Roots of the Dreaming

Discovery, Scientific

The arrival of Atagua (1279 DR) had reinforced the Citadel’s role in environmental intervention and relief work, while the Shieldbearers and Field Naturalists Guild had grown into powerful institutions managing humanitarian efforts and ecological restoration projects.   As these efforts expanded, the Field Naturalists and the Cartographers’ Collective began mapping anomalous planar phenomena, trying to understand why certain regions of the Material Plane seemed to be vanishing from historical records.   Their research eventually led them to an impossible conclusion—there was a civilization that had not disappeared in the conventional sense but had instead become trapped within the fabric of a living dream.   This was Dayawlongon.

Rediscovery of Dayawlongon
By 1299 DR, the Radiant Citadel had firmly established its role as a center of governance, humanitarian aid, and economic expansion.   The arrival of Atagua (1279 DR) had reinforced the Citadel’s role in environmental intervention and relief work, while the Shieldbearers and Field Naturalists Guild had grown into powerful institutions managing humanitarian efforts and ecological restoration projects.   As these efforts expanded, the Field Naturalists and the Cartographers’ Collective began mapping anomalous planar phenomena, trying to understand why certain regions of the Material Plane seemed to be vanishing from historical records.   Their research eventually led them to an impossible conclusion—there was a civilization that had not disappeared in the conventional sense but had instead become trapped within the fabric of a living dream.   This was Dayawlongon.   A Civilization Trapped in a Dream
Dayawlongon had once been a vibrant land of jade-green rivers, towering banyan trees, and mystical naga-ruled kingdoms, where mortals and celestial spirits lived in mutual harmony.   However, centuries ago, an event of unknown origin had partially severed Dayawlongon from the Material Plane, casting it into a surreal dreamscape.   The people of Dayawlongon were not dead, nor entirely lost, but frozen in an eternal, semi-conscious existence, their civilization caught in a state between reality and slumber. Time flowed erratically in this realm—what felt like days in the waking world could be centuries in Dayawlongon’s dreamscape.   The only way to find them was through tracking memories, planar anomalies, and forgotten dreams.   Through their research, the Field Naturalists identified places where the veil between reality and the dream-realm had worn thin. Meanwhile, the Cartographers’ Collective, working closely with Yeonido’s celestial scholars, found ancient maps depicting routes that led into nothingness—pathways that simply stopped existing.   The first real breakthrough came when an Ataguan herbalist named Calla Windcrest discovered a rare blossoming plant that only existed in dreams.   This plant, the Moon-Fruit Lotus, was believed to have originated from Dayawlongon’s sacred groves, but it was now growing in the wilds of Atagua—despite having no known method of pollination in the waking world.   Following this lead, a combined expedition of Field Naturalists, Shieldbearers, and Cartographers ventured deep into the lands where the last known records of Dayawlongon had been recorded.   Using ancient rituals derived from Yeonido’s celestial spirit negotiations, the team performed a rite of remembrance, calling upon the lost voices of Dayawlongon’s past.   For a brief moment, the veil shimmered and tore open.   Through the rift, they saw a world suspended in dream—serpent spirits coiled around floating islands, great banyan trees extending into an endless sky, and the people of Dayawlongon walking as though unaware they had ever been lost.   With great effort, the researchers helped anchor Dayawlongon back into the Material Plane, restoring its place in Faerûn.   When the first descendants of Dayawlongon stepped onto the Radiant Citadel, their Dawn Incarnate—the Serpentine Banyan—awakened, its colossal, winding roots stretching outward, as if reestablishing its hold on reality.   Dayawlongon had returned from the dream, but its people now had to grapple with the passage of time—for them, only a few years had passed, but the rest of the world had moved on without them for centuries.   Immediate Impact & Political Shifts
1. The Integration of Dream Magic & Time Displacement Studies
Dayawlongon’s unique experience—existing in a liminal state between time, dreams, and reality—led to fundamental shifts in Citadel governance and research.   Scholars and mages across the Citadel sought to understand how a civilization could become "lost" in this way, leading to the formalization of planar studies within the Cartographers’ Collective. The first research projects into dream magic and its effects on time and consciousness were launched. This work later became instrumental in helping Tayyib’s people reintegrate (1327 DR), as their celestial isolation had created similar time-dilation effects.   2. The Debate Over the Responsibility of the Citadel in Planar Affairs
Dayawlongon’s return forced the Speakers for the Ancestors to confront a difficult reality—if a civilization could be displaced beyond mortal perception, then how many more had been lost, forgotten, or erased?   This led to philosophical and political debates on whether the Radiant Citadel had a moral duty to seek out other lost civilizations.   Yeonido, Djaynai, and San Citlán argued that no culture should be forgotten or left behind, pushing for expanded research into lost histories. Sensa Empire, Siabsungkoh, and Zinda countered that the Citadel could not afford to divert all resources into locating civilizations that might no longer exist. This debate created long-term divides, leading to the eventual split in diplomatic philosophy that would be tested when Umizu arrived (1332 DR).   3. The Expansion of Dream-Connected Infrastructure in the Citadel
With Dayawlongon’s return, the Citadel underwent significant expansions in spirit-based diplomacy and dream-woven architecture.   The Preserve of the Ancestors gained dedicated dream-gardens, where people could meditate and connect with lost memories. New diplomatic protocols were created to facilitate interactions with beings who existed in dream-states or alternate realities. Their work directly helped stabilize supernatural negotiations, which later assisted in managing Tayyib’s celestial advisors (1327 DR).   Contributions & Lasting Changes
The Establishment of Planar Studies in the Citadel
The Cartographers’ Collective gained political and research authority, leading to the first formalized efforts to locate lost civilizations.   The First Philosophical Rift Over the Citadel’s Expansion
The rediscovery of Dayawlongon divided Speakers on whether the Citadel had an obligation to search for more lost cultures.   The Expansion of Dream-Connected Infrastructure
Their return led to innovations in diplomacy, spirit communication, and ethereal stabilization research.   Connections to Other Civilizations

• Atagua (1279 DR): The discovery of the Moon-Fruit Lotus in Atagua was the key to finding Dayawlongon.
• Yeonido (1274 DR): Yeonido’s celestial scholars provided the spiritual rites necessary to bridge Dayawlongon’s dream-realm back to reality.
• Tayyib (1327 DR): Their knowledge of time displacement and divine isolation became instrumental in Tayyib’s eventual reintegration.

• Dayawlongon had not disappeared—it had been trapped in a dream-realm, where time moved differently.
• The Serpentine Banyan awakened upon their return, symbolizing the restoration of their place in the Material Plane.
• Their rediscovery led to the expansion of planar studies and the Cartographers’ Collective.
• Their experience created the first philosophical divide over whether the Citadel should actively search for lost civilizations.
• Their expertise in dream-based diplomacy and supernatural negotiations became foundational for later civilizations, including Tayyib.