The Dreamgiving
Introduction
"Dreams are seeds. The Dreamgiving is the wind that carries them forth."
Among the Eaglors, the rite of Dreamgiving stands as the holiest of traditions. Since time immemorial, the tribes have soared upon the winds of Kena’an, bound by a sacred charge: to uphold balance and safeguard the fragile threads of what is yet to come. Especially in the shadow of the divine conflict known as the Purification, each surviving Eaglor shines like a solitary firefly; an ember of vision amidst the choking darkness of a world torn by strife.
Diviners, prophets, and seers, no people are more devoted to Verana, the goddess of dreams, more than the Eaglors. They traverse the thin veil between sleep and fate, and through Dreamgiving, they offer the ripest dreams of all realms to Verana, trusting she will weave them into threads of prophecy and strands of destiny.
This ancient, sacred rite unfolds across two realms. It is a mirrored dance between the waking world and Oneiria, the boundless realm of dreams, where every soul’s dreams drift like starlit gardens, blooming on islands floating in the dreamscape's starry night.
The Rainbow Moon
A Celestial Omen
Dreamgiving is performed only during a rare celestial event known as the Rainbow Moon. On this night, Kena’an’s moon turns translucent; its pale, rocky surface transforming into crystalline glass. Through this fragile veil, the light of the countless multicolored stars that roams the sky filters, setting the moon ablaze with an ethereal iridescence. It shimmers and shifts like a living halo of rainbow fire. To the Eaglors, this is far more than a celestial marvel: it is the opening of a divine threshold between worlds.
The Mythos
The Eaglors believe the Rainbow Moon heralds the thinning of the veil that separates the waking realm from Oneiria. On this night, the countless dream-isles of the realm of slumber drift close, their edges brushing against mortal sleep. Dreams grow vivid and strange, alive with symbols too sharp to forget. Nightmares awaken with sharper claws, and even those untouched by magic may feel the gentle caress of Verana's will upon their rest.
It is in this fleeting hour that the most potent dreams - the ones ripe for prophecy - begin to pulse with meaning and power. For a single night, the goddess reaches deeper, listens closer, and claims what must be woven into the tapestry of fate.
The Timing
Among the Eaglors, one of the greatest burdens is to discern when the Rainbow Moon will next grace the skies. It dances to no mortal calendar. Years may pass without its appearance or it may crown the heavens twice in a single cycle. It is not charted by stars, but by the hidden tides of dreaming souls.
Throughout the year, shamans prepare - purifying their thoughts, gazing into waterbowls of memory, and walking trance-paths, sleeping beneath ancient trees or isolated peaks. Their purpose is to receive a vision, a sign or a whisper from Oneiria. Yet even their gifts are not infallible.
There have been times when they waited in solemn ceremony beneath an empty sky. When no moon appeared, the tribes mourned not their error, but the meaning behind it: The dreams of the world are not yet ready to ascend.
Dreamgiving: The Mortal Tradition
Announcement & Preparation
Preparations for Dreamgiving begin the moment the shamans speak of the approach of the Rainbow Moon. This vision may arrive with only days of warning or follow years of silence. Yet, no matter how long the wait, it is met with sacred urgency.
From that moment onward, every Eaglor is expected to begin crafting a dream-token: a symbol of a dream or nightmare that has shaped them. These tokens may take the form of painted stones, feathered carvings, handmade toys, bone pendants, engraved shells, or whispered verses written in silver ink. No two are alike, for no two dreams are ever the same.
The Eve of the Rainbow Moon
On the eve of the Rainbow Moon, the tribes enter a solemn fast. Fires burn low, and silence reigns. The Weavers - traditionally women, often trained in divination - gather the tokens and bless them. From their collection, they seek a pattern: a shape woven through the dreams of many. This pattern is then spun into a ceremonial silver-threaded banner, its form believed to reflect the will of Verana herself. The previous banner, now fulfilled, is burned at dusk. Its ashes are cast to the wind - sent back to the dreaming sky from which it came.
The Moonborne Dance
As the moon begins its ascent, the Eaglors commence the Moonborne Dance. This is a ritual of wide, sweeping circles danced atop the highest peak, where its reverberations may reach the ears of Oneiria. This dance is more than devotion; it is a beacon and a guide. Through movement, breath, and rhythm, the dancers attune their spirits to the restless tides of the dream realm, calling the Moonborne angels to navigate the ever-shifting isles of slumber and harvest the ripest dreams; not only those born of the Eaglors, but of all peoples, races, and realms.
During the rite, a bitter, violet-colored tea known as Ulun’thar is shared. Brewed from silverbloom petals, smoked bark, and rare dreamberries, it is said to soften the veil between thought and stars. Some say it tastes like a childhood memory and others that it blends visions of Oneiria's Isles with their thoughts.
The Feast and Dream Sharing
What follows is a grand feast. Food is prepared using recipes passed down for generations: honeyed roots, flame-seared fruit, and breads shaped like sleeping birds. But the true nourishment lies in what comes after: a gathering around the great fire, where dreams are shared in story-form. Nightmares are ridiculed and casted away. Some tales are sung, others spoken in solemn whispers or wild, joyous laughter.
At last, when the moon reaches its peak, the tribe lies down together beneath the sky. No walls, no roofs - only the earth, the stars, and the dreams that rise among them.
The Dream Ascendance
At the very moment the Dreamgiving stirs life in the waking world, Oneiria awakens to its own sacred rite, known as the Dream Ascendance. This solemn duty is entrusted to the Moonborne, an elite order of Verana's angels and tireless guardians of the dream realm.
The Moonborne glide across the drifting isles of Oneiria, seeking the ripest dreams; those ignited and marked by the Eaglors' offerings. Through their Dreamgiving, the Eaglors compose a rare and harmonious symphony, weaving together the corporeal and incorporeal. The radiant patterns of color and scent spun from their tokens and their dance blaze like celestial beacons across the endless dreamscape, calling forth every ripe dream to be gathered.
To outsiders, it may seem strange that divinity leans so heavily on the fragile gifts of mortals. But to Verana, mortals are the living embodiment of divine grace: a god's essence made flesh and breath. Only they can interpret the true needs of the material world and let them be heard and understood. It is through their offerings that the goddess’ will is revealed and set upon the loom of fate.
The Moonborne carry delicate Onyx Luna sickles, sacred tools forged to harvest dreams with the utmost care and reverence. Then these tender, golden-hued fruits of the mind are gathered gently and carried to the heart of The Lunar Spire, the academy perched atop the moon itself.
Within the shadowed sanctums known the Halls of Prophecy, the dreams are cast into a shimmering pool of endless possibility: the Mirror of Becoming. From there, the essence of these dreams flow onward, whispered into the waiting presence of Verana, who weaves them into the grand tapestry of fate.
All written content is original, drawn from myth, memory, and madness.
All images are generated via Midjourney using custom prompts by the author, unless otherwise stated.
The Moonborne glide across the drifting isles of Oneiria, seeking the ripest dreams; those ignited and marked by the "Eaglors' offerings. Through their Dreamgiving, the Eaglors compose a rare and harmonious symphony, weaving together the corporeal and incorporeal. The radiant patterns of color and scent spun from their tokens and their dance blaze like celestial beacons across the endless dreamscape, calling forth every ripe dream to be gathered." This right here was so eloquent and filled with such scenic and worldbuilding poetry. I love this article.
Thank you so much <3