Dreamer's Throne

There wasn’t much time to do what he was going to try, since everyone would want to hear the plan after dinner, but he hoped that his reputation with the gang would allow him a bit of time. Garret wasn’t one for risky plans, and this situation was no different. If he couldn’t set himself up for success, he would rather tell everyone to run. At the same time, Obe’s words struck a chord with him. It didn’t matter how they organized, just that they did. It didn’t matter how they approached the situation, just that they lived through it.

A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips as Garrett reflected on the short amount of time he’d spent with the gang. One of them had tried to kill him, another had died for him, and they had all tried to use him. Yet here he was, about to attempt madness all for the possibility of keeping the whole thing together. For the possibility of keeping them alive. Though, if he was honest, it was really for himself and Ryn. Ryn was right. They had just gotten settled, and it would be a shame to leave. Slowly, the amusement in his smile faded, replaced with a shocking savagery.

Move with caution, but when you move, move hard.

Closing his eyes, Garrett sank into himself, and when he opened them the world had changed. Under his hands the smooth, hard arm rests of the Dreamer’s Throne glowed with light. In front of him, a glorious four-stemmed Dream Flower that pulsed with life hovered in the air. All that was left of Gorn’s life was contained in the flower, and in the fifth bud that was on the verge of bursting forth. Pointing his finger, Garrett sent out a stream of energy, feeding the flower until it was full to exploding. Under him, the Dreamer’s Throne replenished his energy, soaking him in warm light as his soul spark refilled.

Just before the bud bloomed, Garrett focused his attention, erasing everything else from his mind. Keeping his focus as tight as possible he watched the creation of the fifth Dream Flower, he carefully observed how it exploded upward, growing and spreading as the petals unfolded their magnificence. The process was incredibly fast, but to Garrett, as tightly stretched mentally as he was, it seemed to happen in slow motion. The sight of that flower was firmly fixed in his head, and even as it ended he closed his eyes, replaying the sight of the flower opening up again and again.

Keeping his eyes closed, Garrett reached out and took hold of the flower, pulling it close. Inside his chest, his soul spark had completely transformed into a seed. The spark itself wasn’t visible in the shell of energy that had been condensed around it. Letting out his breath, Garrett didn’t hesitate as he commanded the brand new five-stemmed flower to condense into his soul spark. With a shake of its many petals, the flowers began to droop as its energy and life force burrowed into Garrett.

Gritting his teeth, Garrett could feel his veins inflaming as the foreign energy passed through them. A five-bloom Dream Flower was nearly as strong as Viper, and for all of that energy to be aggressively pressing into him was the equivalent of being assaulted by a high-level Awakened. The only thing keeping Garrett from passing out was the cooling feeling that came from the flower’s life force. Even as its energy ripped at his body, the life force healed him, allowing it to transfer every ounce of its energy. The energy sank into his mind, pressing down on the soul spark and forcing its way into the seed that surrounded it.

As soon as the energy began to interact, Garrett focused on the image he had in his mind, as if asking his own soul spark to follow suit by blooming just as the flower had. Shaking under the pressure from the flowing stream of energy, the seed resisted the change, but Garrett wouldn’t let it, bombarding it with the image of the Dream Flower’s fifth bud transforming. Over and over he replayed the scene in his head, all while the seed grew thicker and fatter as the Dream Flower’s energy was pumped into it.

Pain began to radiate around the soul spark, but rather than back off Garrett just doubled down. Growing stronger and stronger, the pain felt like his chest was about to be split in half, and suddenly Garrett regretted it. He should have thought about how painful it would be to go through this process of splitting open a seed and having it grow into something. Mentally cursing himself, it was too late to do anything but continue, so continue he did, all while vowing to never try something so stupid again.

Finally, when he felt like he was going to black out from the pain, his body suddenly shook and the seed sprang open and thick petals formed from pure energy appeared, shifting into a massive, many petalled flower. Sensing a large mass of energy still surging into him, Garrett wasn’t content with just a soul spark shaped like a ten-petal Dream Flower. Instead, he fixed a new image in his mind, picturing the very throne he sat in.

Slowly but surely, the energy passed through the flower that surrounded his soul spark and was pressed into a new shape. His soul spark itself had become much larger and much more malleable, and it wasn’t nearly as hard to create the basic shape of the Dreamer’s Throne compared to creating or growing the seed into the large Dream Flower. Soon, the basic structure was done and Garrett was adding details to the throne, using the energy until it was all used up.

Gorn’s Dream Flower had long since vanished, incorporated into Garrett’s new soul spark, and as the flow of energy petered out Garrett was finally able to see what he had created. Hanging in the air in his mind was a beautiful ten-petaled Dream Flower, by far the most beautiful he’d ever seen. At the center of the flower was another ten-petaled Dream Flower, this one much smaller, while on top of that stood the Dreamer’s Throne. While it was a good approximation of the real thing, there was a lot of work to do to transform it into a perfect replica, but Garrett was beyond happy with the progress he’d made.

Taking a deep breath, Garrett felt his empty soul energy being replenished by the throne under him, so he opened his eyes, smiling as the voice he’d been hoping to hear sounded in his ears.

[Congratulations! You have broken the barrier between the awakening and shaping stages. Experience you have generated while prevented from advancing is being converted into additional soul spark energy. You currently have enough experience points to level up. Would you like to level up to level four?]

Still breathless from the intense experience, Garrett took a moment to try to restore his equilibrium. This moment had been a long time in the making, and he was still in disbelief that it had actually happened. Closing his eyes, he felt the solid throne under him. Even as his fingers ran along the carved reliefs, he could sense the differences between them and the shape of his soul spark, but the resemblance was there, and he knew it was only a matter of time before they matched perfectly.

The Dream was quiet as always, the only sound in the room was his slowly settling breathing. As his calm returned, he felt confidence blooming in his heart. He was about to take what was unquestionably the largest risk he had taken since he first woke up in this world, and having stepped into the shaper stage had given him a huge surge in confidence. Accepting the prompt, he listened to the system announce his advancement.

[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 fourth level advantage.]

Whisper of the Dream, Observe the Dream, and Dream Cloak were all still the same as before, but with two skill points he could add he had much more wiggle room. His plan called for Observe the Dream, and it was the only one of the three he was actually interested in, because it would not only allow him to observe remotely, but he would actually be able to use his other powers while using Observe the Dream, cementing his remote playstyle.

While both of the other skills could be useful in specific situations, Whisper of the Dream and Dreamer’s Cloak had largely become dead skills, making Garret wish he had taken Illusory Dream instead. In retrospect, the ability to create illusions would have come in a lot more handy than either of the other two skills, even though they had looked better at the time. In fact, if he’d been thinking clearly, he might have been able to figure out how to use Illusory Dream to mimic both other skills. Sadly, he’d already chosen the other two skills, and there was nothing he could do about it.

With two points to spend, Garrett felt like he could be a bit more flexible with his build, so he checked out both Dream Seed and Beautiful Bewitchment.

[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]

[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.

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

Skill Level: 3 > 4

The potential of this skill was off the charts, and every time Garrett saw an option for it, he couldn’t help but be stunned. Though it was unlikely this skill had been designed to work with his current situation, the level of compatibility it had with both his regular Dream Seeds and the half-nightmare, half-monster flower ghouls was absurd. The idea that flower ghouls would be able to reproduce without a nest stone was so scary that even Garrett, who controlled them, had to take a breath.

If they ever escaped from my control, they would be a major problem. Though, if that happens, I’ll probably be dead. What a nasty surprise for my enemies that would be.

Shaking his head at the absurdity of the idea, Garrett looked at the second skill, Beautiful Bewitchment.

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.

*NEW* 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: 1 > 2

Nearly choking on his own spit, Garrett had to cough for nearly two minutes before he regained his equilibrium.

How on earth did I get this set of abilities? Dream Seed isn’t just strong, it’s insane. No wonder my hatred with the Crimson Eye was irreconcilable from the very beginning. I’m only level four. What happens when these skills grow to level ten?

Closing his eyes, Garrett ran over the plan he was thinking about. The ability to give his flowers a bewitching scent would help his plan immensely, but if he did that he wouldn’t be able to take both Observe the Dream’s upgrade and Dream Seed’s upgrade. At the end of the day, the one skill he really needed was Observe the Dream, so he went ahead and selected it. That left him with one point and two skills he desperately wanted to upgrade.

Finally, after hesitating as long as he reasonably could, he sighed and selected Beautiful Bewitchment. He could already propagate his flowers by spending experience points, and he could upgrade them through injection of his soul spark’s energy. As for the flower ghouls, they were doing just fine thanks to the nest stone. As much as it pained him to miss a chance to upgrade Dream Seed and pick up another Guardian Seed slot, his immediate circumstances made Beautiful Bewitchment a better choice. With both of his skills picked, it came time for him to choose a new ability. This time, the choice was much simpler.

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.

Skill Level: 1

STATUS

NAME: Garrett Klein

PATH: Path of the Watcher

SUB-PATH: Dream Gardener

LEVEL: 4

EXP: 0/160

ABILITIES: [6/10]

Whisper of the Dream [1]

Observe the Dream [3]

Dream Seed [3]

Dreamer’s Cloak [1]

Beautiful Bewitchment [2]

Spirit-sucking Thorns [1]

[Congratulations on your ascent to the shaper stage. You have been granted the ability to create a standing invitation to your dream for those you mark. Additionally, you have grown to the point that you can claim parts of the Dream for your own. Claiming a location for yourself will increase your power in that place, so long as you can defend it. However, once you claim a location, losing control of it will prevent you from being able to continue gaining experience. Note that claiming a part of the Dream is an act of war and will incur both hatred and retaliation from any entity that also claims part or all of your location.]

[Please select the area you would like to claim.]

Well, this is heating up quickly. I guess I should claim the inn?

[Dreamer’s Inn selected. Would you like to change this selection?]

“No.”

[Congratulations, you have selected ‘Dreamer’s Inn’ as your personal territory. This territory is part of the Dead Lands, the domain of [???????], Skeletal Hand of Lesrak.]

[Due to your use of undead, [???????], Skeletal Hand of Lesrak grows interested in you.]

[Due to your claim of part of the Dead Lands, [???????], Skeletal Hand of Lesrak has grown angry and has sworn to crush you under his heel.]

Hearing the mechanical voice speaking in rapid succession, Garrett could only grimace. He had hoped that the Dreamer’s Inn wasn’t claimed, but from the system’s reaction that was clearly not the case. Still, it wasn’t like the Skeletal Hand of Lesrak would be showing up in the next day or so. It was more likely that, like the Crimson Eye, he would send one of his Chosen out to find Garrett, which meant Garrett had at least a bit of time.

Before worrying about any of that, I need to deal with the problems in front of me. The Swamp Sharks and Henrick are more than enough to worry about.