Narrative

Just as the sun wanders across the sky and things fall to the earth, the Narrative is one of the central governing laws of the Dreaming-World. Narratives are metaphysical traits attached to things, people, places or events that define and reinforce their place in the Dreaming-World. Everything has a Narrative and most things have several. Without them, they would have no place in the world - no purpose.

The Essence of All Things

Narratives can be simple or complex - from simple things like "the hunter" or "ruined keep" to more specific ideas. The more Narratives something has, the more complex stories they are typically home to. Many Narratives are common and reoccur all over the Dreaming-World, sometimes the same and sometimes with small variants depending on where they take place. No matter what, something can only possess a Narrative that fit them. A human could not have the narrative of "Haunted House", nor could the same house have the narrative of "Kindly Cousin Who Always Brings Great Gifts".

The Ancient City
A Narrative attached to almost all major city is that of the Ancient City, the idea of the old, forgotten part of the city where blasphemous things hide in the darkness.
Read more about the Ancient City

Narratives are at most a short sentence long and straight-forward. While flexible enough for the Dreaming-World to hold multiple definitions of the same Narrative, they are not ambiguous. While a "Hunter" can be a man that hunts tiger, or a tiger that hunts men, neither will be a Squitten rancher.

Threads of a Tapestry

Narratives do not exist in isolation. Each one influence how the world interacts with whatever it is that possess the Narrative and how it functions in the world. Each Narrative that something has ties to the other to create a more complex tale. While mundane objects typically have only one or two and Sleepers no more than a handful, legends can have as many as ten or more.

The Narratives of Sleepers change in accordance to the stories they take part in. The narrative of a young man from "brash youngster" changes as he grows old into something different. Even injury and dismemberment are Narratives that they carry along with the physical scars. But unlike the Awakened, Sleepers have no choice in the matter.

Narrative also influence the world and can draw other Narratives into their sphere of influence and into their stories. The Narrative of Plague infect those who come too close while Squittens have such a powerful Narrative of friendliness that all but the most wicked can't help but to be charmed.

Narratives change and evolve as they interact with the world and each other, or even be lost entirely. An opulent palace put to the torch will be very different place once the flames have settled and its Narratives will no longer speak of Luxury and Decadence, except perhaps in terms of lost glories. The Awakened in particular have ways to evolve and develop their abilities, and their Narratives, in ways that are beyond anything any Sleeper can do. It is also the Awakened with their freedom to make their own way in the Dreaming-World that are often responsible for Narratives changing.

Magic and Narratives
The abilities and powers of both Sleeper and Awakened are informed by the Narratives they carry. In particular, the art of Arete that all Awakened wield are formed by their defining Narratives. This magic art allows the Awakened to do the impossible and be the very best version of whatever Narratives they embody.
Read more about Arete - Excellence

Fading

When a Sleeper lose all of their Narratives as their connections to people and places disintegrate due to death or destruction, they begin to suffer from the Fading. Sleepers who fade begin to lose their definition, their Masque becoming a dull, blank thing. Without help, they wither to oblivion and fade from the world, as if they had never been.
Read more about Fading

Without Form, Without Purpose

Everything has one or more Narratives in the Dreaming-World, as vital to their existence as flesh, food or air. Everything except for the Unformed. Primordial terrors that have survived the end of previous Dreams by hiding at the very edge of oblivion, they are no longer part of the Dreaming-World. They are alien invaders, holding no narrative on their own and incapable of gaining any other than through theft and corruption.
Read more about the Unformed