Lopais Zuenos is a paradoxical assembly of energy and matter. Only one mage has been successful in identifying the layers of this strange three-layered nebula and has only been able to record everything he saw on the memory shards his body brought back, as his mind was lost to the final layer of Lopais Zuenos. These were his recordings.
It has taken me hundreds of years past my race's natural lifespan to come across Lopais Zuenos. My records here spoken into the void will hopefully not be all that remains. From the Astral Plane looking in, it appears to be a weird bulbous core surrounded by two circling rings oscillating around it. Strangely enough it can willingly shift its form to be larger than an Astral Dreadnaught, or as I see it now, small enough to fit in my hand. I am unsure if its perplexing state has anything to do with the current day/night cycle for time is obsolete. One would think me mad for wanting to try diving into something that can barely fit in the sheathe of a dagger, but the Astral proves to be a place where madness IS the method. I shall continue further.
The Waking Wastes - as I began my trek, shrinking down to the sizes Pixies and Sprites would be giants.. I came upon a watery boundary. Touching down on it with my feet, it felt similar to locking a waterfilled wasteland. The surface tension was a mirror. Looking back to myself, I could see a haze down below it and small sparks... weird, perhaps spiritual? Creatures unclear. They are tiny, and move as fast as a Quickling. They don't seem to interact. As I put my hand to this watery membrane, I can feel it as if it were a bubble. I was hesitant to pop it, but.. if I were to continue, that was my only course. With a sharp stab of my fingers, my claws can pierce through - but the bubble did not pop. If anything, it then allowed me in - accepted me as my hand sunk in further. I was able to perforate this membrane down into a gaseous state. There was no solid mass below, no "up" or "down" as I sank in. I just grew tired - but I know that if I fall asleep here, there would be no waking up. As we are in the Astral, that would mean a quiet, painless death. With a use of my spells and even a gift from my lover of a thorny rose, I was able to keep awake as I sank - sometimes hitting globules of more solidified water, other times being able to actually discern the different colorations of gasses. As the sleep mists rolled past me, I could see that I was getting to what might be considered the surface!
Kuamka Ndoto - The fall finally came to an end. Not quite as gracefully as I'd have preferred, though solidity is a welcome reprieve from aimless floating. My head, however, does not appreciate it. I'm finally below the slumber mists that would be clouds now, and fallen towards another layer. This one shows more... significant geographical landmarks. Though like a topography map, I suppose I'm seeing a rendition of... massless objects. As I stand on what I think is a lake, examining it wanting to see more I find myself seeing colorless grasses. I look up again and a mountain has formed before me. Different landmarks move about quickly as a rabbit through a forest. Now that I speak that aloud, I see the mountain has been replaced an there are bunnies around me. Still see through, and clear... but as I describe to you now, I can pick one up and I've note its clearer definitions. Eyes, cute nose, and bunny ears. I.. record a childlike laughter, not from me! As I am observing currently multiple orbs of light... I will not say anything and see what occurs.
I have been following these orbs of light as they have seemingly drawn closer together and taken on the form of children. I was afraid for a moment that it would be some horrific mutation of some sortof glassy-eyed children that'd want to reap my soul, but no, it has been a pleasant surprise as the more these orbs seem to interact with other orbs and play - they... seem to solidify more. As I observe them now and even sit in a field of their making with more than just rabbits, it has now brought in deers, dogs, and even wolves to play. I've taken notice that a boundary has been formed, right where the colors blend away to the same see-through barrier. Just like different oils in water, we have begun to sink. It appears as this dream gets more detailed, it is dropping deeper into another realm. I would like to say that I am afraid, but in all other kinds of expeditions.. this one perhaps feels the LEAST dangerous.
So as not to rush my investigations, I have wandered away from the sinking mass of what I am calling "Dreamscape." I've moved back to the see-through realm of untapped mass. Through my time here I have discovered that I can easily craft and wield various machinery or objects to my designs. The more detailed I can imagine and maybe rationalize, the more color and impact and availability my machinations can come to. The scientific curiosity and possibility on this layer is astonishing. It is possible to make, perhaps almost anything, but.. how 'rigid' it turns into is debatable. Especially as I attune and open my mind to this realm, I believe that my stray thoughts also hold sway for I often see visages of my love in less-than-professional states of attire. All too often, I see my enemies attempting to take MY vacant spot by his side. It is apparent if I do not have control over my thoughts, that.. some..creeping..constructs.. might bloom.
I have observed other light dreamers as they have started to bond together in different realms and states. The dreamscapes that are created are often loose or quaint in details. I've seen the dreamscape of what looks to be an entire city devoid of color and opaque, as one or two dreamers seem to wander about the same one but don't get close enough to solidify large swathes of it. A few seem to solidify about the area of a cityblock before it drops into the deeper realm below. I grow concerned that I am not the only.. 'non-dreamer' here as there are some DIFFERENT other shades of light creatures whose forms are much more.. bulbous, elongating, and rather creepy to say the least. Some observe these dreamers, some interact directly, literally grabbing at the floor of the dreamscape and using it to mold a body for inhabitation. I don't know what these creatures are doing, but.. they have a mastery of the dreamscape which I wish to obtain. Upon my next recording, I will attempt to venture down alongside one of these "overseers."
Ya-kina - Ah, I have jumped onto what appears to be a wild beastland-themed dream. It appears the dreamer that I am hitching a ride with is an apparent wisher to be a flintlock-wielding hero of the wastes. As I stayed close to this dreamer, it solidified to the image of an elven teenager perhaps? Being quite a dissonant appearance to known etiquette of an elf, it is apparent that this place is a harbor for anyone, for anything. It is apparent that the "overseer" has taken on the body of this dreamer's horse. I do not know if it is a choice for observation in of itself to be the beast of burden for the dreamer but as they ride now, I seem able to keep alongside of them without even moving a muscle. As this dreamer sinks fully into their time in this realm, I pass with them now into a new layer down below which was an AMAZING sight to see! Passing through the transparent landscape, I had not seen anything BENEATH the see-through ground below me, until the sinking finally completed. The landscape of this cowboy elf has been isolated into a bubble as it fell down into what I record now. Getting through that layer, I see.. I don't believe there's a word large enough for this string of bubbles forming a ring of a world..? No, multiple WORLDS spun together on one string surrounding a CENTER of collapsing light an darkness. As this dreamscape descended, I could see more clearly what these overseers are or what they CHOOSE to be, as swimming - flying - even RUNNING in air.. I see amalgamations of creatures I could scarcely dream about and others that I am unable to fully classify with bodies... of animals known or unknown to Vedalken-kind? Many of them move around this chain of dreamscapes, the only identifying factors are some of the Monotone colorations their bodies have. I can see dreamscapes where some of these yellow overseers are at conflict with crimson overseers. Some dreamscapes that are entirely dyed one color as overseers have taken over. Those ones are far more... discordant with the rest of the chain, as I can see them ungulate like a heart racing too fast, undulating an volatile before "popping" as streams of whatever dreamscape floats back up to the realm above. The one I am currently surfing atop of seems to have a faint bit of the yellow overseer. It is stable, even possible for me to dip INTO, but I cannot be stuck in one place.
Like the Astral I can move my mind around freely, I simply chose one direction an kept moving along this dream htread. it feels like I can move forever.. passing by a kaleidoscope of different-colored dreamscapes. I'm not sure if there's a beginning or an end.. it seems infinite. A chain of dreamers at rest, at war, at peace.. All surrounding a nebulous multicolored void down below. I tried to move towards it, pushing my mind to the task, but as I rocketed downward everstill, I never got any closer.. I could see that the dreamtrail disappeared behind me, yet I'd never get any closer to this undulating mass.. and whenever i would stop to give my mind a rest before I bled out from the nose, even stopping for a mere moment and I could feel my body wander back up and in but a split second.. the dreamtrail is at my back once more. For Arcana's sake, I feel I must venture further.. but.. upon my third try I can see that these Overseers are now paying more attention to ME than the trail of dreams. I am unsure if my.. persistent.. dives.. may be upsetting some sortof balance.
The Escape. I.. I think I've done it! I think I've found my way to [ ]! I was able to .. ritually BIND one of these overseers and obtain a power to traverse into something that they called.. the Zenith. These overseers refer to themselves as Quori; dreamcreatures able to come an go in this realm and even the Astral. I have been able to subsume one of them to gain the powers to BREACH further! On my trip down, I could feel that I was actually making HEADWAY! I was making my way towards this Zenith, the land of unknown potential an greatest powers of creation I believe I have ever laid eyes upon! But that is a danger that the OTHER Quori could not have, moreso such as myself, get their hands on. I have seen ones of light an dark both barricade my entrance! My magics known to be the building blocks of my world failed me, as unable to bypass their inherent control of dreams, they expelled me - not just from the trail of dreams, but back toward the FIRST layer, the Waking Wastes. There, I was sufficiently DIVIDED from the Quori I'd subsumed, it returning to some sortof primordial GOO as I mayhaps may have taken in too much of it... mayhaps much of my Simic Hybrid constitution had drained more of it than I figured, but this drain was perfect for me to defend myself as the Quori attacked with EVERYTHING that LITERALLY could be imagined. As I speak, I wage war across BURNING STARS and throwing asteroids and mayhaps WORLDS against these Quori that have seen me as a threat, like the blood of an organism fighting back against disease. I will have to make my escape, though even as close as I am to this place - their abilities do not let up. Many have been forced to solidify to a more standard suite of abilities, but what can ONE wizard do against what seems to be a horde of archmages and MASTER warriors? It appears I may need to use my CONTINGENCY. If anyone can read this, know the realm of dreams DOES exist - it HAS been seen before! But BEWARE the Quori.
These have been the recorded memory shards of one Hueegentaug. Ex-highmage of the Crystalspire Academy within the waters of Waters of Pingueui.