Lucidity
came smoothly, and I almost immediately folded up my apartment around
myself, and descended into my fortress, where Ulla was waiting for
me.
Looking
for answers, my companion?
"Yeah.
You're not going to give me some kind of cryptic runaround, are you?"
It is not
my intention, no.
"Good.
So, let's see. What do you know about Kether? Why did you think
Ambrose Laurent was bad news? What are we into, and why do I have
the feeling that you only warned me off as a formality – like, you
kind of wanted me to get involved?"
The last,
first. I knew you were making a mistake, and I warned you. When you
ignore my advice, you insult me. You are into some trouble, and more
if Laurent can speak clearly to his patron. I had heard from my
brothers and sisters that Laurent had a patron in this world, though
they did not know his name or that of his patron – only, that the
lord of drugs down at the dockside was one of the lieutenants of a
faith that had gone delving for power, and found some. Yes?
"That
still leaves Kether."
Yes. You
mean Kether-Kinal? There are several minor powers named Kether.
"You
know damned well that I do."
One can
never be certain, when things are moving swiftly – and they are
moving swiftly around you right now, my companion. Kether-Kinal is
one of the undreaming powers.
To be a
power is to have agents in each strata of realms; in the wellspring,
in thought, in memory, and in some realm of truth. There are
dreaming powers, that were born in and of the wellspring, who have
their own talents, and can create new things. And there are
undreaming powers, who were made or born in realms beyond. And while
they may have powers of transformation, they cannot create anew, only
mimic and copy and mirror; never so well as the original.
"So,
the wellspring isn't the source of dreams, not exactly. It's the
source of dreamers."
Just so.
There are many dreamers that came out from the wellspring, and live
beyond, creating and ruling in their spheres. But whatever they
will, they cannot make more dreamers. No true children, unless they
return to the wellspring – if they still can.
"Okay.
So, this Kether wants... To get new dreamers?"
The usual
intention is to become a dreamer itself – most often, by absorbing
the mutilated faculties of other dreamers. There are many ways to do
this. Most involve the corruption or destruction of many among the
living.
"How
would you define 'many', there?"
Dozens.
Sometimes as many as a hundred. Though if it wishes to raise a
generation of dreaming children – as is customary, then thousands,
though sometimes over a significant expanse of time.
"Holy
fuck."
You begin
to understand.
"Last
thing, then. I did a basic internet search on totems, and shamanism.
Seems like, if any of that makes sense, I should be able to do
cat-things – maybe only metaphorically catty, but still. Or turn
into a cat. Or call up a whole lot of cats. Or learn black magic,
and ride around on a piece of straw, possibly wearing a huge hat with
a wart next to my nose. Or... I can't sort the sense for the
nonsense, is what I'm saying, here."
The
legends of your people have grown sadly debased, then. Very well; I
will teach you, the long way.
