𝐧𝐩𝐜 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭

[uruz]

Available NPCs
SLEEP ONE TWO THREE FOUR ESPERA

SLEEP

A manipulative enigma with grand presence and power within The Murmur that rivals that of a god, and many already treat Her as such. She is everywhere and nowhere at once. Call to her, and she may answer you. She may even treat you, if you treat her, but be prepared to sacrifice. Painful offerings and loyalty are her favorite gifts of devotion (She's also a hopeless romantic).

The Numerals and Espera seem to despise Her, and One is inexplicably bound to Her. What Sleep has disclosed about Her intentions seem quite simple: Collect more Vessels to host Her power, expand past the Earth She's tied to, and deliver them all from loneliness and prolonged suffering to a divine eutopia only She can create.

For that, She needs One.

ONE

A somber, shy and elusive individual that better expresses himself through poetry and song. One's past is shrouded in mystery, tragedy and his own amnesia, but hinted to hold an incredible power that not even he is aware of. One has devoted his entirety to Sleep through blood sacrifice in an attempt to skew Her attention from the vessels to himself, but whether that was successful or not has yet to be known.

Vessels have been made recently aware that One has suffered Lunar Exaltation before the world was destroyed: An ascension, from mortal to more, and a beacon of power that remains the reason why Sleep seeks to claim him.

TWO

Not much is known about the Numeral Two, other than he is an expressive and unburdened Token, mute but not idle. He was very close to One before being thrown into a voided plane of existence by Sleep's hand, and scattered into fragments. Espera claims he is essential to returning One to his senses and putting an end to Sleep's reign.

Currently missing, but one fragment has been found.

THREE

An impish Offering of the Trickster variant, the Numeral Three has a playful disposition and colorful means of expression. Rather chaotic but not malicious, he takes the form of three-eyed corvids, cacatuas, and foxes with frequency, while answering riddles fuels his permanance for brief bursts. His connection with the Waking World is stronger than Two's, but in no less need of mending.

Currently his appearances are unreliable; He may be seen in shared dreams or when he has enough power to solidify from the Void's realm.

FOUR

The first Numeral to vanish and the last to be found. Not much is known about Four, other than having a very strong connection with Three.

Currently missing.

ESPERA

Revealed to be Nymphai, The Espera were birthed from One's exaltation and were meant to guide him on his journey from mortal to more before being barred by Sleep. She, (or they), is (are) a singular entity of three bodies, which are missing in a similar manner to the Numerals. She has a stronger presence within the Murmur but too weak to manifest physically, and is always watching to aid the Vessels in any way she can.

NAME5
PB NAME

Info Five Here

© TESSISAMESS

Comments

ROLL: 20

[uruz]

[ gratitude is the greatest warmth that is spread from espera to ruhong. an embrace, or a clasp of her hand. the relief she feels that threatens to buckle her legs beneath her. ]

You are not at fault, Sister. [ although, she is curious, and would not like to have this woman offer is she has understood wrongly. at least, espera is an earnest woman. ] What have you understood?

[hongtian]

[ Only after Espera speaks in return does Ruhong realize that she had not truly been expecting a response. Her prayers have always been more akin to silent meditation and reflection than a conversation with an entity capable of speaking back. Then again, this isn't the first time she's ever heard Espera speak; so the surprise, Ruhong supposes, is not particularly well-founded.

Still, it's an odd enough sensation that she takes her time putting the raw feelings that she had placed into her outreach into more discrete thought. ]

When I first arrived here, I assumed that every being, every creature, must be an entity of the Darkness that Dreams—of Sleep. That my only objective should be to ignore everything calling to me and to assume its maleficence, to seek out only means of destruction and escape. One, Two, whatever they were, I paid little attention. I assumed no goodness nor shred of Light could remain in this place, and that I was here at all was the sign of a final move by the Darkness to enrapture not just this world but all beyond, just as it has long planned.

But there is light. There is warmth. And you—

You need help to keep it so.

[uruz]

[ that was an easy assumption to make. that everything here was tainted— it looks that way. and many things must look bleak, espera knows this. ]

Thank you. But . . . You must know, [ if this woman has the wrong idea, she mustn't allow it to grow. ] I am not the source of this. I am but a mere courier. Help to you, where I may extend it.

[hongtian]

[ She has very much had the wrong idea: one born more out of wishful thinking than of any real rational conclusion. But Ruhong is a person who must believe in certain things, for her whole life would come crashing down if she did not, so the disappointment she feels at this revelation is only temporary. Even if Espera is not herself the Dreaming Light, is this not still evidence they have not been banished as fully as she had thought? ]

I have many questions. [ Better to lead with frankness. ] I will try to keep them quick and simple. If you are not the source, what is? And how might I help both it and you in this struggle?

[uruz]

[ she expects as much. questions, and so many of them. espera is patient. ]

It is One. The others— We must find them if we wish to stand a chance.

[hongtian]

One?

[ Surprise, evident. The memory of a solemn One atop the pedestal within the dream-feast, then the rot, the sound echoing, I am not worthy. Ruhong has wrapped herself away from it all, hardened her mind and her soul as much as she can against anything and everyone, turned away from anything she deemed to be the work of Sleep—or, as she firmly thinks of it in her mind, the Darkness that Dreams.

Now, it seems, perhaps she has done herself a disfavor. ]

I'd thought... the return of sunlight was...

[ Well, she'd thought it was Espera. If not Espera, then the light itself fighting to become, once again, the dream of the ages. Unless... they are somehow the same?

How confusing this all is—and how little her people seem to know of the fight that has long been happening within Dal Quor itself. ]

I've never been quite so aware of the fact I have never learned what it means to dream.

[uruz]

[ —anything but one, yes? espera's smile is palpable, although it's quite generous, comforting even. like a hand on her shoulder for reassurance. ]

It is a living soul's most precious state. When we rest at our deepest slumber, it is when the mind opens, but it is also when we are the most susceptible. The most vulnerable, [ a short beat. ] to our very own thoughts, once buried in graves.

[hongtian]

...Ah.

[ A quiet realization as something seems to click at this explanation. Ruhong's hesitation as she considers the implications of this is just as palpable as Espera's smile. Buried deep beneath it, a touch of fear. But when she speaks, it is with all the confidence she can muster. ]

So what better way to spread darkness and fear than when we dream. All the more reason to preserve even the smallest of lights so that flowers bloom on those graves instead. How will finding the others help? Can we make Sleep become just as vulnerable?

[uruz]

That is a perilous feat, in the state that everything finds itself.

[ despite the return of the sun, it is only a click. a single cog twitching within a rusted machine. but, still— espera is never hopeless, and this is proof that nothing is lost. ]

But 'tis not impossible. The numerals will help return One to the light. You may turn the gears, but only they may fully empower him to rise against Her.

[hongtian]

I do not fear peril. I would gladly give my life thrice over to break this cycle of darkness; it is my purpose.

[ She says this with the sort of conviction that only a person who knows no other option can have, fury and desperation and fear all wrapped in one. But Espera has given her something else, too: renewed hope. Somewhere to turn her faith and determination. A path of some sort, all in service of the light.

Were they speaking face to face, Ruhong might have knelt. The effect in her response gives nonetheless the same feeling. ]

So if all I can do is turn the gears, then I will turn them. If you lead us to the fragments, I will follow. And have you ever need of anything, be it this search or a sword or a flame to light your path, I will be there. Whatever it takes to bring back the light. It will never be impossible.

And—[ She swallows. ] I thank you.

[uruz]

[ espera fills with hope, with relief, with just a bit more faith that this will work, if there are more like ruhong. ]

I am blessed. I Thank you— Thank you.

[ and before she disconnects, espera adds: ]

Worship, Sister. [ not sleep. not anything she doesn't wish to. ] Worship your own beliefs.