The Tide of Dreams
The Tide of Dreams
“Where the horizon begins and reality ends.”
— Hook · Explore
“The village of Aethelgard has always been alone, safe behind the mists. Now, a man from nowhere claims he dreamed of the sea and woke on your shores. The Elders command you to find the truth at the southern edge of the world.”
— Hook · Explore
The village of Aethelgard sits under a perpetual gray sky, surrounded by the impenetrable Great Veil. In the village square, a man in strange, salt-crusted fabrics lies bound in a wooden cart, babbling about a 'Mainland' and 'Kingdoms' that do not exist. Elder Morwen hands the party a set of sharpened obsidian spears and points toward the forbidden southern cliffs, where a Pillar of Smoke has begun to rise.
Elder Morwen
She approaches with a mixture of fear and stern authority, her hands shaking as she offers a map drawn on cured leather. She speaks in whispers, terrified that the 'Dreamer' has brought a curse upon their isolation.
Rumours
d4 · table- 01The Strange Man was seen weeping because the sky here is the wrong shade of blue.
- 02Young Kaelen went to the shore two days ago and has not returned from his hunt.
- 03The southern tides have turned a luminescent purple, and the fish are dying in the surf.
- 04Ancient scrolls suggest the island was once part of a larger world, but the Elders burnt them.
If the Dream-Silt is not contained, the southern half of the island will dissolve into a chaotic dreamscape, eventually consuming the village.
Background Lore
Aethelgard is a pocket dimension or an isolated isle hidden for centuries. Elian, a sorcerer from the mainland with the rare gift of 'Oneiric Manifestation', accidentally dreamt a physical ship into the Aethelgard coastline. This act breached the Veil, and now the dream and reality are fighting for dominance on the southern beach.
A stranger was found in the forest claiming he arrived on a 'ship' from a distant land after falling asleep. The village elders want the party to investigate the southern shore to see if this ship exists or if the man is a spy for a rival tribe.
