 | Name | A Thousand Nights (I) |
| Type (Ingame) | Quest Item | |
| Family | Book, A Thousand Nights | |
| Rarity |  | |
| Description | A wandering researcher once walked through rainforest, desert, and city during a time of great catastrophe, collecting these stories along the way. It is said that the original work truly did contain countless tales and that naught but a fragment of that is still extant today. |
Item Story
| The Tale of Those Without Shadows Once, this land was home to a group of a people without shadows. They led simple lives, knowing nothing about the world outside the place where they lived. This lasted until one day, when a lost adventurer discovered them. The shadowless folk were shocked to find that the adventurer had a lockstep attendant, silent and loyal. The adventurer, too, was shocked to see that people lived in the world who would not cast a shadow because of the sunlight. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would make such a discovery," said the adventurer. "Dreams? We have not had those in a long time," said one of the shadowless people. "Our elders tell us that all dreams have already been dreamed." "Shadows hide the secrets of the soul. You have no shadows, and that is why you do not dream," said the adventurer. "Perhaps you did once have shadows, just like you once did dream." "If that is so, where shall I go to find that which I have lost?" "Go to the secret forest. Many dreams dwell there, and perhaps those who capture dreams there may have some extras to share with you." And so, the young shadowless person left his homeland behind, traveling far off to visit the secret forest the adventurer had spoken of. This forest was filled with layers of shadows: the shadows of the clouds, tree canopies... Even the tiny birds cast large shadows over the soft soil. Day after day, he passed between the crisscrossed shadows. Shadows hide the soul's secrets, he thought, and perhaps he was the only one here without any secrets. And so, one day, he discovered that all dreamscapes were open to him, for he had no dreams, but it was because of this that he could enter the dreams of others. In the many dreams he witnessed, the birds dreamed of vivid colors, the tiger of fragrant scents, but he did not see those who capture dreams, nor did he discover the excess dreams that were spoken of. The dreams, the shadows, and the beings that dwelt here could be matched one for one... and so he wondered if the adventurer had cheated him, and if there really was no such thing as a masterless dream, just as there was no such thing as a shadow without a source. But just as he was about to admit defeat, the one who captures dreams found him. Their encounter happened within the dream of a seashell. He barged into its ending, searching for the white waves and the salty wind, but neither was to be found in its saddened aftertaste. "Just like this shell, you do not belong to this forest." The speaker was a woman, and he quickly realized that she was the dream-captor spoken the adventurer spoke of, for her shadow had a strange, mottled texture, like drapery encrusted with gems. "I have been looking for you," he said. "Perhaps you have some extra dreams..." "They pass like the morning dew..." She said, and there was no sadness in her voice. "Masterless dreams cannot last long. I have tried many times, but they always dissipate in the end." "...See, just like this seashell... We must both leave." Taking his hand, she led him from this fading dream bereft of white waves and salty winds. Beside a murmuring brook, she told him a great many stories, and taught him how to enter dreams. After that, she warned him multiple times concerning the taboos of the dream-captors, such as how they should never gaze repeatedly into another's dream, for their secrets are like a bottomless well. "The nightmares are more cunning than you can imagine. Once they discover what you have done, they will arise like a swarm and drag you into the darkness. You will not be able to leave that place, the boundary where no shadows are. If you wait long enough, you will be able to make out meaningful words, names that linger in faded memories that no longer belong anywhere. And you know that you must not speak the names of the dead, or they will seek you out..." "I once believed that none of you had shadows," he said honestly. "I once believed that dream-captors did not have their own dreams, which is why they collected those that belong to others." The woman did not reply, her mottled shadow swaying in the night wind like a leaf. But the young shadowless man was too eager for the answer, and though the dream-captor defended the shadows well, he found his chance nonetheless. Unlike the dreams of the forest beings, whose dream-gates were wide open, it was a rugged path that led to the dream-captor's dreamscape. It seemed evident to him that she had hidden her secrets in others' dreams, he thought, but what were her secrets? And whose dreams were these? The dream-captor's dream was many-layered, just like the secret forest, and so he lost his way, and before he knew it, the nightmares were upon him. "I have broken the dream-captor's taboo, but even if I can see that bottomless well, I cannot find my answer," he thought. "She said that if I stayed long enough, I might able to make out a name from their voices. At least that way, I will know whose dream this is." And so he allowed himself to be led into the depths, and just as the woman had warned him, it was a boundless, lightless realm. He listened then for the tiny sounds, hoping to find words that could point to a name. An unknown period of time passed before he finally heard a name amidst the scattered sounds. This sound had a strange, special attraction to him, and he could not help but recite it. Then he opened his eyes. "I saw a strange sight," he said. "I saw that a woman had entered my dreams and stolen them, stolen secrets of my soul that I didn't know existed, and since that day, I no longer had a shadow. And I heard her say this, and she called me..." "You know," she said, interrupting him, "that one should not speak the names of the dead, or they will seek you out..." The dream-captor sat by the murmuring brook, her mottled shadow swaying in the night wind like a leaf. "That is but a tale about the dead. I have told you such tales before, but there are many more that have yet to be told." And so the dream-captor continued to tell the young man with no shadow a story that none have yet heard... |
honey hunter commenters need to be studied, because you guys can genuinely respond to someone named...