Dreamland Beasts

Dreamland Beasts or Oneiric Beasts are a type of creature that lives near or in Dreamland, where the spirits of children go to when they sleep. They come in many different species and have human-level intelligence and a variety of powers and weapons. Their main duty is to guard the spirits of the good children who visit this place.

Some Dreamland Beasts such as Golden Heart and her family have Dimensional Mates.

## Origin

Dreamland Beasts themselves are as old as humanity, and so far, from what information gathered about them it can be theorised many things.

One theory is that they come from the very first dreams humans had about positive things such as hope and courage, as well as the stories they tell themselves about what they want to be and what they perceive of themselves. It explains why Dreamland Beasts are opposed to nightmare creatures, which are born from the fears and darker sides of humanity. Another theory is that Dreamland Beasts are actually their dreamer’s hopes and repressed aspects of their personality that came alive as their alternate self. Humans also dreamed about the world around them from ancient times: from the forces of nature to celestial bodies, to plants and animals, and even the stories told about them. Hence also why many Dreamland Beasts so far either resemble the animals of Earth or the mythical beasts that humans have always told stories of.

Also, when babies dream for the first time, sometimes, a Dreamland Beast emerges as a beginning dreamer's alternate self, effectively becoming his Dimensional Mate. Some Dreamland Beasts emerged from the dreams of animals, which could imply that someone's dog, cat or even the animals in zoos may have Dreamland Beasts as their alternate selves. It is also possible for Dreamland Beasts to marry and have families of their own whether or not they have Dimensional Mates, thus increasing their population.

## Description

Dreamland Beasts come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They look like real animals or mythical creatures, but with features that emphasize their nature as otherworldly denizens of Dreamland. Some are anthropomorphic, while others are quadruple, though they can move like the animal they resemble. Some Dreamland Beasts wear armour or accessories that fit their Calling, others don't wear anything. But all of them have tools and weapons that help them fulfil their Calling.

As seen in Golden Heart and Hydara sending their son into his Earth Dimensional Mate's body to serve as his temporary soul, it can be theorized that Dreamland Beasts can switch between having a mortal body and being incorporeal spirits.

Dreamland Beasts can be classified into many types:

* Mammal-type: resembling Earth mammals
* Avian-type: resembling birds
* Reptile-type: resembling lizards, snakes, turtles...
* Amphibian-type: resembling frogs
* Oceanic type: resembling Earth's sea life such as fishes and octopi
* Mythic type: resembling mythical beasts like dragons and unicorns
* Hybrid type: anything that is a mixture of the above

As Ra currently resides in Ranald as his conscience, it also proves that Dreamland Beasts with Dimensional Mates can occupy them in their spirit form, leave their host anytime they want, and can even merge with them with the power Oneiric Fusion to become beast warriors called Dream Warriors or Yumeju Kishi (夢獣騎士) with additional abilities.

## Society

Despite Dreamland Beasts having no ruler, they are well-organised and they maintain a good relationship with the spirits of the children who visit Dreamland. Some of them have even got to be the Dimensional Mates of some humans from Earth, though how it happens is unknown. Some of the Adventurer's Guild members suggest that a link is formed between certain humans who have a greater sensitivity to Dreamland and Dreamland Beasts whose personality is so similar to theirs results in them being each other's Dimensional Mates. Which results in the Dreamland Beast in question becoming the parallel self of their human Dimensional Mate and vice versa. Others say that the moment a person (or in some cases, an animal) dreams for the first time, a Dreamland Beast emerges from the clouds around Dreamland as that person's alternate self, effectively becoming his Dimensional Mate, which may tie into how Dreamland Beasts as a species originated as a whole. Such Dreamland Beasts share the personality of their Mates and express their repressed emotions. Dreamland Beasts who serve as the alternate self of an animal express what their Mate is incapable of saying.

While most Dreamland Beasts with Dimensional Mates prefer watching their counterpart's lives without interfering in them, even seeing them as a source of entertainment, some, such as Golden Heart, care for their Dimensional Mate enough to interfere in their lives.

Many Dreamland Beasts have a Calling for them, and the appropriate tools they are born with/received help them fulfil it. The Callings, in turn, can be divided into Primary Callings, the one they are born with and Secondary Callings, the one that can be acquired with the help of a mentor. They are:

* Guardians of Dreams/Dream Defenders: They are the ones who guard Dreamland and the children who visit it against Nightmare Monsters. They have many roles such as defending children, especially the weaker ones, from Nightmare Spirits, rescuing lost children from the Nightmare Realm, and patrolling the borders of the floating island. Golden Heart and Hydara are the top Dream Defenders in Dreamland and are the current leaders of the other Dreamland Beasts with this Calling. Revati, Cerynitis's adopted son, is a Dream Defender, albeit still a pup.

* Beacons of Hope/Leaders to Tomorrow: Paragons who are Dreamland's messengers, they guide children to confront their fears and doubts so that they would fulfil their dreams. They are quite social yet can be blunt or tactful depending on the situation. Bakumaru the tapir is one notable Leader to Tomorrow.

* Menders of Psyches/Soul Doctors: Dreamland Beasts who heal the spirits of children who have suffered a lot in their waking life. They care for them like a mother would and always seek ways to make them feel better. Cerynitis is one notable example of a Soul Doctor.

* Sages of Truth/Dream Teachers: Those Dreamland Beasts hunt for knowledge in the dream clouds and cloudscapes. Their duty is to teach the knowledge and wisdom they obtained from their hunts to the spirits of the children who visit Dreamland. Some Sages are like detectives uncovering truth buried under lies, while others with the secondary calling of Dream Defender guard forbidden knowledge obtained from the cloudscapes of the wicked from the unworthy. Certain Sages are scholars who brave cloudscapes and fight Nightmare Spirits and Monsters with the secrets they learned from their travels. Others have a bit of trickster in them, using riddles to get their pupils to think out of the box. Kuma Lisa the vixen is one well-known Dream Teacher.

* Artists of Inspiration: Dreamland Beasts whose job is to inspire children to express themselves, especially in positive emotions. They like to make the children who visit Dreamland happy and show them how their dreams can make others happy and inspired. Coyote is one notable Artist of Inspiration.

### The Prophecy

There was a prophecy told by the Dreamland Dimensional Mate of St. Griffward that one day, a hero of light in both Earth and Dreamland will arise, being both human and Oneiric Beast. He will fulfill all five Callings and become the Dream Defender, Dream Guardian, and Grand Mayor of Dreamland who is the opposite of the Boogieman, mayor of the Nightmare Realm. Golden Heart and Hydara also received the same prophecy about their child becoming the hero of light in both Earth and Dreamland before he was born.

A part of it came true when they sent their son Ra to occupy his Earth Dimensional Mate Ranald's body as a soul until he met the Boogeyman, defeated him, and merged with the spirit of the human Ranald, effectively making him both human and Dreamland Beast. Ranald (now with his human body back and merged with Ra who serves as his inner voice), later on, led his classmates, who became the Crusaders of the Constellations to defeat the Devourer of Worlds and sealed him away along with Mayari. Now that Ranald is gathering up the 108 Stars of Destiny aside from serving as the leader of the new Crusaders, time will tell if he will indeed discover his five Callings and gain the title of Grand Mayor of Dreamland.

## Abilities

Despite each Oneiric Beast having unique powers, they share common abilities:

* Flesh-Spirit Skins: Switch between their mortal forms and their spirit forms
* Dimensional Eyes: With this ability, all Dreamland Beasts can view what's happening in other dimensions aside from Dreamland. Those with Dimensional Mates can only view events on their parallel self's world such as Earth.
* Cloudscape Diving: Any Dreamland Beast can dive into a person's cloudscape and travel around it. They can also use their powers in the cloudscape in question.

Dreamland Beasts with Dimensional Mates have these abilities in addition to the above:

* Oneiric Fusion: The Dreamland Beast fuses with his Dimensional Mate to form a kind of composite entity called a Yumeju Kishi (夢獣騎士), which has traits of both Dreamland Beast and host, including weapons and powers. Before that, both parties must agree to fuse together. For the Knights of the Lunar Mansions, they spend the lunar energy in the silver badges to summon their Dreamland Dimensional Mates before initiating this ability.
* Waking and Dreaming Parallel Vision: When the Dimensional Mate of a Dreamland Beast sleeps, he can see through his Dreamland partner's eyes. Similarly, a sleeping Dreamland Beast can see through his Dimensional Mate's eyes, viewing things in his partner's waking life.
* Mind's Land: The Dreamland Beast transforms an area of her Dimensional Mate's cloudscape into an inner world called an Oneirijk. The Oneirijk is a place of constancy in a person's cloudscape where while he sleeps, he can meet his Dreamland Dimensional Mate and together fly to Dreamland. It can have environmental effects depending on the dreamer's thoughts and emotions. As the Earth Dimensional Mate grows older, he and the Dreamland Beast can shape the symbols in the cloudscape into features that can be added to the Oneirijk such as Marches, Thrones, or Gates that grant entry to those close to them.