Somnium

Somnium is the type of magic used in the Dreamscape. It is divided into three categories, Creation, Destruction, and Manipulation. Although everyone is born with a small degree of Somnium, most people don't learn how to use it properly and it eventually fades away.

Somnasts

Somnasts are people who are adept at Somnium and are able to use it properly. Somnasts make up roughly 2% of the Dreamscape population. Every Somnast has only one version of Somnium: either Creation, Destruction, or Manipulation.

The Uniques

The Uniques are a small group of Somnasts who have reached complete mastery within a certain field of their Somnium. The Uniques are widely regarded throughout the Dreamscape because of their ability to help or hurt the world. The Uniques make up <1% of Somnasts and only one Unique can exist per category.

Types of Somnium

Creation

Creation Somnium is exactly what it says it is. The Dreamscape magic ability to create certain things from nothing. In order to properly use Creation Somnium, you must keep a positive mindset and keep negative thoughts from affecting you. This is convenient since all adept Creationists are born with a helpful spirit and positive mindset. Creation is the most common type of Somnium and most Creationists live in the Upper Land. Creationists cannot create Ensinthium in any form, and in order to create something they must have an understanding as to how that object works. This means that creationists could successfully create a bucket with ease, but, unless they spend decades studying it, they would not be able to create a quantum supercomputer.

Creation Uniqueness

The categories of uniqueness for Creation Somnium are food, architecture, geography, weapons, mechanisms, and concepts. While they doesn´t always need to be a Unique for each category, there will never be multiple Uniques of the same category. Some Creation Uniques are more common than others. While there is almost always a food or architecture Unique, the Dreamscape would be lucky to have one Concept Unique every millennium as they are the most powerful of all Creation Uniques due to their ability to create emotions or ideas.

Destruction

Destruction Somnium is the Dreamscape magic ability to destroy things. It exists as the polar opposite of Creation Somnium thought not as common. In order to destroy something you must keep a negative mindset through anger, sadness, fear, or disgust and Destructionists are born without hope and a negative mindset. Most Destructionists live in the Under Lands. Unlike Creationists, Destructionists do not have to understand something in order to destroy it, but some things are unable to be destroyed like Ensinthium and objects imbued with Never Ending Hope. Destruction takes a physical toll of those who use it with the effects ranging from a splitting headache to coughing up blood depending on how strong, large, or dense the object destroyed was.

Destruction Uniqueness

The categories for Destruction Uniqueness is different from Creation Uniqueness. While Creation Uniqueness is varied with many different types, Destruction Uniqueness is divided into two categories, physical and conceptual. The former ability allows its user to destroy any and all physical objects, within limitations, while the latter of the two is the ability to destroy a person's ideas and emotions as well as concepts. Destruction of a concept is a technique that is unknown to anyone currently and if the Conceptual Destruction Unique learns and performs this technique, the effects could be catastrophic. Both of these Destruction Uniques must always exist at the same time and whenever one dies, a new one is born to take their place. Together these Uniques rule portions of the Under Lands and they are constantly fighting each other for control as well as the Creationists.

Manipulation

Manipulation is the rarest and most powerful form of Dreamscape magic that gives its uses the ability to manipulate an object´s properties. In order to use Manipulation Somnium, you have to have an unstable mindset that is prone to changing. Very few Somnasts are Manipulators and both Creationists and Destructionists fear them. In fact they are so rare that no group of Manipulators exist and they usually travel on their own. Manipulators have to deeply understand whatever they are manipulating in order to properly change it. If they dont the object may not change or it could change into something unintended. Because of this most manipulators travel the worlds learning the inner workings of as many things as possible. Manipulators are so rare that as far as we know, there is no uniqueness for them meaning with the proper training, any manipulator is capable of changing physical things, such as buildings or tools, or conceptual things, such as emotions or ideas. However, unless the Manipulator is very skilled, people will notice them manipulating their emotions. Most manipulators are forced to travel along since others are fearful of them and their ability to change people's emotions. However, this doesn't stop certain Manipulators from trying to pass off as Creationists or Destructionists by manipulating particles in the air. Whenever one manipulates anything they hear voices during the process and for a short time after. The volume and tone of these voices changes based on the difficulty. If one manipulates an apple into a orange they would barely hear a voice in the back of their head, but if one wanted to manipulate a mountain into pure gold they would hear screams of unimaginable volume that lasts for at least a Lumion.

History

Somnium has been used since the creation of the Dreamscape. In fact it is theorized that the creator of the Dreamscape was the most adept Somnast ever, capable of mastering all three forms of Somnium. However as time has gone on, the number of people capable of using Somnium has dwindled greatly until now only a few remain. This is due in part because no one can keep the mindset required and them and also in part due to the price it takes to master a form of Somnium.

Learning

Everyone in the Dreamscape is born with a small amount of Somnium that usually drains away by the time they reach a year old. Within that small group only a fraction manage to have the mindset necessary to keep their abilities and even fewer wish to pay the price it costs for learning the skills. Outsiders are another matter altogether. Every outsider has a type of Somnium they can use but they wont know about it until it is awakened some way or another. After awakening it, they have to keep the right mindset when using it to have it be effective as well as pay the price to grow their skills.

After one masters the mindset required for their Somnium, which you practice through small usages like creating or destroying an acorn, you must pay a price to improve your skills. This price is not set but changes for everyone based on how strong they wish to become and the Rule of Equivalent Exchange. However, once you decide to make the exchange, there is no undoing it. This means you can´t go back on the exchange nor can you try for a different exchange, whether that be growing your powers or reducing them. The Somnium Exchange is a one time event that cannot ever occur again for any person.