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Skein is the dream-realm that mostly Changelings versed with Oneiromancy can visit.

Overview[]

The Skein is every dream that’s ever existed and every dream that will exist, arrayed like beads of silver moisture along an infinite tangle of threads, linked through the forces of the Wyrd. They cross and twist when people have similar dreams or dreams that complement each other. Few mortals have the power and knowledge to cross from dream to dream, but a few Changelings know the way and might journey through an endless array of dreams. Many changelings don’t even know this is possible and many who know it can be done believe it shouldn’t be done. It’s too dangerous and perhaps unethical, too, because the Skein gives changelings access to dreams for which they hold no pledge.

To mages who traffic with the Lost, the Skein bears connections to the Astral Space, particularly the Oneiros, but tighter, more claustrophobic and more difficult to travel by in the way the Awakened are used to. The reason for this is that the Lost travel through the skein of different dreams in order to reach the deepest Dreamtime by joining in, while mages just have to follow their Astral Path.

Approach[]

Any changeling can travel the Skein, but it takes skill and bravery. The Lost make maps, use divining ways and, sometimes, follow a figurative trail of breadcrumbs to walk from dream to dream. Nevertheless, one cannot always anticipate what will await a changeling in the next dream over. There are no layers or huge, multi-dream realms that cluster in one part of the Skein or the other. There are trends, rules and connections, but not a stable overarching geography. Generally, a dream gate manifests when some coincidence with another aligned dream occurred.

Most Changelings use a skill called Oneiroscopy to divine their way through the numerous dreams.

Geography[]

During her tenure from 1950 to 1962, Rowena of Miami, High Oneirologist to Tom Hood's Autumn Court, classified eight categories of dreams within the Skein that she associated with astrology in order that changelings could better orientate themselves within the Skein. This is called the Hypnagogic Constellation. Within the Constellation, the term "Sun" is referred to the waking life.

  • Dreams of Mystery - correlate with Lilith, the Black Moon;
  • Dreams of Secret Memory - correlate with Luna, the White Moon;
  • Dreams of Blood - correlate with Mars;
  • Dreams of Swift Knowledge - correlate with Mercury;
  • Dreams of Justice - correlate with Jupiter;
  • Dreams of Ambition - correlate with Saturn;
  • Dreams of the Bedchamber - correlate with Venus;
  • Dreams of Death - correlate with Pluto.

Inhabitants[]

Within the Skein, several malicious entities known as Incubi thrive; these are any beings which enter a dream without the use of a pledge (commonly Others, hobgoblins, and vengeful changelings). Other inhabitants include the Dream Guardians, who protect their hosts' dreams from interlopers, and the powerful and enigmatic Morpheans.

References[]

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