The Dream Tower of Gloria and The Children of the Hourglass

This piece is about the legends surrounded this mythical place and its mysterious peoples. Please see The Dream Tower of Gloria and Children of the Hourglass to read about the actual settlement and those that reside within.

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Fables from a Dream

The Dream Tower of Gloria, few have been lucky enough to see it, even fewer have had the chance to engage with its adventurous residents, but almost everyone has heard a tale or two told about this magical tower. This mysterious structure seemingly appears from thin air, it appears as whatever it wants, but frequently seems to enjoy taking on the form of a stone tower. People from across the world have spotted the tower, teetering on the sheer cliffside of the Casarei coastline, sitting on the floor of the cascading waves of the Vilanto Sea, and even buried underneath the junk-filled dunes of the deserts north of Baizair.
For as long as people can remember, tales have been told about the tower. Some even think that the tower somehow exists outside of the constructs of time itself and that is why tales have seemingly always been shared amongst the residents of Fyria. Some even think that those that sleep nearby, whether they are aware of its presence or not will dream of strange and distant places and peoples not known or seen in this realm. Though those that say they have experienced this strange occurrence swear that the dreams felt as real as any waking moment they've had, and that the tower intentionally showed them these visions while they slept. But for what purpose they do not know.
And not far from any story about the Tower, stories of its kin, the Children of the Hourglass are never far away. These beings are said to be born of the tower and are born with innate magical abilities far beyond even the understandings of knowledge mages and spellwrights. They are said to have inherited powerful shapeshifting abilities from the tower itself, and possess an even stronger curiosity and drive to adventure with those that find themselves stumbling upon the Tower. Many stories of the tower involve these beings taking travellers that have found the tower on wild journeys and adventures, some have even been said to have glanced within the tower itself.
And that is the biggest mystery of all, what does truly lie within the tower itself?
Nobody truly knows, as any that have entered through its doorway have never returned, or at least if they have they've never spoken publically about their experiences. Some think it is a doorway into the realm of the gods, and those that wander into their domain are doomed to suffer a sudden death, their minds not being able to handle the brilliance of a divine realm. Others believe it is just a simple tower, a mage's experiment gone wrong long ago, and it now jumps from place to place suddenly, all because of a misread spell. And others still believe that The Dream Tower of Gloria exists within and in between all realities. Somehow appearing on many worlds and in many places, throughout all of time. Existing all at once and not at all. While this is a popular theory amongst philosophic types, most discredit this theory because it hurts their brains too much.

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Children of Dreams - Stories and Poems from The Dream Tower

Children of Dreams - Stories and Poems from The Dream Tower is currently the most popular, and best selling piece of literature related to retellings of encounters with the Tower and its children. It is a leather bound tome, whos front depicts a starry night and an artist rendition of the Tower. Inside is a collection of short stories and poems that tell numerous tales, fables, and myths relating to the Dream Tower of Gloria, its inhabitants, and those that have had strange and wonderful encounters with both.
Aydin Albright is the author behind this popular collection, he has become quite the celebrity in the years since Children of Dreams - Stories and Poems from The Dream Tower went on sale. Albright is a fanciful individual who has sworn to have had several encounters with the Tower in years preceding the release of his book. The author has not been shy about sharing the so-called adventure he departed on in order to collect these stories from abroad. According to Albright, he himself travelled the breadth of the continent, often with the help of guides and friendly associates, and spoke with hundreds of people, collecting and recording their stories of the Tower and its children for use in his book. Albright says that this journey was one of spiritual importance for him, one that he knew he had to take, in order to tell the stories of the Tower to the whole world. This journey, according to Albright, took four years to complete and cost him his entire life savings, though he has made back that and then some since the rise of his book's popularity.
Albright's story on the creation of the book has come under suspicion, however, with many believing that his travels across the continent are unlikely at best and that a man of his means would likely not have survived the journey or even had the means to conduct it in the first place. Many believe instead that he fabricated the majority of the stories, writing all of them from the comfort of his home in Sumner. Regardless of this his collections have become a massive success and is sold across the western coast in numerous shops and business. Many copies have begun to spread across the rest of Fyria as well, being sold in marketplaces along the southern coasts in Mijhail and Ithosia. Numerous copies have even found themselves being traded amongst the settlements in the Island Frontier of the Vilanto Sea, with most copies being seen in the up and coming trading post of Obsidian Harbour.

Below is the Forward to Aydin Albright's Children of Dreams - Stories and Poems from the Dream Tower

It all started with a peculiar dream. One in which I was wandering down an uneven cobblestone path, it was a path that was both familiar yet foreign to me. Such a strange feeling came over me in this dream, one I couldn't quite put my finger on or fully perceive. What was this feeling? Why was I travelling down this road? What was my purpose? Hmm, I wasn't entirely sure at the time.
But, it was dark, that was for certain, I could not see the sky above as the trees overhead obscured my view, their branches entwined into a thick canopy. And strangely there was not even the slightest of breezes, nor sound of fauna. I was left to carry onward, marching in an endless hallway that felt numb and dark. I felt as if I had been keeping this march for an eternity, despair began to creep into my mind. Yet suddenly, as these thoughts slithered inwards, the path ended, and a clearing laid mercifully ahead. I quickened my pace and exited the forested path, my breath catching as a strong and sudden wind struck my face.
I sheltered my face with my hands, turning back from the blowing wind. I then noticed that the path behind me had disappeared, closed off in a coarse bramble of tightly woven wood and vine. The wind calmed the next instant and allowed me to notice the sky above, no longer hidden from my sight I saw that it was bright and glorious, like no other night sky I had seen before. A vast stretch of stars, swirling and colourful that hung above me staring downwards curiously.
Illuminated by the night sky alone a field of tall and swaying grass now sat before me, it somehow glowed faintly in the night as it drifted off, endlessly. It was hypnotizing, the blades dancing to and fro as if the wind breathed life through it. I was compelled to continue forward, I feared that this may be another potentially endless sojourn like the path before but I was somehow calmed and granted comfort by my new surroundings. So, I continued onwards, making my way through the thick field of grass.
Time seemingly stretched as I made my way, I quickly (or was it slowly?) lost track of any sense of the flow of time or progress, or lack thereof, that I was potentially making towards my goal. Whatever that was. Though somehow this was not an unpleasant experience. I cannot recall when, but at some point in my wanderings through the field oddly shaped orbs of shimmering lights began to appear amongst my vision. They sped along playfully through the grass and up into the sky, soon they even pirouetted around my form. I felt as if they were as curious as I was, them to see me, and I to see them. Each invested in the eventual conclusion of my journey and where it may lead. Then it appeared ahead, cresting the horizon of my vision.
A simple tower of stone. With a simple wooden door, and a copper handle. Somehow, I knew from the moment I set eyes upon it that this tower would become the muse of my life's work. In this dream it had come to me, its children of light bobbing around me, keeping me company as I discovered their home. I knew that I couldn't enter their domain from within this vision. But I knew that one day in my waking life I would find it, and I would enter into its realm to discover and experience all of its wonders.
And while I have yet to discover the Tower outside of my dreams, I have heard many stories of it and its children. And here within the pages of Children of Dreams - Stories and Poems from The Dream Tower, I, Aydin Albright, have collected some of the most fantastical and wondrous tales of The Dream Tower of Gloria and The Children of the Hourglass that have ever been told. Please enjoy, and remember to keep your mind open and maybe you too will find the Tower waiting for you in your dreams.

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The Wandering Tower by Giulis Fenzumin

The Wandering Tower was completed by the world-renowned painter Giulis Fenzumin in 427 EoC, this famous depiction of The Dream Tower of Gloria depicts it as a rather small structure, made simple of wood and stone brick. In the painting, it is shown sitting near the precipice of a cliffside with raging waters crashing below. Many other depictions of the Tower, show it as a fanciful creation. Tall and splendid, with magical lanterns, shimmering orbs, and fae creatures drifting about. Curiously, Fenzumin decided to depict a much more demure interpretation of The Dream Tower, showing a rather plain and uninteresting structure set upon a rather bleak background.
The story behind this painting for many is as fascinating as the painting itself. According to stories passed down since the famed painter's death, Fenzumin had been struggling with his art for many months, forlorn and distraught he wandered the coasts of his homeland of Casarei, searching desperately for inspiration or muse. One day, his despair reached a zenith, he was prepared to give up and approached a sheer cliff that dropped several hundred feet into the ocean below intending to cast himself off. But before he could something strange caught his eye. Sitting atop the cliff nearby, not even two dozen paces away, was a stout but sturdy stone tower. Fenzumin had travelled these lands many times before, he did not recall this tower being here last he passed by this way. And yet, he thought it certainly must have been here the whole time hadn't it? Curious he took himself from the cliff face and approached the tower, something about it drew him in.
The painter hadn't even reached the front door when he stopped, he stood in awe of the structure, but why he thought? It was just a simple stone tower, nothing special. But he knew that was wrong, this tower was some unique, though he could not decipher what.
Curiously the painter never would approach the door of the tower, but instead would retrieve his paints, brushes, and easel from his nearby pack. He began to paint his masterpiece. He sat there for hours, painting the tower, capturing its every detail. Hours past, or was it minutes? Or days? He wasn't certain, and he didn't overly care. When he was finished what laid before him brought tears to his eyes, his masterpiece was complete. And by the time he had removed The Wandering Tower from his easel, the Dream Tower of Gloria was gone. Disappearing as if it had never been there to begin with.

The Wandering Tower is widely accepted as the painter's most impressive work, it has been widely praised and viewed by artists and art enthusiasts for generations. It currently resides in a museum in Fenzumin's hometown in the country of Casarei.
Though of course, much like Albright's Children of Dreams - Stories and Poems from The Dream Tower, Fenzumin's story about the origins of his painting is widely debated with some believing the painting is just a simple tower that was found somewhere within Casarei. Many of Fenzumin detractors have searched for the tower's real-life counterpart, none that matches the depiction of the painting has ever been found

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The Tower by Gabby F.

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Before his death a few years after completing The Wandering Tower, Fenzumin would confide to his closest friends that he did not know what had brought the Tower to his side. If it was merely by chance, or if the Tower had come to him during his time of deepest despair. Appearing to him during his time of greatest need, acting as a much-needed muse and as a spark to drive him to continue living and creating. Or he mused, maybe he had hallucinated the whole thing.

Wizard's Tower by Juan Carlos Barquet

A more fanciful depiction of The Dream Tower of Gloria

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Stories from across the Continent

Thousands of stories have been told about the Tower and its Children for as long as people can remember. Because of this countless accounts and variations of fables can be heard, read, or seen across the entire continent. They have become popular as fanciful children's stories commonly told at bedtime across the western coast. While in places like the Jungles of Mijhail stories are told of mischievous children that try and lure travellers into the Tower, in which they will never be seen again.

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