DawnArdent

Some animals sacrifice themselves for the good of their group and species. Others do the reverse. - The Bad Stuff, Dreamer's Handbook John materialized on top of a tall cliff. It wasn't a teleportation spell - his consciousness could surely handle the in-between places. He sat down on a nearby rock. Such a tranquil view. The local horizon and the fractally recurring lush vegetation soothed him. John occasionally brought his pupils here; perspective helps with thinking. Despite the view, he gazed inward. Unlike many who reacted to the height with a love-hate kind of fear, John saw the height as a representation of distance he felt within

There are many kinds of self-imprisonment, and many a dark arts preying upon them. - Know Thyself, Dreamer's Handbook Lucy slammed a book onto the table. "Look!" Her triumphant expression didn't quite match her bloodshot eyes. Eric sipped more tea. Ahh, still warm. "What is it? If you stop hovering and take your hands off it, we might see actually something," Rose said. Lucy's intense expression remained unchanged, but she did raise the book so they could look at the cover. Eric saw faded words on black leather, and a skull adorning the cover. 'Spells and Command of Unlife', a grimoire of necromantic arts. Marked on the bottom with smal

The mind projects its rationalizations on the irrationally broken symmetries of the world; a 'rational mind' is a contradiction of terms. - Dynamic Perfection, Dreamer's Handbook A circle of friends surrounded Eric. The Playground was active as ever. Although he spent most of his time in the more remote outskirts of Dream Camp - attending classes, practicing, or just flying around while thinking things over - it was always refreshing to return. He wasn't too fond of crowds in real life - they drained him - but the crowd here always uplifted and energized him. The friendly, pliable nature of the place made it easy to come together and have

When the fear is gone, don't rush to fill the temporary void with nervousness, anxiety, need, addiction or negative habits. Take the deepest breath you can... then breathe out. The world is yours to dream! - Practical Guide to Nightmares, Dreamer's Handbook "I'm glad you decided to come. As you know, the final nightmare class is not a teaching class, but a trial." Mr. Smith dangled a vial of black liquid in front of them. "While fear on its own is terrifying, it is the confusion our minds create to avoid fear which allows nightmares to disfigure and magnify that fear out of proportion - making it appear so much worse than it

Too few observers, and your reality isn't objective enough. Too many observers, and the identities merge together, collapsing the wavefunction beyond repair. Get it just right, and your reality might maintain some coherence. [Teleporter's addendum: There's no need to operate at such high level to extract usefulness from this concept. Sidestep, and stretch yourself briefly - teleportation is your easy-going, everyday friend. Note, 'subspace' and 'hyperspace' are ugly words.] - Stability, Dreamer's Handbook Eric rammed into the door. Thankfully, his thick forehead absorbed most of the impact, and before his nose would flatten painfully agai

One benefit of nature magic should be obvious even to an outsider: leverage. Be elegant as a butterfly flapping its wings, and you'll whip up a storm in no time. - Balance of Natural Systems and Complexes, Dreamer's Handbook Snow painted the freezing landscape white. I hate winter. Eric's fire-shield cantrip kept him reasonably warm and resisted the tugs of the chilling wind. The interlocked treehouses stood out of place this far from the Playground. There were six in total, their rooftops covered with sparkling snow. One of the kids climbed the ladder, and others, like Eric, just hopped up to the entrance. Eric looked around while waiti

Mirroring is an advanced technique with a number of variations: Mental mirroring simulates the flow of thought processes in order to root out miscommunications and establish a shared context. Deep empath mirroring assumes and reflects back emotions in order to establish a deeper link. Use selectively, since this process also reinforces those feelings. Soulhacking is an aggressive variant which can be used to great success against hostile or stubborn targets: fears are mirrored, mapped out, overcome and the subsequent back-and-forth is done from a place of power. - Flows of Identity, Dreamer's Handbook "Sure, we can sit on the grass. The

The obvious limitation of mathematics is the unquestioned axiom, but there is a hidden one as well: dogma. To define an axiom, we have to define what it means to define. If we don't, we fall into a continuous collapse of meta-mathematics, and to prevent that, we define 'to define' against our own consciousness that thinks about mathematical concepts. Thus, symmetry is broken and an axiom is established against the backdrop that is dogma. We have to see mathematics for what it is: a human language doing its best to tame magic with form alone. - Where Magic and Science Meet, Dreamer's Handbook The traditional method of linear definition and

Hunger for power is the most common reason for meddling with powerful forces. However, there are those who, either through curiosity or the push-and-pull of social forces, end up staring into the sun too long. The lucky ones get burned out, corrupted or possessed. The unlucky ones become religious fanatics. When looking into the abyss or the sun, use an adequate protective filter: a strong ego. - Misuse of Force, Dreamer's Handbook Eric sidestepped the fireball. It was poorly aimed, but the goblin shaman's tiptoeing annoyed him to no end. I'll wipe that toothless grin off your ugly mug. This shaman wasn't as fierce as the goblin warriors w

Before there was light, there was touch. Mages prefer sight; but touch is close and sight is distant. A healer has to know when to turn one into the other. - Sense and Comprehension, Dreamer's Handbook Healing magic is in a unique position among the magical disciplines, as it has an additional, broader objective: to unify all the magical disciplines. Skilled shamans, elementalists, symbol-weavers and other mages who insist on maintaining their human identities access the depths through compartmentalization and rely on selective knowledge as well as trained intuition to stay reasonably balanced. Healers operating at those depths do not hav