Description
Name: Scradem
Age: 863,571 years.
Race: Dreas
Gender: Male
Occupation: Vagrant
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 174lbs
Eye Color: White
Hair Color: White
(Black)Complexion: Fair
(Onyx)Build: Slim, Wiry
Handedness: Ambidextrous, Right-Hand Lead
Scradem is the only known Dreas to exist within the material realm. A creature of the realm of Dream, he could appear as virtually anything that exists, living or not, dead or alive, yet he chooses to manifest himself in the form of a tall, slim man dressed entirely in white. This particular choice seems to have been made on a whim, an utterly random decision. Few have discerned enough of him to ask, and to these he invariably fails to answer in any satisfactory manner. What is known is that for his mundane appearance, whatever it may be, Scradem is anything but.
It is said that Scradem can command the attention of a room simply by being present, or slip by as just another face at will. A sense of presence that seems just as much a toy as a tool to the Dreas, waxing, waning, and shifting to fit whatever fancy he happens to be feeling at the time. One might call it an aura, others call it a weight of self, or lack thereof. It has confounded the efforts of mages and scientists alike, for it simply vanishes when one tries to take a close examination of it, though even more maddening is the clear observation that despite being unable to be detected, it still carries the effect with it.
Curiously, Scradem seems to be indifferent to the notions of power despite his own. He moves about this plane of existence as would a vagrant with tourist tendencies. He leaves in his wake friends, enemies, acquaintances, rivals. And on the occasion, scenes of chaos and devastation. Trying to predict the course the Dreas will take is as attempting to gauge where a blind man will strike his finger on a spinning globe, utterly and infuriatingly impossible.
However much Scrade would like to believe that is purely as he appears, however, he can not deny that the nature of the Dreas are subject to a dark side. When such times as he finds himself wrapped in the thrall of Nightmare, Scradem ceases, and Ignitharem becomes. For all Dreas are but duality incarnate.
Ignitharem is almost indentical to Scradem, although paler. White turns to black, clothes to cloak. But the most notable of the changes that occur lie with his hands, for what once took the semblance of human becomes anything but. Luminescent claws of Immateria, they are the most pointed clue of what the Night-Dreas' skills are. When in dominance, his very appearance seems to waver and fade, as if he were but a shadow struggling to hold its form.
His own manner of being is one of presence. Where Scradem is typically benign, one can feel the ruthless nature of Ignatherm immediately. Not innately malevolent, but violence is always a possibility when the Night-Dreas is present.Personality
Alignment: Neutral
Intellectual Mindset: Changeable
Emotional Mindset: Evasive
Spiritual Mindset: Indifferent
-Personality Traits-
Positive Traits: Amiable, Polite, Graceful (Loyal)
Negative Traits: Distant, Indifferent (Ruthless, Incapable of Emotion)
Likes: Conversation, Sightseeing, Music, Candy Canes
Dislikes: Parrots, Planes, Licorice
Scradem is an impossibly complex conundrum that has defied any attempt at classifying exactly what sort of personality he possesses. He possesses an innate ability to simultaneously demonstrate differing personas in harmony, skillfully and even artfully in some cases. It is known that the Dreas is a very fluent speaker with an unknown language base at his disposal, able to slip into conversation with an ease that is truly enviable. By his very nature as a creature of Dream itself, there appears to be no subject with which he is not familiar. He himself seems omnipotent, and though he will never admit it, his knowledge is indeed limited.
Of course, to the limits of what mortal and immortal lives alike dream of.
As an entity, however, there is finally a rather clear line with Scradem. Loyal unto a fault to those he calls friend, he will stand up to defend them at the slightest hint of sleight. Whether it be putting himself between a man spouting vile slander or a monstrosity intent on rending flesh from bone, the Dreas will step in its path. And damned if those who know of him don't flinch and engage their attentions elsewhere.
Ignatherm is of course, a creature of another color. Retaining Scradem's friendships and alliances, he is nonetheless remote, alien in his persona. His mastery of language and knowledge is more tuned to evaluating weakness, measuring intent. A vicious negotiator, foolishness is ill tolerated, checked with harshness and if warranted, violence.
Ruthless and utterly indifferent, the Night-Dreas is aware of his other half, as is Scradem. One may usurp the other if given the opportunity and the will to do so, though in the long existence they have shared an accords of sorts has been met. Control is typically given and received willingly, Dream ceding to Nightmare when reality becomes too harsh, Nightmare relinquishing to Dream in the face of tranquility.
The balance between the two is something to never disregard, for one moment you could move to strike at Scradem. Only to find Ignatherm leaving you cut to pieces in his wake.
Equipment
Scrade, as a Dreas, may appear human. This is where the similarities between the two end. Pointedly.
Dreas are creatures of dream, and Scrade is a very, very ancient being. Capable of crushing metal with a hammering punch, possessing speed to defeat even greater beings capacity to track, these two forces are woven together with the experience of hundreds of millenia of practice. That he can even appear to perform as a human would, where a moment of careless lapse can turn a handshake into a torn off limb, is testament to his poise, focus, and grace. His own ability to endure is far above and beyond natural, for natural weapons pose absolutely no threat to him. No mere blade of steel or bullet, no matter the refinement, will pierce his flesh. Minor wounds will heal and vanish almost before the eyes, and major damage fails to seriously incapacitate his ability to wage battle. Simply put he is an entity of far superior natural abilities.
Additionally, Dreas possess unique natural talents. First and foremost, they are shapechangers.The limit of their power is the limit of the imagination, and it is of such a high degree that exceedingly miniscule alterations can be made. The sole drawback to this power is that once altered, they must wait a time before changing anew, and the grander the change the greater the energy requirement to alter their form. Scrade's own reserves in this aspect though are unusually high, even for his own kind.
Secondly, is their ability to draw the power of Dream into reality and wield it. This energy is called Immateria, and it can be woven into simplistic methods such as auras or shields. Or harnessed in more elaborate methods, such as the weaving of dream-spells, the forming of illusions, even going so far as to be capable of generating entire creatures. Or opening minor gates to let something from Dream into reality.
Finally, is their most closely guarded talent. Known as Fantasm, this power allows a Dreas to enter a state of existing between the fabric of reality and the fantasy realm of Dream. In this state, damage can be rewritten as ineffectual, attacks can be altered to sink through parries and past barriers. It comes at a terrible cost, however, draining the essence of a Dreas being and mandating a period of assimilation of Immateria to regenerate fully. When used, if ever, it is utilized very, very sparingly.
Scrade, however, has developed methods of using his latent talents in previously unheard of ways, creating entirely new abilities. Additionally, his exceedingly long existence has gifted him with developments that no other Dreas has ever possessed.
The Liar is the blade the Dreas wields, a katana that when first looked upon, is almost invariably mistook for a bokken, a wooden practice sword. However, this is inaccurate. Liar is a weapon forged of the chaotic Immateria of dream, and when draw from its sheath, appears as a long katana of pitch black, light absorbing metal. It's name all too accurate reflects the blade's abilities, for it can not a blade at all. It is a weapon of mercurial nature, able to bend and transform into any weapon the Scradem can think of. However, it suffers a critical drawback, as it's shapeshifting abilities are in truth, and illusion of such great magnitude that it can trick an opponent's body into wounding. To see through the illusion is to reveal that is in fact but a sword.
Essence of Dream is Scradem's primary ability sets, allowing him to call into being powers through Immateria to replicate the effects of spells, or at higher caliber, remake the very world around him. Through twisting the etherial nature of dream into reality he is able to cast as would a mage or cleric, or by spending more time preparing the weaving of fantasy into reality, modify the situation around him to suit his needs or preferences. However, like the laws of Dream, these abilities can never directly apply to any living creature or plant, and must be made to do so through the medium of a spell-dream or willing acceptance of the target.
A particular method of wielding Immateria that Scrade excels at is a method he calls Drake's Breath. Drawing Immateria into his hands and forming a catalyst of it, he also inhales a breath laden with fire-aligned Immateria. Unleashing this breath into the catalyst produces a torrent of fire of such high heat and intensity that it will melt even adamantium.
Ignatherm possesses all of the skills of the Dreas, for he is simply the Nightmare side of their nature. As to specific talents he possesses, his own are linear, darkly themed variants of Scrade's own.
The Truth is his own sword, and is nothing at all as Liar. A long, two hander broadsword, it simply appears vicious with its jagged, faceted edges, casting an eerie, etherial glow along its luminescent, pale edge. Formed of Dark Immateria, it constantly tears gaps into Nightmare as it swings, the resulting penumbra of energy chaotic enough to grant it astonishing power and stalwart resiliency. However, it's primary power is to enforce the full truth of Nightmare onto an opponent with every wound or clash of blades. It assails the psyche with visions of their worst fears come to life, including those buried in the subconscious, for it is a blade woven out of the substance that such a mind brushes against in slumber.
Essence of Nightmare, Ignatherm's reflecting of the Dreas, is much more direct than its counterpart of Dream. While bound by the same laws, it tends to be channeled more as summons, attack spell-dreams, defenses, and portals between reality and fantasy that the Night-Dreas wields with the skill of a master.
The mirror to Drake's Breath is Winter's Gale. This specific power is utilized by seeding compressed pockets of ice-aligned Immateria within a breath, and once unleashed generates a windstorm of ice and subzero air currents.
History
((To be added))
