Imager

Imagers are users of dream energy. They gather it up, mingle it with captured images in mirrors, and create glamours and illusions.

Dream Gathering

The art of capturing dreams is an ancient one, practiced by many peoples. Among the peoples of Palhur, it is often done with a willow hoop with a net within it, and this is generally seen as the first use of dreamcatching. However, they use them for protection as they sleep and not for gathering dream energy. For most, they use a net called a glan (pl. lionta), which is a loose net made from dreamweave or silver thread. The net is hung in the sleeping area only while gathering is wanted, and if the net is no closed before sunrise, the dream energy will escape.

Image Capturing

Dream energy must be applied to a mirror specially crafted for imaging. The mirror must be kept covered by a cloth heavy enough to keep light from touching the reflective surface until the imager is ready to capture an image. If they fail to do this, the dream energy will escape (as will any other captured images). The quality of the mirror and the amount of dream energy determines how many images may be captured within the mirror. An average mirror with standard amount of dream energy can hold up to six images. The very best mirrors with maximum dream energy will hold 24 images.

Truly powerful imagers can capture an image so well that the targets lose part of their being, usually turning them into colorless versions of themselves with muted emotions and an inability to dream. Most imagers do not intend to do this.

Nets, Mirrors, and Coverings

Nets are made from dreamweave or silver thread. They are not bound by any other material--anything other than their basic thread will render them less potent. Nets must be large enough to cover the head and shoulders of the dreamer in order to be effective. The finer the mesh, the more dream energy is captured, but there must be a mesh--it cannot be a solid fabric.

Mirrors should be made from gloine, a special fairy-made glass, with faeriewood or oneirium backing, for the very best imaging mirrors, but common mirrors can work if they are large enough (about 9" in diameter) with a backing and glass that are not corrupted by anything involving void, uafas, stavromenos, hunger energy, or brown aether.

Coverings must be solid and thick enough to keep the mirror from seeing any light. Anything less will cause dream energy and images to escape.

Imaging

An imager uses the images in their mirrors in order to craft illusions and glamours. Glamours change the appearance of the user or the target (usually a small object), but the changes are superficial and only quasi-physical. Illusions are more complex. Unlike illusions made from black nommos or uafas, these illusions are never solid, but they can implant in someone's mind so that they are convinced that the images are solid. Most are external illusions, like complex mirages.

Images can only be shaped from the images captured; however, the captured images can be broken down into colors and the illusions painted to be almost anything. The illusion is limited to the colors captured and amount of light within the images.

Shaping

To shape images into illusions or glamours, the imager must first let loose an image, and then use a special needle and thread to guide them into illusions. The needle should be made of silver or oneirium, and the thread should be silver, oneirium, dreamweave, or indigo-dyed cotton. The imager must be dexterous and swift, but also careful in their crafting, to get the right images.

Variations

Some variations include

• Bamboozler: those who use their imaging powers for cons and hoaxes.
• Luibheoir: those who create gardens of dream images.
• Peinteir: fey imagers who create paints with the images they take.
• Scathan: those who focus on making the mirrors of imagers.
• Silmamoondaja: those who make images solely for the sake of making images, for the sake of art. From Ranu.

Persecution

Imagers are renowned in Lyrilla and heavily restricted in most other countries. People tend to distrust those who can affect their dreams.

Skills

Some common skills include

• Net-making and mending
• Mirror-making and mending
• Painting and drawing
• Graphic design
• Costumes
• Make up
• Sewing
• Psychology
• Dream interpretation

Stats

The average imager has these variations on the base stats of their nation/species:

PRO -1
ATH /
STR -2
AWA +4
WIL +2
STH +1
PRS +3