Random Nightmares

The Dream Realms are a place of fantasy where three types of beings walk.

The gods of sleep: These are the beings who created the realm to do their respectful jobs. However as there are so many more dreamers than actual Sleep Gods they call to those whose minds function at higher rates, minds that allow them to see the Dream Realm and to walk its many convoluted paths.

Dream Weavers: Weavers are those who are special enough to see this other realm that is only accessible through sleep. When a Weaver sleeps, their conscience leaves their body and is taken to the Dream Realm where they go about in spiritual forms to guide the dreams of the many dreamers flowing between sleep and wakefulness. It is up to Dream Weaver to gift their chargers with either good dreams or nightmares and some go so far as to stick to specific dreamers to grant long epic adventures through continuous nights.
One thing a Dream Weaver must always keep in mind is that they are directly influencing the minds of the Dreamers; therefore if they tried hard enough they could have detrimental effect upon a persons psyche.
Since Dream Weavers have an affect on the Realm they can create things within it and of it. That is why some Weavers have established homes and gardens and even 'pets' that they have made. It is into these private locales that they might herd their select Dreamers so that they can do their work in the comfort of their own environments.

Dream Walkers: These are the other souls that wander the Dream Realm. They are just normal people, represented as balls of glowing light that float along the various paths of the Realm. They have near no control over a Weaver entering their dreams, although if they have a strong enough will they can steer the dream into where they want it to go.
~~~ Information may be updated when remembered X3 ~~~

That's just the run down on the dream realm my character Joker inhabits most of his time ^-^ I'll post how he meets his closer friends after this, its a bit odd how I'll do this... First I'll write his intro with some other characters. At some later stage I might go back further and show how he met, became engaged and then not with Kinrei. Still debatable if I will or not.

Feel free to comment wherever, whenever~ Any questions, anything I should expound upon feel free to point out, whether here or in a PM.

There was death staining the Dream Realm.

There were strict rules pertaining to the lives of Weavers, one of which was to never kill the Walkers. The gods were never lenient when it came to this rule being broken although they themselves never paid attention to the finer details. That is why Walkers have been known to wake crazed and, in extreme cases, commit suicide to escape the never-ending horrors that visit them in their sleep.

It was of course the Weaver’s fault, yet there was no rule saying they could not visit a Dreamer repeatedly, even thought such a thing would lead to a death.
But no, in this case a Dreamer’s death would not stain the pristine and fantastical world that was the Dream Realm.

The death of a Weaver could.

Weavers are bound to the Realm of Dreams; they lack physical bodies yet their minds flow freely through the world, connected to it by the very thing that makes them Weavers. The connection of being able to draw upon the wisps of power and wishes that abound so freely and manipulating them to create things limited only by the imagination and will.

Cities rise on a whim and fall from apathy.

Yet in this world where Weavers, who are second only to the Gods of Sleep, rule Dreamers an enemy has entered.

Somehow, ordinary Dreamers finding a way to enter the Dream Realms defiled what little sanctity remained in the act of being a Weaver. They saw what Weavers were doing and labelled it evil, an affront to free will.

And as all humans do, they decided to end it with death.

They targeted Weavers, lurking in the shadows or remembering faces of those next to them, hunting them down in the real world and ending their lives and manipulations.

~~~

Kinrei stood among a group of Weavers she had the questionable honour of spending time with. One was a schizophrenic girl, one a boy who was bristling with indignation and the remnants of spent fury and another one was lying dead on the ground.

Moika, the bristly one held a bloody mace in his hand as he glared at the dead body of Zanth, a Weaver whom Kinrei got along with but not to the point where she would raise a finger to save his life. Maybe that’s why he was dead...

Aki, normally a nice enough girl was changing into her alter ego of Maya, her hazel eyes becoming a deep crimson red that were fixed upon Moika.

“You... how dare you kill another of us in cold blood...” Her whisper was a thing of hate.

Moika scoffed at her, “Cold blood? He murdered my friend! I was only speeding up what karma would have done in the end.”

Kinrei was about to speak up when they heard fast footsteps approaching. As one they turned and gaped.

“Cha~ra~ra~! Joker appears~!”

“Cha~ra~ra~! Joker appears~!” He was a young man of average height and he looked upon the scene with humour in his eyes. Maya was startled enough to revert back to Aki when she saw them. How can someone have purple eyes with and ice blue ring around his pupil?

“Ooo, Joker appears to have stumbled upon a mystery~!” He pranced around the group, a microphone suddenly appearing in his hand as he grinned at them all.
“There appears to be a dead Dream Weaver lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood. Look, see how the blood be all red and shiny? Not tomato sauce here! This be a true crime, worthy of Joker to solve!” By now he was hopping from foot to foot with excitement and Kinrei groaned. He’s like some kind of diabolical puppy from hell, she thought tiredly.

“Joker has assessed the surrounded peoples and has decided- the girl with blue hair be the true murderer of this crime~!” He finished his announcement with a flourish, pointing at Aki who was now staring at him with her mouth hanging open.

“E-Excuse me?” She gasped. Surprise was slowly giving way to anger and she felt Maya rising within her at such an un-just accusation. “What do you mean it was ME!? Am I holding a bloody mace? Am I the one who proclaimed I was doing this to avenge my friend?” By the end of this statement Maya had fully taken over, her crimson eyes glaring at Joker with loathing.

Moika gulped and stepped back, noticing that even Joker’s eyes had widened. “Maybe now he’ll behave more nicely...” He mumbled, hoping it would be the case. Maya was very volatile and Joker seemed to be pressing all the right buttons.

“Y-You...” Joker stepped backwards then abruptly pounced upon Maya, “WOW! Joker be amazed! Did you know your eyes change colour?” He pulled out a pair of binoculars and looked at Aki through them. “Waa, this be a miracle of science to be sure!”

Kinrei held her face in her hands. “Typical, typical idiot he is...”

While Kinrei was busy feeling sorry for having any kind of acquaintance with Joker he was still hovering around Maya.

“Joker likes Aki! Aki be interesting~!” A bright flash and he was suddenly holding a paper with Aki’s image upon it. “Look~! INSTANT AKI~!” He grinned goofily at the image then back at Kinrei and Moika. “Joker likes Moika as well because his name be funny. You all be on Joker’s watching list~!”

Maya’s eyes narrowed, still recovering from the bright flash. “Watch list? Watch this then!” She blurred slightly, in that split second of time appearing before Joker and then being back to her original position. Kinrei and Moika blinked in surprise, not really understanding whether or not they had seen something move or it had been their imagination.

Alas, it was true for a this cut appeared on Joker’s leg where Aki’s blade had cut him. “I might not kill but I will harm you if I am provoked.” She snarled at him.

Joker stared down at his leg in shock, but before he could react Moika strode forward between the two. He glared at Maya and lifted his mace, “You will not harm him. I don’t kill in cold blood either and I do protect those who are weak.”

Kinrei stifled a laugh at anyone calling Joker weak but Joker himself was egging Moika on.

“Avenge Joker!” He yelled, clutching his leg and wailing, “It’s going to fall off!!!” Kinrei rolled her eyes at such blatant over acting. “It’s only a scratch, idiot.”
“It’s not just a scratch! Look!” And without further ado Joker pulled his leg and started bopping Kinrei over the headmost forcefully with it. “IT. FELL. OFF!!” He yelled in time to his whacking.

Needless to say there was silence in that small clearing, broken only by Kinrei’s yells of pain and Joker’s insistence that his leg had truly fallen off. Maya looked to Moika and sighed, closing her eyes then reopening them to be hazel once more.

“I was merely warning him... so there’s no reason to fight-“ She began when suddenly Joker was beside her on both his feet and grinning at her.

“Aki likes Joker enough to give him a warning? Joker likes Aki too~!” This announcement only led to all three staring at his leg, which was where it belonged and not whacking Kinrei.

“H-How...? Your leg...?” Aki stammered in shock. Honestly this Joker was spending way too much of Aki’s brain on his antics.

Joker grinned at all of them, “Joker’s leg grew back~!” He posed dramatically, resting his chin on his hand as he looked away mysteriously, “A miracle of life to be sure...”

Kinrei narrowed her eyes, “Oh, a miracle to be sure. I’d like to know how you attached a wooden leg back onto yourself!” When Moika and Aki just looked at her as if she were crazy she pointed at her sore head. “I felt WOOD!”

Joker sighed and spread his hands, “Joker is caught!” He skipped away from them before turning back.

“Joker I am, Joker I is, and Joker’s be known for the tricks up their sleeves~!” He paused then corrected himself. “Or in this Joker’s case, his pant leg~” Smiling to them all he glanced at his bare arm and sighed, “Joker would love to stay and chat to you all but sadly he must depart. Things to do~” And with that he swan dived into a nearby Dream Sphere, leaving three befuddled Dream Weavers in his wake.

“Woah...” Moika finally stated. “That was... different.”

LolJokerRules. I don't normally read stuff, but that's cool ^^;;

Joker looked upon the scene in the Dream and frowned. The Dreams weren’t restricted to those only from his world; this was common knowledge since there were Weavers from those realms that the Dreamers came from. The odd thing about this Dream was that Dreamers tended to stay close to those from the same realm unconsciously.

The area Joker had been recently was a place where people from his own world were, hence the fact that this dream didn’t belong here. It had a medieval feel, placing it in a rural realm... and all the occupants were dead.

Glancing up at the sky he quickly built an illusion should Kinrei decide to exercise her power of opening dreams to view. He then went to work on trying to catch some hint as to why the Dreamer was dead... but still caught in a dream.

Kinrei, Moika and Aki were considering their choices on what to do next.

“Can we just move away from the body?” Aki asked, glancing uneasily at the corpse of Zanth.

Moika was also restless but for different reasons, “What is that Joker up to?” he wondered as he squinted at the Dream sphere, willing it to reveal what lay within.

Rolling her eyes Kinrei sighed, “Once more he brings trouble wherever he goes. If you’re so curious Moika, I can open that Dream.” The purple haired girl offered magnanimously.

“Open it? How?” Even Aki found this statement curious.

“It’s just one of my Weaver skills,” Kinrei grumbled, “I... plug in and play.”

So saying she poked the sphere and it slowly cleared, showing a burning village with bodies strewn over the paths or fleeing from a monster of immense proportions. The sky was apocalyptic, dark red with rolling black clouds of smoke and ash. The scene wavered as if immense heat caused it to flicker, a fact enhanced by the fires that spewed up like geysers.

Kinrei might have found the dream awe inspiring, maybe even fearsome if t weren’t for just one teeny little detail...

“I can’t believe Joker put his head on that monster!” Moika burst out as he laughed incredulously at the scene.

Indeed, for the fearsome beast had Joker’s head spitting fireballs at the running citizens.

Aki was torn between laughter and concern. “I don’t know if I’d call that a nightmare or a weird dream that borders on insane.” She commented tugging at her long blue hair tied in a braid.

“I call it a cover up.” Kinrei glared, her gold eyes narrowing “Nice try Joker, but try again next time.” She growled and punched the sphere in a manner reminiscent of a person smacking a recalcitrant TV. When the illusion merely wavered and ‘Joker’ looked up and spat a fireball directly at them Kinrei swore and brought down both fists upon the sphere, an action Aki found offensive.

“Stop it! You might hurt the Dreamer!” Aki hovered protectively over the sphere, ignoring Kinrei’s glare from where she’d been pushed to the floor. As Aki framed the sphere in her hands, wondering if irreparable damage had been wrought she saw the image waver before dissolving, revealing a scene that was as still as a picture.

“It’s frozen?” Moika asked, puzzled by the stillness. Aki merely shook her head wordlessly, her eyes filling with horror.

“What has he done?” She whispered, her hazel eyes glazing over with tears.

Within the Dream Joker was standing at a village square, surrounded by the broken and mutilated bodies of the villagers. Ravens soared overhead but were kept at bay with a shield Joker kept up. Sensing their regard he looked up at the sky, knowing that while he couldn’t see them they were watching him.

“You found Joker!” He grinned up at them, hiding his unease with the mass grave before him. He couldn’t bear thinking of the things around him as bodies; none of them were intact to label them as such. “What do you think? A nice arrangement Joker has made, yes?”

Aki pulled away from the sphere with a cry of revulsion, backing away even more as Joker came out of the Dream.

“Y-you, you’re just like Kinrei!” Aki bit out, her eyes overflowing with tears for such loss of life.

“Now Aki, Joker can prove he is very unlike Kinrei, after all Joker is a boy. Would you like to see?”

“NO! You spread fear and kill innocent people! This is just a sick game to the two of you!” Aki shook her head violently, her blue braid whipping around with her agitation. Without her knowing it she’d drawn her sword and the tip was wavering as it pointed at Joker.

“Gods, you’re just hysterical and can’t even think straight, let alone point that thing where it’ll do damage.” Kinrei spat in disgust. Aki’s self-righteousness and judgemental nature called nothing from Kinrei but contempt.

Moika wasn’t paying attention to the two girls, he’d been watching Joker closely and noticed his tension even as he smiled over the bickering while quietly collecting the Dream into a jar.

“Now, now...” Joker began, winking conspiratorially at Moika, “Joker knows he always begins fights over his glorious self-“

Whirling, Kinrei grabbed an innocent Dream sphere and chucked it at Joker’s head, causing him to be absorbed into it.

“Now that he’s gone for a bit...” Her gold eyes looked at Aki coldly. “You, stop jumping to conclusions. Didn’t you notice how tense he was? He’s not the ‘same as me’ as you so nicely put it.”

I demand that you keep writing in this! I love how you can actually picture the characters going chibi and beating each other up :XD

Joker is the best character ever and I must RP with him some day!

*squirts Hito with a red water pistal*

“Now that he’s gone for a bit...” Her gold eyes looked at Aki coldly. “You, stop jumping to conclusions. Didn’t you notice how tense he was? He’s not the ‘same as me’ as you so nicely put it.”
~~~

Moika glanced at the dream sphere Joker had been placed within and with a twinge of regret lightly tapped it, a glass sphere surrounding it. For him it was like locking it until the discussion was over, Joker provided too many distractions and diversions.

Meanwhile, Kinrei was giving Aki a dressing down.

"-don't pay attention to anything that doesn't revolve around you and that pesky dreamer you are protecting so valiantly. For all your altruism you don't even notice little things, do you? I swear, if I was distracting you now with all this *****ing you wouldn't even notice if Moika was doing something to your dreamer!"

Aki's eyes widened and she whirled to look at Moika who returned her look with one of affront, "Honestly Aki, she's right. We only met a short while ago and look at you jumping to conclusions just because Kinrei said so."

Aki turned red, but she stood straight as she looked at them both with as much composure as she could, "Well I'm sorry if I'm offending anyone... I can't help the way I am."

"Nope, you can't no mater how much I wish otherwise." Kinrei casually insulted before rolling her eyes. It was at times like this she wished she could just sleep, but no she couldn't... which brought her back to the point she was trying to make.

"I can't change how I am either... and the fact is I wouldn't change unless I could get a decent nights sleep anyway." Her statement only earned a puzzled glance from both the Weavers so she spoke plainly, "I'm an insomniac."

Moika tugged at Aki's sleeve, "that actually explains it," he whispered to her.

Aki pulled away, frowning at Kinrei, "I don't get it. You hurt people because you're sleep deprived?"

"UGH! Honestly-" Kinrei spun around, a stick manifesting in her hands as she used it to hit a scarecrow that popped into existance before her. Aki nor Moika dared comment at the silver hair and cat like expression on the scarecrow.

"Aki... how can you blame her for being bitter? It's kind of cruel to make someone who can't sleep a Dream Weaver, instead of sleeping she has to give dreams to those who can. Even we sleep, it's how we get into this Realm." Moika sympathised, wincing when Kinrei gave a particularly vicious whack that sent the head rolling.

"But still... she sends people INSANE!" Aki bit out as the two of them unconsciously backed away from the insomniac weaver who was expending more energy than she ever had.

Turning, Kinrei flipped her hair behind her and rested upon her stick, "I only go after those trully deserving ones Aki. Really, I do!"

Moika winced, "The sarcasm was really unnecessary, Kinrei..."

"Fine, but that doesn't get rid of an important point here. Joker isn't malicious." Kinrei paused to allow that to sink in, "He didn't kill that Dreamer, someone else did."

"But-"

"No. Gods, you're so hung up on that one thing aren't you? You didn't notice the real issue here. What happens when a Dreamer dies?"

"They vanish. Except this one didn't." Moika answered, glancing back at the sphere which held Joker, "Joker knew that... it's why he kept the sphere."

~~~

Next chapter: A higher being informs them of the threat to the Dream Realms and all who inhabit them... maybe =3

Very interesting...

Why don't people read this??? This stuff's great! *Huggles Hitokiri*

Moarrr!!!

Joker watched the drama unfolding before him with ill-concealed patience.

It was a typical wishful dream, the young peasant girl with visions of rising above her station by marrying the young lord of her village and showing all the other youths that she really deserved to be waited upon and cared for.

Normally Joker didn’t mind these dreams, he kind of liked how regardless of the various races and cultures he became privy to due to his dream wandering, fantasies seemed to be the same throughout.

People strived to better themselves, others to prove their worth and there were those who wished only to recognised and loved.

But now was not the time and place for him to be trapped in the generic fantasies of a young girl – a girl whom he could see was actually really quite selfish and cruel at heart.

“Be gone with your frivolity!” Joker wailed at her, frustrated at being unable to escape and tired of her constant primping in whatever reflective surface she could find. Sadly she couldn’t hear him as he had to manually insert himself and blend with the Dreamer’s view of the world; if he showed up with items that the Dreamer could not recognise he would only be a hazy figure, easily overlooked.

Turning to look up at the sky, he glared; his purple eyes darkening and the blue ring surrounding his pupils become a cooler shade of icy blue.

“Nasty trick Moika pulled on Joker! When Joker is let out of here…” Grinning at the idea of the various pranks he would pull in revenge, Joker cast a baleful stare at the girl and subtly altered the threads that held the dream together.

~~~

Kinrei leaned against her summoned boulder, calmly observing Aki and Moika’s reactions to the news of the dead Dreamer.

“You mean… the person is actually dead?” Aki whispered in horror. It was unheard of in the Dream Realms. No one died permanently; it wasn’t possible, as you couldn’t physically harm their bodies – just their minds. Technically you could turn a Dreamer into a living vegetable but they would still be alive and their bodies and minds were intact… sort of.

“I don’t know Aki… I’ve never heard of something like this happening before,” Moika pulled at his lip, worrying over the ramifications these events could have across the whole Realm. He liked the Dream Realms, he didn’t want them to close or whatever the Dream Gods would do to contain the event.

“There isn’t much we can do about it, it’s not really our problem to deal with. Joker will have to contact one of the Gods though and let them know what is happening…” Kinrei murmured then frowned in consternation, “what is Joker doing? I threw him into the Sphere but he would have come out by now.”

Moika blinked then remembered what he had done, his face turning red in embarrassment, “Ah! T-that would be me… I kind of locked him in until we finished discussing him… he tends to be very distracting…”

Kinrei and Aki looked at him in surprise then to the Dream Sphere containing the troublesome Joker, “I could really use that skill,” Kinrei observed then sighed, “we really should let him out though.”

Nodding, Moika gently tapped the Sphere and watched as the glass substance that surrounded it melted off and vanished.

Almost simultaneously Joker popped out of the dream and the Dream Sphere dissolved as the Dreamer inside awakened.

“What is the meaning of imprisoning Joker inside? Joker is very insulted!” Joker folded his arms and gave as chilling a glare as he could towards Moika.

“What on earth were you doing in that dream?” Aki gasped, sidetracked by how fast the Dreamer had awakened once Joker was free.

“Nightmare. It seems that if we are still in the Dream the Dreamer can’t awaken. Interesting no?” Joker commented and smiled benignly at Aki as he sidled up beside her, “did you miss Joker?”

Sniffing and moving away from him Aki replied, “Not in the least.”

“Ah! Joker is hurt!” clutching his heart he reeled backwards, swooning towards Kinrei who sidestepped and let him fall to the floor.

“We are missing the point the here,” Kinrei growled, losing patience with Joker’s shenanigans, “Joker, do you have that dead Dream Sphere?”

Looking up at his violet haired friend, Joker sighed, “Yes, the sphere is safe with Joker.”

Kinrei snorted, “I highly doubt how things will be safe with you… but… just remember to take it before the Gods. It needs to be brought to their attention.”

Love your story thus far: cannot wait to see your Gods of Sleep in the text, though. Keep it up! ^___^