Dreameater
The Dreameater is a nightmare-spirit.
Background
| “ | A distant horse's whinny and the sound of licking, consuming flames. | ” |
Old wives' tales gave birth to the Dreameater, and stories of its nightly rides gave it - and continue to give it - power.
Nobody knows exactly where the Dreameater - sometimes called the "Nightmare" - come from. Some suspect the spirit comes from old Europe, born of whispered folklore that told of a horrible black horse that could carry you away in your dreams. Others say it is the product of some truly old Cahalith, some ancient dream-maker whose prophetic visions were not only suggestions of a coming future but would be born whole-cloth from the Forsaken's mind upon waking.
Description
The Dreameater has grown to fit the story it feeds off, thriving on fear and night terrors. Its hide is blacker than night and it appears to contain the faces of a thousand screaming women. Its mane and eyes are always on fire, and its hoof tracks leave flames behind.
Since the Cahalith's stories spread so long ago, the Dreameater became jealous of Luna and her ability to grant visions to her followers. The Dreameater thinks itself a superior spirit and wants to steal the prophetic ability of the Gibbous to grant the fear choir that follows it. Of course, it hasn't figured out how to, yet, and so it sends its choir out to destroy the dreams of the Cahalith and leave only night terrors wherever they go. It does not know that Luna had children other than the Cahalith, but it would be less interested in them since they do not possess what the Dreameater covets.
Storytelling Hints
The Black Horse is a very powerful conceptual spirit, even if it exists as largely a function of its own myth. Since the darker stories of the Black Horse have become so pervasive, it has in kind, become a spirit of existential evil. It has no demon master to drag virgins back too, but it does well off of the fear of concept. It now lives to maintain its own folklore, and satisfy an apparently recent need to destroy the Cahalith. Whenever possible, the Dreameater will come to Cahalith in their dreams and attempt to seduce them into willingly taking a ride. At this point, the Dreameaster eats their dreams as represented below, and for the next day will ride them.
Stats
Rank: 4
Attributes: Power 10, Finesse 8, Resistance 10
Willpower: 20
Essence: 25
Initiative: 18
Defense: 10
Speed: 28
Size: 5
Corpus: 15
Influences: Fear ****
Numina: Blast, Claim, Harrow, Possession
Ban: Must eat the dreams of living beings daily. (See Dream Eating, below.)
Supernatural Powers:
Ride the Willing: Unlike most spirits, this being is able to use the Possess Numen on willing Uratha. The Claim Numen, however, still does not work on Uratha.
Dream Eating: By anchoring itself on a sleeping victim, the Dreameater can see, interact with, and devour dreams for its own gain. Invading a dream requires no roll, but assaulting the dream is an extended task. The Dreameaster initiates an extended struggle, represented by a roll every half hour of dreaming. The Dreameater's dice pool is Power + Finesse, the dreamer's roll is Intelligence + Resolve + Primal Urge. Each successful roll for the Dreameater above the target costs the victim one Willpower point, and the Dreameater gains one Essence. Each successful roll for the dreamer costs the Dreameater two Willpower points. If the Dreameater loses all its Willpower, it is expelled from the dream and cannot enter that person's dreams for one month. However, if the dreamer is reduced to zero Willpower, the Dreameater successfully eats her dreams.
A person without dreams gains no Willpower from rest, as her sleep is devoid and unfulfilling. She has to sleep twice as much to fight off fatigue. Also, any degeneration rolls made during the next day are made at a -2 penalty, due to the detachment caused by the loss of dreaming. The only ways to restore the dreams is to destroy the Dreameater, or to wait one year.
Vision-Hungry: The Nightmare is especially fond of eating the dreams of Cahalith. While the spirit can eat the dreams of any individual, human or Forsaken, the dreams of the Visionaries seem to give it pleasure, covering the stallion with a blood-hued froth across its screaming hide. Any time the Nightmare successfully eats all the nightly dreams of a Cahalith werewolf, that Cahalith suffers a mild derangement (the Storyteller's choosing) until she gets eight hours of uninterrupted, Nightmare-free sleep. Rumor has it that if the Nightmare can do this to a Cahalith ten times in a row, the Cahalith will lose her auspice ability forever. No proof of this exists, but then again, how would it?
References
- WTF: Signs of the Moon, p. 147-148
