Soldier Dream

[Brian]

Once everyone has awakened, Parthipan, Bjorn, Phil, and Nathan find themselves stumbling into the library at about the same time.  The librarian is just returning from the table where he's set the customary breakfast platter for everyone as they enter the door.

Nodding wordlessly, he moves behind his desk, flipping through a huge book and not paying much attention to the room at large.

[Dracos]

"So what have we learned today, friends?"

Dracos

[Bjorn]

"Nothing," Bjorn says, taking a seat and some toast.  "Seeing as the day has only started.  

Reaching into his armour, he pulls out his dream transcript.  "Last night the Brotherhood of Morpheus paid me a visit.  I was told quite a lot.  A lot of it was about the nature of the Contest, and what we and the Brotherhood are aiming for, respectively.  Interesting stuff, but not immediately pressing."

Putting the transcript on the table for others to read, he continues.  "He also told me some things that are important now.  First and foremost, we have two invincible enemies.  Elric we already knew about, but apparently the Seventh Cabal managed to give all the power they gained from this dream to that Jotun leader.  Apparently, we have no way of stopping him.  But if we can get enough wolves to call for him, Alan -- one of the Brotherhood -- will be able to enter the dream long enough to pull the Jotun out."  Bjorn looks across the table.  "I'm guessing that's Parthipan's job."

"More importantly, we don't win this stage of the Contest by stopping the Dreadmarch.  That isn't a change sufficiently large to attract the Dream's attention, since it's just a return to the status quo.  What we have to do is free the Younger Gods, who have been trapped by the Archonae in crystals." He looks grim.  "I'm not taking bets on exactly which crystals those are."

Leaning back in his chair, he sighs.  "What else?  Let's see.  Starmaster Journe did escape this dream, and now he serves the Wanderer.  He sent back a shadow of himself, and that was probably what was used to make Mattias, though it isn't certain.  I searched Dorian's body, and his weapons."  He pats the bow and quiver he has beside his chair.  "Didn't find anything worth mentioning.  I suppose we can have people look at the weapons, but..." He shrugs, and then adds,  "Oh.  And apparently I need to find my other-self's family.  Except no one knows anything about them.

"Good bacon, this."

[Dracos]

"Quite."  Dracos swiftly reads over the information.  "Hmm... You know, that makes what I saw at the crystals yesterday make slightly more sense.  I followed the thread trailing it to the crystal.  I tried to make out the magic that formed it but it gave me a headache.  Powerful stuff.  Anyhow, Elric is tied to the crystal in some way.  Whether he's drawing power from it or restraining it, he's tied to it."

Dracos pondered taking a bite to eat.  "So, we have to retrieve and shatter the crystals to drive off the dreadmarch forever?"

Dracos

[Bjorn]

"I don't know about 'shatter'," Bjorn says, taking a sip of his drink.  "Just because the crystals are binding the Younger Gods doesn't mean that breaking the crystals will free them -- it might kill them, instead, for example.  It would be nice to verify that those crystals are the prisons before we destroy the only thing keeping us from going mad."

[Ginrai]

After finishing what was on his plate and getting seconds, Ginrai says, "I doubt that we would be able to free the Younger Gods by doing something such as breaking the crystal or, if that really was the case, I doubt it would be easy to break it.  Also, I talked with Devin yesterday and he has an idea that could possibly make tonight's battle end quickly.  It would involve combining the powers of multiple lorekeepers.  He will discuss more of it during the meeting with Lord Kevin and Radagast."

[Dracos]

"Hmm...  The crystals are tied to the Arcahnoe and Pax had some of it's members end up there.  Perhaps they could research it.  They'd be in the same boat after all."

Dracos

[Bjorn]

"The Archonae are hardly going to volunteer technical advice," Bjorn says, drily.  "We have a crystal of our own here.  Besides, we have no way to communicating with the other Pax members -- and we shouldn't trust them any more than we have to.  All other things aside, I'd rather not take the chance that the Dream decides that they did all the work."

[Ginrai]

"That could be possible if they knew of this."

While taking a bite out of a slice of toast, Ginrai thinks of some possibilities.  "Actually, maybe I can reach that area by using my 'seeing the wind' technique.  Though we would then need to find a way to communicate with them."

[Bjorn]

"What could be possible if who knew of what?" Bjorn asks, confused.

[Ginrai]

"I meant the Pax members that are working there.  Though, as you mentioned, that might not be a good idea."

[Bjorn]

Bjorn shakes his head.  "I think we should leave them for the time being," he suggests.  "Let's see what we can do with the crystal here before we start relying on Pax."

He looks back at Philip.  "You said that Elric is connected to the crystals?"  He frowns.  "That's... interesting.   Mattias said, if I remember correctly, that those threads represented sources of his power.  But you don't think that's necessarily the case?"

[Dracos]

"Well, It could easily be true.  It's a simple concept, locking up a source of great power and drawing from it like a permanent generator but it could also be easily that Elric and the other spawn of the Elder Gods are being used as part of the enchantment holding them in.  A part of their power being tied into trapping the younger gods away.  The thread looked well...hmm..  Would you mind if I just showed you?  Hard to describe a visual phenomenon like that."

Dracos

[Bjorn]

Bjorn frowns.  "Even if I saw them, what would it mean to me?"  He shakes his head.  "All right, go ahead."

[Dracos]

Dracos focused and shared with Bjorn the images he'd shared with Radagast just a little bit before.

Dracos