it, the flames multiplied and spread at a tremendous rate, flashing through the connection he had with his dream flowers before he could stop it. Wherever it went, the flowers transformed, gaining a vibrancy that seemed impossible. The guardian flower that had nearly expired showed the greatest change, rapidly regrowing the blooms that had been burned away. The fierce life force surging through it poured into Cynen as well, healing her cracked and charred skin, and repairing the damage she had suffered internally. With a gasp, she lurched and let out a loud scream, coming back to life as greenish white flames burned out of her eyes, transforming them into hollow holes filled with glowing green flames.