The Kingdom of Dán is one of the Oneiric Realms of the Deep Dreaming.
Overview[]
In a world without constant borders, there are two hypothetical lines by which some dream cartographers measure the extant of the Known Dreaming: The Axle and the Equinoctial. The first measures the Dreaming from top to bottom. The second traverses the Dreaming's horizontal median, acting as a rough equator. As with any measurements in the Dreaming, this is largely an intellectual conceit designed to give some sense of order to an otherwise chaotic universe. At the top of this fictitious Axle lies the Kingdom of Dán.
Among the most famous and mysterious of the minor Oneiric Realms, the Kingdom of Dán is home to the enigmatic threefold goddess/conceptual entity known as the Fates. Also called the Norns, the Sisters Three are most commonly portrayed as a triad of women who appear as maiden, mother, and hag. While this triad has appeared numerous times in the past, they have rarely been seen in the last few centuries... until just after the Week of Nightmares. Avatars and messengers of the three Fates, the moirae become an increasingly common sight as the world continues its inexorable plummet toward Endless Winter. As with the Norns themselves, the moirae are difficult to fathom at the best of times and given to speak in riddles.
The Kingdom is virtually impossible for any besides Fate's appointed servants to reach (though many have tried). On a great island somewhere in the Silver Sea, the kingdom is surrounded first by a vast and trackless desert, then by a ring of impenetrable mountains, and finally by a great river of inky darkness. The kingdom itself is reportedly a sort of paradise, reflecting the best aspects of both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. Bountiful farms, wild forests, crystalline alpine lakes, and proud towers play host to the favored children of Fate: the great heroes, sages, and poets who find their way here after they have served their purpose in the greater world. King Thelat, a just and wise ruler, confers with the Fates on a regular basis. (Even most moirae cannot claim the honor.) Although most believe him to be an ancient sidhe lord, there are some that believe he is of an even older genesis.
If the realm itself is a paradise, the same cannot always be said of the pronouncements of the goddesses who oversee it. Fate can be cruel as well as kind and those who seek the wisdom of the Prophetic Sisters must pay a heavy price. In times past even the gods had to humble themselves to sample Fate's wisdom. At the kingdom's center stands the Axle Tree, also called Yggdrasil or the World Tree. Towering hundreds of miles into the air, none may reach its top, which stretches into the celestial realms. Surrounded by a river known as the Well of Inspiration and Wisdom, the tree's roots are guarded by Mimir, a fearsome and immortal water demon, and a panoply of monsters and other spirits; none can reach the tree's roots unless permitted by Fate. Near the river is a temple of the Three Fates. those who wish to speak with the Norns, to sample the fruits of the tree or the waters of inspiration must spend a night in the temple. Attended by moirae, the sleeping visitor must plead their case in a startling and dangerous dream. The one who succeeds in convincing the Norns of their cause has a choice: the favored one may either meet with the Sisters Three, drink from the Well, or be ferried across the river by Mimir to visit the World Tree. In extremely rare instances the Storyteller may choose to let the visitor do all three. The favored visitor must make a major sacrifice to propitiate the Norns. Odin, it is said, surrendered his eye to drink from the waters of inspiration.
The Norns themselves are awe-inspiring, beautiful, and terrible. Every word they utter hangs heavy with portent and hidden meaning. They may answer any question and will do so truthfully, though it may take an army of seers to unravel their true meaning. A frequent question for the Fates has to do with the true location of Arcadia and their answers have sent supplicants to every end of the Dreaming. Those who choose to drink from the Well acquire the gift of insight, permanently raising their Soothsay Art by one level (maximum 5) and, additionally, gaining the Birthrights of the moirae for a year's time. Finally, those who visit the Tree may either pluck a fruit from its lowest branches (a mere several kilometers in the air) or pick up one of the strange crystalline shards among the Tree's roots. The first contains a single memory from a great luminary of the Dreaming and may offer the eater incalculable benefits. The crystals at the Tree's roots, sometimes called Ana-klaven, may be the blood of a great god or merely sap from the tree. They are frozen shards of time itself and highly sought by those invested with such magic, though few have ever unraveled the true extent of their energies.
References[]
- CTD. Denizens of the Dreaming, pp. 32-33.
- CTD. Dreams and Nightmares, p. 85.