Dream Washed Ortellion is an astral estuary, where the realms of dreams flow into the real world. An otherwise ordinary terrestrial world, it is the site of an astral conflux, where five astral currents meet. The flow of so much dream space energy creates psychic turbulence. Over the millennia this has led to the birth of the planet’s “moons”. Appearing as orbs of glowing light, they aren’t true moons, rather they are self sustaining psionic vortexes. Ortellion has hundreds of such moons, most crowded into a narrow equatorial band, with a few having more eccentric orbits. Moons come and go with the unknowable vagaries of the astral currents. The larger moons can last for centuries, while smaller moons might only shine for a single week.
With the moons come the dream tides. The rays of the system’s star drowns out the psychic energy during the day but at night the influence of the moons wash over the planet. Each moon radiates its own psychic vibe over the landscape. As the moons shift, so too do the dream tides. Being inside a dreamtide is like being caught in a dream; the alien moods and whims of the dominant moon threaten to overwhelm the rational mind. At their strongest, the dream tides also bring astral bleed, that is the intrusion of dream logic into conventional reality.
The people of Dream Washed Ortellion are known as the Waking. Culturally, they consider themselves Maskforms but in the real space conditions of the planet they have reverted to their ancestral human forms. Nominally the planet is a commonwealth under the Crown of Graz but the true power lies with the Questor’s Guild. They control the psychic expertise required to safely navigate the planet, allowing them to control the flow of trade. They also run the mystery cults that make up the planet’s religious tradition. Despite their power, the guild prefers to use a light touch in most matters.
Dream Washed Ortellion was settled thousands of years ago by Maskforms. They have adapted to the dangers of the Dream tides by building underground,where the natural dreams of soil living organisms provide a barrier. The planet’s largest city, Graz Throne, has a special alliance with a moon with a relatively mild dream tide. The Jubilant moon permanently hangs over the city, shielding it from more dangerous moons. Overland travel is accomplished through armored caravans and large domesticated sauceriods. Specially trained psychics create custom shared dreamscapes to shelter from the dream tides, while metal shutters protect from dream crazed lifeforms.
Dream Tides
1. Glitched - Objects developed blotchy patches of pixelated distortion. Sounds repeat randomly. The flow of time stutters and movement is impeded by invisible barriers.
2. Amorous - This tide is first experienced as a creeping warmth, a strange buzzing tingle at the base of the neck. The ground itself seems to moan and heave. The fauna is driven into rut. This is when giants breed by impregnating the landscape.
3. Fetid - It starts with a low, sulfurous mist. The grass wilts and any food left out rots. The stench is visible and palpable.
4. Ichorous - A light, sticky rain falls from the sky. Swarms of insects grow out of the pools. The air is thick with buzzing.
5. Portentous - The air is heavy with prophecy; the wind seems to whisper through the trees. Swirling mists form into symbolic shapes before dissipating.
6. Scheming - This tide comes with a rolling wall of luminous fog. The fog is opaque to those with good intentions but transparent to schemers. The darker the scheme, the further you can see.
Ecology
Life on Dream Washed Ortellion was seeded from the astral currents. Many of the lifeforms in the astral current originally lived in conventional space before adapting to astral life. When astral life colonized Dream Washed Ortellion, many organisms reverted back to their ancestral forms, while retaining some of their astral adaptations in order to survive the dream tides.
One key feature of life on Dream Washed Ortellion is metamorphism. The organisms here can radically change shape when exposed to a Dream Tide. This allows them to better fit in with the vibe of the dream Tide, drastically raising their chance of survival. In daylight, most organisms have a pale, formless look to them.
Many organisms here engage in pschophagey, or the practice of feeding on psychic energy. Most flora use symbiotic fungi to supplement their photosynthesizes. The fungi are deployed at night. It is as though the trees grow glowing sails. Sauceriods are a clade of faunal life forms that are obligate psycovores. They propel themselves telekinetically. Many species spend their entire lives in the air.
Air travel on Dream-Washed Ortellion is possible due to the domestication of several species of Sauceriods. The creatures are outfitted with gondolas and are directed by trained psychics. Overnight trips require additional psychics to keep the beast free from the influence of the Dream Tides.
Giants - Two story tall humanoids with a smooth, unfinished look to their features. During the day they are docile but at night they are ruled by the tides. A giant under a bad moon is one of the most dangerous creatures on Dream Washed Ortellion. They gestate in the planet’s crust, emerging only during seismic events. Domesticating giants is easy, as long as they are not exposed to the dream tides.
Sprite - Winged humanoids less than an inch tall. They gestate in the same underground wombs as giants and are considered to be the same species. Like giants they are deeply influenced by tides. Unlike giants, they form swarms called cliques that can have hundreds of individuals.
Sauceriods - These simple flying creatures feed off of ambient psychic energy. There are thousands of different species.
Great Liminal Marsh
There are no ancient ruins on Dream Washed Ortellion. This might surprise those that have seen the spires of the Great Liminal Marsh. These vine choked structures sticking out of the marsh at odd angles aren’t ruins, but crash sites. Edifice vessels, or more simply edifices, are astrally conjured structures that are used to travel astral realms. A nearby astral conflux called the Utopian Verge serves as an ideal launching point. As a consequence there is a long running Edifercers academy in the town of Last Landing. Though major crashes are rare, the area has seen heavy traffic from edifice vessels and the wrecks accumulate in the marshes.
Last Landing
A dense cluster of ruined Edifice vessels reclaimed into a small town. The Utopian Verge provides shelter from the dream tides, allowing the people to live in the open. The central singular point of the phenomena is located approximately a mile above the town. While in the affected region sapiens see phantasmal city structures. Only the edge of the phenomena reaches the ground; in the distance vague and shifting towers can be seen. Higher up, closer to the singularity one can see an evolving city of impossible architecture, moving and reforming like mist. Around the event horizon the city appears almost wholly real. Past the horizon is the apocalypse iris that leads to the Neon Speedway. Creatures and objects without the right post apocalyptic astral vibe will be exposed to a concentrated burst of calamitous energy.
The highest structure is the center of the Academy, the tower of possibility. Atop the stone tower is a metal mast that serves as the launching point for eddice ships. The town is mostly made up of teachers and support staff. The population density is low; much of the surrounding ruins have never been reclaimed. The empty structures host a floating gray market known as the Snailhunter’s conclave.The market exists outside of any jurisdiction, and thus outside of any taxes or regulations. The name comes from the common excuse townsfolk use to explain their excursions outside. Sometimes when people return from snail hunting, they even bring back snails.
The Wanderous Woods
Seen from space, the Wanderous Woods is a huge green vortex. The region is home to a permanent astral conflux with the current known as the Trail. The conflux causes severe spatial distortions within the forest, which makes traditional navigation impossible. The locals believe that the forest follows narrative logic, and that is as good an explanation as any. The forest takes you to where it “thinks” you “need” to be. This includes potentially fatal encounters, if your journey has been too safe and boring up to that point. Among the locals, only questors and the truly desperate journey into the woods.
Pillow Pathway
This small city is found above the Wanderous Woods, anchored into the treetops. During the day, the city has a fixed layout, but at night the astral bleed from the conflux makes space plastic. Each morning the Pillow scouts map out the city and mark the real buildings from the imposter nightmare buildings with pillows. The city is an important port; caravans from The Trail fly out of the clouds and dock at the city’s spires.
The Throne Lands
This is the most densely populated area of the planet, though you wouldn’t know it by looking at it. All of the buildings are underground, only the endless grain fields are visible. Domesticated giants do most of the manual labor, plowing the fields and harvesting the crops. The people of the Throne lands are notoriously shy and secretive; rarely seen by outsiders.
Graz Throne
The largest city on the planet and home to the ruling Monarch. The Jubilant Moon is a floating prismatic pink jewel above the city. It’s dreamtide arua provides protection from the other tides, allowing the city to be built above ground. The city is ruled by the Fool’s Parade, an ad-hoc collection of clowns under the sway of the Jubilant Moon.
