...especially because I almost picture Morgana as a less techno-organic looking Borg Queen... You know, behind all the shadows and puppets and such.

I'm guessing that shewas one of those that experienced a'niorna and didn't fully lose the sense of herself, yes?

You know where to look to see the how (at least after I get more of it written), but yes, by Spiderlily's care, Morgana never lost her sense of self. If Spiderlily wanted that to happen though, it absolutely could have...

...to see if more had been added.

I suppose we should consider ourselves lucky... or... maybe not.

So. Cool. I want to make a character given a name in that world!

And yes, Morgana's story is just becoming more and more interesting. I'm going to feel pretty awful about how much Kith is going to look forward to stabbing her *sigh*

Who's to say you haven't already been given such a name?

I mean, if Breeblicious doesn't evoke images of an ethereal, pink frosted, dagger cupcake what's it good for?

You have a point.

Places where the Wyld Dream overlaps the Material

ao'milin

Special mushroom rings are the most common form this takes, a small and simple two-way gateway that sprites especially can slip through. Sprites being the smallest and yet most durable form that can withstand the 'dreamless realm'.

Sometimes it's specific impossible phenomena, often obscured by and shrouded in mist and clouds. When people of Audalis see shapes in the clouds, ever wonder how real those shapes actually are?

The magic 'matter' of the dreamscape is usually intangible in the material. Thus, the forms become obscured, hard to see for what it really is. Except in liminal spaces where imaginations of both fae and mortal overlap.

The peripherals of reality where the hold of Audalis' deities over the shape and strength of reality becomes thin enough that it overlaps the domain of a dream. Behind reflections in mirrors, ice, or even the corner of one's eye. Barely observable in cloud, mist, and fog.

"So, you're a romantic, are you? Eyes are the window into the soul, you say?"

"Naturally. And I must confess, my lady, your eyes, they are stunning. Brilliant and dazzling."

"What do you see then, in my eyes?"

"Like finely crafted jewels, faceted and-Dear gods! How-"

"Haha, oh you are a delight. My eyes are indeed open. But not to my soul."

"What are you?!"

"I'll forgive your sudden lack of decorum if you answer me truthfully."

"Stay back!"

"What did you see?"

"Get away from me!"

"Rude. You could've at least told me that they were... Dreamy."

There may be the perception of some scholars in Audalis that revel in the obscure and niche knowledges that the fae are organized into two overarching courts. But is that really the case? The dreaming as a whole is as chaos incarnate.

Where then, does the concept of these overarching courts come from? Quite simply, it arises as a simple misconception that if and when a sprite speaks of belonging to a court, the courts they speak of are the same ones. But this simply isn't the case. Each A'nia effectively holds their own court that their denizens are a part of, but the A'nia in general don't ascribe to any 'court' aside their own.

That said, it's not as if A'nia are isolated from each other. Just as trade, politics, and relations exist in Audalis, so to does it in A'niorna. Considered another way, inspiration and keys are the currency of the dreaming. Sharing dreams with each other is one way they stave off stagnancy, an exchange of inspiration. Keys, in this context, are connections to Audalis itself. Locations and times where dream can overlap material. In this context, Cal'ele'miur itself is as one of the most valuable, for being the largest and most constant place of overlap.

So if courts are not as they appear from an outside perspective, what of the reference to seasons? Winter court and summer court nomenclature?

Another scenario where perspective is missing context. Without context, a sprite proclaiming that they're of winter might seem to be indicating an allegiance. But to the dreams and dreamers, Audalis itself is like winter to them. A harsh and inhospitable environment, cold inasmuch as it lacks the saturation of magic that is as innate to the dreaming as the very ground is innate to the material. Thus, a proclamation of being 'of winter' is more the declaration that they are designed to withstand extreme conditions. Usually these are fae made from Audalis natives given new name and form.

Similarly, a common thing to overhear will be sprites saying they are 'returning to summer'. Without context, it is easy to make the mistake that it's a return to the summer court. But quite simply, if Audalis is their winter, an inhospitable environment, then summer is A'niorna, a realm of bounty and harvest.

As varied as the A'nia are, so too are their motivations and desires. Loosely grouped, there are a number of common dispositions among the Dreamers

• The first and most straightforward of these is, fundamentally, isolationist. Magic and fae departed Audalis, and they're content with leaving it behind
• The second group are those seeking new inspirations, for better or worse. Exposure to Audalis and partaking of experiences of the people of Audalis, by proxy or otherwise, becomes a source of inspiration through which new dreams can be developed. They may attempt to collect or influence mortals and encroach upon the material plane for the sake of finding such inspirations.
• The third group are the Dreamers that want to retake Audalis in some fashion. Some may seek to reclaim it as what they knew it as, a sort of shared dream between chaos and order, wishing to incorporate it within the Wyld but in their design. Others might simply want it for the sake of wanting it. In either case, the motivation leads to the same action, an attempt at weakening the divide between material and dream, usually through introducing certain dangerous artifacts into mortal hands and relying on mortals themselves to do what they cannot directly.
• The fourth group are mostly made up of newer Dreamers, who see Audalis as less a place to be reclaimed, and more a canvas in need of a new painting. They will act similarly to the third group, but out of whimsy more than any driving motivation.

This lends itself to enable fae in general as a wild card in the landscape of Audalis. While the machinations of the gods and their followers are, as ever, the driving force of a lot of conflicts upon Audalis, there remains room for those fleeting and rare phenomena that defies explanation being linked to Dreamer activity.

The lore 

To be updated as I increase the complexity and scale of these random tables

Simple Domain Random Table

(draw from a playing card deck)

Overall aesthetic:

• Red: Dreamy
• Black: Nightmarish

Landmark:

• Hearts: Maze/labyrinth
• Diamonds: Castle
• Clubs: Tower
• Spades: Ruins

Location characteristic

• 1: Underwater
• 2: Floating (in sky or clouds)
• 3: In the canopy (tree or mushroom)
• 4: Mountainous
• 5: Everything is huge
• 6: Plains/field
• 7: Above/beside lake
• 8: Mirror world
• 9: Mushroomy
• 10: Caverns
• J: Crystalline
• Q: Flowery
• K: On/at a rainbow

First draft. Going to keep drafting

"You've traveled far," the Sylvari innkeeper noted to the travelers, a Corian family by appearance and crest.

"Yes. We are staying here for a time to meet with some Sylvari of Ela'Ishtel" the inn keeper presumed that was the father who spoke.

"Ah. Business, I presume? I don't mean to pry, but it's just curious you are here in person," The inn keeper replied, taking the exchange of coin and producing two room keys.

"I'd say that it was to inspect the materiel personally," the mother now spoke, "But that is something of an excuse..." her gaze drifted towards where the sandy-haired children chased each other around.

"They caught ear of a river near here with unusual... Footprints?" the father explained

The inn keeper's polite smile faltered, "If I may," she began, "Duin Shee Dalnya is not a place for children. Even if I had full faith in Heren'salkya, that is a gamble I wouldn't take."

"It's real, then?" the mother asked

The inn keeper nodded, "Oh, yes. The tiny prints on the shore, wanderings of tiny folk we cannot see."

"What's so dangerous about that? Sounds like just animal tracks mistaken for-"

"No," the inn keeper insisted, "There is no mistaking them, and the river holds stories. Old stories. They tell of a queen of faerie, dead with the departure of magic. And it is surmised by some that they who still patrol the river wait for their new queen. All we know for certain is, when the prints are seen in greater abundance and frequency, the river is likely to be soon shrouded in mist. People and animal alike nearby have vanished during the time the river mists over."

"So it's safe otherwise?"

"Perhaps. But again, that is a gamble I'd personally be unwilling to take. Whatever is at play there acts beyond the whims of fortune."