Dreams of Mystra

> Hawthorne
As you drift off to sleep, you find yourself flying low across a dark, endless landscape. Then you begin to slow down and as your vision clears, you see a village on the outskirts of a vast forest. You recognize it - it’s the village where you were born. As you peer down, you see figures. You see a tall Orc man with stern features, wild uncropped hair, his ears and nose pierced with gold rings. Near him stands a human woman in tight-fitting leathers with a shorn head, sunburned skin and piercing blue eyes. And between them stands a boy with dark green skin and purplish hair, holding a crudely made bow, barely more than a toy. As they stand there, with expressions of shock on their faces, you see more figures. Running figures armed with weapons. Running and slashing. Throwing burning brands onto the thatched roofs of the village homes. The boy raises his bow with shaking hands as the raiders charge. A rusty blade flicks aside his arrow before slipping with a sickening slurp into the woman’s chest. As you try to block out the screaming…
You hear a voice: “The past. They took your mother’s life. You will never find them and have the revenge you seek, if you do not act.”
> Horus
As you drift off to sleep, you find yourself flying through twisted city streets, turning quickly at each juncture, blurring past inns, shops and homes. Then you begin to slow down and as your vision clears, you see a rich, three-story mansion with stark white walls and a gleaming crimson roof. Its green gardens dappled with hedges and water features are surrounded by a tall white brick wall with a single wrought-iron gate. On the gate you see a crest - the letter ‘C’ in green, overlapping an image of a goose. You're moving again, flying over the wall and through the garden to a small window, low to the ground, barely visible through a rosebush thick with thorns. From inside you see light. Figures are gathered in a dark basement, lit only by several coal-burning braziers in the corners. One of the figures wears a dark red robe. The figures appear to be moving in rhythm, flailing their arms and chanting in a repulsive language you don’t recognize. As they chant and dance, the smoke from the braziers begins to swirl around, gathering in a funnel at the back of the room above what looks to be a large pile of white sticks. As you watch, the swirling smoke begins to flicker and spark with dark magic, and the sticks begin to move… slowly, and inexorably, they shuffle and slide together and form into a shape. Those aren’t sticks, those are bones and the shape is a skeleton. A massive skeleton that extends a long neck, high up to the ceiling.
And then suddenly flickering magic cuts off.. The skeleton collapses in a heap. And the dancers slow to a stop. The red-robed figure turns its head, and for a moment you see its face. He is familiar to you. You hear angry shouting but you can’t make out the words. As you strain to listen…
You hear a voice: “The present. They practise their dark rituals. And they will soon get it right, if you do not act.”
> Lunchmoney
As you drift off to sleep, you find yourself flying high into a dark, endless sky. Then you begin to slow down and as your vision clears, you see lights below. Lights from a large, sprawling city near the sea. You recognize it - it’s Waterdeep.Your city. The one you have spent your life protecting. But although it seems like night, the city is way too bright. In fact, there is light everywhere… and the source of that light… is flames. The city is on fire. Ships burn in the harbour. Fire rips through the crowded buildings of the Dock Ward. Blackstaff Tower is aflame as well. And then you see the Palace of Waterdeep and what sits perched on its wall. A massive dragon with ragged, blood-red scales. Through huge gaps in its hide, you see a skeletal frame swirling with dark magic. And its hideous face, adorned with hollow black eyes that glow with undead vigour, opens its maw to breathe an explosion of deadly flames into the Palace courtyard. As you pull back in horror…
You hear her voice: “The future. This does not have to happen. But it will, if you do not act.”
> Everyone
And then you are not alone. You can't see, but you can now sense each other nearby.
From the darkness of your minds emerges a dark figure surrounded by an aura of blue-white light. As the figure approaches, the light grows brighter… and brighter… and brighter still. Then slowly, as the glow begins to fade, it reveals the face of a beautiful, willful young woman, with hints of a long-borne pain in her white-blue eyes. Then she speaks with the same voice you heard earlier.
“I am the Lady of Might and the Mistress of Magic! I am Power Incarnate! Wherever magic is worked, there am I – from the cold poles to the hottest jungles, whatever the hand or claw or will, it is my power they wield! Behold me and fear me! Yet behold me and love me too–as do all who deal with me honestly. This world is my domain. I am magic, mightiest among all who men worship. I am the One True Spell at the heart of all spells. There is no other. Follow me, and I shall lead you to glory.”
For a moment her eyes become more distinct, more focused. They peer at you as if looking into the depths of your soul.
“The Followers of the Scale rise again. Their sickness breeds in the dark corners of your domain. The chanting of their rituals echo in my mind.
They seek the dragons to raise their dragons.
Find them. Foil them. Cleanse your city and you shall reap your rewards…”
She looks at each of you again with that piercing gaze and asks:
“Do you accept my blessing?”