CHAPTER TWENTY


DreamStrike

A smile on his face shows his happiness as he pats a nice 7th sphere essence.
His simple yet well made outfit seems a little crumpled these days,
and his unadorned rapier shines a dull grey at his side.
He seems normal enough, save for a few more shadows in his path.

               ur Interviewer continues to scribble down stories from Machiavelli in Gloom Peaks.

How did you come about dreamstrike, Mach?

"Well, upon my travels one day I chanced upon a scroll, and old scroll I soon found which contained some early research methods I soon realised I began to toy with these a little at first, merely curious, as any dreamseer would be. But then, a far older enemy of mine, though not a personal enemy until very recently showed his ugly face in the dream and in my life in Cloudsbreak. Though I realised he was a threat to me and those I loved in Cloudsbreak at the time, for for a few weeks did I realise he could also be a danger to the city. He in fact used the threat of cruelty to my dear younger sister in Cloudsbreak as leverage to get me to aid him a little, he was very cunning in fact, not pushing me for to much at a time lest I snap and refuse him entirely.

"But I played his game, biding my time and knowing that if I worked hard enough perhaps I could stop him in the dream and in Cloudsbreak forever from doing harm. So I stalled with him, played for time, and tasked several to help me. I worked continually to test and complile some research, which when I thought it was ready I used, seeing no other choice besides letting him do the harm he intended for his personal gain. Unfortunately... I had a few unexpected effects, the dreamsoul loss I knew about, but some things like rapid color changes for a period after, being unable to see my own essences, and a new desire for nice essences myself were entirely a surprise. Unfortunately.... my lack of any essences at all at the time drove me to some extremes to get some fast.

"I forged a few copies of the scrolls I had found and sold them to the unsuspecting buyers for one... used the house mission board to pay for essences. "

Do you believe this side effect is from the means you learned the art, or from the art itself?

"I used the research methods in the scroll to develop my version of the art... who can say how close it is to the one of the masters of old? I did however toss that scroll, named Toras's Notes into that dark pit leading up to The Unknown in lower Ossuary. However, some things I did to get essences quickly, like encouraging a brawl in the house could not be ignored."