Dal Quor

Of all the planes, Dal Quor, the Plane of Dreams, remains the most enigmatic and, to the uninitiated, the most perilous. It is not a realm of fixed geographies and immutable laws, but a constantly shifting tableau of thought and emotion, shaped by forces both mundane and malevolent. Understanding its true geography requires abandoning conventional planar cartography in favor of a deeper comprehension of its inherent, unsettling nature.

At its outermost reaches, Dal Quor is ringed by an ephemeral shell of dreamscapes. These are the individual pockets of pseudo-reality where the dreams of mortals from countless Material Plane worlds play out. For most dreamers, this is the extent of their journey into the Realm of Dreams. Here, a dreamer might find solace or terror, often left undisturbed, though the manipulative influence of Dal Quor’s true denizens frequently subtly shapes these fleeting realities.

Beyond this volatile periphery lies the domain of the quori, the sinister inhabitants of this plane. Within the inner curvature of the dreamscape ring, vast and magnificent domed cities rise from the very void of dreamstuff. These are not built structures in the conventional sense, but manifest thoughts given form, shaped by the collective will and power of the quori. These cities serve as the nerve centers of quori civilization, strategically positioned to grant their inhabitants easy access to their vital sustenance: the psychic energy of dreaming mortals harvested from the surrounding dreamscapes.

The quori claim the absolute "center" of Dal Quor as their supreme territory, a region of profound influence and chilling order. However, even within their controlled domains, and certainly beyond their cities, the plane devolves into a roiling boil of dream-born landscapes. Here, without rhyme or reason, mountains of thought melt into oceans of emotion, forests of anxiety burn into deserts of despair, and entire topographies grow and dissolve in an instant. This chaotic inner void serves as a protective, yet utterly alien, buffer for the quori's structured existence.

The very physics of Dal Quor defy Material Plane understanding. Subjective directional gravity dictates that 'down' is wherever a being perceives it to be, a disorienting reality for those accustomed to a fixed celestial pull. Furthermore, the plane is highly morphic, a fluid canvas upon which perception and will exert direct influence. While dreamers possess a limited capacity to subtly reshape their immediate surroundings, the quori manipulate this inherent mutability with terrifying ease, altering reality to suit their insidious designs. This malleability extends even to time itself, which flows disproportionately; ten minutes experienced within Dal Quor equates to only a single minute on the Material Plane, accelerating the quori's machinations.

It is crucial to note the peculiar dynamic between Quori and dreamers. Under normal circumstances, creatures native to Dal Quor possess no capacity to directly harm a visiting dreamer's physical or mental state. However, the dreamer's "dream self," a projection of their astral form, does surprisingly retain the ability to inflict damage upon the quori. This imbalance profoundly influences quori strategy; direct confrontation is rarely their preferred tactic. Instead, they favor a nuanced approach rooted in tricks, illusions, and subtle manipulation, shaping dreams and subtly guiding mortal thoughts to further their grander, more sinister agenda on the Material Plane. To navigate Dal Quor is not merely to traverse a landscape, but an active, perilous engagement with the very fabric of thought and the calculating architects of nightmare.

From the chilling depths of the Astral Plane, Dal Quor pulses, an alien heart of thought and dream, ever-coterminous with Eberron. It is not merely a realm of slumbering minds, but a plane of unfathomable sentience, the wellspring of nightmares and psychic energy that has plagued our world for millennia. To understand Dal Quor is to stare into the abyss of another reality, populated by beings utterly alien to our own.

At the apex of this horrifying ecosystem are the Quori, the undisputed masters of Dal Quor and the architects of the Dreaming Dark. They are not creatures of flesh and blood, but beings of pure psychic essence, formless on their native plane, manifesting only through sheer will or through the subjugation of other beings. Their existence is a relentless struggle against their own inevitable destruction, driven by a cycle of planar convergence that threatens to unravel their very being. To avert this, they seek to remold Eberron in their image, to dominate our dreams and minds.

Yet, a far more ancient and deeply unsettling stratum of Dal Quor exists, one referred to in whispers as Leng. This region within the Plane of Dreams is a place of primordial nightmare, seemingly unshaped by the dreams of mortals and perhaps predating the current Quori cycle. Its inhabitants are truly indigenous to Dal Quor, yet they operate with an alien logic distinct even from the Quori.

Foremost among these are the eponymous Denizens of Leng. These humanoids, often resembling pale, cloaked figures with an unwholesome aspect, engage in cryptic commerce, trading in fragmented thoughts, stolen memories, and the very fabric of nightmares. They possess a chilling intelligence and a mastery over corrupt dream-magic, their motivations opaque and their cunning profound. They are known to traffic with entities of immense power, their influence reaching into the deepest, darkest corners of the cosmos.

Accompanying the Denizens are the grotesque Gugs. These towering, four-armed behemoths are creatures of pure, ravenous nightmare, their gaping maws lined with rows of needle-sharp teeth. They are the brutish muscle of Leng, driven by an insatiable hunger and a primal ferocity that terrifies even the more calculating denizens of Dal Quor.

And then there are the Hounds of Tindalos, perhaps the most terrifying and conceptually disturbing of Leng's progeny. These entities are not creatures of flesh or even pure thought, but of angles and geometry. They inhabit and travel through the very corners and sharp angles of spacetime itself. Those who delve too deeply into primordial lore, or whose minds become unhinged, risk drawing their attention. Once sighted, a Hound of Tindalos will hunt its prey relentlessly, able to manifest from any sharp corner to deliver a swift, agonizing end.

Dal Quor is not merely a reflection of mortal slumber; it is an active, predatory realm. From the sophisticated psychic warfare of the Quori to the primordial horrors of Leng, its inhabitants represent an enduring and profound threat to the waking world, a constant reminder that the line between dream and nightmare is perilously thin.