Kyrikain

Introduction

Although it is not within Kyrikain's purview to grant wishes or to fulfill aspirations, he is often viewed as a God of ambitions, and wants. It is common for people to pray to Kyrikain not long after having a dream, for said dream to be fulfilled; or for a larger aspiration of theirs to become reality. Emotional desires are commonly affiliated with him, and Kyrikain has many occasional followers that transition between worship and relative ambivalence as their longings come and go.

Kyrikain is known for his dualism, and much of his perception and his worship revolves around this understanding of him. While he is a God seen as synonymous with want and desire, he is equally regarded as the origin of fear. Beyond that, he is tied to many negative emotions such as anxiety, depression, sorrow and guilt, all said to be born from the mortal ability to dream as he does. For this reason, he is understood in an empathetic way by the mortal races, who love him yet sometimes deride him for both the joy and suffering they feel he has allowed.

Whatever the case, Kyrikain is one of the most universally beloved of Gods, as humans often claim that he is the one who gave them their 'humanity', an abstract construct to be certain.

History

Of all of Kyrikain's earliest dreams, many of them were nightmares. For a long time after his own formation into existence, Kyrikain's dreaming was the origin point of great disruption for his peers. His mind was a vortex of repopulating constructs imagined only for devastation, and whensoever his mind crawled towards pain and uncertainty, his kin would be whipped with the backlash that came. Kyrikain was viewed as nearly inapproachable for a long time, a force of nature with no bounds to cling to. Something that could never be truly understood.

But it did not stay this way forever. The roots of Reverie were built for a purpose, as a way for the God to give order to his mind. It is unsurprising, then, that Venadak suggested much of the actions that first allowed an adolescent Kyrikain stability. Kyrikain's terrifying ability to shape reality was given purpose in the creation of Reverie - and his ability to finely sculpt thoughts into proper shapes that painted much of Atharen's landscapes and edges.

But Kyrikain remained blighted with what he viewed as impermanence. His thoughts and the shapes they constructed failed to remain stagnant; they were volatile and shifting, unable to keep a particular shape. His imaginings too unstable for Atharen's static mortal denizens, the God offered himself a new purpose. He learned that others could do as he did; that the mortals they had created could, in a way, be given an aspect of himself. They were therefore given the ability to dream, constructing their own shifting realities with the arbitration of their mind. In giving them an ability like his own, Kyrikain became captivated by mortals, and felt pride in his gift. And as he learned of the dangers that loomed in dreaming, he constructed them a place to dream freely and safely to the utter bounds of their mind. That place, of course, being the Land of Reverie.

Domains

God of Dreams

The God of Dreams is often referred to as a King, with the Spire his palace. Kyrikain presides over a realm often considered to be its own reality, with countless lifeforms within that can be shaped and altered to his will. With the Adac omnipotent within this plane, his commanding grip from within the Spire is nearly incomprehensible even to the greatest of spirits. As he gladly admits, Kyrikain enjoys this absolute authority; this ability to command and dictate things around him, and his importance as a sort of Warden to the planes that border one another.

To those fortunate enough to encounter the God on the upside, unforgettable experiences often follow. Not one for subtlety, the Dreamer allows for his full creative breadth to span the realm surrounding him, enveloping others in stories and adventures that will often either keep them exhilarated throughout, or will provide them with logical or moral challenges not easily overcome. Kyrikain views dreams, and nightmares, as tools in developing the mind. As useful as philosophy is the touch of raw emotion, often ignored in the waking world. Within Reverie, he forces others to come to grips with who they are, and what they want, and what they could be.

Kyrikain is a loving God, most believe. He does his best to provide others with opportunities for growth, challenging their vulnerabilities. He often takes on an almost father-like appearance and demeanor in approaching others, and he wears ancient attire; caligae at his ankles and heels, a tunic draped over his shoulder, with decorated, dark-brass colored plates at his shoulders from which the tunic descend. More than most other Gods, Kyrikain feels personally attached to humanity and is sometimes referred to as a 'God of Humans' - perhaps not the God of them, but one with whom they hold a strong, mutual affinity. For this reason, he always appears as a human man and tends to wear garments common to human culture.

The ways in which Kyrikain can manifest are, however, variable -- as he can take the form of a sort of primordial dream aspect, taking on the raw elements of a dream as his form. Before the Sundering, Kyrikain used to appear to dreamers somewhat often, giving mortals a strange sense of closeness to their God. Since then, however, Kyrikain spends much of his time physically present in the Abstract Realm as he desperately attempts to keep the cracks at bay. Moreso than other Gods, Kyrikain is dying, and it is known to those able to perceive his own dreams that he lives with a great deal of fear.

Nightmare Lord

While usually not the first thought that flows into one's mind when imagining Kyrikain, the God is equally as Dream as he is Nightmare. He is a dualistic deity, offering euphoric bliss, devastating fear and the grey areas between.

Kyrikain is fond of the Nightmare, but beneath that fondness does not belie an attraction for evil. The God's moral compass differs from most mortals, though like his kin he views reality as a balancing act between a variety of converging factors. In his mind, fear and anxiety are necessary to illuminate joy and relief. And of course - never spoken of even among Kyrikain's nightmarish cults - is the sense of total power and superiority the Nightmare grants the God, who revels in acting as its Lord and bringing abject horror to mortal minds.

Within Reverie, one given powers to navigate the plane will always know if Kyrikain is near. While they may not realize it is him, undeniably they will recognize a change, one that occurs even within miles of the God's boundaries. On the Downside of Reverie, this aura of change contorts the plane around him to a flux, but one with a familiar overlay. Darkness fills nearly every vestige of the dreamer's view, and a corrupted realm of gnarled trees, mutilated effigies and jagged spikes impaling through the soil will surround the wanderer. Nightmarish creatures will seemingly be breathed out from the surrounding nature itself, hunting unfortunate souls like prey.

Kyrikain's visage, while taking on the mantle of the Nightmare Lord, appears an almost pure ebony black with amethyst colored eyes. He does not appear to wear attire in this state, his shape merely the somewhat obscured contours of his form, but with often inglorious objects floating around his body like multiple bangles, orbiting him as they spin.

Those who awaken from a nightmare of Kyrikain's influence often wake screaming, terrified, with the apparitions they witness scarring their mind for years to come. These nightmares exploit the greatest of fears and weaknesses in the dreamer's mind, leaving an impression of frayed vulnerability that makes one question their ability to feel safe in their dreams.

Philosopher King

As the God of the Mind, Kyrikain holds immense influence over mental and emotional faculties, and is often the God of philosophers, theologians, and others devoted to the understanding of the sentient mind and grander questions about the nature of mortal being. Many of the famed philosophers of history claim to have been (or in some cases, were proven to have been) direct students of Kyrikain, who helped to guide them in their understanding and pursuit of larger answers. Kyrikain is often considered to be the 'father of reason', with many social and political theories deriving from his own philosophies and beliefs. Some societies, such as Teos in Tyrnod, have even used Kyrikain as a model for their society at large.

Crystal Dragons

Crystal Dragons, powerful servants of Kyrikain, are a fairly aloof variant of dragon, typically preferring to remain in Reverie, where they were originally created by Kyrikain. Their appearances and shapes are said to be otherworldly, with large crystalline appendages of both bright prismatic colors and darker, more nightmarish tones. Generally, they wield no fixed form at all; Crystal Dragons generally take on the form of a dream itself, spanning over a wide area and affecting all within their reach with a sort of trance. Shared dreams - or people experiencing the same dreams as others close to them - are generally the result of Crystal Dragons enveloping the two dreamers into their forms, and providing them with a curated experience. They appear to be capable of grasping the surface level of someone's mind, understanding their desires, their fears, the things they often wonder or want to experience. It is then their pleasure to provide them with an outlet for such things, the drakes appearing to enjoy crafting these dreams and nightmares as a creative outlet.

Little is known of the full extent of their power when it comes to the waking world. They appear able to compel others to sleep, as well as holding great powers over the mind; they can charm others to do their bidding, inflict them with woeful terror or distracting euphoria, down to the level of nearly perfectly managing every emotion and all of its branching paths. It is said that the first and brightest of Mentalists learned their craft from Kyrikain's dragons, but as this was so long ago, it cannot be confirmed.

Dogma

Kyrikain believes in the development of what he calls the 'spirit', which can only be done through the mind. He is often considered the patron to much of the philosophical and the artistic. Kyrikain believes in expression and understanding, and empathy; with others and with the self. For this reason, he is neither an individualist or a collectivist, and believes that societies morph as human minds do -- often based on need. He tends to favor any variety of ideology, and even views war as a necessary expression of collective or individual terror and rage.

The God's one aversion is repression, though he views repression as the result of the individual mind. If one lives in a setting that places constraints on their ability to openly express, he implores them to do so within dreams, and even within secret. He is often prayed to by those forced to repress a variety of aspects of themselves, and those prayers sometimes even result in a shift in the landscape of their dreams.

Kyrikain does not have rigid monastic orders, or an intensely dogmatic faith or set of followers. Many times, his most devout followers are wanderers, roaming the world whilst teaching others to be at peace with themselves. It is their place to do in the waking world what only he and his Crystal Dragons can do in the grip of night, opening the mind to imagery of its wider possibilities.

Notable Religious Factions

The Ameslari

The Ameslari are more than just a faction of Kyrikain's followers, they are an Order specifically granted divine right by him, offering them the ability to traverse and compel the forces within Reverie. As the Ameslari will have their own article and unique abilities, more will be written on them at a later time.

The Abstract Realm

The Abstract Realm is sometimes called Kyrikain's personal dominion, but as all of Reverie is, it is more accurate to classify it as his inner sanctum. The Abstract Realm is the foundation of the Dream, and of the Nightmare, acting as the axis that Reverie forms around; it provides Reverie what few boundaries it has, keeping it distinct from the chaos of the reality around it. It is, also, Kyrikain's personal dream. Rather than a cool mechanical construct, or an artifact of divine power, the Abstract Realm is funded by the sheer arcane might of Kyrikain's Dream: a limitless supply of immensely volatile ether, crafting and dismantling reality endlessly.

The Abstract Realm physically manifests as the basement of Kyrikain's Spire, but it appears to undercut all of Reverie, as a sort of ravaging madness lurking beneath the surface of the entire realm. This is the case regardless of whether one is standing on the Upside of Reverie or the Downside, the Realm providing the means for both dreams and nightmares.

And, unfortunately, the Abstract Realm has seen great disruption since the Sundering. As the foundation of Reverie, the destabilizing effect of the cataclysmic event struck the Abstract Realm's edges at first, but with more and more cracks seeping into the boundary. While gaping holes allowing corruptive ether to funnel into Reverie are quickly closed, the cracks remain regardless of how many times they are sealed -- and the vulnerabilities left by them open more and more frequently, allowing for the dangerous influx of this ether into Reverie to occur increasingly often. It is for this reason that the Ameslari were formed, as even Kyrikain and his Draedan are not able to stem the tide alone.

In terms of how the Abstract Realm appears, it is a surprisingly barren place. Many who have seen it compare it to a total wasteland: grey sands, the appearance of a dark and clouded sky, with flashes of imagery and conceptualized creatures of all sorts flashing across the view of the people roaming it. What the leaks of corruptive ether do is, generally, hyper charge the sectors of the Realm surrounding them, turning Kyrikain's vivid dreams into dangerous realities. They craft life from imagined life, providing his mind's fluctuating images with a true form, a shell to wield. And strangely, these creatures appear wrathful, bent on damaging and disrupting the boundaries that surround their initial emergence. The longer they remain alive, the more damage they deal to the fabric of Reverie, and in truth to Kyrikain himself.

Demigods

Kyrikain, of all the Gods, has perhaps the most children and descendants due to the many amorous affairs he has with members of the mortal races. Unlike other Gods, Kyrikain feels that he needs Draedan as allies, and so he does not refrain from proliferating his bloodline. Kyrikain's descendants are varied; some take after his dream-like qualities, some follow after the influence he holds on mortal minds, and some take on Nightmarish traits that often ostracize them from the world around them. Whatever the case, Kyrikain reaches out to those he feels may be able to help Reverie -- and himself.

Kian

Kian was a gift bequeathed by Kyrikain to one of his first mortal lovers, a man by the name of Varal. Of course, as time passed and Varal died, parentage of the immortal Draedan fell to Kyrikain himself - an obligation he was proud to fulfill, as the two have always been exceptionally close. Kian is the leader of the Ameslari, called 'Deoch Daire' by the Order, translating roughly to 'Prince of Dreams'. Though this name was originally coined by Elves thousands of years ago, it remains a common moniker for the Demigod. He is Kyrikain's most powerful Draedan and is by far the longest lived, born to one of the first humans in the Age of Dreams.

Kian's mind is always present in the deeper recesses of Reverie, though it is uncertain to most what he does in his wanderings. On Atharen, the awakened Draedan's physical body has seemingly disappeared into the Nametaker's Tides, where with the most powerful of Ameslari he tries ceaselessly to mend the rifts caused by the Sundering. It is only by his father's intervention that the Draedan and his allies can survive this quest, and even then they must often leave to be expunged of corruption. Many of them - including Kian himself - have gone mad in the past, entering violent delusions and bouts of illness whose impressions have never left them.

The Draedan, ancient in age yet still carrying a great deal of idealism and youthful jubilance, is called the 'Demigod of Memory' for his ability to seemingly live in the memories of times that have long since gone, telling others of stories from the First Age as if they were an incident from the day prior. Kian appears not to forget those close to him, or even simply passing faces, though at times he laments the scars this has left upon his mind.