Speaking of future visions

[youandyoualone]

Does anyone know of a dark-skinned and horned people in any of the Jaunt worlds we have been to? As Messire Kuzunoha did the night previous, I too have had another prophetic nightmare, such as we had in Harrogate.

'Twas of a battle near a shadowed volcano--and then it changed quite suddenly to the dark, horned person lying on a rocky floor, somewhere in which the light was much better.

Comments

[youandyoualone]

Which seems a likely next destination, by all accounts. Do you know aught else of the diabolin?

[capital_asset]

They were a race of interstellar conquerors and slavers, although by the time we first met them, their civilization had been in decline for a while. They're considered volatile and dangerous, and it probably goes without saying that they are... not particularly popular among other species.

They're also known for not being able to sleep or dream.

[youandyoualone]

... but is Questing Country not a realm of dreams? That is how it was described to me.

How odd.

[capital_asset]

It is.

[Which makes the Diabolin's presence... troubling.]

[youandyoualone]

Could one be forcibly brought in without dreaming?

[capital_asset]

[Raidou thinks about that for a moment.]

I'm not sure. It wouldn't surprise me if someone managed it, but I don't know how it would be done. I don't know if something like cryofreeze would be sufficient for that purpose.

[youandyoualone]

What is 'cryofreeze'?

[Medieval man is medieval.]

[capital_asset]

It's a form of suspended animation. It essentially halts the life processes of an individual so they can be placed into storage and revived later.

[Or not revived later.]

Cryofreeze does this by, well, freezing them. I don't know the exact processes used to do this, but they've apparently refined it to the point where it's not fatal. Diabolin criminals would routinely be placed into cryofreeze, and then some other generation of Diabolin would inevitably revive them for their own purposes.

[youandyoualone]

Fascinating.

[At times, the future seems a marvelous place. Although this particular use...]

Such a state could resemble sleep, I suppose. The question is: does it?

[capital_asset]

I'm not sure.

[He's honestly a little surprised the Diabolin never put Ari into cryofreeze. Then again, that could be considered merciful and there's no way they were going to show him mercy.]

[youandyoualone]

Are there any Travelers whose Infiltrations have been cryofrozen?

[capital_asset]

Possibly. But I don't know how eager they'd be to talk about the experience.

[This is not an issue he wants to speak for anybody on.]

[youandyoualone]

True enough.

[capital_asset]

I'm sorry I can't be more helpful on this issue.

[youandyoualone]

You were of some help. I now understand what it is to be cryofrozen.

[capital_asset]

There... is that.

[Although it seems like a dubious benefit at best outside of the practical aspects.]

[youandyoualone]

All knowledge is worth having.

[amadine]

Nightmares are just another kind of dream. They wouldn't have to be able to get to Questing Country to be present - their victims would create an echo of them every time they closed their eyes.

[capital_asset]

True.

[Ari had certainly had enough of them - and he'd gotten off lightly in comparison to many, many others.]

[youandyoualone]

And should they have enough victims, those echoes might very well aggregate into something more solid. That could account for things.

[amadine]

Just so. There are entire lands within Questing Country populated by the collective nightmares of a people, from the monsters in the dark to the manifestations of societal unease. I expect the diabolin fill at least one.

[youandyoualone]

And we are likely to encounter one.

[amadine]

We've dealt with worse. Still, it would be a good time to brush up on psychic defenses, little as they might help those of us who find ourselves in someone else's skin.

[youandyoualone]

I surely will.

[He can at least do the first level of them. Might not be a bad idea to learn the second.]