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Ponderings on History, Conflict, and Mares

Lore, history and other content by the citizens of Underlight preserved for posterity.
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Arnaya
Dreamer
Posts: 831
Joined: Mon Aug 03, 2015 2:25 am
Character Name(s): Arnaya

Ponderings on History, Conflict, and Mares

Post by Arnaya »

There's a lot of history to the city, and the dreamscape... and for that matter. Dreamers And Mares. It's the last part that I've been pondering.

The official history, reads that the first dreamers awakened to a realm of chaos. Lost in the depths, adrift in the eratic swirls and tides of the deepest pools of chaos. Unprotected, many found their minds and Soulsphere's torn apart before they could find a calm or shallows. The brightest of these first dreamers, was eventually able to figure out to create an avatar to help shield their minds and vulnerable core (The Soul Sphere). After that, came the ability to manipulate the shallows and form the first room of the first (and only) dream city, which history records was called Underlight. Many years later, after much growth of the city and many more dreamers awakening to it... another type of being was found.... the Darkmares. Who were dispatched by their royals to scout out this city... and after many initial conflicts (likely from fear and misunderstandings on both sides. Largely suspected to be due to the Darkmaren forms being the same as the lesser mares that the Entropy Coalition had inadvertently allowed into the city), conquer it. Thus began the long history of wars between Dreamerkind and the Kotoken (Yes, this is abridged. Hitting the main highlights of the tale).

Now, we know that the writers of the above history were wrong on several counts. Underlight was not the ONLY city to be created by dreamers. Other dreamers found other shallows, and created their own cities. Idoaclesia, Furya, Valoria, etc etc. We have met dreamers from some of those other cities, and some of us have even explored beyond our own city and found ruins of still other cities (I am speaking mainly of Inzoum's expedition that discovered the remains of the city he found records calling "Thyrae"). So, I have to question... what else did they get wrong?

In my studies of our avatars, I've found that the maren and dreamer avatars share a great many similarities... though the more powerful mares avatars disrupt our own when in close proximity. This isn't actually a damaging effect, but part of their regenerative and aural capabilities. The maren forms are as consistent as our own... which would not hold true if they were beings of "True Chaos" as is often stated. Their forms would shift and change at random... and their mentalities would be extremly erratic, unpredictable, and incapable of holding and following through on long term or organized plans. The inherent chaos would cause those plans to shift and the mares attentions to be drawn to other things too swiftly for any long term goals to be followed through on. Yet, the mares have proven time and again to be able to hold onto a hierarchy; long term plans; and distinct, consistent personalities.

The maren avatar's do draw power and energy from the Chaos, and chaotic energy in general. For that matter, their avatars draw on any surrounding energy. The more powerful the maren form, the more it draws on ambient and surrounding energy. They are not rigid as ours are... fixed into one state. But instead grow and change in predictable manner as the mare itself becomes more powerful and capable of manipulating dream energy. All have greatly enhanced regenerative abilities compared to our own... and infact, maren regeneration of all mental energies is Much higher (double or greater) than ours.

Again, these predictable and measurable differences... point to a core of structured and ordered energy. Albiet, one a great deal more adaptable than our own. We have long thought that mares are "Natural" inhabitants of the chaos.... yet it is known that they themselves have had a city of their own. A distinctly maren one (though I cannot find my notes with its name at the moment).

So, I present a possible correction to the past history that we have been told since the earliest days or our awakening. As is often the way of things, there is almost never a single right way to do anything. But a variety of options from which to work from. What if... the first avatar's were merely one of the avenues of research being conducted? One settled on by dreamers that found a stable shallows, condusive to the type of avatar we have now. What of those other dreamers that managed to survive in less stable areas? That needed a more flexible adaptation. A rigid, structured form based on what we all know from the waking would serve them ill at best. So, their research would have focused on creating an avatar that was able to both withstand chaos flows.. and adapt to swiftly changing environments. One able to streamline itself to flow swiftly between chaos flows, or wrap surrounding fields around themselves... or hard enough to directly take and withstand an errant gust of Raw Chaos. As a being is more able to control the dream energies, they are able to assume more evolved forms, better capable of utilizing those energies. The ultimate form of this, is the Horron. Which draws energy from everything around it, channeling that energy into their aura's, gaze, regeneration (which functions much like our own Meditation ability), defensive abilities, and projectiles... instead of having to utilize their own mental reserves to generate such in the form of arts (Though such is also easily within their abilities).

It is my theory, that the first mares... were counterparts to the first dreamers. Alternate methods of protecting their vulnerable Soul Sphere's, based on the surrounding environment and needs of those dreamers. With the shifted forms, and isolation, language also altered over the intervening ages. As is only natural would happen.... all believed themselves alone within the dreamscape until their natural curiosity resulted them in them finding others. Given the isolation and independant development of culture, and social structure... it is again only natural that conflict would develop with those of differing cultural and social values. And of course, some seek to dominate the land and shape it all according to their "ideal" vision. Whether the maren form is adopted from the "Natural" shapes taken by unawakened thought fragments, or was created raw by those who's predecessors created the Darkmaren avatar's... and subsequently adopted reflexively by unawakened thought fragments... is completely unknown and likely unknowable.

As with the cities in the more stable area's of the chaos, at least two different groups of maren kind emerged. One, the Kotoke... was based on the idea of a royal council and an ultimate "King" or "Emperor"... while the other, The Hota, was based around a single extended family "clan". Both used the same basic form, with minor modification. Same as how the Furyan peoples use a basic Dreamer form, but slightly modified to be more compact. Each drawing individuals that awaken in near proximity of their cities and strongholds... and those individuals being granted the Avatar dominant to that city (at least without special considerations being made, like Maren "Eggs" that draw in young awakening dreamers... overriding the city's beacon to draw the Unawakened into the shell, and shaping their avatar into the form prefered by the Egg Layer.

What this Would Mean To The Here and Now If True:
On a basic level, little would change in regards to relations between dreamers and darkmares. We still seek to retain our sovereignty and our ways of life in face of foreign immigrants and invaders. While those same seek to either make aspects of "our" lands more comfortable to them, or impose their vision of what life in these lands should be. It is no different than being confronted by another person who has different skin and build, speaks a strange language, and wears strange or frightening garb. Beneath, they are still people... but everything else about them is so strange and different that it creates cultural and social incompatibilities. After so long, and so much conflict/hatred/fear... a true peace and merging of our peoples is, on a practical level, impossible and extremely undesirable to both sides (as a whole. Individuals may of course vary). Though figuring out some common grounds, and building some measure of respect for each other is possible. Though it would do little to eliminate hostilities, it would likely go a long ways towards enabling us to occasionally work together in the face of greater threats, with greater ease.
On the topic of Children born to the other side, within our lands... the position likewise changes little. Though it is easily possible to bring them into our homes and raise them by our values... they will always feel like outsides. And when they finally make contact with others who look like them... they Will frequently return "home". To others that look like them, and share whatever basic knowledge is granted by their awakening to either beacon or "Egg". Though, they will always likely have some sense of being an outsider even there, due to the values and upbringing that they had among us. Thus, the choices are either enslavement (which is just as disgusting of an idea to me in regards to mares as it is in regards to dreamers, or any other sentient); Integration (which is likely to fail due to the factors laid out above); returning them to their "home" (a problem since at least one of the maren kind no longer has a "home" city, and it has been hinted that the Kotoke have lost theirs as well); or teaching them about both cultures and a factual history of both "peoples" (which is just as likely to result in the child seeking out others of their own people, but also to have an understanding and respect...hopefully...for those that reared them, and those rearer's way of life. Which, long term, would be likely to result in significant reduction in hostilities between both peoples).

Closing:
This is just some food for thought for people, not a condoning of maren hostility or attempts to take over the city, or anything else. I am Calenturian, which means I stand firmly against any that would harm our city, or try to dominate our people. Ultimately, Calenture is a house that wishes for peace... but stands always ready for hostilities, and holds as our oath... to be the ones that shield our more peaceful members from those that would destroy what they build. And to stand until the last when needed in pursuit of that objective. I do strongly believe however, in appropriate action. Appropriate action is not possible without appropriate understanding, and it in pursuit of that goal... to understand those that would be a threat to us. Their goals, and methods. Their cultures, and traditions. As it is with that understanding, that such threats can be predicted, and most effectively neutralized (in a variety of ways).

I would appreciate feedback on the theory, including both supporting evidence, and opposing evidence. Please feel free to send me a pigeon, or seek me out within the city, if you wish to discuss this theory... or have any evidence relating to it.

Thank you,
~ Arnaya, Soulmistress and Lance Ruler of Calenture
The most important lesson I've learned over this past year, is not to let anyone make you cruel. No matter how badly you want to give the world a taste of it's own bitter medicine, it is never worth losing yourself.
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